Can the condition of the ice affect your skating?

[skatingpasty]

It's frustrating..on mornings the ice is nice and smooth (after been zambonied) and this is when I skate best.
My spins are smooth - I get a good 5-6 rotations on my camel spin, my jumps are smooth etc.

On evenings it's the complete opposite, we go on the ice after a club or hockey practise so there's no break to zamboni the ice, it's all rough with skate blade tracks and dints in it - I can barely do anything on it
It's soooooo frustrating as I have my lesson with coach on an evening and I just can't do anything properly, I get about 1-2 rotations on a bad camel spin, I slip on the take off to my loop, I can't land my flip or lutz..

...is it just me or does the ice condition affect your skating?

Btw it's not my blades as I've just had them sharpened last week...any tips on how to be able to skate properly on any ice - as I can't guarantee at a competition that the ice is going to be super smooth

[Sk8tmum]

Yes,it certainly can; and that's to be expected.  Hacked up ice makes spins and other skating moves difficult as you don't have a smooth surface.  Further, the "temperature" of the ice can affect it: true figure skating ice is softer than hockey ice, but, that doesn't seem relevant here. 

Also, hacked up ice will take the grind off your skates quicker ... my kids have "pond skates" for skating on public ice for a reason: the ruts and uneven surface ruins their edges.

That said, a competition should have decent ice, with resurfacing happening regularly. You should be okay there.

[fsk8r]

While the condition of the ice will affect your skating, if you can do your spins and jumps on the cut up ice, they will be even better on the smooth ice. The cut up ice just makes things harder. But equally time of day can affect your skating. If you're a morning person and wide awake then that can help your skating in the mornings, but if you're a late person you'll be sleepy in the mornings and more wide awake in the evenings and so might prefer and skate better in the evenings.

I used to have the last lesson on a Friday night. Both me and coach would be sleepy, but being sleepy meant I was less worried about some things so it helped me get over my fears in some regards, but because I was sleepy I wouldn't skate as well in other ways.

[hopskipjump]

Dd has more trouble with wet slushy ice.  One of our rinks has a problem sheet of ice that gets puddles and by summer they have sand spots. Then they cose it for the hottest months.  There is so much friction and water that if that is the only sheet open she will skip the skate. 

[rosereedy]

It most certainly does affect how I skate.  What messes with me the most is when the ice is really soft and I have to really push super hard to go anywhere.  My spins drag so bad and my jumps have no lift.  By when the ice is hard, I really fly and spins and jumps are really good.  At my rink, we have to dodge the "speed bumps" left by a drippy ceiling.  Hit one of those bad boys and you're a goner.  The choppy ice isn't so bad for me if the ice is really hard but soft choppy ice is no good.  Might as well not skate because it will be useless for me.

[skatingpasty]

Thanks...thought it might just be me being silly haha

IAt my rink, we have to dodge the "speed bumps" left by a drippy ceiling.  Hit one of those bad boys and you're a goner.

I know what you mean, yesterday at the rink there was soo many bumps in the ice that one of the hockey skaters I know tried to do a hockey stop and accidently hit one of the bumps and crashed into the boards - had to be taken to hospital with a knee injury..ouch

I'm just gonna have to practise extra hard to try and skate on rough cut-up ice...in skate best on smooth ice where there are no skate tracks and the ice is so clear

[davincisop]

Thanks...thought it might just be me being silly haha
I know what you mean, yesterday at the rink there was soo many bumps in the ice that one of the hockey skaters I know tried to do a hockey stop and accidently hit one of the bumps and crashed into the boards - had to be taken to hospital with a knee injury..ouch

I'm just gonna have to practise extra hard to try and skate on rough cut-up ice...in skate best on smooth ice where there are no skate tracks and the ice is so clear

My coach has said if you can skate on the cruddy cut up ice then you can skate on anything. We were talking about Rockefeller Center's ice (which is horrible due to the number of people skating on it, you literally go there to skate in circles JUST to say that you did it) and she was saying if you can manage to skate there then you can skate on any ice, which has proven to be true. It's harder to skate on the chewed up ice, still, and I usually hold back, but when I get to skate on REALLY nice ice, I notice a huge difference in my skating.

[jjane45]

Figure > spin >>>> footwork / jumps
On poor ice there isn't really anything you can do with figures and spins.
I found the jumps usually survive alright after some adjustments.

Good ice after 2 hours of public skating is still manageable,
but slushy ice due to dripping ceilings and other factors is scary.

[Skate@Delaware]

when I went yesterday, the ice was all chewed up and I thought I would not be able to skate. It was difficult (aren't we so spoiled?) but I got used to it.  Jumps-good although I had a hard time getting speed into them, Spinning-not so good.  After the zam, wow what a difference!

