Right in the middle of the rink is in the way of everything and everyone. Your coach is the one who was wrong...no freestyle skater practicing jumps can avoid the middle. Instead, what she should have done is taken one of the CORNERS (preferably one of the non-lutz corners for this skater depending on if she is a leftie or a rightie which could have been determined by watching her do just 1 jump or spin..) and had you practice your moves there. If it's not a moves session then you do not have right of way doing moves in the field, especially not in the center of the ice, regardless of if there are 2 or 52 kids there. Yes you are in a lesson which puts you "ahead" of the skater who is not, but there are still limits to that...you cannot expect people to just not skate by you for 30 minutes when you're standing in the middle of the ice. Keep in mind that most skaters are also used to skating very close to each other, don't take it as an insult, and don't mind. Only when I've skated with adult skaters have I noticed the "zooming by" being taken as an insult, teens do not even notice it.

Ironically, most skaters' biggest pet peeve is when coaches put their skaters in the middle of the ice for their lesson....it's just not something you do as EVERYONE has to go through the center to set up jumps. Not only are coaches expected to go in a corner or at least somewhere off to the side, but they are actually also expected to *move* to a different corner/area after 10-15 mins, just in case someone actually needed that particular corner for a program run through (with music or without...).

No one should appropriate themselves the middle of the rink and then get pissed off someone keeps zooming by them. It's because you are in the way.

In our club the right of way rules are as follows

1. Doing your program in vest to music in a lesson
2. In a lesson without vest or music
3. Doing your program in a vest with music

Also if you are in a lesson the coach has a right to go to the head of the line with your music. But only once.

I find that is true. Once there were only two of us and I ran smack into the other person.

Maybe you just aren't as cautious when there are fewer people?

At my rink and all the others I've ever skated at, it's:

--Skater in a lesson doing their program or a dance w/the music (wearing orange waist bands)
--All other skaters doing the dance playing to the music (if applicable) as long as they are also wearing orange waist bands (we have 3 of them)
--Skater in a lesson
--Everyone else

If you were in a lesson, she should have been staying out of your way, but she very well may have been running sections of a program or doing moves patterns, like everyone else already said.

And what do you mean by her being all up in your space? The "too close for comfort" distance threshold that a lot of adult skaters have is often more than what a lot of high level kids/teens have, but they don't always realize that (she can probably safely and easily maneuver around you).

__________________
2010-2011 goals:
Pass Junior MIF test
Don't break anything

My skater-girlfriends and I were just talking about this yesterday. We have rules at our rink for freestyle sessions that are ignored. Right of way is given for:
1. In lesson (i.e. with a coach) doing program (with music)
2. In lesson (with coach) doing moves/dance (with or without music)
3. In lesson
4. Everyone else

The problem has been the young kids thinking if their music is playing that they get the right of way-they do not (clearly stated in our rules). I explained this to a young girl who thought she had the right of way.

We do not wear vests or belts when we skate our programs. We tried it and it worked great, however they young girls refused to wear them. Now it's "who's music is that?" and "who is in program?"

My coach will pull me to a different section of the rink to yield to someone else in lesson (doing moves etc) but more & more we have not been yielding to those just messing around; my coach has told them to move on and she has told me to keep skating. This has worked and they move on and stay away.

We do not do much in the center ice tho, as many moves patterns run through it. If someone is doing moves my coach will set up where we will not interfere. If I'm on the rink for practice and someone is doing moves (and I don't know what they are doing) I ask which area will be out of their way. This works and you make a friend because when you set up for a jump and she is where you want to jump and she sees you coming, she will move.

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

We had the same thing--for a little while we had shiny sequined sashes that the kids wore and it was so great!! Then they disappeared, and we're back to trying to figure out whose music is playing.

My other question is--I totally yield to someone who is doing their program--but what about the ones who play their music 6 times on one session? I don't mind someone doing this, but I stop yielding so much after the first couple of times through. It doesn't seem fair to yield to the same person for an entire hour...

As I see it, one of the problems here is that the original poster was working on a waltz eight, which is essentially a figure (it's actually on the Preliminary Figure Test). It's really hard to practice figures on an open session, although most of us don't have any other choice. I'm working towards my First Figure Test now, and only very rarely put my circles center ice - you're almost guaranteed to be in the way there. Depending on the session, I'll either put them on the short axis between the two hockey circles and the blue line, or on the long axis next to the boards, also between the hockey circle and the blue line, and not in a lutz corner. No matter where I've placed them, I always yield to skaters who need to cut through my circles. It's not a patch session, so it's not reasonable to expect them to avoid "my" portion of the ice, especially since I'm likely to be there for an extended period of time. With only two skaters on the ice, I probably would have explained to the other skater what I was going to do and asked her where I'd be least likely to be in her way - I've done that with a high level pair team and it worked out fine.

At one Club I belonged to years ago, the music monitor REFUSED to start the skater's music until s/he was wearing the sash. If you gave her a hard time or took too long, you lost your turn. No one argued, and I have to say that I don't ever remember the coaches having to "jump the line" for lesson students. The session was two hours, that's probably why -- plenty of time for everyone to get in a few runthroughs.

When I skated, it was no big deal to go around a few other people, even if they were in the middle. We just went down the side as if it was a public session and we had to "go with the flow." I guess we were more flexible because we skated on a lot of public sessions and had to fit jumps into crowd gaps while playing (sort of ) by the session rules. Sure helped during competitions when we could move a jump three feet over because there was a huge divot missing from someone else's jump. I teach my kids and students to be flexible and respectful of the ice space.

