The White Jacket on Freestyle Post

I never know when I'm going to hear a tidbit that makes a good post, this one comes from a dinner I was having with a couple of coaches and some higher level skaters.

I don't remember what started it, but the coach was ranting about how dangerous white jackets (or shirts) were on freestyle.

Apparently, as all skaters who are much faster than I am probably know, as you're practicing on a crowded freestyle you don't want to stop and check everyone's movement and path prediction out. You want to glance across the ice and start your pattern, yielding as necessary and others yielding to you as well. So when you glance across the ice,  you don't predict the exact position everyone's going to be at, you estimate their future positions and start to skate, relying on your mental and physical skills to refine the other skater's positions as you skate, turn, jump and spin.

Because you're mentally updating the other skaters' future positions with only a fraction of a second of visual contact, this coach maintains that a white jacket delays recognition that another skater is headed your way.

A stealth skater so to speak.

Invisible Skater

On the other hand, this imprecise mental update can work in certain skaters' favor. This coach recalled a skater who wore an orange shirt under her jacket, so when she wanted to practice without interference, she would slip the shirt hem down below the hem of her jacket. Other skaters would see the orange out of the corner of their eyes and, thinking it was the 'in program' belt, yield, even though the skater wasn't in program.

Maybe I have right of way,
Maybe I don't!

Sneaky Skater.

Rink Collapses in Bad Weather

Usually I reserve Sundays for funny stories, but Hurricane Sandy is due to hit the US East Coast this week. Respecting that, I decided to go for a safety related post. I spent years working as a volunteer in Disaster Preparedness, it gives you a certain mindset.

Stay safe everyone. Prepare for loss of power. Remember, canned food can be eaten even if it's cold (have a manual can opener handy), get a flashlight not candles (a house a block from me burned down because the owner wanted to amuse her kids by using candles in the last big hurricane--10 years later it's finally getting rebuilt), don't open your refrigerator unless you have to (in order to keep the cold in), and if you see anything worth videoing--you'd probably be better off finding someplace safer to be. If your house has trees near it, don't stay on the upper floor if the storm is likely to blow a tree down on your house.  Have suitable clothing on. If you think you'll have to walk out of your house, have an emergency kit ready to go. Have cash. Keep your cellphone charged and your car's gas tank full. Be ready to live without power for 3 days. Don't dither.

But what about ice rinks in bad weather? Anyone on the East Coast worrying about their ice rink not surviving the storm?

Rink roof collapses due to heavy winter snows surprisingly are not that uncommon. I can imagine that a hurricane will also do damage. So, in general, what's it like being in an ice rink when it collapses?

Hallowell, Maine ice rink after collapse

Well, here's a video of a rink in Slovakia when it collapsed. As far as I know, everyone walked away (there was a youth team in the rink for a game). (Article) All the adults seem to be organized and effective in getting everyone out of the building. And, just a note, I'll never think about the boards and the barriers the same way again.

Even scarier is the collapse of a rink in Pennsylvania where the ice resurfacer was on ice when the roof went and the police called out cadaver dogs.  Or what about the one in Maine, where 'they felt the rink shake'.

Fortunately, most rink collapses are without loss of life. There are a couple of notable exceptions--Bad Reichenhall in Germany comes to mind with charges of managerial negligence being made. I believe the collapse occurred during what we would call public sessions. Given the inexperience of most skaters on public and the number of people on ice, it may have been impossible to clear the ice before the roof collapsed. In all the cases I read of where there was no loss of life, the people on ice were all experienced skaters.

In several cases I read about, there was mention of a loud snap or sound like a gunshot shortly before the collapse as structural members gave way. In most of the cases there appeared to be enough warning to get people off the ice (provided they were people who skated regularly) before the roof completely gave away. Usually it was only a short period of time (perhaps a couple of minutes or less), but one rink took several hours before the roof caved in. This last rink appeared to be an exception.

What's my survival plan?
Don't Panic. Don't Dither.
Know where the emergency exits are.
Get off the ice and out of the building if possible and next to an exterior wall if not possible, or at least get next to the boards where there's some barrier above it. Inside the boxes also might be survivable. In some cases the lobby might be under a separate roof structure than the rink. That may be safe as well.
As an adult skater, help others that need it. In other words, be a grownup and don't panic.

Or move to some state without snow. Texas has some nice rinks.

Take care in the storm and be safe!

Wear the Vest Willya!

My home rink does not have reliable weekend freestyles. Sometimes there will be  a couple of hours when the hockey team is off someplace playing, but it's not something I can count on. So I bop around to other rinks' freestyle sessions on Sunday. They have widely varying customs.

