Theft at the Rink

[sampaguita]

Well, guess I'll rent a locker at the rink after all... Thieves visited my skate bag in the lobby and took away a ziplock bag that contained cash and ice coupons in addition to other stuff. Fortunately my keys and phone were not in the skate bag at the moment. Granted the lobby was empty and office closed (Sunday evening), but there were twenty kids practicing for the ice show and tens of zucas parked there... I will call the rink tomorrow to check if they left anything for me in lost and found, sigh.

Sorry to hear about that. That's really sad.

[AgnesNitt]

I always carry my wallet in a zippered pocket in my jacket, along with my keys.

The iphone was a problem fitting into the pockets, so I just tuck it into my bra.  Let's see someone steal it out of there.

Anyway, most rink thefts (I surveyed the literature and did a blog post on it) occur during games or competitions when someone breaks into the locker rooms.

I used to worry about someone stealing my shoes--totally irrational--so for years I kept an extra pair of shoes in the car when I went skating. Then one day I woke up and realized it's probably only fancy sneakers getting stolen not old lady shoes. So, no more extra shoes in the car. 

A good tip is to always zip up your bag. Little kids will claw through it if you don't. Zuca's are nice, but I mostly skate on public, so I just carry a duffel. Easier to deal with and doesn't attract attention.

[VAsk8r]

At my rink, stuff got stolen out of the locker rooms during hockey games, so they put a security camera aimed down that hallway that's on 24/7.

A rink employee assured me that where I and most other figure skaters leave our stuff (on benches right by the entrance to the cold part of the rink, facing one of the goal ends) is "the safest place" because people would notice anyone who didn't belong poking through it, but I'm skeptical. When I go to public sessions, I lock my purse in my car and tuck my wallet and phone down inside my bag.

There used to be lockers in the lobby, and anyone who wanted to lock up their stuff just had to bring a combination lock and could keep it there as long as they wanted. I was surprised at how few figure skaters took advantage of this, considering our rink doesn't have a parking lot so we have to walk quite a distance with our skates sometimes. After the rink was sold and renovated, they got rid of those lockers and just left a bank of coin lockers way back in the back that nobody ever uses. I skated there for well over a year before I ever even noticed them.

The iphone was a problem fitting into the pockets, so I just tuck it into my bra.  Let's see someone steal it out of there.

Hmm...your iphone must be a lot smaller than mine then. That just wouldn't work

[hopskipjump]

For freestyles most seem to put their valuables in their rink totes (they go on the boards).

During public sessions, for my skater and her friends they park their bags near the mom's bench (away from everyone else) and parents watch the bags.

[jjane45]

At my former rink skaters can use the lockers freely with their own locks. At the current rink skaters need to rent lockers I believe on an annual basis. I don't know when does the new "locker season" start but will find out.

Phone size is a huge problem here too, being bigger and heavier than iphones. While it works OK for ice dance in pockets (used as metronome), it moves around too much for jumps and simply disastrous for spins.

[turnip]

I only skate early morning patch, and I know pretty much everyone who is there regularly. I'm sure the parents would question a random person who came in and started rumaging through people's stuff. I don't have a car and go straight to work from the rink, so everything for the day (purse, keys, train ticket, patch tickets, phone etc) is with me at the rink. touch wood, never had a problem. The only thing I've lost was a jacket and it was my own fault for leaving it at the rink.

On the extremely rare occassion I skate on a public session (if i'm taking non-skater friends), I use the lockers.

[Skittl1321]

I always carry my wallet in a zippered pocket in my jacket, along with my keys.

I'm terrified of skating with my keys.  I don't want to stab myself on a fall. 

I do not carry ANYTHING on the ice with me.  I leave my wallet at home when I skate, but I put my car at risk I guess.  My 'clicker' is broken though, so it would take someone a long time to find my car in the mall parking lot...

