Ask the Ice Moms: Unsafe Freestyle Ice

This question comes from a reader who is contemplating pulling her kids out of figure skating. The words in bold are mine – Ice Mom.

I have two daughters, ages 9 (FS1) and 10 (FS2-just passed). They have been skating for just over two years now, all from the same rink, and there are no other convenient rinks.They had a favorite coach (the rink manager), so we have them each take a half hour lesson, then practice ice time one or two times a week. Due to scheduling, my husband takes them for lessons and ice time. Since they started using freestyle skating time, we have had nothing but issues. It has escalated to the point where my husband wants them to stop skating.

Her girls not obeying rules. First, a parent approached my husband and told him that our girls were not obeying the rules and should not be on the ice. I believe they were following the rules I located and reviewed with them.

No one’s policing the ice. Our rink does not have an ice monitor during freestyle skating. It does not offer high or low level skate time, nor does it limit the number of skaters that are on the ice at any one time. There are girls that are ice bullies, and will skate up behind our girls and tell them to “get out of the way.” There is a very aggressive, young teen male skater that practices Axels repeatedly during his ice time.There are also a group of teen girls that skate two or three across.

Girls are getting knocked down. My husband’s main concern and issue however, is safety. He believes that it is dangerous to have teenagers flying along, and practicing higher level jumps along with our lower level, younger girls. They have been bumped into, knocked down and he is afraid they are going to get hurt. Their coach has always smoothed over the incidents, sometimes it is the girls’ fault, sometimes it was the other skater, sometimes just an accident. The issue is that there is a problem nearly every skate time, with both girls coming off the ice more than once to complain to their father.

No alternatives. Frustration reached an all time high yesterday, and my husband went to the person above our coach, complained about safety, and asked if they would consider adding a lower level skate option. He was told that skating is safe there and that the girls can handle themselves, and there will be no other options.

Husband wants girls to quit. My husband does not want them to skate there anymore, because he feels it is not safe. We just paid for the club session, and my husband has agreed to have them finish the session. They both want to continue to skate, but my husband feels betrayed by the attitudes at the rink, and by the non-committal response he received from the girls’ coach, who he believed had been looking out for their best interests.

I am not saying that my girls are blameless, as they may have been concentrating and made mistakes, but I honestly do not believe that it is possible that all of these incidents are their fault. I am willing to give lessons another try with another day/time, and take them myself, but I don’t know when they will practice. I don’t want them to quit skating, but I am absolutely stumped as to what to do. Suggestions?

Ship vs. kayak

From C.L., mom to a singles skater

As a frequent volunteer ice monitor I get complaints all the time about kids not moving out of the way. Our club even had a meeting about jumping lanes, spins in the middle, the lutz corner, etc. Often times I tell the kids to watch more carefully for the skater in the orange vest. Does it work….not really. I have noticed that if there are more than 20 skaters on the ice it’s going to be frustrating for all. Our club has rules about “group skating.” Most coaches will tell the girls to stop when this happens. Our higher level skaters are fast and perform the difficult jumps. I swear I see them circling the ice looking for an opening much like an airplane trying to land at LaGuardia. It is frustrating?….you bet. We don’t offer high and low freestyle because our club can’t afford it and ice time is limited during hockey season. We do have collisions but it doesn’t happen every session.

Here are my suggestions for this parent:

1st – talk to your coach about teaching your skaters on ice safety

2nd – have your skaters talk to the high level skaters and ask them for input (this creates a relationship of trying to work together)

3rd – Ask rink manager when the ice is less crowded and re-work your schedule to attend ice at that time

4th – attend freestyle session yourself (you may see things differently than your husband)

Last point…crowded freestyle sessions can be dangerous. Your skater should be very aware of everyone around her during these sessions.

