Rink Etiquette (sp?) would be having a system at the at the CD player, so that everyone ques up their music and has a turn to do their program. Clubs should post the rules at the CD player, and SKATING ETIQUETTE would be that all skaters (young and old), coaches, and skating moms and dads follow the rules.

Deffinately

I also think that a list of guidelines should be posted in every rink, especially geared towards the public, ie if there are practicing skaters on the ice please try to keep out of the middle and give them some space in the interests of safety.

Another thing that tends to get completely ignored is the rules about agressive speed skating, during public sessions this is ignored and no one seems to enforce this rule.

I wonder how many rinks have problems with agressive teenagers out to impress causing havoc and hell with little regard for anyone but themselves?

I know this thread is geared more towards freestyle sessions but I believe there should be some more sort of control during public sessions also.

the management at my rink is actually pretty good about publics.

While those sessions are still impossible to practice on simply b/c of the no. of skaters, if you complain to a staff member about someoe seriously breaking the rules they get warned and depending on how bad it is may get kicked out.

Its really hard to have rules on publics though, since people who come for fun once a year or two can't be expected to be familiar with all the rules.

This thread is not necessarily geared toward freeskating. For instance, rink etiquitte could be kids not spitting out their gum all over the place for my blades to get stuck in. I guess that would be under "snack bar etiquette." Nonetheless, wouldn't it be nice to come to a rink that wasn't a pig stye!

How about stop spitting on the ice full stop or stop dropping candy papers all over the ice.

There were 3 teenagers on the public session I went to this morning who were hurling huge balls of ice at each other, sometimes from one side of the rink to the other over everyone elses heads! They were told a couple of times to stop but started up again as soon as the rink stewards were busy elsehwere

Clare

Sometimes, it would be nice to find toilet paper in the ladies room...Oh, or should I say "the little Princess's room!" Tee-hee, I'm thread morphing!

must one still go anticlockwise if there are only 4 people in the rink? Its abotu safety right, but believe me, we were all like snails...

How was i supposed to learn to turn the other way? either way, i can do it now, didn't take long

There is never any problems when I am there, everyone just out to have fun, and the experts always stay in the middle

I like that title - "Rink Stewards" - so much better than "Skate Guard."

Our rinks usually cuts the ice in the middle of a public session. We skate counter-clockwise during the first half, clockwise for the second half.

Our "rink etiquette" reserves the coned-off center for students taking lessons or for figure skaters when no one's on lesson.

__________________

They have "Steward" across the back of their jackets so I guessed at their actual title

That's interesting that you switch direction half way through a session- like switching ends at half time in football/soccer!

Half of the rink is coned off during group lessons but that's the only time, as far as I'm aware. The signs do ask people to keep the centre of the ice free- presumably for those on private lessons or trying to work on moves. In my very limited experience, I've found that most people seem to respect that during the evening public sessions but not so much at the weekend, where it seems to be a bit of a free for all.

Clare

Yes, I'd love that, too, as I often sit at a bench by the side of the ice to retie my laces. I suspect that the hockey players spit over the side of the boards onto the floor there, as the rubber mats smell so ***foul*** there. The mats don't stink like that in the areas without benches.

__________________
Ask me about becoming a bone marrow donor.
http://www.marrow.org
http://www.nmdp.org

At some rinks' public sessions, you can ask the ice guards to announce a change in the skating direction. Some rinks will do this for the last 15 minutes before a planned ice cut, and some will do this at regular intervals during the session.

__________________
Ask me about becoming a bone marrow donor.
http://www.marrow.org
http://www.nmdp.org

How about the most basic, simple first rule about freestyle sessions:

PAY AT THE FRONT DESK AND SIGN IN BEFORE GETTING ON THE ICE!!!

This has been a constant issue at my rink! Usually it's a new skater or skaters who either 1. Doesn't know or 2. Gets on the ice because they can
During this past season, on Saturdays especially, it got to the point where the skating director or the cashier would bring the freestyle book to the ice to verify who was signed in and paid as opposed to who was not.

Another rule:
If you want to talk to your friends, do it off the ice, not in the center!

One more:
Unless you are in program, please do your spins in the middle.

__________________
Adult Nationals, 2009 "The Time of My Life"

No cell phones. (Sorry, Casey, just MHO) Especially for the Ice Stewards. (Love that title!)

__________________

My skating director will chase you down and let you know (in a nice way) not to have cell phones on the ice...then let the rink manager know that you had one on the ice and the rink guards didn't catch you

and don't ever try to skate carrying a small child or baby!!! We actually had someone DROP theirs! They even tried to blame the rink for bad ice! They could barely skate themselves! Luckily, no one was hurt (just a bruised knee) and the child wasn't hurt.

