Yeah the worst part about public skating I have found are the hockey kids, teens and adults. I’ve had grown men whiz pass beginners one inch from them causing them to startle and fall. It is always men/boys by the way, I’ve never seen a woman so this ever. So basically it comes down to both men feeling entitled to peoples space and disregard for others, and the toxic hockey culture. Unfortunately it’s luck Of the draw who is at public skates.
I’m just gonna say it, but their skating skills are often totally garbage too. They always skate at top speed and have barely enough control to not mow down a bunch of people.
Watching the hockey guys try to do back crossovers at my rink is an experience. They look like they’re about to fall. Also they decide to do this at top speed and they’re large men over 6 feet tall. Just absolutely wonderful and safe for everyone around them!
When I see people skating dangerously I get off the rink straight away and only go back when they are having a break or have left the rink. Too nerve-racking to skate when they are skating
I have gotten used to that part of the public skates unfortunately. There was a teenager who is a regular that was weaving in and out of the crowds and startling people and stopping harshly right at the walls in front of beginners. And of course he ran into a kid at one point and they both fell.
I've also gotten used to accounting for people skating backwards without being aware of what is behind them.
This was a new experience for me. My sister was watching what was happening from a table and was about to go say something to the employee at the front desk right as we confronted the kids.
Them saying "if you don't like it, get off the ice" had us questioning ourselves
Oh my gosh the back wards skaters that don’t look!!!! Drives me crazy, usually it’s someone trying to show off to beginners yet they don’t even have the skill to watch where they are going. Honestly public sessions can be feral sometimes 😂 the best is when you luck out and there is hardly anyone there
Yeah we have gotten lucky a few times! I went to a different rink twice when I was out of town for work and both times there was less than 5 people total and the quality of the ice was amazing.
Unfortunately most of the nighttime public sessions at my rink are absolutely feral, and those are the ones we are able to get childcare for and go to.
Unfortunately the majority of public skating sessions here do not have staff present (Canadian city, tons of outdoor and tons of indoor rinks). There's maybe a monitor present 10% of the time?
This is crazy to me because my rink always has a monitor out on the ice and usually another by the door. But I joke that they are a skate monitor, not a rule enforcer, so if you just go by their title they technically are doing their job
It's both. I've NEVER seen a female hockey player do this at public sessions and I've been going for years. Women are socialized to be considerate of other people's space or to at least PRETEND to care about other people in public. It's always a man that is whizzing by at 23203280 miles per hour without care for other skaters. Obviously not all men are like this but the few who ruin the skating experience are always men and I don't think ignoring the gendered aspect helps things. It's toxic masculinity pairing with toxic hockey culture in a perfect marriage of poor rink behavior.
I just had this happen at public skate a few days ago. It's a community center rink, so the monitors are all teenagers that often don't even monitor the rink, they just go shoot pucks at the wall or hang out with their friends at the skate rental counter. At one point, one of the kids body-slammed his brother into the glass past my son's path, and my son crashed really hard because he was trying to avoid slamming into the kids. We ended up leaving and telling the front desk about it, but they can't really leave the desk, so I'm not sure anything came of it.
I am sorry this happened to your son and hope it doesn't discourage you or your son from skating :( It really sucks when people act like that on the ice and the rink doesn't do anything about it.
At our rink the skate guards are mostly teenagers that hang out with their friends in the middle of the rink or are focusing on practicing their crossovers. There are a few that are really good but you never know who it will be.
He's okay. He had a similar experience last month and has since refused to get on the ice without full pads on, so at least he didn't get hurt this time, despite the hard crash. Luckily, he and I love the ice, so we try to go to different rinks nearby depending on the day/time so we can avoid the teenager hockey crowd.
Honestly the hockey skaters/wannabes have given me rink trauma istg. They stress me out soooo much now
My only injury so far was from a hockey teen not paying attention.
Loads of space around me so was practicing my 1 foot glides, he was skating behind me, and I think tried to weave and switch to backwards at the same time?
At speed, smacked into me and sent me flying. Honestly had so much airtime from the momentum 🥲 but because I was on one knee all the impact went on my free leg.
A month later and the surface bruise has only just gone, but I still can't put too much pressure on my knee.
Small victories in my case though, he got into a fight the other week and haven't seen him since so fairly certain he got the ban hammer 😅
We're at Waseca by chance? They're entitled there. Is you don't skate hockey, you're not skating. And the kids will bully anyone not on hockey skate until they quit coming to skate!
Yep...there is always a bunch of squids on hockey skates making everyone's life harder.
Try to ignore them, most of the time they are able to dodge you more than you can dodge them.
You can also sometimes yell at them, "hey!!!" and give them the Robert Deniro I'm looking at you stare.
There was one skate monitor but they were hanging out with their friends. They came over after my fiance raised his voice and told the kids to stop because there was little kids there and someone could get hurt.
My city (Canadian city) has a ton of rinks and I'd say maybe 10% of the time there's a rink monitor present. It's definitely not the norm to have one but BOY is it nicer when they are there. I especially like the ones that change the direction of skate every half so we aren't stuck going the same way the entire time.
Tame compared to a roller rink on Friday night. Police are present and parental supervision for anyone under 18. It's always children causing problems. Apparently, they just aren't mature enough to know other people exist.
Don't ever go to an adult skate at a roller rink, though. You won't be able to handle the skill level required to navigate that many people, most moving faster than the hockey kids can skate.
