Keep Your Figure Skates with You at All Times

I know it sounds so surreal but it does happen! I knew an ice dancer have her boots hacked to pieces in Lake Placid (not that this always or only happens in Lake Placid, of course). I’ve also heard of a little girl who participates in certain North American competitions and is a very, very nasty piece of work. We’re talking a little Tonya Harding or worse. Things like blade vandal are second nature to her, I’ve been told. I know I sound like a high school mean girl trying to stir up trouble but we should all remember that the competitive skating world can be a dangerous place so we can appreciate it when skaters are nice and supportive of each other.

I grew up in a place where even my brother’s junker of a car that the Salvation Army didn’t want was stolen.(It didn’t get the thieves very far, by the way. *smile*) I definitely appreciate that the rink I go to isn’t like that. The skaters where I am are very supportive of each other overall. That said, I do keep my things with me so that I’m not using head space to worry about them (or providing temptation and opportunity for others to mess with them). This way I can focus on being friendly and emotionally generous with everyone. As for the Halloween candy, yeah, Houston we have a problem (and the worst part is, it isn’t necessarily with just the good kind)!

Hope you are having a terrific day, Ice Mom, and thank you for sharing so much of your time and yourself with us through your blog each day!

I also believe in the best of people. Incidents like this are most likely few and far between in small towns or big cities – there are decent people everywhere. There is also potential for a bad apple. I don’t think this is a big city problem (I am living in one of the most densely populated places in the country). But an incident only needs to happen once for fear and mistrust to spread through a community… One day you may be a victim of foul play, but I would rather that then be a victim of my own fear and live my life with so much mistrust.

We tend to keep my son’s skates with us just because locker rooms for boys (at least in our experience) are usually little more than closets. But this definitely gives me something to consider, as I would never have thought about his skates or blades being vandalized. I just don’t get how someone could possible think they won by the underhanded elimination of the competition.

As far as Halloween candy, luckily all the Reese’s and Snickers went, and I’m not tempted to over indulge on the Peppermint Patties.

Gosh no, I don’t take them everywhere with us at a competition…of course, my skater has yet to be the one that is going to stop ANYONE from medaling…at least not since she left Preliminary level.

The first thing IceCoach said to us when we got to Junior Nationals is “always, always, always keep you skates with you. Never, never, never leave them unattended.”

Competition 101 rules should state “Always keep your skates with you at all times period!!!!

Think about it this way. Would you leave your $300 iPhone lying in the locker room while you enjoy the competition? How much do you pay for skates? $1200+?

How much do you pay for competition? Can your skater make due if he/she didn’t have skates to compete it?

If someone steals one of your skates or vandalizes it or… how much will it cost to replace it? How much energy will you have to expend to calm your skater down etc etc after he/she misses the competition and has to break in NEW skates at your expense?

If you hate to carry the skates around with you (it really is your skater’s responsibility, but I’ll admit, it’s my wallet) get a Zuca bag and wheel them around.

No, I don’t know anyone personally that has had this happen to them, but yes I’ve heard horror stories. Don’t contribute to someone else’s delinquency and leave those expensive appendages lying around in a locker room. Take them with you. You’ll build up muscle and peace of mind.

Yes, even at your home competition. All levels.

Stepping down off the soap box now…

At my local rink (in a mall, btw) I often leave my skates unattended on the benches while I go grab a snack, or I’ll leave them overnight in the coaches room (unlocked). I’m generally not concerned about theft.

At a competition- I keep them with me (or in my car)- if only so that someone else doesn’t scoop them up accidentally. At the level I skate at though, I can’t imagine anyone trying to sabatoge me. It’s only been local competitions.

For synchro- you are ushered in and out of the locker rooms at specific times so there wouldn’t be the opportunity to leave your skates, but I also can’t imagine sabatoge at my level. (In fact, when a skater on another synchro team’s skates were lost on a flight, a skater from another team lent her skates to wear during practice ice. Thankfully the original skates were found before the competition)

Amen! Peace of mind is paramount here, not to mention your investment in the skates, coaching, ice, competition fees, etc. You can leave your wallet sitting on your front door step overnight and nothing may happen to it, but why risk it? Drag the skates around, or better yet, make your skater be responsible for having them on her person at all times…as a skate tech I’m a big believer in having skaters “take responsibility for his/her skating”, and that includes equipment. Mom, dad and coach will be mad if something happens to your skates, but ultimately it will be your performance and hard work as an athlete that will be affected by damaged and/or missing skates!

I’m so happy that you wrote about a synchro skater loaning her skates to another skater. I think most people are basically good.

You have a good point, sk8rmomp. I did spend a lot on Ice Girl’s skates and I would be very upset if anything happened to them.

That was my reaction, too, Lynne. I can’t believe anyone would be so underhanded outside of a Disney movie. Seriously.

Thanks for the kind words, Antarcticlichen! Very busy at work, but I’m stopping by for a moment between projects.

I can understand your caution. Better safe than sorry, hey?

I always keep the skates with me at a competition, or with someone I really trust if I will be gone a short time (mom, coach, etc.). I haven’t heard of any direct vandalism, but it is very possible for people to take the wrong pair of skates and not realize it until they are home (aka across the country) or in non-locker room/open areas for even a non-skater to just steal stuff. I do know that one time one of the top skaters in my club had her purse stolen while she was actually competing and the coach was distracted watching her (her family couldn’t go and no lockers, so no where else to put it). So vandalism wouldn’t surprise me, especially when the stakes are super high, even though I want to think that most skaters are good people.

