Friends who figure skate

[Janie]

We were discussing at the rink about how figure skating is a dying sport. So I was curious about how widespread the sport currently is. How many of you have friends (or know someone) who figure skates (freestyle/pairs/ice dance)? I am, of course, not including friends you've made on your figure skating journey.

I don't know anyone at all!

[sarahonice]

Zero for me. All my friends are surprised and a little befuddled that I've taken up such a niche sport. They take up running, pilates, yoga, etc and it all seems very normal. But skating? It's a whole other world. That's part of the reason I read these boards and blog, because my friends and family aren't interested in talking skating, and since they know very little about it, even I were to talk about it they wouldn't understand a lot of it.   But thank goodness for the internet.

[hopskipjump]

My daughter's best friend's mom was passionate as a skating fan in the 90's.   

After meeting my daughter, she signed her kids up for a session of skating.  They like it but have no desire to compete or do much more than stay upright.  But it is really fun when they take their session every winter (there is a hole between soccer and spring sports so they now take one session of lessons a year).  And when we have extra passes they join us for an afternoon of skating.

Since she is a kid, most of her friends can skate well enough to have a good time.  If they can roller blade, they can skate!

[RosiePosie.iskates]

Well, if you mean friends like: kids/teens not coaches or just other random girls at my rink, then I know around 10+. Various levels, various ages, and we all love to skate, so that just makes it even better! Since I'm schooled online, I could use some more "Human-interaction" 

[Janie]

Well, if you mean friends like: kids/teens not coaches or just other random girls at my rink, then I know around 10+. Various levels, various ages, and we all love to skate, so that just makes it even better! Since I'm schooled online, I could use some more "Human-interaction" 

Oh no no, I meant people you already knew, not the people you know from skating. For example, your neighbours, relatives, friends from school/work. Not friends you made at the rink or people you meet at skating competitions.

Zero for me. All my friends are surprised and a little befuddled that I've taken up such a niche sport. They take up running, pilates, yoga, etc and it all seems very normal. But skating? It's a whole other world.

Yeah my friends are pretty befuddled too. And they can't understand why I skate so often. One asked me yesterday if I was training to be a competitor or something. I doubt someone who goes to the gym to work out or plays basketball three times a week would get that sort of a question.

And when we have extra passes they join us for an afternoon of skating.

Ah that's nice to be able to bring your friends along to something you love!

[jjane45]

I know very few people who own a pair of skates. When I was in LTS I actively recruited people to public skate or take lessons with me, all fruitless. I don't do that anymore because 1) I am happy with rink friendship and 2) now I have to really FOCUS during the precious ice time I could manage.

[TreSk8sAZ]

I guess since I grew up in northern Illionis I'm a bit odd, but I know tons of people who do or did figure skate (outside of those I train with). In school, the kids who skated seriously always had 1st hour free so they could come to school after morning patch and/or freestyle sessions. I met a number of figure skaters in college, some of whom ended up on my floor of my dorm. It's crazy as I went out of state!

[icedancer]

I meet figure skaters or ex-figure skaters occasionally in my non-skating life.  More recently some of my neighbors have enrolled their kids in Learn-to-Skate and another time I saw a neighbor with his two-year-old down at the rink because he loved to watch the skaters!

It's true it's kind of a niche sport - I didn't know anyone else in HS who did it even though I lived in Detroit... at the time there was only one real rink and it was a half-hour from my house - now there are rinks everywhere in that area.

Occasionally I will meet a roller skater... does that count?

[iomoon]

I have one friend/acquaintance who ice skates. That's because she's friendly with everyone at the rink. 

I have friends who are health nuts and encourage me to ice skate, though. I took up ice skating because 1) Kristi Yamaguchi and 2) You don't sweat much after a workout. 

[sarahspins]

When I started skating as a kid, one   She's the friend who got me hooked (and she stopped skating within a year of that), but now the only people I know who skate are people I met AT the rink.. everyone else I know thinks I'm weird for skating as an adult.

[iomoon]

When I started skating as a kid, one   She's the friend who got me hooked (and she stopped skating within a year of that), but now the only people I know who skate are people I met AT the rink.. everyone else I know thinks I'm weird for skating as an adult.

Ha ha... they're probably envious that you're so agile!

[jjane45]

everyone else I know thinks I'm weird for skating as an adult.

Ha, my boss said "do not fall" many times when I told him about my skating test (asking for day off). I don't blame him as not long ago I came to work with a bruised cheek and had to ice it all day.

[sampaguita]

Skating is an elitist sport, mainly because you can't just step on the ice and skate, unlike more common activities like soccer and dance. It takes 5 ISI levels (including pre-alpha) before you can actually skate.

When I was still not taking LTS, I was in awe of all the skaters who were wearing white skates (we were all wearing blue rental skates). When I got my first white skates, I was proud of myself, because I thought I had finally entered this impenetrable circle of skaters, even though I was starting at the very bottom.

Very few of my friends know that I skate -- I keep my skating life secret because everyone that I know do not know how to skate. Naturally, I'll be a curiosity, maybe looked up to as "wow, she can do that?" or looked down upon as in "well, I've seen Olympic skaters do MUCH better."

I used to think that maybe skating seemed elite because I live in the tropics. But when I was in the US, I told a group of students that I was skating, and they were like "wow! you skate?" So I guess how people perceive skating as a sport is independent of whether you have winter or not.

[alejeather]

I've known very few. I had a friend from middle school who moved down from Michigan who skated. I remember my sister had a friend growing up who skated. Once at a public session, she tried to teach us a two foot apin from a pivot. I have a coworker currently who plays hockey.

