I've done contract ice before and we're starting it again at our rink.
Problem is, AFTER the deadline, the schedule was changed to where sessions were cancelled because of insuffient interest. After I lost a hour of time due to the cancelled sessions, I readjusted my time to only find out that the time I readjusted is lost AGAIN!

Anyone out there have any experiences with contract ice??

Let's just say I'm lucky to be living in Chicago, where if you don't like how the rink is run, there's another one 20 min away....

I was having major job changes, so the only way I could get my lesson in was to go to a rink near my home from 5:30-6am. That was fine, but the price of the ice (contract or walk-on) was $10 per 1.5 hours. I was also working at the rink at the time and given no benefits past my pay. (The teenage hockey players, however, had free ice whenever they wanted it, and if they were on an adult league, they had no league fees. ) I figured since I worked at the rink and was only using a couple of half hours before the summer session started (I planned to skate closer to work), that I would just pay $5 per half hour. The rink docked my pay until I had paid back the $30 of ice time I "stole", which is funny because I NEVER USED THE ICE.

Now I've changed rinks, and because I guard public skate, I get most of my ice for free. This rink has punch cards (a great idea in my opinion). You pay as you skate, so you never have to worry about paying for ice that ends up cancelled. The fee is more reasonable ($8-10/hr vs. $12 walk-on), and you can decide on Tuesday if you want to skate on Wednesday. It's also helpful if you want to schedule extra lessons befor AN's for example.

(And yes, Cinderella, that's why I refuse to skate at the place you call home. And this story is the straw that broke the camel's back... )

Erin
who is trying out a new rink near her consulting assignment and enjoying it very much!

We tried punch cards- they were 20 1 hour sessions for $200.00.
Actually, it's my hope that they use the "calendar" method, some people cannot commit to skating the same days every week, due to other committments.

During most of the season I buy a block of sessions, usually 100 for a great price. When we skate a session we sign in, and that session is then marked off in the office.

But during summer, we contract for ice sessions in advance. So if you can't make the session, you lose. It's impossible for me to know in advance when I'll skate, so I just pay a walk on.

My club has contract-only ice. It is split into Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer. We also have a policy of "switches" - if you miss a session, you can make it up later (or earlier if you know you won't be attending).

It works well for me but I have a pretty consistent schedule and not a lot of reasons to miss. Other people who go out of town, compete a lot, and buy a lot of ice sometimes get stuck with a lot of ice to make-up. This has led to people underbuying the ice and using switches to get in their desired hrs/wk.

I have a pretty big club so our ice isn't usually cancelled. When it is cancelled for hockey tournaments and the like - which is so ridiculous as I am at a 4-rink complex - we know well in advance. Also, all our ice is through the club and not the rink, so there's consideration for the members/skaters.