[FigureSpins]

My skate bag would never fit in a locker since it is a locker itself!  I have books, paperwork, training tools, etc. that I haul around with my skates.  I often need to get something from my bag, so I like having it accessible, rink-side.  I never leave my skate bag in the lobby or changing areas; I drag it into the rink and leave it in a corner or against a wall, out of traffic.  I wish my kids would do the same, especially when they leave their ipods in there. 

I usually take my purse on the ice if I bring one.  I put it in a hockey box or (at publics) on top of the music station.  If I'm at a rink I don't know, I usually splurge on a locker for my valuables or just lock them in the glove box/trunk of the car.    Otherwise, I put my wallet and keys in my skate bag; I keep my phone and ipod with me on the ice when I coach. 

I do have a luggage lock that I've used during public sessions to secure a compartment on my skate bag, but it's just a deterrant.  If they really want to get in, they can just slice open the fabric or break the zipper.

I have heard of two thefts from zuca bags.  One girl told her angry mother that someone opened the bag to steal her puffy jacket; another said her freestyle card was stolen.  In the first incident, I think she actually left the jacket on a bench or didn't zip the bag and someone picked it up in error.  The bags and those black, puffy jackets, look alike, so it could have been an honest mistake. 

The freestyle card theft could have been done out of spite, or she might have misplaced it herself.  The card had her name on it; no one else could use it and a stranger wouldn't know what it was, so it wouldn't have been taken for its value.  It's also possible that she used her last punch and the clerk threw it away.

Here's a wacky suggestion: what if you bought a little toiletries bag with a hook to take on the ice for your valuables and some necessities?  (Tissues, bandaids, music, etc.)  You could hook it over the top of the glass in a hockey box so it's visible and only accessible to those on the ice. 

I guess just buying a lock for your bag is easier, though.  You could make a loop from a zip tie, put it around the frame support, then use the lock to secure one of the little outside zuca pockets.  Again, you're just discouraging an opportunist, anyone who really wants to steal from you will make more of an effort.

ETA: I know the zucas have a zipper on the door flap that can be locked, but the little side pouches are more discreet to use for something small.  Most skaters don't use the inner pockets and pouches well, so finding something small turns into a major search. 

[sarahspins]

Zucas already have lock-friendly zipper pulls on the "door" flap.  I've thought about buying a lock but still haven't gotten around to it.  My bag is a disaster with 3 pairs of skates and gloves and guards for 3 people, plus towels and other stuff.  I actually joked to someone yesterday (while I was digging around for my wallet so I could pay my coach) that I don't worry about anyone stealing anything from my bag - they'd have to FIND it in there first!

I have not had anything stolen in the past couple of years... the only things I've had go missing are things I've left on accident... like boxes of tissues, or more recently, the bunga sleeve I left sitting on a bench.  Not exactly the rink's fault there

[FigureSpins]

A bit OT: One of my DDs realized three blocks from the rink that she had forgotten something.  We went back and spent 20 minutes looking everywhere for the item.  Our rink has two lost-and-found stations; we checked all our skate bags, locker rooms, on-ice boxes, snack bar, stretching areas, bathrooms, everywhere!  I was really ticked off because it appeared that the labeled item had been stolen within a few minutes of our leaving.  I couldn't believe it!  I checked the lost-and-found for a week - nothing turned up.

A few days later, the Director mentioned that the item had been left in her office, but she didn't know by whom or when.  It just turned up when she came in to work one day.  I told her how we had searched and she was surprised, too.

A month later, I was at the rink and saw a pair of skates leaning against the check-in desk that I knew belonged to one of the skaters.  I saw her take them off, but she forgot to put them away.  She was a rookie, and didn't have a skate bag at the time, so normally put them in under the desk while she waited to be picked up. 

I came in the following afternoon to find the kid in tears, frantically looking for her skates because she had a lesson.  I said, "Oh don't worry - I saw them by this desk last night.  Maybe someone put them underneath or in the Lost and Found."  She looked, I looked and they were nowhere to be found.  I felt awful for the kid.