[Skittl1321]

I really need a rink that makes their ice in stripes.  The ice I like for spins is so hard to jump on.  The ice I like to jump on isn't good for super fast spins.  Of course, I can do okay spins on "jump ice", but can't do okay jumps on "spin ice", so I guess i'll take that.

[skatingpasty]

I really need a rink that makes their ice in stripes.  The ice I like for spins is so hard to jump on.  The ice I like to jump on isn't good for super fast spins.  Of course, I can do okay spins on "jump ice", but can't do okay jumps on "spin ice", so I guess i'll take that.

I'm the same, I can spin really well on super smooth spinning ice, but I feel it is too slippery (i know it sounds silly) to take off for jumps, especially loop!
Whilst I can do good flip jumps on chewed up ice, since there's lot's of grip, my spins are just a disaster D;


Changing topic here a bit, what do you guys think about really busy public sessions?
For the past few weeks, every morning session has been full with people for school trips, little kids, teenagers etc.
Today i only stayed for half and hour as the ice was sooo packed it was unbelievable, feels like i'm wasting my money for no practise - one of the schools teachers told me off for nearlly hitting a kid when doing a camel spin (hardly my fault if they skate near me whilst spinning, i can't see them)

At out rink, you're not allowed on patch until you're like a high level skaters - at least doing doubles.
I was so annoyed on monday, coach wouldn't let me work on my lutz as it was too dangerous with the amount of people there..so I spent the whole half and hour lesson doing backspin and inside and backward three turns D:

[Skittl1321]

Camel spins on busy public sessions are very dangerous- public skaters tend to flock towards spin like a bug to a zapper.  If you know it's crowded, I wouldn't practice them.  The better skater always has the responsibility of avoiding an accident.

You can't do a freestyle session until doubles?  That sucks- especially because things like back spirals and camels come sooner.


I don't usually practice on publics, although since I've gotten new skates, I've been on them more lately (not comfortable enough for freestyle right now).  I just wrote a journal entry about the last one.  Three high freestyle skaters working on BIG doubles (not the little ones that happen in place- but huge ones), a flock of birthday party skaters good enough to skate but not good enough to control themselves, and then 3 low freestyle skaters trying to practice.  It wasn't even that crowded and it was an absolute disaster.  I might stick 1 public session a week into my summer schedule, but once it is crowded, I'm done.

Are your patch sessions so crowded that they can't let a low freestyle skater on?  And if they are that crowded, would the rink offer "low patch"?

[skatingpasty]

Yeah I shouldn't really practise camel spins during the busier sessions, which annoys me because i've started practising catchfoot from the camel spin...which results in my practise time not being used to the full meaning I won't improve as quickle D:

I've been on a morning a couple of times, right after morning patch has finished and there looks to be no more than 10 skaters or so on the ice, I can understand these skaters need their own space to practise, but it's a big rink, surely they can fit a few more on.
The rink doesn't have different ability patches - just all one, so those beginning doubles will be practising with those landing triples and such. It's a privately owned rink so the owner and head coach makes up all the rules D:

I hate public sessions, especially with it being summer now all the kids will be out of school so it'll be so busy... D:
I was just lucky enough to finish school about 2 months early coz exams were finished (year 11)

[Query]

One of our rinks has a problem sheet of ice that gets puddles and by summer they have sand spots. Then they cose it for the hottest months.  There is so much friction and water that if that is the only sheet open she will skip the skate. 

Sounds like a golf course. Ponds and sand pits!

It must be very hard on skate blades to skate over sand spots.

That would not be my favorite rink.

Good sharpeners sharpen differently for different ice conditions. But you can't very well change your edges every time you skate! Unless you have separate boots and blades... And a swimming suit for the golf course ice. 

[Elsa]

With all the heat and humidity we're getting our rinks are a mess. 

My fav practice rink has a humidifier down and there's so much condensation dripping of the ceiling that is sounds like it's raining and there are ridges matching the ceiling lines.  Add in the heat, and there was a fine layer of water sitting on much of the rink, and the ice was really soft.  Yuck.  I managed some MIF and jumps and a couple okay spins, but it was like skating through a swamp or something.

My least fav practice rink's ice softened up enough that I kind of like it, but it has the dripping/ridge issue too - just not as bad, and in places that weren't as hard to avoid.

At least my lesson rink is maintaining their ice quite well - I landed loop/loop and flip loop combos and had some good spins there Mon night. It was so nice not to wonder if I didn't notice a bump/ridge in my planned landing area as I took off for a jump. I can't wait for this heat to end.