Also NEVER leave the skates in the car, because everyone I know who did this had either the skates or the car stolen, and it will always happen before nationals because that is how the universe works…

So yeah, keep them with you, take them home, and remember to take them with you to the rink. When at a competition you really only need 3 things: skates, costumes, ID. Everything else you can beg, borrow, or buy. Easy to remember 3 things right? But keep those 3 things with you otherwise you might only have 1 or 2 on the way home.

haha, you know me, the homework harness….still trying to keep myself, my IceBoy and anyone else from making mistakes

BTW, I still believe and see evidence everyday that people are good and honest, however, there are a few rotten apples and those few can spoil it for everyone. I just don’t have the time, energy and money to expend if something gets lost, stolen or messed with, and if something happened, I would be upset at myself more for not preventing it than with the person who did it. Crazy huh?!

I have contemplated keeping my daughters skate bag with us at competitions, but have never done so. I am not naive enough to think it may never happen (even in the small town competitions), but my 9 year old daughter is still naive enough to realize it could happen and I would like to keep her that way for a bit longer. She has learned that everyone is not only in skating for the love of the sport and that has been difficult for her. Learning that someone may actually sabotage another skaters competition I think would almost devastate her right now.

If IceMom does not live in a Big City I am not sure what to call where we live – maybe the boonies! I do not think (actually I know) many people around here do not even lock their doors when they leave. We are the “crazy” ones because we do.

You know, Sk8nln, I guess I am naïve! I really didn’t even think about skate vandalism happening here. I know my friend didn’t think about it, either. You and sk8rmomp are right, though: better safe than sorry.

You’re in a smaller town even than I’m in, that’s true. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t lock both house doors and car doors, but I know it’s common in your area.

Still, you take your skater to a Big City for lessons. Maybe that’s why you’re so wise.

Remembering those three things, invisible, is good advice!

I won’t let Ice Girl keep her skates in the car because I know that the temperature fluctuations in cars do great damage to boots.

I hadn’t thought about theft…

You are not naive – I think it is what we are used to (my husband is one of those never lock the car door kind of people and it drives me CRAZY).

My daughter and I have learned what we learned (sometimes not such nice things, but most times really great things) through our visits in a larger city for coaching. Of course sometimes our big mouths about what we learned gets us in trouble back at our home rink.

No, no! I’m not insulted. Maybe I’m just not aware enough…

I’m so curious about how you’ve gotten in trouble at the rink, though. Do tell.

Our local pools all have lockers which are open and free to use, and anyone can bring their own locks for security. I wish our rinks offered those. Actually, it sounds like a lot of rinks could use them.

I haven’t heard of anything stolen at our rink, but once some cars were broken into while skaters were in the building. In fact, once I left DD’s guards in the cups for four days before I realized I had forgot them. I went back to the rink and they were still there in the cup where she and her coach had put them.

Wow! Sounds intense. The worst that’s happened at my rink is someone told me they got their guards nicked during a public session!

Hey, The Same Anonymous.

You know, Ice Girl has had her guards stolen, too. I know the flashing ones are popular with Ice Trolls, but I think that kids often pick up purple or pink guards by mistake.

I encourage Ice Girl to buy ugly guards so no one takes them. She doesn’t, but she will choose colors and combinations that she’s never seen before.

I live in big city which is often thought of as one of the best places to train in Europe and skaters move from all round the country to train here but the community is so tightly knit and everyone’s very friendly. Everyone knows everyone and as far as I know, they’re aren’t any ice trolls at all. I’m pretty disorganised and I leave stuff all over the place. I seem to leave CDs, guards, scrunchies.. everywhere. You name it, I’ve left it lying around the rink before and they’ve all been returned to me promptly.

I can leave my bags by the side of the rink on practice ices, I never bother putting them in the lockers provided because I know no one would steal them and people are always looking out for each other.

At competitions, there’s always a bunch of skaters from my rink who go and everyone looks out for everyone and everyone’s stuff but just to be on the safe side, I always take my skates around with because just because my rink’s like that, not all the other ones are if you know what I mean :/
When competitions are held at my rink, you bet I lock my stuff in lockers. I’ve encountered a few ice trolls from other rinks who I can imagine damaging people blades are taking people things.

Our rink is the same way, even though we share with hockey. Jackets, guards etc are where you left them the next day or few, or in the lost and found.

Parents leave laptops and purses unattended upstairs when they need to go down to the ice for a minute.

People are basically good and honest. However, people have been know to come in off the street to use the restrooms etc. Imagine the “wrong sort” coming in to find this laptop, purse, etc paradise…all for the taking…

My IceBoy had his black skate guards taken a couple days after we bought them. Most likely someone mistaking his for theirs. He never got black guards again.

Wow! We live in a place similar to yours. I don’t ever take DD’s skates anywhere. Most girls leave them on tables, in their bags, in the locker rooms during competitions. No biggie. The girls all cheer for each other and so do the parents. When DD fell flat on her face at this past Spring’s competition everyone gasped and started clapping when she got up and started skating again. I have it on tape! I love the area where I live. I couldn’t even imagine doing something like sabotaging someone’s skates. However, I did live in Baltimore (land of Kimmi Meissner). We skated at her rink actually. If you weren’t one of the “it” girls, you needed to watch out for yourself.

*disclaimer – we never met Kimmi and she wasn’t part of that group I mentioned. It was just other aspiring skaters.

I miss Europe. I loved the people, I loved the food, I loved the beauty. Lived there for 3 years and would go back in an instant. People are very supportive over there!

That’s the great
article! I just pass ‘n read it, two thumbs up!