Mommia mom to a singles skater

These stories always make me mad. n my opinion, 9 and 10 year old girls do not purposefully cause the issues. The older skaters should know better. That said, there may be unwritten rules they are unaware of – the kind that is assumed everyone knows. For example, at our rink it is assumed everyone knows that the skater whose music is playing has the right of way on the ice. However, this is not posted anywhere, and I find there are still skaters who are unaware of it. Thankfully, we seem to be blessed with teen skaters who are helpful (yes, there are teens in this world who think of people other than themselves. LOL) and don’t do the things you described. My advice is to have your husband or yourself at rinkside. Make sure you are visible to the other skaters, and make sure they know you are the parent of the girls. Basically, just make sure your presence is known and that you are watching. That may be all it takes. I find that usually no one will do anything if they know they are being watched. Perhaps pull out a video camera to tape your dc – and darn it if those other skaters keep getting caught on tape.

SeasonedSk8rmom, synchro skating mom and mom to a singles and synchro skater

The family that is having problems with the safety of their skaters, my heart goes out to your daughters. I remember how difficult it was for my daughter when she started skating on ice time that had high level skaters. She was very afraid and most of the time she will stand next to the boards and watch the higher level skaters skate, instead of practice. I found that the best time for my daughter to skate was in the morning. The morning ice time was not as crowded as the afternoon ice time at our rink. The morning skaters were too tired to be mean and were often times more respectful of the other skaters. I think morning ice skaters feel that if you are getting up that early to skate than you deserve some respect. I also realized that the morning ice was more economically beneficial. My daughter would often get to the rink in the morning and have the whole ice to herself.
You could also talk with other low level skaters parents and maybe get their opinion on the matter and also take a petition to your coach, rink manager, rink skating director, and club president, requesting separate ice time for lower level skaters. If you get enough support from other lower level skating parents the rink officials may see that there is a need to change their ice time policy.

If your rink does not offer morning ice and you have exhausted all options regarding who you can submit a grievance to, with the rink (coaches, rink manager, rink skating director, and club president), if your daughters still want to skate, and you are not able to switch practice ice time than you may need to consider another rink or quit skating. I hope that if you feel that your daughters have to quit skating please try to make this option a last resort. Take into consideration when making this your final decision to find out how serious your daughters are about skating and make it clear why you are making this decision for your daughters. I hope this helps, Seasonedsk8rmom

Sk8rmomp, mother of a male figure skater

If you feel your girls are unsafe, then stop skating on that session. Your children’s safety comes first. They are not going to love skating if they are continually intimidated. When DS was younger and less skilled, he refused to go onto the earlier sessions because he didn’t feel comfortable. People were moving too fast. He is now able skate on the early sessions and looks out for the little ones himself.

It seems like you are getting no support from the management or the club. This is terrible, but the number one issue is your children’s safety. It doesn’t matter who’s creating the situation. If there has already been contact and falling down, this is unacceptable. I totally believe that your children are trying their best to follow the rules, but if others are not sharing the ice, then no matter who’s fault it is, you need to remove your children for their safety. A good example is a car vs. pedestrian. Yes, the pedestrian had the right of way, but the car wins every time, and was it worth it to prove a point? Nope.

Find another time to skate and then when you are finished with your commitment to the rink for the ice sessions, look for another place that is more convenient (or ask for a refund explaining the situation). It is not worth your family’s aggravation. Let the rink know in a letter and in politically correct neutral language what the situation was that made you leave the rink (documentation and names, times and situations always give more weight to your letter. CC it to the club. They need to know that their bottom line is affected because of this situation.

Our club doesn’t have ice monitors and there are not enough skaters to have a separation between high and low test skaters except in the summer, and even then, the mid-level skaters get lumped in with the high test skaters and it’s not a happy situation. There is still tension, but that is the way it is (everyone makes the best of it). No one is entitled to bully. There is a code of conduct, but if no one is going to enforce it, it’s not worth the paper it’s printed on. If I saw my skater being a bully, I would stop it right away, and so should each IceParent or IceCoach. Luckily I don’t have to worry about that. He doesn’t want to injure anyone and is very careful of the little ones. After all, they have as much right to be on the ice as he does, and he knows this.

It’s not appropriate for the higher level skaters to act the way you are describing, but it seems like the situation will not change, even though you have tried. Unfortunately this is not uncommon, but not all rinks are like this. Find another one. Even public sessions are good, when your skaters are older, or more competent, then they will feel more comfortable on sessions like this.

