Say.I've always wondered about that. What exactly IS a Freestyle Session like? I want to hear it right from the words of my fellow Skaters. Please include what YOUR most recent Freestyle Session was like. BTW. am I right to say that when there's anything else practicing on the ice other then Freestyle (Pairs/Ice-Dance ep.) that they call the Session by that Discipline name? Thanks.

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FSWer

If there are enough skaters at the rink, they'll create separate sessions for low-level freestyle, high-level freestyle, dance, moves or figures. At smaller rinks or those with fewer figure skaters, the schedule usually just includes a few "Freestyle" sessions.

I taught on a freestyle this morning. There were four young skaters on the ice. All of the girls were taking lessons with their coaches. The lessons consisted of learning new footwork, reviewing jumps, practicing moves patterns. Only one girl skated a program to music over the loudspeaker. The rest of the time, nothing was on the soundsystem.

Contrast that with last week's freestyle at around the same time. There was a test session coming up that weekend, so there were around 10 skaters, most of whom were practicing for the tests. The coaches mostly stayed in a hockey box so they'd be out of the way. 2-3 skaters were doing high-level moves patterns that have a set pattern, but the coaches and skaters on lesson weren't always sure which way the pattern went, so there was a lot of maneuvering out of the way or around others. When someone wasn't playing their program music and trying to rehearse, there was a "listening" CD on the soundsystem. It was just to provide some background noise.

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Depends on the rink's definition of "freestyle." If the club runs the session, then it's all Pre-Pre and up skaters on the ice with coaches and an ice monitor to play music. Spins are limited to one area and skaters are expected to watch out for each other and yield to the person whose music is playing.

If the rink runs the session, there could be anything from senior level skaters working double and triple jumps and flying spins down to kids in helmets tottering around in rental skates. (Not ideal, but the rink will allow anyone who pays onto the sessions they run; "freestyle" to them means "no hockey.") Last winter we had a couple of coaches teaching group lessons as overflow from the Learn-to-Skate classes. It's all very flexible. I have learned not to contract rink ice because of that. At least if I pay the walk-on fee, if I see that the session's getting too crazy, I can walk off and generally get my money back - or at least credit for a different session. When it comes to music, the rink is supposed to have a box rinkside but it may or may not be there, depending upon whether anyone asked for it before the office closed. If it is there, it's play-it-yourself and hope that one coach isn't monopolizing it. The last couple weeks with ISI Worlds nearby, the only people who got their music played at all were the kids competiting there.

blue111moon- I have the opposite experience of club run vs rink run. Our club sessions are more likely to have club kids playing tag than the rink freestyle (since rink is more expensive than club the parents don't let them get away with it).

For us freestyle (rink run) means anyone who pays the fee. In general, that means no public skaters, but there is no guarantee an unsupervised 3-year old won't be shuffled out there by his parents in rental skates. The skate counter is supposed to be closed during freestyle (so the minimum qualification is "owns skates", but if skates have been left out, or it's open, parents sometimes just go grab them.

But since it's rare to see a public skater on freestyle, I'd say the lowest level generally present is Basic 4 in private lesson. We've had skaters up to Junior Men and Novice pairs out there. Pairs practice on the same sessions as everyone else. We don't have any great ice dancers, but low level dancers use the same sessions, as do skaters doing MITF or figures (not much of that).

We have no ice monitors, or music monitors- it's always a free for all. For club ice, there is a club official taking money, but they don't do anything with the session itself. Luckily the rink is never too crowded, so it's usually not too hectic.

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-Jessi
What I need is a montage...
Visit my skating journal or my Youtube videos (updated with 2 new videos Sept 26, 2009)

Great definition. I have taught at rinks where that they allowed beginners on hockey skates/full pads and power skating lessons for hockey players on the freestyle sessions.

You're right though: the club sessions tend to be for the more serious skaters who are planning to test or compete outside of Basic Skills. The rink freestyles are a free-for-all at times. We do have a lot of beginners in helmets and rentals during the season. One rink I worked for required that they had to be with an instructor at all times if they were below Basic 4, and they were only charged half-price since they had to get off when their lesson was over. Not every rink has that rule. So a beginner might take a 15-minute lesson then have a half-hour of ice left over to wander around as a moving obstacle.

