Friday, November 21, 2014

Laying Down the Law for Freestyle Rules

My club just came up with a list of freestyle rules that must be signed to skate on freestyle. There's nothing extraordinary about the rules, they appear to be standard at every other rink I've skated at. However, my rink (the most expensive per hour in the region) has always taken a rather relaxed attitude towards rules.

Now the silent glare of stricture is about kick some ass at  what frankly has been pretty loosey-goosey freestyles.

Obey the rules or the ice monitor will throw you off!
 Here are the Rules Summarized

1. You have to sign in AND PAY before you step on the ice....
I've heard a rumor that some people weren't paying.  So, it's about time that this got enforced.

2 . No bridging.
Bridging is where you could skate across sessions--say 15 min in one session, then finish the hour in the next. This was always a nice privilege, but I guess it got abused. You now have to get off the ice at the end of the session.

3.  Skaters must have an etiquette lesson before they are allowed to solo--and must sign the freestyle rules.
This is a relief. It will be nice if the coaches also enforce the rules. 
4.  Must wear vests when in program--And skater in program has right of way--except for ice dancers
Yeah, right.  Last year enforcement of vest wearing lasted a couple of weeks, then it was 'Guess who's in program'. I don't expect this to last unless the coaches enforce it. And I'm pretty sure the violation of right of way will continue.
But Doggy has the vest on!

5.  Limited number of times an individual's program music can be played in session
I think we may be the only rink I've ever skated at that has this rule, but I've seen it enforced. 
 6. Parents cannot coach from the gates.
I've never seen this at my rink. I mean, every other rink I've ever skated at even for a single session,  there's some parent hanging inside the gate yelling at their kid, but not this one. So there must be one annoying parent I've never run into that has everyone's hackles up.
7. No swearing or bad language.
No guarantees if I fall on my ass. Usually it's just one word...you know which one.
 8. Be nice. Especially to coaches.
In Russia, students used to have to bow or curtsey to their coach at the end of a lesson. I'd pay to see today's kids do that!

 

3 comments:

  1. Bows and curtsys are pretty common at my rink in the midwest. Sometimes they are used even when the coach is not from the soviet union.

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  2. Bows and curtsies are common at my rink too, but not just to the skater's coach. They bow and curtsy to all the coaches on the ice.

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  3. I've never seen anyone bow or curtsy except at the end of a program during a competition. I do pay my coach at the beginning of each lesson--that probably counts for something!

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