The skating director and/or rink manager will hunt you down and kick you off the ice for that if they see you!!!

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

Pairsman2 and I skated at this one rink for awhile at night. We would always try to pay, but no one would be in the office to collect our $$$. This happened repeatedly. Then one night management comes up to us like we are "criminals" asking us for all of this back pay. We explain that we tried to pay, and pointed out that it is not our job to run around finding someone to pay. If they run a professional business they should have someone at the front office to collect $$$, not leave it as a guessing game for the skaters, and then have the ordacity to treat us like criminals! So, we finally left that rink and give our $$$ to a rink that knows how to collect it--someone is always at the front desk at this other rink. Yes, important to pay first, but also important to run a rink like a business and have someone to collect the fee. Don't you agree?

Oh, before I forget. You know what would be really nice ediquette? For rink management to, at the very least, put air fresheners in the locker rooms. After the hockey wonks are in there--it is soooooo smelly--IT IS DISGUSTING!

I mean, how much does air freshener cost?

After reading this, I thought of the afternoons where I'd be waiting, punchcard in hand to get the thing punched!
Also, if the session is to start at 6:50, it needs to start at 6:50- not 6:55 or 6:59. We are having a problem with the guy that does the ice to get it resurfaced so the session begins on time. One parent came after the staff on Friday morning, explaining that her daughter is in summer school and being 5 minutes late is still late!

__________________
Adult Nationals, 2009 "The Time of My Life"

Hey, if it's a business, run it like a business. I'm a paying customer, I come there to skate, not to clean their house! I have a job of my own, and don't ask anyone else to do it! It's infuriating!

I went to a session once; there was no one at the counter (he was in the back on the phone to his girlfriend) so I paid at the snack bar). I got on the ice. Halfway through the session, I get "paged" to come off the ice because, according to him, I didn't pay....I explained that I paid at the snack bar and he could call the woman at home to verify with her that I paid (he didn't like the fact that he was in trouble again for missing admission fees). He was really snotty about it...the clock was ticking and it was a 45 minute session. I told him to take it up with me the next day and he could count the drawer if he wanted and I would check with the rink manager also

This guy is a teenager and very snotty most of the time; I'm hoping that he doesn't work there very much this coming year as he is in everybody's business and doing these power-plays.

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

at lovepairs's request... my rin's right of way:


1) a skater with a coach that is skating a program (with their music on)
2) a skater with a coach
3) a skater without a coach skating a program (with their music on)
4) a skater without a coach practicing


the idea is that everyone who is below you on that priority list must yield.

For example, a practicing skater has to yield to a skater practicing their program.

Music is rotated and only a coach in a lesson can interrupt the rotation but must return it to how it was so their student can't hog the tape.


obviously this is only for freestyles. Would be extremely hard to enforce on a public

This is what our club posts next to the tape and CD player at the rink:

http://www.gafsc.org/forms/etiquette.pdf

Rob

__________________
Geriatric Figure Skating Crew - President for Life!
Georgia Figure Skating Club - President (again)
Facebook
____________________________________________
"I'm too old to die young, and too smart to be happy" - Kinky Friedman, The Mile High Club

2010 Adult Nationals - earning a gold - "Priceless"
2009 Adult Nationals - competing with a cold is not much fun.
2008 Adult Nationals - Too little sleep, too much vodka!

At my rink the priority is:

• Skater in program with music
• Skaters in lessons (this is usually at least half the skaters on the ice though )
• Everyone else

Generally anyone who wants to do their program can get a chance, with the exception of some crowded higher-level sessions during the summer. For those sessions, the skaters who are signed up for the session (rather than picking up) have their music played in a different order each day, and after that rotation is done anyone picking up the session can get their music played.

__________________
Where are those knives when I need them?
----------------------------------
I need a detachable left foot!

And these are our club's rules, which must be read and signed before skating on club ice. (Note that our primary rink has its own figure skating sessions, which do not use these rules.)

SCNC club ice rules

Rich,

The rules are good and particularly, since they are posted. I believe my rink has rules in the membership packet, but they aren't posted. I think posting them, and keeping them in front of everyone all of the time makes a big difference.

About posting things: I would like to see a post at all rinks that explains and diagrams what a lift lane is, because apparently coaches are not teaching their student about the "lift lane." Over and over, again, we've had pretty competent kids skate right into out lift lane when they see us coming. First of all, we always look for a clearing before attempting a lift, but there is also a "blind spot" in the lift, which occurs the moment the woman goes up. There is plenty of time for skaters to clear the lane when they see us coming, because the "set-up" is essentially a semaphore that signals the lift.

Coaches, please tell your kids what a "lift lane" is.

Thanks Beach, that was really helpful! Much appreciated...Lovepairs