Skaters' Downtime

[FigureSpins]

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?

[Sk8tmum]

sure does, if the coach, club, and skating families build the camaraderie, and the idea of team.  My kid and I will be doing all of that stuff you describe next weekend, actually!!!!

[Tennisany1]

You get that atmosphere at BC Summer Skate. The kids hang out once they have competed. They are runners, ice patchers, timers, and starters. They also just hang out and watch. Everyone congregates for the ladies' and men's free skates with the kids huddled under blankets cheering and throwing stuffies on the ice. It is a great end to a long summer of skating.

[hopskipjump]

We wish we could have stayed - but dd had a friend's bday to attend.  She has never had a group of friends cheer her on until this weekend and now she wants to cheer for them.  They did hang out all they could though(about 3 hours).  We don't mind if they run off from the adults as long as they stay in the building and stick together.

[Schmeck]

Clubs with multiple levels of synchro teams usually have the skaters stay in the stands to cheer on their teammates - they have silly, loud, elaborate cheers for each other too.

Most of the time they are stuck at the rink until the coach bus comes to bring them all back to the hotel, so they get to sit, eat, browse the gallery, etc.

[isakswings]

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?

My daughter and I stay and support the other skaters a lot. In fact, my daughter has been known to go and watch skaters compete at a competition she isn't skating in. She loves to support the other kids. Our club is actually working on creating a strong junior club. Part of the push to do so is to encourage the kids to be more unified and supportive of one another. Our junior club is a work in progress but I think it will help a lot to create some kind of "team" feeling.

[Skittl1321]

Our local competition the skaters all stay and cheer on their friends.  I've never seen anyone arrive in time to get their warm up/skates on, skate, and then just leave.


If skaters are entered in multiple events, they are kind of forced to hang out- compulsory in the morning, freeskate mid-day, artistic in the evening. 

I wouldn't say it is electronic free, but the kids usually play on those together.