The closest rink to my house (but it's not my home rink) has a power class followed by an hour of freestyle. And it's the cheapest freestyle around. The skaters in program wear a ribbon around their waist to indicate they're in program. It looks like a piece of cop tape, but when I hear program music I glance around and I can usually spot the skater. The skaters at this session seem to be small. So maybe this ribbon is a nice compromise as it fits both the adult and the child skaters. It can be hard to see, but it's something.

The freestyle session at Big City Rink has the skaters wear a full up florescent vest. There's some high level skaters here (no elites, but you see some occasional triples), a strong ice dance program, and a lot of skater traffic. As I said, full up vest. Most of the skaters at this session are either adults in ice dance or teens. I've only seen a rare child skater. So the vest is the norm.

My home rink.

No Vest.

Zip. Nada. Zed.

I guess you're supposed to use psychic powers if you're a visiting skater.

Madame Zelda senses GLENDA is in program!

My previous home rink (the one that closed) had no vests either. The skating director told me:
1. Hockey boys steal them (my comment--because coaches leave them lying around)
2. Everyone knows everyone else's music so they know who's in program

As a visiting skater, I hear music and I look around for someone in pose. But, there will sometimes be  more than one skater practicing a pose, or I'll look around too late and miss it. I lose a lot of time guessing. If Dance Coach is with me, he'll just tell me to move to the boards if it's necessary. Otherwise we keep going in lesson.  If I'm at a rink and EVERYONE skates to the boards, I know to follow. Someone fast with big jumps is out there.

Strangely enough, in a sport with all sorts of custom tchotchkes and custom costumes, I'm rather surprised no one's come up with something that will work for skaters.

Anyway, I need to work on my psychic powers, for next week's freestyle. I sense.... I sense.....that girl over there is in progam! (I hope).

Things not to do--on Ice

When I started skating there was no one telling me what not to do. When I was riding horses I was much more conscious of ring safety. Being run over by a 1200 lb animal can hurt. Also, I'd been riding since I was six, I didn't have the distractions in the ring that I did in the rink. When I was standing around on the ice, I didn't have the sense of immediate danger I could be to others. Instead I was worried about my danger to myself. So here's some helpful rules for public skates for absolute beginners.


1.  Be alert to what's going on around you. There's little kids going a million miles a minute, trust me, they aren't looking anywhere but where they want to go. They. Do. Not. See. You.  You have to keep an eye out for them.
     a. Don't skate with a hood up. I doubt any teenage boys are reading this, but this is a 14-17 year old guy issue.  These are the same guys who skate with their fists in their pockets. Why? Teenage Angst? Still it's a good way to meet Dr. Expensive Dentist if you trip and oops there goes your teeth.
     b. When you move into traffic, look first, then skate into it.

2.  Camping out and ice hogging
  Coaches do a lot of instructing using the hockey circles. Thus, out of habit, when beginners get on the ice they use the hockey circles to practice. As a courtesy to other skaters, you should moderate how long you spend on one circle. You can move around the rink practicing on different circles. Every rink always has one circle that is better than all the others so everyone wants to camp out there and hog the ice.   Not much you can do about that, except move in and skate. The ice hog will usually move away, but don't worry, they'll be back.  Some kids get an obsession with one particular circle and will spin there all session. That's sad. Don't be that person.

3. Parking at the boards
    Every beginner has things they like to practice at the boards, it's natural. But don't park in one spot at the boards.  Several things can happen: you can block traffic on publics, or you develop a dependence on the boards. Try moving around, so you get comfortable on all areas of the ice.

4. If you skate backwards either have someone spot for you, look over your shoulder and check, or only skate into clear territory. Skating around backwards but not visually clearing the way marks you as equivalent to a crazed hockey boy. Nobody likes them--except other hockey boys.

5. Backwards spirals. Never on a crowded public session.  If you can do them, you probably know this rule, but I still see this happening so it's worth mentioning.

6.  If you're an absolute beginner, there will by necessity be some board grabbing to stop before you learn how to stop on your own, but at some point you'll have more speed than you have ability to stop.  Please, don't skate as fast as you can then slam into the boards. When other skaters see this, they think "Is that person going to skate into me and not be able to stop?" They're not admiring your speed.

7. Don't park in center ice chatting with your friends. Center ice in most rink is reserved for lessons or skating practice (jumps and spins), or skaters working on skills. It's not a hangout for people to go to in order to avoid the traffic at the boards.  Coaches will ask you to leave. Other skaters will give you dirty looks. Teenage girls will spin right at you to make you leave.

Skating at a rink is like living in a little community. If you want to be respected by other skaters it helps to play by the rules, especially when you're just learning. As an adult skater, you'll be noticed by other skaters more than the little kids. You'll stand out because you're a rarity, and as an adult you'll be a role model.