When I worked at the rink 15ish years ago we could skate on any "dead" daytime ice we wanted to, but now there isn't that much that is free but I don't think we could skate on what little is even if we asked nicely. We'd be expected to pay for "private ice", just like anyone else. I used to be able to skate freestyles for free back then too but now under different management I'd have to pay (which is okay with me, the schedule doesn't really include any sessions I'd like to skate). That said, when the ice is empty before adult skate (as it often is on Wednesdays) we normally get out and skate at least 15 minutes early (but sometimes as much as half an hour) and no one says anything.. the same goes for public. I showed up at the rink early today and the ice was empty and already resurfaced. Back when we had another facility and two more sheets of ice, EVERYONE would show up early for adult skate and stay late, sometimes we'd milk 2+ hours out of an hour session, and management didn't seem to care unless the ice was booked for something else after... in which case our signal to leave was when the resurfacer came out.