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Ugh. There is one rink I HATE skating at because the coaches who tend to mainly work with young/low level/basic skills kids will hog up one corner the whole time, and ALWAYS the corner that people who jump R handed use for lutzes.

We have one coach at my rink who's really bad about this stuff. Why she's coaching is beyond me (sorry if it sounds mean, but she can hardly skate herself, she's REALLY hard to be on a session with when she's skating for herself because she doesn't look where she's going, and panics if you get too close to her, and she's the same way coaching), and not only does she have her kids (young basic skills skaters) work mainly in the center of the rink with her right there next to them, but she doesn't pay attention to others around them and neither of them can move out of the way fast enough. If you're a coach and can't stand by the wall while your kid is skating on a more crowded session, or you need to be right there helping them, you move off to a corner or end of the rink, stay as close to a side wall as possible, or (since I understand that's not always possible), you need to be extra conscious of your surroundings. I almost plowed them both down because I was doing a run-thru of my program (with music, during a lesson), was going through my step sequence (mostly backwards), yelled "coming through the center" as I started my step sequence to warn people, and they still just kind of both stood there totally in their own world. That's dangerous.

__________________
2010-2011 goals:
Pass Junior MIF test
Don't break anything

Depending on what type of session it is, sometimes the center is reserved for lessons. However, this is usually on a public.

Kay

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I have to say, I find that kind of unfair. If your music is playing, it's not like you can just set up the element again 10 seconds later. A skater in a lesson can just wait two seconds for the one other person to pass them, and go at their element again. I mean, you could have 10 people in lessons - who gets the right of way, lesson vs. lesson? Only one person at a time is getting their music played. Then again, at my rink, most people only get to play their programs once.

Not to mention that someone in lesson may be clear across the rink from their coach so it's hard to know who's in lesson or not.

I'm talking about the skaters that are not in lesson but are messing around and playing their music over and over again. This was spelled out in our rules that they would not be given right of way. The kids need to understand the difference between "in lesson with music playing" and "not in lesson and allowed to play music when there is no line at the music box" which really had been discussed in length at several club meetings.

Our club does try to be fair and accomodating to skaters, but some have to bend-after all you can't please everyone. Skaters in lesson skating to their program music do get #1 priority.

As for skating figures such as the waltz-8, yes it's hard to set it up on a full session, sometimes it's possible to set it up just between the large center circle and one of the corners, on the side and do it sideways or between the two corners close to the goal line (this is where my coach prefers).

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

Thank you for saying this! It was my first thought too. As the other skater, I would have been quite upset if a coach had monopolized the center of the ice for an entire 30 minutes.

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"The only place where success comes before work is in a dictionary." -- Vidal Sasson

"Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway." -- Unknown

That's where something like a vest or belt come in handy. It's usually pretty easy to get your music in more than once on our sessions. Particularly since I'm working on a new program, if no one is in line, and I want to work out choreography, see how something works with the music, run a short section, or something like that, I just don't bother putting on an orange belt (or maybe I'll just wear one the first time). If I'm doing the last 30 sec of my program over and over and over to get the steps down and have a chance to do it with the music because no one else is using the sound system, I don't expect people to stay out of my way the whole time.

__________________
2010-2011 goals:
Pass Junior MIF test
Don't break anything

When preparing a student for a MIF test that requires the waltz-8 (Pre-Preliminary or Pre-Bronze) it is important to have the skater do this move in all of the three places they may be put for their test. Those three places are at one end between the hockey circles, at the other end between the hockey circles, and in the very middle of the rink. I do not teach this move in any of those places, but as proficiency improves and test time draws near, I do have my students skate this move in the possible test spots. I agree that one spot should not be hogged for an entire 30 minutes, but since there are no longer patch sessions at most rinks in the US, and since this is now part of the MIF test structure, it must be done on whatever session is available for MIF. I don't think 15 min is too much time, if it is really needed.

What I see as a much bigger problem, is the self centered behavior of too many coaches. The only thing they see is themselves and their students. No one else exists. This is both rude and dangerous. Last week I was teaching on a freestyle, and very clearly using about 4 lousy feet of a blue line, when another coach brought his student over and obviously expected me to move. I ignored him and he got the message and moved himself. Probably didn't like it, but I don't care. He also just needed a small amount of space - so pick a different space!!! WTF.

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My coach did tell me that the judging panel sometimes aligns your waltz-8 circles in weird places to squeeze people in. So, you should practice them in different places.

Sometimes we do have girls practice 3-4 pieces of music each session. After a while we do recognize who is skating to it....but at first it is hard to recall which piece is it. We usually are looking around and asking everyone "who's music is this?"

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

When I had to skate w ppl who played their program music over and over (not on lesson) I would get out of the way the 1st and 2nd time then I wouldn't get out of that person's way anymore (unless they were on lesson). I just thought it was unfair for one person to expect everyone else to step aside so they could do their program for a whole session.

Kay

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the only time I make an exception to this is during show rehearsal. Then it's like, what can you do?

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

Hey, it's not just skaters that feel this way! As a coach, I've seen many other coaches monopolizing the center of the ice (mainly for waltz 8s) making it difficult not only for my students but for other skaters to run through their MIF, for example, especially at the Intermediate-Senior levels.

Regardless, I think it all comes down to common courtesy. Both skaters and coaches need to be aware (if even just for safety's sake) of where others are skating, whose program is on, who is on lesson, etc.

On such an empty session it would have been totally fine to run the move a couple of times in the center- no problem at all. Just not a whole lesson, setting up the circles ahead of time and whatnot...if you're ready to run it in the center then you no longer need the circles drawn IMHO, and if you're not you can learn them equally well anywhere else in the rink (since the coach is drawing the lines anyway).