What rules do your rink have for freestyle ice?
None, really. It's pleasant anarchy.
I skate at two rinks, and all of their freestyles are open to everyone. We even have a coach who teaches hockey skills take students on freestyle ice. Some of the kids have doubles, but basic skills through singles are most common. I started skating on freestyle rather than public when I was in Alpha group classes. I think the third rink that's further out of town, where I never go, has sessions divided by ability. All of the higher level people skate out there.
There might be right-of-way rules buried on the rinks' websites somewhere, but I think people just osmose from their coaches and peers. Most people seem to spin in the center and jump in the corners. Everyone's pretty good about giving right of way to folks in lessons or doing programs or dances. Some coaches will stake out a spot, typically near the boards along one of the blue lines, and do their lessons there, while others will move all over.
No sashes for programs, but it's a small enough community that after a while you can memorize who's doing what music this year. I've not gotten to the point of doing a program yet, but from what I can tell people just go up to the sound system, plug in their ipod/phone/CD, and do what they need to do. (A lot of sessions only have 4-5 people on them or even fewer, not all of whom are at the point of doing a program. Saturday mornings are a little busier at 8-12 people. I've skated 7 AM sessions where I was the only one there.)
Between the two rinks we have early and mid-morning, afternoon, and into the evening (ending at 5:45) sessions most weekdays, Saturday mornings when there isn't a hockey tournament, and Sunday afternoons. I can't complain about the ice times, especially since I work right across the street from one rink and can typically make the last evening session after work. That rink sells ice time in 45-minute increments, and if you buy the biggest package ( = discount) it's a little over $4 a pop. At the other rink, you pay one fee per session whether it's an hour or three hours. It's kind of weird. With the biggest package, each session costs $7.50. (I usually skate there on Sunday afternoons for an hour, which works out to not too much more than what an hour of ice time at the other rink, were that to exist, would cost. Also it has ice on Sundays, which nowhere else in town has, so that alone makes the higher price worth it.) Both rinks are municipally-funded, so those prices are for in-county residents. Yay for my tax dollars at work!
I think our laid-back approach works for us. I don't know that trying to institute rules would improve things, although there are certainly a few kids I can think of who could use a stern talking to about watching where they're going. Dividing sessions by skill level is a non-starter; the rinks would never make any money and lots of ice would go unused.