Lake Placid Adult Skate Camp Part II: Getting Started (edited 2017)

All Lake Placid Posts here. including more recent reviews.

UPDATED 2017

Reception:  There's a reception at the Olympic Skating Center the evening before the Monday start. It starts at 7pm. You'll get a reception packet, an ID, and a schedule. When I went there previously, the website just had an outline of the group class themes they thought they'd offer. The schedule is the first time you will actually see the classes to be offered.   Sometimes, various resident coaches will be there. The Protopopov's will be introduced. Non-resident coaches may be introduced too. The last time I went, there has been a skating session after the reception, and a group class. The last couple of years the schedule has been delivered as a PDF. If you don't see it in your email, check your junk folder. Mine went there one year.

The schedule: My procedure is to go through the schedule as soon as it's in my hot little hands. I circle all the group classes I think I'll attend so I can set up my private lessons around them. Then I start tracking down coaches. I have a couple I like, and if they're there I try and set up my schedules with them at the reception. If it's a resident coach you can email them if their address is on the website. The schedule will vary between weeks. One time I went, there were a lot of dance classes, the next time there were hardly any.  To schedule lessons, you'll need to have the ice time schedule (for the 3 rinks) and the group class schedule, in order to schedule your lessons with the coach. It's a little like juggling with chainsaws.

Paying for lessons:  Group lessons all cost the same ($13). Private lessons are different. You buy tickets at the box office. (If there's a class on the evening of the reception, you'll need to buy a group ticket the next day and find the coach.)    If you're buying a ticket for a private lesson you'll need to tell the clerk in the box office the coach's name. I like to buy a couple of days worth of tickets at a time for group sessions, and all the private lesson tickets for the week all at once. They do have occasional group class changes so you don't want to get stuck with an extra group class ticket (you can get a refund, but it's a hassle). If you have an extra ticket, you can give it to someone. It's not tied to you. In fact, treat them like money.

Private lessons: How do you pick a coach for a private lesson? Well, I found the website listing of coaches helpful the first year, and I coincidentally knew one of the non-resident coaches so it wasn't difficult for me. You can also try a private lesson with one of the group coaches, if you like their style.  If it doesn't work out, it's just 30 minutes of your life. [For example, I set up two lessons with a non-resident dance coach that I was willing to give him the ticket for the second lesson just to get rid of him, but we came to an agreement about the lesson. Still, it was a relief that it was only two short lessons. ] I suggest trying to line up private lessons early, they fill up. (If you want to skate with the Protopopovs they charge double, as it's two coaches at once.  I didn't see the Protopopovs in 2016.)

Exhaustion:  Don't over extend yourself when you're setting up your schedule. The last time I went, I skated five hours a day, plus two hours walking back and forth to the rinks. I didn't have any problems, but I want to warn everyone not to overextend themselves. At another skate camp I attended, people did overextend themselves, resulting in 3 people in one day (Wednesday) stepping on the ice with their guards on. Head cracks all around. You've been warned.

Food:  There's many expensive restaurants in the town. The rink also has a small snack bar, with soups and stuff, so it's not crap rink food. If you want to go to a grocery store, you'll need a car unless you're super tough. I hiked it one day, the nearest grocery store is several miles away (uphill going back to town, with the groceries).Now I rent a car. I'm saving my legs for the ice.

Tomorrow will be Part III--The facilities.