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My first time in freestyle, my general impression was of twenty oriental girls doing double axels with big, scary toepicks and zooming around at 30mph, intent on squashing me. And did I mention how they only come up to my upper waist, so I can't see them if I'm looking straight ahead? I was with my coach, who watched out for me, but when she left at the end of my lesson I had an urge to grab her leg and refuse to let her leave me.

Of course, not all rinks have twenty or fifty elitist skaters that skate all morning, and if you go to an early afternoon freestyle it's nearly empty.
Generally there is nobody with rental skates and you will sometimes see a Basic level skater. Here, freestyle, skaters generally do jumps at the ends and around the middle circle. Coaches keep their skaters moving around the rink and the music system is controlled by either skater or coach. I've found that all of the skaters are courteous when I am doing my pitiful FS2 program to the music. Maybe they feel sorry for me.

My rink has High (single axel and above) and Open sessions. It costs twice as much as public, and they are generally run from 7:30AM to varying times in late afternoon/early evening, depending on the month and day. There is no freestyles on the weekend.

The ice is resurfaced every two hours, so it never gets chewed up so badly as to not be able to skate properly. There's a sign-in sheet and so far I haven't really seen anybody checking to make sure everybody on the ice have paid. They run freestyle in one rink and only that one rink (I guess because that rink is the one with the harness) and the other rink is either empty or for public and group/hockey.

FSWer, it really depends on your rink's amount of freestylists and what time you go as to how nice a session it'd be.

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My rink: 2 senior level girls, about 10-15 below that level working on programs, moves, etc, 2-3 adults working on whatever, 4-5 very young kids skating all around (I'm talking can barely swizzle), usually 5-10 Learn-To-Skater's learning a show routine (only on for show practice then they must leave the ice), 2-3 ice dancers/pairs working on dances/routines, and a smattering of about 5-6 girls playing tag or slide-through-whoever-is-having-lessons-or-spinning.

We only have Open sessions as of yet. Hopefully they will add or split sessions once they become more crowded. And all the freestyle sessions are at either 2:30 pm or 3:30 pm during the week or 8:30 am on Saturdays. Kind of a bummer if you work or can't get out of school early.

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

Ha ha--it can be intimidating at first, but hang in there and you'll get used to it. Remember, you stated once that you'd like to coach in the future, so freestyles will be your bread and butter. Also (neutral tone here) I believe most Asians do not like to called Oriental anymore.

To add to the posts above, freestyle at my rink means it is time to work. Skaters warm up, take lessons (if applicable) and work on practicing and improving thier skills. We don't waste time by chatting or socializing on the ice. Unless sick, skaters stay on the ice for the entire session they paid for.

I prefer to skate on freestyles since I can tell what people are working on and get out of the way if necessary and vice versa. There are no idiots playing tag, crack the whip, making out, talking on their phones, and other similar activities.

My rink usually just has a few girls of various ages skating around. I'm usually the weakest skater on the ice... Working on a two foot spin and polishing up some other things. Although I'm learning field moves now, which are kind of fun.

I'm not sure if they let me use this ice time because I really can't practice during public ice (I'm visually impaired and I can't work on stuff and try not to hit people at the same time. I mean, its fine for free style because there is mutual looking-for, but the DARNED HOCKEY KIDS ARE ALWAYS RUNNING ME OVER! ARG!) or, if they just like that I pay them! Either way, I've seen girls as young as 5 (getting private lessons) and as old as 30. For some reason I've seen very few adult skaters, even though I know they are there somewhere.

People work on programs, jumps, spins, what-ever really... I haven't been skating long enough (or I'm just really unobservant) so I don't know when the competitions are.

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So basicly if there are enough Skaters then they also devide by what level the Freestyler is at,right? BTW. are Public Skaters allowed to go INTO the Rink to watch as long as you don't bother the Skaters?

