Types of Group Numbers for the Holiday Show

Christmas is coming the goose is getting fat, time for the rink to do a skating show with hats.

Honestly, I always see a lot of hats at Christmas  Winter Solstice  Snowy Holiday  Winterval   Festivus Saturnalia  okay, at the rink show in December.

Also, Hats rhymes with fat, so call me doggerel lazy.

Anyway, I went skating today (45 minutes! 2 1/2 laps backwards!) and saw people out working on their programs with 3 foot long candy canes and decided to present a universal Holiday Show on Ice!

The Coaches Group Number

The Group number of a bunch of weak skaters and a star skater

The Group Number with the best costumes

The Basic Skills 1 class...
They get the biggest round of applause....

But the adults steal the show with a classic Adult Swizzle Train Number

Adults know how to shake it baby!

Also, adults know how to 'shake it' after the show too!

The Figure Skating Club Meeting

A couple of times a year, my club holds a meeting at the president's house.  Imagine this, you're having a party of unrelated people ranging from 6 to 60. What do you do to keep everybody happy? Well, we all show up and it's....

People you haven't seen in months come up and give you a hug, then you catch up.

There was video too!

Awards are passed out.

Even though I won't ice monitor or do announcing for tests, I'm still recognized for my support...

I'm thanked for doing my bit for test sessions.
(That was nice)

There's actually some club business--3 minutes tops!

We vote on some financial  thing.

Our president announces she's going to become a judge. Some of the board members are going to finish their board service.

It's open season next year for the club leadership! 

Just remember, I only do set up and clean up. No Responsibility! So I will just be showing up for the food!  

And now let me say a few serious words about Joining The Club. Even if you don't test, if you want to show support for your rink, and make sure that Freestyle continues to be offered, I think it's important to join the local club. Oh, I've read horror stories about some clubs, I can't speak to those. I have a wonderful club, and being a member of the club really helps me stay in contact with the leadership. I think if I want to test in the future, establishing some street fred by supporting tests and comps really helps both the club and the rink (by showing a consistent membership) and opens up opportunities in the future.

Hernando's Hut of Skating Requirements--Adult Skater Party

If we go to Hernando's Hut of Skating Requirements, we find everything arranged perfectly for the adult skater: perfect ice, select coaches, masseuses, warming rooms, and also the perfect adult skating party.

So, earlier the adult skating party came up in the post on Birthday Parties at the Rink. This resulted in some discussion in the comments, and I've had time to think about it. Today I'm going to lay out what I think a perfect skating party would be like.

1. Saturday. Right before public. I have my reasons.

2. Lots of male figure skaters. So shoot me, I like watching men figure skate. Towards me, away from me, jumping, ice dancing. Whatever. I have a friend, the Big Guy, 6'3", 280 lbs. Beautiful edges. Skating backwards into a jump entrance, he's the sexiest thing alive. So must have guys at party.

3. Complete control of the music box by party members. No manager in some office somewhere running it like a public.

4. Ice resurfaced immediately before party time.

5. Large sign on the gate: "Private Party. No Kids Allowed." The gate will be closed. Hockey boys entering the ice will be picked up by male figure skaters and unceremoniously dropped back on the matting and the gate slammed in their face.

6. Guest Coach. This is tricky, as many of my skating friends are coaches already. So, figuring out how to hold a fun group class when some of the partiers are coaches, well, the only thing I can think of is make it a dance coach and let the other coaches be partners to the uninitiated.

7. Guess Coach must be happy and cheerful.

So, happy coach

NOT,  grumpy coach

8. Brunch after skating

9. Drinkies!

Not this kind of drunken revelry

More like, sophisticated revelry

And why do I want the party to be right before public? Because I want all the public skaters to see adults skating, having classy food, and sophisticated fun! They will ENVY us!

"Mary, I think we need to take skating lessons
so we can have fun like that!"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY--TO YOU!

I don't know what rink started the genius idea of birthday parties at the rink. Brilliant! Money! Maker! Supply a cake costing $20, but charge $50, an empty room, and a coach that costs $20 a half hour and charge $50! Who thought this up! OMG! the money just rolls in!

Rink Manager  counting up the birthday party profits

Some weekends the birthday parties are so numerous that the rink has to stagger them so they can get the maximum profit out of each party room (on in the case of one rink, each party table).

I don't mind birthday parties on public. Let's face it, the kids are just adorable....

"Hello, I'm 5, and here's all my friends.
Where's my cake?"

It's up to the poor coach to herd the party together and get some teaching in. This forces the coach to being happy, smiling, sweet to the kids, but really all grumbly underneath. The coaches I've talked to do not like Birthday Parties. I see a lot of eye rolling, and frowns when coaches tell me about party coaching.

How the party skaters see the coach

What the coach is thinking!

But what I hate are party parents. You know who I mean. The adults who hang out in the gate, taking pictures. I can't get on the ice; I can't get off the ice. The parents are blocking the gate.

I don't blame them for wanting to take pictures, it's really very sweet. But they're just oblivious. There's 200 people getting off an on the ice and the parent just hangs there, pointing the camera desperately at their kid and yelling at them to 'Come over here!'

So in the spirit of being a good rink citizen, if they're that desperate for pictures I offer to take them for them. The parent will usually hand me their camera or phone, and I'll spent 4 minutes taking pictures of the party while I skate around. Give the phone back and miracle of miracles, the parent goes and sits down in the bleachers leaving the gate open.

And I build up karma points!

Guys with $800 cameras and no skating skills on the ice trying to take pictures of the party? I just let them alone.  I can never figure out expensive cameras, and I don't want to be the one to drop it! Let the guy who owns it catch a toepick and drop it.

Toepick!
Bummer about the camera man....

(Someday though, I want to rent the rink for a private party, invite all my skating buddies, then have some famous coach show up and give a group lesson...plus drinkies after!)