Children often can sense when their parents are unhappy or worried and that will not help the situation. Get out of there. Find alternatives. They exist. Come to our rink, we would welcome you! So will others, I know it!!

Good luck!

From Allison Scott, mother of an Olympian and blogger at Life on the Edge

Wow. There are a couple of clues here that are really concerning: First, the coach is the rink manager? They have FS-1 and FS-2 on the ice with teen boys doing Axels? FS 1& 2 should be concentrating on what they are doing, not watching for freight trains every second. This is not as much your problem as it is a club and management problem. Saying that they are “not obeying the rules” is ridiculous. The posted rules are usually the STARS rules (that’s the rink managers association). I don’t know what Xan would say, but as a parent, I would be looking for some alternatives – like coaching on public ice until the girls are able to feel comfortable with their own skills and can handle the bigger and faster skaters. Then, I’d be having a serious conversation with the rink manager / coach. This is a recipe for some serious problems; there is also a rink liability if there are no controls, like numbers on a session. For right now, get those kids off the session and suggest to the coach that private lessons will cease if you don’t all find an adequate solution. In this instance, money may talk. That’s a pretty hardball approach, but your kids are your assets. You protect your assets.

From Xan, mother of a show skater and Jr. Nationals competitor, current figure skating coach, adult figure skater, and blogger at Xanboni!

- Her girls not obeying rules. For now, accept this as true. Lower level skaters sometimes run up against the rules without knowing they are doing it. To counter this, have them skate only with a coach for the next couple of weeks, with the specific mandate to have the coach observe them and explain the rules as they go. In the meantime, see if you can get the parents of an older skater who is a worst offender to mentor your girls. Ask if she can “babysit” them during a couple of practice sessions to show them what they are doing wrong. Pay her a babysitting rate for this.
- No one’s policing the ice. Girls are getting knocked down.This is a huge problem, and both issues are the same problem. If co-opting the enemy doesn’t work, this family needs to find some allies among the coaches and the other parents. Complain to club leadership. If it’s a USFS club, send a letter to Susi Wehrli at USFS (who manages, among other things, clubs and parent programs). Send a letter to the Professional Skaters Assn listing the names of all the coaches who are tolerating this situation. If kids are actually getting hurt, complain to your alderman. Complain to the local newspaper. Keep complaining. Find other parents who are also frustrated, you can’t be the only ones. Poorly policed ice is the major factor in accidents. Well-run practice ice has an upper limit of 25-30 free style skaters, fewer if it’s a mixed level session with low and high skaters, and fewer still if it’s high skaters only doing multiple rotation jumps. You pay a premium for practice ice because it is monitored by nonpartisan adults, and has fewer skaters. Well policed mixed level ice should have limits on moves– no complete Senior Moves patterns, no triple jumps, no Intermediate and above full program run-throughs, for instance. Lower level skaters ALWAYS get the right of way even when they are in the wrong (that’s just common sense). However, you have to tolerate the other kids yelling at them when they are in the wrong or doing something dangerous. If people are literally getting KNOCKED DOWN on practice ice, that’s ridiculous. I have never seen that. Accidental collisions yes; immature games of chicken, yes. But actual collisions should be rare, and are unacceptable. I can’t believe the coaches are tolerating this.
- Management won’t help. My guess is that dad went in there guns blazing and got their backs up. Try some of these other solutions, and then if things still don’t change go back, eat some humble pie, and try again. “We don’t want to quit, but we’re really concerned about everyone’s safety and we just don’t know what the girls are doing wrong.” Ask the manager to come and observe a session. This will stop the problem in its tracks, at least for that session. Every time the crap starts up again, go in again, asking for HELP not for change.
- Husband wants girls to quit. Don’t quit. At the very least, the girls will eventually take on the character of the practice session and grow an unpleasant attitude of their own, at least while on the ice. Then just make sure they don’t bring it home with them. But also ask yourself if you really want to be part of a program that tolerates this kind of behavior.