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FSWer

In my rink, on club ice, the answer is, no. If you come with someone, one of the skaters or their family, then yes, you could sit in the stands and watch. But otherwise, the club doesn't allow strangers in the rink during club ice, for the protection of the skaters. We've had incidents in the past with perverts trying to get access to the kids so we have to be extra cautious.

On rink-run sessions, I don't think they're as strict But still, unless you know a skater already it could be seen as suspicious if you just came in and wanted to watch a practice.

The only way I could see it being deemed okay is if the public session was just before or after the freestyle session. Then you could probably come early or stay later and watch. But none of the sessions at my rink are scheduled like that. There's always hockey before and after freestyle.

The large training centers that have a separate area in the snack bar or a lounge area apart from the rink may have different rules. Mine is just a local hockey rink with limited space for spectators.

Yes to both questions. If there are enough skaters, a rink might offer different freestyle sessions for skaters of different levels. And, yes, at least at my rink, you could go watch a freestyle session if you wanted to. There usually aren't people watching except for parents, so if you go, expect people to introduce themselves and ask (in a friendly way) who you are and why you're there. You'll be a stranger to them, and they might want to check you out. Once they get to know you and find out how much you love skating, I'm sure no one will mind if you come to watch sessions.

I agree with Clarice--simply ask if it is okay to watch. I know if you asked first at my home rink we'd have no problem with you observing. Actually, it is pretty rare to give somone the boot. The only incident I can remember is some creepy guy who wanted to take pictures of the girls.

Perverts? You mean...kidnappers?

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FSWer

Maybe. Parents worry about their kids, and worry about strangers watching them too closely, taking pictures, etc. My rink is in a part of town where all kinds of strange people can wander in off the street, so we tend to watch people we don't know pretty closely. We're friendly, though, and sometimes we meet some interesting people. Once a guy we didn't know turned out to be a visiting artist, who stayed all morning and sketched us while we were skating. That was pretty cool.

Kidnappers, child molesters, who knows? We've had the creepy camera guy, a couple of drunks, a homeless guy looking to sleep in one of the locker rooms and just last month a couple came in and while the guy distracted the skating director with questions about the LTS program, the woman went through all the skate bags in the lobby and stole any cash she could find. The rink's not in the greatest neighborhood to begin with so we tend to be pretty cautious with strangers.

I know not all rinks are as strict as we are. Still, I think if I were you, I'd stick to rinks where you already know some people and they know you. The Charter Oak Open is coming up next weekend in Simsbury. You could get to see a lot of skaters then. The schedule's here:

http://www.charteroakfsc.com/CharterOakSchedule2010.pdf

Before we go on about more about an actual Session,to what it's like. Can anyone please explain to me how it would even be possible for a kidnapper to walk out with a skater with so many coaches,Freestyles,etc. around? It's easy just to open the door and walk into the Rink if I wanted to watch. But even though I understand were your coming from Bluemoon. I would find it very hard to walk out of a Rink through the Lobby with a little kid Freestyler and leave the bulding. Also here's another thing. I'm not sure about adults. But if were talking little,little kids. Don't parents,etc. have to sign them in and out? Also don't they have to prove there from the Skater's family? Not someone mascurating? (sorry if I spelled that wrong).

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FSWer

Thing is, people like that will simply watch the kid over and over, and perhaps follow them to their home. They just wait for an opening. A busy day at the rink, or a day when nobody is around, or a day when the kid is in the rink by themselves, taking their skates off while mom waits outside. My rink has several back doors that would be quite easy to slip through, also. Criminals are very smart.
Last week we had a murder suspect running around in the woods near the rink, so I was a bit cautious when going outside. He did get caught in the end, fortunately. Crazy person crossed I-75 twice, according to reports.