Turned out, her instructor had found and hidden them to "teach her a lesson."  She watched the kid break down in tears and said nothing.  I thought that was cruel, but it explained why skaters' things were often missing around the rink, only to turn up days later out of the blue.

I suspect this instructor tried to teach my kids a lesson.  I couldn't have looked in the office since the Director wasn't in that day and the door was locked.  The instructor, who had a key to that office, probably didn't know what to do when she saw me come in to look for the item with the kids, or she was enjoying our distress, as she did with her own student.

I now snatch up anything left behind by anyone and put it in the Lost and Found right away, to protect them from this sick nutjob. 

Make your items look different with decorations or a jingle bell on a pocket, so there are no mixups.  Keep looking and asking about left-behind items.  (Obviously, cash and jewelry are long shots.)  Put a permanent marker in your bag and use it to label everything with your name.  Close your bags and put them out of the way, but where you can see them. 

[jjane45]

Here's a wacky suggestion: what if you bought a little toiletries bag with a hook to take on the ice for your valuables and some necessities?  (Tissues, bandaids, music, etc.)  You could hook it over the top of the glass in a hockey box so it's visible and only accessible to those on the ice. 

I guess just buying a lock for your bag is easier, though.  You could make a loop from a zip tie, put it around the frame support, then use the lock to secure one of the little outside zuca pockets.  Again, you're just discouraging an opportunist, anyone who really wants to steal from you will make more of an effort.

I always forget water bottles behind me, so totes will not work. Locking the bag to something actually sounds good, but I ended up signing up for the locker after all. The locker key is surprisingly big and fat, I may have to pin it inside the boot cover.

It's been concluded that my camera (that I've wanted to replace but worked perfectly) and a small music player (cheap off eBay) were also on the casualty list :/

[hopskipjump]

These are what are popular right now http://www.kissandcryangels.com/.  Holding water, tissues, cd's, keys and phones....

[FigureSpins]

These are what are popular right now http://www.kissandcryangels.com/.  Holding water, tissues, cd's, keys and phones....

You've posted this bag before, but I've never heard of it, nor have I seen it in use at rinks. 
Wow!  $30-50 for a tote to fall off the boards into hockey player spit and slush puddles?  No thanks.

There used to be an (overpriced) rink side "saddlebag" tote that alleged to be good at staying on the wall since it hung down on both sides.  Haven't seen it promoted in a long time.


At our rink, the skaters use inexpensive totes, caboodle train cases or shower totes if they need to bring stuff on the ice, but most travel light and just carry what they need.

Sorry about your camera and mp3 player, jjane.

[hopskipjump]

LOL - Maybe I should take a photo this week.  They do look pretty lined up on the wall.  

Coming soon to a rink near you....!


It's like a Zuca.  5 years ago no one heard of them but now?  They are everywhere.

[sarahspins]

No, they're not - I've never heard of them, nor have I seen them at any rinks. 

Wow!  $30-50 for a tote to set on the boards?  Not a good use of money - there's nothing exceptional about them.

I agree, and it may be a regional thing.. I haven't seen them here either, but I can say that you can pick up a crafting tote for under $10 that does the same thing... if that's what you'd want to use.  I have one on my desk full of stuff

Here people either use binders to hold all of their stuff or they just take a bag into the hockey box.  It's not that hard to remember a bag with your wallet and phone in it if it also contains your car keys!

[FigureSpins]

LOL - Maybe I should take a photo this week.  They do look pretty lined up on the wall. 

Coming soon to a rink near you....!


It's like a Zuca.  5 years ago no one heard of them but now?  They are everywhere.

Why are you so proud to follow this trend without thought?  How is it a good thing to throw money at a status symbol, just so your daughter can fit in with the rest of the "haves?"

The only advantage that a Zuca bag provides for $150 is a seat and light-up wheels.  All the other features can be found in other bags easily.  By the way, the new trendy skate bag is a Heys bag, also overpriced, imo.