Well, readers? What do you think? What would you do if this happened at your rink? Would people tolerate it or would they shrug it off? What should the mom do? Should she keep her kids on the ice or shake the dust from their feet and never come back?

Photo credits:
Near-air collision: tghh on Flickr.com Creative Commons
Ship vs. Kayak: anoldent on Flickr.com Creative Commons

Helicopter Mom

Learning to skate freestyle ice is like learning to drive on the highway – it's obvious when you don't know the rules and dangerous for everyone. When I was a new driver, I got pulled over for tailgating because I really didn't know it was against the law! I thought it was completely appropriate to drive rightbehind the guy in front of me so he would know he shouldn't be in the left lane, that I wanted to pass him. The cop thought that was pretty funny. Still got a ticket though.

My suggestion to this mom would be to find some public sessions for her girls to skate. Unless my daughter was days away from a competition and needed to hear her music over the loudspeaker, we didn't regularly put her on freestyle sessions until she was learning her axel. There was no need. She could practice all her single jumps and have her lessons during a weekday public session (weekends are too crowded) and feel comfortable. She was very nervous when she had to skate during a freestyle session in the beginning and honestly, those nerves made her hang around the boards a lot more than I liked. But as she learned the “unwritten rules” (why are the most important rules always unwritten??) like not to linger in the lutz corner, stay out of the way of the person in the bright yellow belt because they are doing their program, and don't just skate straight out into the middle of the rink, she got more comfortable and was able to get the most out of those 45 minute sessions. Luckily we don't have bullying or aggressive skaters but we do have kids working on triples and they don't have the option of just practicing on a public session. Sure, they can skate in the morning – which I'm sure they do, and in the afternoon, and at other rinks… There just needs to be a way for skaters of all levels to coexist. Sometimes that means not to put a less experienced skater on a freestyle session until they're ready. Sometimes it means finding a coach who WILL look out for your girls' best interests. Sometimes it means you go watch what's happening with your own eyes before you decide you need to quit or change rinks. I like the idea of asking some of the higher level skaters or their parents for helpful suggestions. It may encourage one of the bullying girls to become their protector. It's hard to torment someone once you actually know them. And while there will certainly be parents who have lots of advice for you, there may also be parents who are experiencing the same thing and can back you up if you need to go to management again. They may not change the policy for two girls but if it turns out to be 10 or 12, they may have no choice. Good luck with it and I hope they keep skating!!!
lynnemv

First let me say that I'm sorry your daughters are getting bullied and intimidated on the ice. I hope you can either get the rink management to cooperate in adding some control, or that you can find another rink.

I guess I'm lucky in that there are several rinks in the area (within an hour drive) where my son can skate. He currently skates at 3 different rinks during the week, and each one is slightly different. At one rink, there are all levels of skaters on the ice, including some hockey skaters who are learning edges. When the ice is busy, it gets kind of crazy with the higher level moves being practiced as well as the multiple rotation jumps and the ice dance lesson that is also being taught on the session. There is an upper limit to the number of skaters allowed on the ice, but I'm not sure what it is. There aren't any specified ice monitors on the ice, but there are a number of coaches giving lessons, and they tend to police things. The only time I've heard a skater yell at another skater to get out of the way is when they're doing a program run, and they're wearing a bright orange belt and they have the right of way. Otherwise you can see the higher level skaters circling to find room to practice their jumps or moves. Yes it's frustrating to them, but there are no bullies at this rink and all the skaters look out for one another when they're on the ice. My son has been skating on this ice since he was at ISI FS1 level, and although it does get crazy, I've never thought it was dangerous.

The second rink where he skates also has all levels on the ice and again it can get crazy, but it's never seemed dangerous. There are near collisions, but since the skaters are looking out for one another, one or both are able to stop in time. On several occasions I've even heard skaters apologizing to to one another if they accidentally get in the way.

The last rink he skates at has a ton of ice, so if you can work it into your schedule, you have several options. They have low level sessions, high level session, Moves sessions, FS only sessions, and combined moves and FS sessions. They have recently enacted a new policy with sessions that are both FS and Moves. Unless you're getting a moves lesson, you can only practice moves for the first 15 minutes of these sessions. He skates at this rink the last 2 sessions on Friday afternoon, which are always very quiet.