Oh okay, Asians then. I practice weaving through crowds while in public, seeing as hockey boys are far more dangerous than previously mentioned double jumpers. I think it's helped. And when I would eventually be coaching in freestyle, nobody would dare run me over

ARE YOU SERIOUS? BLUEMOON!!!! Do you mean Skatebags just put down unatended by Skaters? How is it the no one at the Desk saw her? If this is INDEED a couple WITH kids who want to skate. I'd sure would love to know the type of parents they are? BTW. Clarice, that's cool you got scetched. I didn't think it possible for even a pro artist to scetch while skaters a skating and doing moves. As they usually need you to be still. Are you able to get the pics and put them up for us to see? Also I'm surprised. Because I can give a sulution to the problem right now. If they had SEPERATE Level Sessions for the kids were the parents could go in too. Then even if people came in to watch parents would be there and the kids would be safer. If indeed were talking 4-5 etc. year olds. BTW. are you at an advantage if you know a Freestyler? For ex. because I know one of the Adult Freestylers. Does it put me at at least a better chance to go in if I could prove it?

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FSWer

I think even if you just called the rink and let them know you were coming it would be okay.

I think everyone is just very wary of random people lurking around. If the rink knew you just wanted to come and watch the skaters, you wouldn't be lurking.

(I skate at an ice rink in the middle of the mall. Everyone at the food court watches us. It's like skating in a fishbowl.)

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-Jessi
What I need is a montage...
Visit my skating journal or my Youtube videos (updated with 2 new videos Sept 26, 2009)

A Homeless Guy?!! Oh GEEZ!!!! What's next? BTW. about this couple you mentioned,and the LTS. Questions....was this a taking a advantage of needing issue...or a pretending to need issue? Did the couple REALLY NEED LTS. info. and WAS planning to sign up or sign their KID up for lessons,and took advantage of that to steal? Or did they just know LTS. info.would not be a suspicios thing and PRETENDED to need it? If it's number 2....talk about eating right out of somebody's hand!!!

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FSWer

I have no idea of the couple's motivation. As far as I know, they didn't have a kid at all; talking to the director was just a way to keep her busy so she wouldn't notice what was going on behind her back in the lobby.

My rink is not like the ones in Simsbury and Newington. It's old and designed for hockey. There is no front desk. The director collects walk-on money at the gate, or if she's not there, we pay in the office. On rink sessions, there is no monitor. There are security cameras in the rink and the lobby, which is how they caught the woman going through bags. Generally other than the director (who is also a coach) and the manager, there aren't any other rink employees around. There's no snack bar and the skate shop guy isn't always there. Parents either drop their klids off at the front doors or if they come inside, they sit in the stands. So the lobby is unattended.

The manager has said that he's had people trying to break into the soda and snack machines before for the money inside them. Like I said, the rink is not in a great part of the city.

The artist could have been doing what are called gesture drawings, where they do incredibly quick sketches of people or objects. It's so they can grasp the idea of the figure without doing an entire completed thought out sketch. I just got back from studying abroad in Italy where we had to do that and when people realize you're sketching them, they act weird. One guy posed for me, and some other guys started shouting "Ciao, Bella! Ciao, Bella!" over and over again until I'd look. Others don't even notice. But my guess is that's what he was doing, to practice capturing a figure in motion. Hope that helped.

Yes, this is pretty much what he was doing. He did ask my partner and me to come pose at one point, so he could see exactly how we were doing a dance hold, but these were generally quick sketches without much detail. They were studies for a larger piece he's planning.

At my rink, bags are placed in the lobby, and are unattended. Just the way it's been since it opened. We are very rural (country) and there is a sense of: it's safe, no one will mess with it. That hasn't always been the case but for the most part is has been. There are almost always parents or adults sitting in the lobby and they do question strangers that are near a bag. The few times a robbery/theft has occurred has been during crowded public sessions with lots of teens/kids and not as many adults watching the bags.

And sometimes the person running the desk isn't always at the desk, and they aren't responsible for watching the bags. It is the skater's and their parent's that should make sure their bags are safe. It is the employees of the rink that are responsible for making sure the rink is safe from vagrants and other unsavory characters though.

As for the pictures, it's the same thing if you go to a kid's sporting event (soccer, cheerleading, etc) you can take pictures and do whatever you want with them without going around asking permission as long as the session is open to anyone off the street and not a club session. We had this discussion at a club meeting and it really opened the eyes of many of the parents. They got so restrictive last year, they prohibited ANY type of photography/video during club sessions...which meant I could not video my skating. I finally had to do so on public sessions.

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