Every once in a while, I'll run into people at a public skate who I know from outside of skating, but not because they skate on a regular basis, but because they decided to bring their kids over for the afternoon.

I live in a relatively warm climate and the strangest reaction I've gotten when I tell people I skate, and I've gotten it more than once, is a sarcastic, "That will come in handy down here!" as if I were learning to skate as a survival skill.

Recently, I was catching up with a college acquaintance at a wedding reception and when he found out that I was skating, he exclaimed, "Oh cool! My sister skates, too! She went to Worlds!" THAT was not a response I expected!

[icedancer]

Recently, I was catching up with a college acquaintance at a wedding reception and when he found out that I was skating, he exclaimed, "Oh cool! My sister skates, too! She went to Worlds!" THAT was not a response I expected!

That reminds me that I have a friend whose sister was a very high level competitor in France.

[VAsk8r]

I picked 1-3. One of my friends took a session of Learn to Skate with me when I first started, but she probably wouldn't have signed up without me. And my co-worker's sister figure skated as a teen. It's probably a stretch to say I know her, since I've never met her.

I've encouraged a couple of friends to sign their kids up for Learn to Skate and gave a free session I won to one person for her daughter. Usually what happens is their kids make some progress and like it, but aren't in love with it, and they end up missing or coming late to a couple of classes. My internal reaction is, "But...but...it's the greatest sport ever! How is she ever going to make the Olympics if you let her skip because she's tired?"

Most of my friends do zumba, body pump classes, spinning or yoga and/or they run. I run to help with endurance and have something to do when I'm not skating, but the rest of it doesn't interest me at all. I'm taking a ballet class with a couple of friends and enjoy it, but I'm certainly not going to give up skating for it.

I try to avoid talking about skating with "muggles," but it keeps coming up. People think it's cool, but when I have to admit that I skate 5-6 days a week, compete and spend a significant portion of my income on skating, I feel like they're thinking, "wow, what a strange person." I know I shouldn't feel that way. I know people who do triathlons and marathons, which sound miserable to me. Why is figure skating any different?

[Janie]

Recently, I was catching up with a college acquaintance at a wedding reception and when he found out that I was skating, he exclaimed, "Oh cool! My sister skates, too! She went to Worlds!" THAT was not a response I expected!

That is really cool!! Definitely wouldn't expect an answer like that!

Skating is an elitist sport, mainly because you can't just step on the ice and skate, unlike more common activities like soccer and dance. It takes 5 ISI levels (including pre-alpha) before you can actually skate.

You know I've wondered about that. I've quite often seen how people say skating is hard because you can't just step on the ice and be good at skating. But how many sports are that easy? For example basketball, even at the lowest level (ie. recreationally playing), if you don't know how to dribble the ball somewhat, catch the ball, or throw the ball in a controllable direction, how would you play at all? You still need a basic level of "how to" in order to do the sport. But I guess figure skating is harder to learn and more dangerous than most sports, and add the expense to that, it ends up being not a very popular sport.

[ChristyRN]

1.5.  I have a coworker that has lived up north and has some skating experience.  She is starting to ask me lots of questions about skating and planning on going to lessons.  We would not be at the same rinks (we live about an hour apart)  The .5 is my stepson-he plays roller hockey.  It's a stretch.

[AgnesNitt]

I was drawn into skating by a male friend who skated about USFSA Freestyle 4. Then I made adult friends who skated (we went on trips together, drank together, dinner parties) so much more real friends than just people I meet at the rink. Virtually all of those people have either quit due to injury, or have seriously reduced their skating.

I've only had a few muggles make the 'aren't you too old for the olympics" kind of comments. My reply is usually something like "It's a hobby" or "You play golf/soccer/baseball, do you really think you're going to the masters/worlds/the big leagues?"

[taka]

1, sort of 2...

1 friend did our rinks drop in learn to skate sessions for a while with her daughter before I started skating again. In fact it was her who told me there were adults at it too, not just kids which gave me the courage to give it a shot! Her daughter lost interest so my friend only occasionally skates now.

I've also got a colleague who has done a bit skating before too but not for years. She looked into doing some group lessons a couple of months ago as a refresher but the times don't work for her so it hasn't happen...

Quite a few people I know have at least tried it a few times - mostly as a kid or teen skating round in circles. A few try to skate maybe once a year on the winter outdoor rink my city has in the run up to christmas...as a christmas tradition and a fun afternoon out - skate then drink hot Gluhwein and compare bruises!

[RosiePosie.iskates]

Oh no no, I meant people you already knew, not the people you know from skating. For example, your neighbours, relatives, friends from school/work. Not friends you made at the rink or people you meet at skating competitions.

Oh I see. Well then that would be only 1. A friend of my sisters, but not of mine. And this friend of her's quit when she was 5. 

[karne]

Sort of 1, she was my sister's friend.

[PinkLaces]

I knew no figure skaters before I started skating. Now I know quite a few.  I also know tons of former hockey players and hockey parents. I don't really count them though 

[Janie]

Judging by everyone's replies, figure skating really doesn't seem to be all that popular. So sad. But then if there were a lot more, the ice would get really crowded lol

[icedancer]

I changed my vote to represent the highest level because the more I thought about it the more people I have known through the years that had either taken skating lessons at one point or played hockey or just enjoyed skating enough to go skating every once in a while - and sometimes with me!

Wondering about our northern neighbors - the Canadians - since skating is supposedly the "national sport" does everyone up there skate?