It would be a shame for your girls to have to give up skating due to poor attitudes and behavior at the rink. If you can find a less crowded session, then that might make all the difference. Or another session when the bullies aren't skating. Unless the culture at your rink tends to breed bullies and you can't find a session without them. The idea of videoing the session is a good one. Especially if you have older kids not running through a program yelling at your girls to get out of the way. Then you have some proof of the bullying, because these skaters should either circle or go around your girls. My son has been skating for 6 years, and we've skating at several different rinks, and I've never seen anyone intentionally knocked down. And I've only seen about a half dozen collisions, which works out to 1 per year.

So a session that includes all levels of skaters can be safe if the skaters all watch out for one another. If you can't get the management at your rink to curb the bullying, then it would be in your daughters' best interest to find another rink, even if you have to drive an hour or two to get there.

Good Luck!
pghicemom

Adjusting to freestyle ice is tricky — and it varies from rink to rink. When my skater started on freestyle ice and the high level skaters were coming at her she froze like a deer in the headlights — even having people pull her out of the way. She is now the one coming down the ice dodging the less experienced skaters who are now staring at her like the proverbial deer. I think part of the issue is that the higher level skaters assume that everyone knows their program and the patterns, especially for field moves. It may be helpful to these skaters to watch what the others are doing to anticipate where they are going and what part of the ice they are using.
http://www.Halushki.com Jozet at Halushki

Great advice and observations, as always!

With my own skater, I'd describe the experience – even on a well run and mostly friendly freestyle rink – as group lessons being like driving through your neighborhood with your instructor as a second set of eyes in the passenger seat to going onto freestyle like driving alone and pulling out onto I-95 outside of Philly with a tractor trailer bearing down in the passing lane. It can be harrowing.

Some practices that have helped us:

1. When you go out onto the ice, note which coaches are out there (1.a. know the coaches) and know that they will probably be giving lessons, and that they and their skaters have right-of-way (at least at our rink.) Just getting into the habit of becoming more away of who is out there sets the tone for the rest of the session.

2. If mom or dad are watching in the stands, the temptation with my skater is to look over after every amazing jump or spin or fall on her butt. All it takes is that split second to see if mom or dad was watching to get clobbered by Gloria coming down the ice at 50 miles an hour prepping for her triple-doo-dad. Do your own jump, skate out of it with head's up (2.a. don't skate right back with head down to landing spot to check ice tracing to see if you cheated your jump), then skate to wall or – better – off ice to get the thumb's up from mom.

3. Skate with your head up, full stop. Just reminding my daughter that her feet will not leave the ends of her legs of she skates with her eyes forward (or behind if skating backwards) helps to keep her more aware.

4. Take breaks. Skating for 45 minutes straight can be a challenge in and of itself. It's tiring. Get off the ice every 10-15 minutes, have a drink, take a deep breath, check to see who else is out there (i.e. if Gloria is on the ice and she's getting ready to do her program; if the ice is getting more crowded, etc.) and what it makes sense to do next. If the ice is packed and you insist on doing your full program, you're setting yourself up for disaster.

5. Was this one mentioned? Set up a “crowded ice” and “low volume ice” practice schedule and use it as needed. There are some moves, spins, etc. that lend themselves better to crowded ice.

6. As a parent, I make sure to talk to, compliment, congratulate all the skaters at the rink. As well as being just a nice thing to do, this kind of goodwill can go a long way to extending to your kids on the rink. They may still get a reaction when they are at fault, but it won't be as harsh.
http://raisingfigureskaters.com/ Deb Chitwood

A lot of wonderful responses! That does sound like a horrible situation. Hopefully, you can get some help from the rink management. Otherwise, I think it really helps if you can find sessions that are less crowded. It’s difficult for crowded sessions to not be dangerous, even if everyone is trying to be safe. Also, it’s helpful if there is an orange vest or sash for the skater whose music is being played. One of my daughter’s early sewing experiences was making bright orange sashes for the rink.
Amy

Hey,

I think this is terrible, but I hope I can help with some clarity.

