Adjusting to Different Rink Sizes

[SkatingOnClouds]

I am curious how people go adjusting to different rink sizes. I skate on a 1/4 size rink, which is very small. I find I build up speed very quickly and that really restricts the way I skate. Makes me really cautious about jumping too because I run out of room quickly, so I don't take anything very fast.

There is an adult competition coming up in June on a 3/4 size rink. Wondering how I could adapt my program, but also how to cope with skating much faster to cover the surface and because it is a faster surface.

Anyone else out there had to adapt to a much large rink in a very short time, if so, tips would be welcome.

[doubletoe]

Wow, that's a tough one! The worst I've had to deal with is going from an NHL size to an Olympic size. . . How far away is the closest full sized rink?

BTW, my license plate holder says, "Ice Skate, Therefore I Am" and I think I may have posted it here awhile ago. If that somehow inspired your signature line, I am honored! :)

[flo]

Push! I love skating on big ice. One coach described it as being able to put on sweats after wearing too tight jeans!

Enjoy the added room.

[dooobedooo]

Arrive a day early so that you can try out the competition ice for size.

Make sure that you position your program in the centre of the competition rink (ie. don't drift off to the sides).

Do exactly the same program as you normally do. You will find that on some of your moves you can make a lot of speed, but if you indulge this in a live situation without working it out first, you may end up trapped in a corner for the rest of the program.

I've seen people from small rinks score very well in competition - even if they don't cover a lot of ice - provided that their elements, presentation, posture, extensions and bodylines are good. I think it is much harder to scale down a program from a bigger rink to a smaller one. Have fun and good luck!

[kateskate]

I skate on smaller rink - 50m x 20m. And usually compete on 56m x 26m or 60m x 30m. Recently, I've tried to practise on a bigger rink before competitions just so it doesn't scare me on the day! Or if you can get onto a patch session at the competition rink the day before or morning before?

I have to say though once I'm skating I don't really notice the fact that the rink is so much bigger and I do seem to fill it reasonably well. I think looking at it before is the scariest thing - scarier than actually skating on it!

Good luck

[SkatingOnClouds]

Wow, that's a tough one! The worst I've had to deal with is going from an NHL size to an Olympic size. . . How far away is the closest full sized rink?

BTW, my license plate holder says, "Ice Skate, Therefore I Am" and I think I may have posted it here awhile ago. If that somehow inspired your signature line, I am honored! :)

Closest full size rink? I guess Sydney, a couple of hours and probably around $250 return airfares. I am in Tasmania, the little island state at the bottom of Australia - Under Down Under in fact. Our rink is 80m x 30m, I think.
Hey doubletoe, maybe it was your license plate holder that inspired me. Cool.

Is it hard though, to skate faster and go into elements at that faster speed?

[AW1]

I am curious how people go adjusting to different rink sizes. I skate on a 1/4 size rink, which is very small. I find I build up speed very quickly and that really restricts the way I skate. Makes me really cautious about jumping too because I run out of room quickly, so I don't take anything very fast.

There is an adult competition coming up in June on a 3/4 size rink. Wondering how I could adapt my program, but also how to cope with skating much faster to cover the surface and because it is a faster surface.

Anyone else out there had to adapt to a much large rink in a very short time, if so, tips would be welcome.


Karen, not me personally but I can tell you how the kids from Townsville do it when they come down to Brisbane.

They apparently cut elements from their programmes to fit in the extra 'skating' around the rink. They all seem to manage to adapt in a day or so, so I would suggest trying to get there a couple of days before the comp if possible.

Are you thinking of going to Masters in Melbourne?

[singerskates]

What about going from NHL size to a rink 2/3's the size? I already fill the NHL size rink with my programs. So when I go to practise at a smaller rink I tend not to practice my programs and just do elements; jumps and spins.
I use to skate on a rink that was half the size of NHL sided rinks and then for my first competition I went to compete on an Olympic size rink without trying one out first. I couldn't fill the rink when I did that. I also had just begun skating with a skating club 7 months before that and I really stunk then. I was really slowwwwwwwww!

Has anybody gone from NHL or Olympic to a smaller than NHL size rink for competition? What did you do to fit your program into the smaller rink?

