I was talking to friends about their kids' swimming and track meets. They said they really like the "downtime" their kids get to just hang out with their friends during the lengthy meets. They talk and talk, play games, and entertain themselves - get this - WITHOUT electronics! Summer swim meets are all-day events, outdoors! Track meets are several hours long, just like figure skating (Basic Skills) competitions.
Yet, I feel like skaters are on a tight schedule: arrive, skate, awards, leave. I press my kids into service as runners and let them stay even when they're not helping/skating, but their friends are only there when they're volunteering or competing, so there's not that much hang time involved. (If the runners fool around too much, they get in trouble. Stern-ness usually turns them off to volunteering.) Parents are usually the bad guys who have to go pick up another child, or take a cranky kid home, or get to another committment.
I remember when skating families would drive to the competitions and hang out to watch others or just talk with friends. Even in Lake Placid, people weren't running off to snowmobiling or dog sled rides until they watched their friends skate. There wasn't that much pressure and everyone had fun!
Does that atmosphere still exist? I don't see it as much and I'm wondering if there's a way to revive it in figure skating?