In no way am I condoning the actions of the other skaters, but I just want to explain how they are feeling. When you're a high level skater, you pay a lot for ice time, too, and it's frustrating to skate with lower skaters. Bottom line. It's frustrating. These girls dedicate a lot of time and energy to skating and take it pretty seriously. Right now, those skaters are looking at your daughters as a hindrance to their training time and are acting out because of it. I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just trying to be bluntly honest. This behaviour is not okay, but it is what it is.

It would be great if all parties involved could act like mature, responsible adults, but the reality is that you're not dealing with mature, responsible adults. You're dealing with teenagers. They lack the filled in frontal lobe that would allow them to think things through and come to a more reasonable solution. If their parents are 'rink moms', you're probably lacking a reasonable adult there, too.

Now, these things – frustration and teenagers – do not mean that this situation cannot be dealt with… it just means that you need to put on some kid gloves. I totally agree with the person who pretty much reccommended covorting with the enemy. However, I would bring it down to the girls. Yes, it's great for you to have a reasonable discussion with the parents of the older girls, but the best way to deal with it is to have your children deal with their children. This will take some instruction on your part. Your children need to get these girls on their side. If the older girls are not completely crazy, have your girls speak to them – have them ask for advice on how to make the practice better for both parties. If the older girls look at themselves as a help to your daughters instead of looking at your daughters as a hindrance to their practice time, everyone will have a better skate.

This solution in NO WAY places the blame on your kids… I still think the older kids are being mean and unfair… but the reality is that teenage girls are crazy and won't stop being mean and unfair just because someone tells them to, especially if the rules aren't enforced in any way… if that makes any sense.

This is such a sucky situation… I wish I had better advice! I've seen teenage rink brats storm off the ice and THROW SKATES because they were frustrated and angry about practice ice, so I understand how hard it can be to deal with someone that crazy. It's up to you to decide if your kids should attempt contact. Sometimes, it's just not possible and I get that… but I thought I'd offer my advice anyway because I have seen it work in some situations and I would hate for your kids to be bullied out of skating.

As for the more general 'crowding' complaints, I think comfort with this will just come with time. It takes time to get used to the flow and where to be. However, if it's dangerously overcrowded, I would certainly take this issue higher than your club if they are refusing to limit the number of skaters.
Sandra

My daughter is one of these high level skaters who gets frustrated with low level skaters but she wouldn't dream of being nasty to anyone. I do catch her throwing me a look of frustration when someone gets in her way though!
If a skater isn't obeying the rules she will tell them politely. Not moving out of the way of the skater in the bib is the main problem we have at the rink. Sometimes a skater cannot help it…if they can barely stand up on the ice, what's the chance of quickly getting out of the way of a double axel coming your direction!? But if my daughter knows the person can skate and is capable of moving then she'll shout mid-programme move please or go over afterwards to explain that the skater in the bib with music playing has right of way.
We have several rules to help control numbers and reduce risk of accidents. We have set times for field moves and you cannot do anything else in that time and cannot do field moves at any other time.
Skater with music and bib has 1st right of way, a skater in a lesson 2nd, then everyone else.
Anyone wanting to do pairs must check with the head coach if they are allowed to or if it's too busy to do it.
I would hate to think your girls would have to quit skating because of these problems at your rink but of course safety comes first and if the rink/club cannot give you peace of mind that the children are safe then maybe take some time off, perhaps just stick to public sessions for a year or so. Come back and the girls are bigger and better skaters and won't feel so intimidated and will be able to hold their own when faced with teenage boys doing axels in their face!
tinyskaters