[aussieskater]

Closest full size rink? I guess Sydney, a couple of hours and probably around $250 return airfares. I am in Tasmania, the little island state at the bottom of Australia - Under Down Under in fact. Our rink is 80m x 30m, I think.


Karen, I'm not sure whether there's a full size rink (or close to it) in Melbourne any more? I know it's a bit academic because that's still a plane fare and an interstate trip.

BTW, did you mean 80m long or 8 m wide?? :) (I suspect you meant that your ice is 8 m wide?)

[SkatingOnClouds]

BTW, did you mean 80m long or 8 m wide?? :) (I suspect you meant that your ice is 8 m wide?)

I just checked the entry information for our last comp, and it stated the ice surface is 18m x 30m, but you're right, I would be very surprised if it were 18m. Maybe it is actually feet rather than metres.:lol:

And yes, I am thinking of going to Masters in Melbourne, but rather lukewarm on the idea at the moment. It is in June, and the adult silver division is highly competitive I am told. I suspect I might even have to compete against my coach :!:

As I am also working on Elementary 1, and we have a technical comp around that time ( the only time we get a judge who can judge ISA tests) I may have to choose between Masters and that.

[aussieskater]

And yes, I am thinking of going to Masters in Melbourne, but rather lukewarm on the idea at the moment. It is in June, and the adult silver division is highly competitive I am told. I suspect I might even have to compete against my coach :!:

As I am also working on Elementary 1, and we have a technical comp around that time ( the only time we get a judge who can judge ISA tests) I may have to choose between Masters and that.

Re competing at silver: did they make silver anything over prelim?? ( 8O ) (For the non-Aussies, the prelim test is the 8 basic edges in half-circles. There is no freeskate.) I don't blame you for not wanting to compete against your coach...erk! 8O 8O :roll: :)

[SkatingOnClouds]

Oakleigh Masters has divisions based on standard, not tests passed. There are restrictions on what can be performed at each level except open.

Adult silver you only have to perform like 1 jump and 1 spin, or 2 jumps or 2 spins, but you can perform any single jump except axel, including combinations, and I don't think there is any restriction on spins you can do.
If you can do axels but not doubles, you go into Adult Gold. If you can do doubles or triples 8O you go in Adult open.

It is an artistic comp, also there is an interpretive comp, but I don't yet understand the difference. It isn't what we call a zip, where you hear the music for a while then make up a program to it, so I don't know what it is.

Oakleigh is a much bigger, faster surface than our rink and I worry how I would adapt to that for a 2minute 10 second program.

[doubletoe]

Closest full size rink? I guess Sydney, a couple of hours and probably around $250 return airfares. I am in Tasmania, the little island state at the bottom of Australia - Under Down Under in fact. Our rink is 80m x 30m, I think.
Hey doubletoe, maybe it was your license plate holder that inspired me. Cool.

Is it hard though, to skate faster and go into elements at that faster speed?

Yikes! Melbourne would be too far, not to mention Sydney! So scratch that thought, LOL!

It is hard to go into elements at a faster speed than you are used to, only because the timing will be different, not because it is inherently harder (in fact, some elements are easier with speed). Generally, you will need a deeper knee bend and a farther/wider reach to make up for the fact that you are covering more ice in less time (especially on something like a flip or lutz takeoff). I second the idea of going a few days early to experiment with placement on the larger rink, and I also agree with centering the program on the ice surface and staying away from the sides of the rink. That way you can cover more of the length of the rink instead of using up your strokes covering both length and width. . . and it will LOOK like you're covering more ice. ;)

[jazzpants]

FWIW: When I was practicing my Bronze moves pattern this summer, most of my practice was done at my weekend rink, which is a bit bigger than my home rink. Of course, it drove me NUTS having to adjust my skating during my lesson b/c I got so used to skating the bigger rinks' pattern and keep getting too close to the walls by the time I've reached the end crossover patterns.

The funny part of it is that one of the judges wrote "Nice ice coverage." Given that day I actually skated thru a small ditch and managed to get really close to the walls on the end patterns without crashing into it, I think the "nice ice coverage" comment was well deserved. :lol: :P