Zucas are overpriced status symbols, and apparently these totes are also.  Glad to see they're isolated to a few areas.  No wonder people try to discourage their kids from getting into figure skating, given these type of budget-busters.

[hopskipjump]

LOL - My dd has a tote from Target's garden clearance.

I just thought it was cute for those who want something fun at the rink for their phones. 

[AgnesNitt]

I've seen the kiss and cry totes in my region in one rink out of four. None of the other rinks have them. When I saw them I thought, 'Maybe I can use my old longaberger small purse when I skate freestyles,' but too lazy to haul something more around.

One of the reasons for using a duffel if you skate at publics is no one pays attention to them. Zucas scream 'I have money'! I can see people who go to a lot of competitions, or even a lot of rinks using them, but I'm sticking with my tried and true 'invisible duffel'.

[fsk8r]

How is there space for everyone to have their own tote? My rink only had the length of the hockey boxes to place things. It just about has space for all the water bottles. CDs tend to stay with so parents as it's an excuse for them to talk to the coach.

[jjane45]

How is there space for everyone to have their own tote? 

Our boards still have room for totes, but no room for spiral stretching...

[davincisop]

I'm going to say that the kiss and cry totes are actually awesome. I'm sure there's cheaper options but mine has never fallen and I can keep all my things togeyher when I'm on the ice. They're a trend of sorts at my rink.

When I went to competition last September, mom saw some of yhe skaters with them on their zucas and she asked why I didn't have one. I told her they gave them out at the banquet and I couldn't go because of work. She thought they were so cool she ended up ordering me one. I've used it for every freestyle session since. Mom was excited about it too. (I love the little moments when she turns into skating mom and gets excited about the sport lol)

[Bunny Hop]

These are what are popular right now http://www.kissandcryangels.com/.  Holding water, tissues, cd's, keys and phones....

They sell these in the shop at our rink. A few of the teenagers have them for holding tissues, water bottles and what not. I'd noticed them and wondered if they were the next trend.

There's plenty of room on the boards for them because we don't have perspex (they use netting for hockey).

I lock all my valuables in my skate bag using a combination padlock, but I'm only skating freestyles now. I'd probably be more careful on a public session.

[turnip]

i only ever see coachs folders and coffee cups and skaters water bottles on the boards by the hockey boxes. But then we leave our stuff right by the ice (thats where theres benches and where we put on our skates), so you can see your stuff and can easily get off for a tissue or something without wasting loads of time.

I have a zuca but don't have money, I walk 30 mins to the rink, so it's easier than carrying a backpack or shoulder bag. Plus yes, it is cool :pI've had random non skating strangers tell me they like the flashing wheels lol!

Transpacks replaced zucas for a lot of kids last year, they go en masse to another rink and all the zucas wouldn't fit in the car lol!

[angelgirls29]

I've never had anything stolen but I have thought of rigging up a rape alarm so that I'll know if someone goes in my bag.

A friend had his iPod stolen and his bag was right next to mine (mine's a purple Transpack, his is a big hockey bag which has a flask of tea etc in)... Why didn't they go in mine? (Not that I'd want them to but it would've been easier to get my purse out of there than go through his bag!)

Today's news, though, really takes the biscuit.
The U18s ice hockey shirts have vanished. None of the coaches etc know where they are. What's someone going to do with a load of shirts?
(I don't know if these were stolen or just misplaced but no-one knows where they are and they aren't where they should be)

[mummey_nc]

I haven't heard of sticky fingers at any of the rinks I frequent, however, one rink I go to is scary on the outside (I haven't seen any crime, it's just isolated and creepy) so because of this, I've gotten into the habit of keeping everything locked in the trunk and I tie my car key into my laces as I lace up.  I'm conviced this added weight on one leg from this super tiny key will somehow make one side of my body more fit than the other so I have this ridiculous habit of making sure I put the key on the opposite boot the next time I lace up.  Being illogical is just plain fun