I'm not proud of it, but I'm having a bit of a melt down. Other parents who aren't as new to figure skating are probably very familiar with how ice times change for the summer.I'm not ranting about my club. Please don't misunderstand me. Every spring they ask members to vote on summer hours. I completely lost the vote. My hours didn't even make it onto the schedule.
The summer ice hours are 8 a.m. - noon, Monday - Friday. That's actually a good chunk of time. However, Ice Girl has been selected for a summer science program that meets from 8 a.m. - noon, Monday - Friday. Yep. That's so not going to work.
My plan B is to have Ice Girl skate at another club on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5 p.m. Well, I'm hoping that she'll skate there. I have to sign on as an associate member and that bumps Ice Girl down on the priority list, but, if all goes well, Ice Girl will have two measly hours of ice time each week, plus the walk-on ice that she gets at the Pettit on Sundays.
A coach warned me that the ice crunch might happen in both the summer and in the winter. In the summer, the hours change and not everyone can make the new times. In the winter, we have to share more of the ice with more hockey teams, so the number of sessions decreases. New and lower level skaters often don't get to skate during the sessions that they had selected.
Newbie lessons:
- Scout out that second club membership early and just plan on joining two clubs. Get over the fact that Ice Girl (or your kid) can't skate at the same time in the same place from week to week, season to season, even though that would make your life soooo much easier and predictable. Just count on needing that second membership and accept your fate early on.
- Buy those PIC skates. I have an earlier post about the PIC skates I bought for Ice Girl and I really do think they're a terrific investment. They're also my ace in the hole for summer ice times. I might not be able to take that kid to the rink, but she can certainly practice her program and moves in the field up at the tennis courts.
- Stuff the ballot box next time the club votes on ice times. Well, probably not, but a gal can dream.
- Use that meltdown to make margaritas. What else do you do with slushy ice?
Yes, the summertime schedule. Do any of your surrounding rinks have open skate for the general public? We try to hit several of the open skate sessions for extra ice time. They do not usually allow jumps and spins, but my daughter can practice her edges, stroking, 3 turns, mohawks, etc.
ReplyDeleteNo open skate for the general public, except on Sunday after Ice Girl's Learn to Skate lesson. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteHere's what my life looks like: Sun Prairie on Tuesday, McFarland on Thursday, Milwaukee on Saturday, and Verona on Sunday.
There are some benefits to small towns when it comes to ice time as we have several options off season. Our biggest problem is quality coaching:-( Sometimes we need to drive 2 hours for lessons.
ReplyDeleteOooh. Driving two hours for lessons. Nope. We have great coaches here. And really, two of the other rinks are the same distance from my house as Ice Girl's home rink, Madison Ice Arena. However, it's a pain in the rear to drive east, south, south east, really really east (Milwaukee).
ReplyDeleteThere are worse things, as you'll see in tomorrow's post.
Late on this post, but I am only just now getting to the wealth of information.
ReplyDeleteQuestion -- can anyone explain to me when and why you join a club, espeically @ age 7 still in basic skills? We have a coach and pay a bit more for ice. You would think the club would explain it to me, but they just don't.
Help!!
We joined the club when Ice Girl needed club ice with her coach and for practice. Really, it was the point at which Ice Girl could no longer get away with working on open skate ice.
ReplyDeleteOur coach told us to join the club when, in her words, "We couldn't put it off any longer."
If Ice Girl was on the ice just once or twice a week, I'd do what you're doing and pay walk-on fees instead of joining the club and contracting.
Good luck!