My girls are VERY young skaters and have been skating at the club rink forever (think Basic 1-2). my youngest is still in basic skills and oldest is in FS. We have never had ice problems. If anything, I feel guilty that the older kids will often stop practicing to go “socialize” with my little ones. I'm trying to teach my girls that ice time is for lessons or practicing and not socializing. Although we have never had problems, recently our rink instituted “bridge time” for the younger skaters. There are 2 sessions a week (I think Monday and Friday from 5-6) that are specifically for these skaters. More advanced skaters are able to use the ice at that time also, but they do so knowing that there may be more than the usual crowd of little kids out there.
Many of our older skaters acknowledge that it takes some extra work when their are little ones on the ice, but they also know that those little ones are the future of our club. More than a few of them have come over to hold my youngest daughters hand through a waltz jump or to give my oldest some advice on landing her salchow and half flip. I'm wondering if your rink/club could do something to help EVERYONE understand how to use the ice (older skaters need to watch out more when little ones are out there, or give 3 minutes of there time to “help out” the younger kids and little skaters need to try to watch out for others and maybe keep themselves to the outside or one end of the rink…)
I really hope this works out for your family. My daughters would have been devastated if something like this happened to them.
http://twitter.com/icemom icemom

It sounds like you have a very healthy rink atmosphere! You’re very lucky!
http://twitter.com/icemom icemom

It sounds like you have a very healthy rink atmosphere! You're very lucky!
Anonymous

Phew! I am in a similar position but for us we have moved country and there is no patch or training ice! lessons are held on public sessions and it could be empty (and yes I mean totally) OR it could have a school group (usually 8 school buses outside are a clue not to take the lesson) but at a rink with one coach then you take your lessons where you can!
I sit and watch! but what is more surprising is the number of school kids who here take a zimmer frame to learn to skate and get closer and closer to someone practicing a camel spin………….. and yes we have metal frames on the ice so skating is even worse as hitting that……….
I pull them off if it looks too busy, our old rink had a policy of making time zones for different levels and the higher level skaters could only do one time slot. – don’t forget to put in writing that you think it may be dangerous and cc in everyone. Having letters on file showing concern for safety is never great for a rink if an accident does happen………….
fffrozensolidmom

Phew! I am in a similar position but for us we have moved country and there is no patch or training ice! lessons are held on public sessions and it could be empty (and yes I mean totally) OR it could have a school group (usually 8 school buses outside are a clue not to take the lesson) but at a rink with one coach then you take your lessons where you can!
I sit and watch! but what is more surprising is the number of school kids who here take a zimmer frame to learn to skate and get closer and closer to someone practicing a camel spin………….. and yes we have metal frames on the ice so skating is even worse as hitting that……….
I pull them off if it looks too busy, our old rink had a policy of making time zones for different levels and the higher level skaters could only do one time slot. – don't forget to put in writing that you think it may be dangerous and cc in everyone. Having letters on file showing concern for safety is never great for a rink if an accident does happen………….
Anonymous

I just read the advice to go on some public sessions and I couldn’t agree more, yes your skaters want to be part of the group with the sparkly dresses but they can get there quicker and be more able to change speed and direction and stop if they can actually skate – and for that they don’t need to take ice time with teenagers jumping axels! Public sessions are a great way of having fun and the scary looking guys in the hockey skates can usually skate and are not likely to decapitate anyone with a camel spin either!
I also have a young (7) skater and being tiny means that the positioning for decapitation is perfect! so for her first year we hardly went on training ice we went to lots (& I mean lots) of public sessions – skated forwards backwards (with me as look out) and even though now she has the speed and ability we often do a lower level session as I don’t want to hinder the girls who really can fly as they cannot do a flying camel on a public sessions
fffrozensolidmom

I just read the advice to go on some public sessions and I couldn't agree more, yes your skaters want to be part of the group with the sparkly dresses but they can get there quicker and be more able to change speed and direction and stop if they can actually skate – and for that they don't need to take ice time with teenagers jumping axels! Public sessions are a great way of having fun and the scary looking guys in the hockey skates can usually skate and are not likely to decapitate anyone with a camel spin either!
I also have a young (7) skater and being tiny means that the positioning for decapitation is perfect! so for her first year we hardly went on training ice we went to lots (& I mean lots) of public sessions – skated forwards backwards (with me as look out) and even though now she has the speed and ability we often do a lower level session as I don't want to hinder the girls who really can fly as they cannot do a flying camel on a public sessions