[Skittl1321]

We noticed yesterday that for about 50% of the rink, the ice has melted away from the boards- there are huge gaping holes.

EEK!

[Sk8tmum]

We noticed yesterday that for about 50% of the rink, the ice has melted away from the boards- there are huge gaping holes.

EEK!

Saw a skater snap her ankle bone in two with that type of gap ... blade went in gap, ankle went "crack" - paramedics came in, ambulance to hospital.  End of competitive skating career.

[hopskipjump]

When she hit the sand spot she was going at a good clip in a spiral and it was like she hit an invisible wall.  She did a full front body slam on the ice.  Rink staff put cones in the area.   She skates on the other sheets now.

[Elsa]

We noticed yesterday that for about 50% of the rink, the ice has melted away from the boards- there are huge gaping holes.

EEK!

We have that at one of our rinks too - it's not good.   

Sk8tmum  Wow!  How awful! 

[karne]

In summer our rink always has at least two inches of water on the surface and those little holes that form when the roof drips. At least, that was all of last summer. Obviously you don't notice it in winter. Hopefully they've got everything fixed for this summer, but when it's 40 degrees outside, it's kind of hard for ice to stay frozen.

That being said, I did go on a road trip to Canterbury last summer (mostly for the pro shop there) and even though it was 41 degrees in Sydney that day, their ice was very frozen. Rather uneven/ripply, but frozen. So I guess it's an equipment issue and I hope it gets fixed...although since there's no ice hockey in summer I won't get my hopes up.

I love how in summer, the standard fashion at our rink is singlet top/tank top (sports bra showing, who cares), booty shorts/skirt, and tights. No jackets, no gloves, no nothing! It's quite a sight!  (Some of us probably shouldn't be wearing the skirts/booty shorts, but that's another story  )

[Skittl1321]

Two inches of water? That's like halfway up the heel of my boot, my blades would be completely immersed!  That's not skating- it's swimming!  

During the summer we all skate in tank tops and the young girls wear little shorts and tights, I wear thin leggings (as opposed to my winter warm leggings).  There are no jackets or gloves in site.  It is way too hot for that.

Yesterday the zamboni water never dried, so a fall meant you'd get soaked, but honestly it was welcome, quite a few skaters stayed laying down after a fall, just to cool down

[karne]

Two inches of water? That's like halfway up the heel of my boot, my blades would be completely immersed!  That's not skating- it's swimming!  

lol I'm exaggerating a little - but it's really a good inch. I took a fall just before one of my tests on one of those days - drenched hip to toe. I ended up having to blowdry the insides of my boots, because they got water in them!

[Bunny Hop]

The rink I used to skate at as a teenager (long closed) was partly in a tent, and in summer we used to joke that it was difficult to distinguish it from the swimming pool next door. When I did skating for school sport (an option that didn't last very long) the boys used to deliberately throw themselves onto the ice and see how far they could slide along the rink (and how wet they could get in the process).

[AgnesNitt]

This probably belongs in Rink Rants, but today the hockey team decided to do some kind of hockey thing at the zam end of the rink with the whole team shuffling and scooting around for 15 minutes. After the ice was zammed, that end of the rink was just a mess with hundreds of deep ruts ,pock marks, and 30 minutes into public there was a sheet of water at that end.
Coach came on and when he wanted me to do things the full extent of the rink I just said "No". I mean, it's my personal motto never to tell coach I won't do something because it scares me, but this was beyond scared, this ice said to me "I'm out here waiting to break the other ankle." So I did my risk assessment and refused to skate there.

[Sierra]

This probably belongs in Rink Rants, but today the hockey team decided to do some kind of hockey thing at the zam end of the rink with the whole team shuffling and scooting around for 15 minutes. After the ice was zammed, that end of the rink was just a mess with hundreds of deep ruts ,pock marks, and 30 minutes into public there was a sheet of water at that end.
Coach came on and when he wanted me to do things the full extent of the rink I just said "No". I mean, it's my personal motto never to tell coach I won't do something because it scares me, but this was beyond scared, this ice said to me "I'm out here waiting to break the other ankle." So I did my risk assessment and refused to skate there.

I wouldn't have skated there either. I can just see a rut catching a blade and snapping an ankle.


Mostly I only have bad ice when hockey's been on beforehand. I did go to a rink once in which the practice rink actually rolled up and down. Like, you'd be skating along, and you would feel yourself roll downhill, then you'd have to push extra hard to go uphill. 

That was the practice rink tucked in a musty corner, though. When I actually competed the next day, it was on the other, nicer rink up front and the ice was flat and smooth.