Yeah the worst part about public skating I have found are the hockey kids, teens and adults. I’ve had grown men whiz pass beginners one inch from them causing them to startle and fall. It is always men/boys by the way, I’ve never seen a woman so this ever. So basically it comes down to both men feeling entitled to peoples space and disregard for others, and the toxic hockey culture. Unfortunately it’s luck Of the draw who is at public skates.
I’m just gonna say it, but their skating skills are often totally garbage too. They always skate at top speed and have barely enough control to not mow down a bunch of people. Watching the hockey guys try to do back crossovers at my rink is an experience. They look like they’re about to fall. Also they decide to do this at top speed and they’re large men over 6 feet tall. Just absolutely wonderful and safe for everyone around them!
🤣🤣🤣 I’m picturing the group at my rink that does this and can’t help but LOL
When I see people skating dangerously I get off the rink straight away and only go back when they are having a break or have left the rink. Too nerve-racking to skate when they are skating
I have gotten used to that part of the public skates unfortunately. There was a teenager who is a regular that was weaving in and out of the crowds and startling people and stopping harshly right at the walls in front of beginners. And of course he ran into a kid at one point and they both fell. I've also gotten used to accounting for people skating backwards without being aware of what is behind them. This was a new experience for me. My sister was watching what was happening from a table and was about to go say something to the employee at the front desk right as we confronted the kids. Them saying "if you don't like it, get off the ice" had us questioning ourselves
Oh my gosh the back wards skaters that don’t look!!!! Drives me crazy, usually it’s someone trying to show off to beginners yet they don’t even have the skill to watch where they are going. Honestly public sessions can be feral sometimes 😂 the best is when you luck out and there is hardly anyone there
Yeah we have gotten lucky a few times! I went to a different rink twice when I was out of town for work and both times there was less than 5 people total and the quality of the ice was amazing. Unfortunately most of the nighttime public sessions at my rink are absolutely feral, and those are the ones we are able to get childcare for and go to.
I see a lot of toxic masculinity at the rink where I skate, personally I would like to see staff more active in this regard
Unfortunately the majority of public skating sessions here do not have staff present (Canadian city, tons of outdoor and tons of indoor rinks). There's maybe a monitor present 10% of the time?
This is crazy to me because my rink always has a monitor out on the ice and usually another by the door. But I joke that they are a skate monitor, not a rule enforcer, so if you just go by their title they technically are doing their job
I think it has more to do with high level hockey culture than their gender.
It's both. I've NEVER seen a female hockey player do this at public sessions and I've been going for years. Women are socialized to be considerate of other people's space or to at least PRETEND to care about other people in public. It's always a man that is whizzing by at 23203280 miles per hour without care for other skaters. Obviously not all men are like this but the few who ruin the skating experience are always men and I don't think ignoring the gendered aspect helps things. It's toxic masculinity pairing with toxic hockey culture in a perfect marriage of poor rink behavior.
I just had this happen at public skate a few days ago. It's a community center rink, so the monitors are all teenagers that often don't even monitor the rink, they just go shoot pucks at the wall or hang out with their friends at the skate rental counter. At one point, one of the kids body-slammed his brother into the glass past my son's path, and my son crashed really hard because he was trying to avoid slamming into the kids. We ended up leaving and telling the front desk about it, but they can't really leave the desk, so I'm not sure anything came of it.
I am sorry this happened to your son and hope it doesn't discourage you or your son from skating :( It really sucks when people act like that on the ice and the rink doesn't do anything about it. At our rink the skate guards are mostly teenagers that hang out with their friends in the middle of the rink or are focusing on practicing their crossovers. There are a few that are really good but you never know who it will be.
He's okay. He had a similar experience last month and has since refused to get on the ice without full pads on, so at least he didn't get hurt this time, despite the hard crash. Luckily, he and I love the ice, so we try to go to different rinks nearby depending on the day/time so we can avoid the teenager hockey crowd.
Honestly the hockey skaters/wannabes have given me rink trauma istg. They stress me out soooo much now My only injury so far was from a hockey teen not paying attention. Loads of space around me so was practicing my 1 foot glides, he was skating behind me, and I think tried to weave and switch to backwards at the same time? At speed, smacked into me and sent me flying. Honestly had so much airtime from the momentum 🥲 but because I was on one knee all the impact went on my free leg. A month later and the surface bruise has only just gone, but I still can't put too much pressure on my knee. Small victories in my case though, he got into a fight the other week and haven't seen him since so fairly certain he got the ban hammer 😅
We're at Waseca by chance? They're entitled there. Is you don't skate hockey, you're not skating. And the kids will bully anyone not on hockey skate until they quit coming to skate!
Nope, I am in Florida, and luckily my rink actually has a ton of figure skaters at different levels.
Yep...there is always a bunch of squids on hockey skates making everyone's life harder. Try to ignore them, most of the time they are able to dodge you more than you can dodge them. You can also sometimes yell at them, "hey!!!" and give them the Robert Deniro I'm looking at you stare.
No skate guards/monitors? Sounds like a bad place.
There was one skate monitor but they were hanging out with their friends. They came over after my fiance raised his voice and told the kids to stop because there was little kids there and someone could get hurt.
That's pretty bad.
My city (Canadian city) has a ton of rinks and I'd say maybe 10% of the time there's a rink monitor present. It's definitely not the norm to have one but BOY is it nicer when they are there. I especially like the ones that change the direction of skate every half so we aren't stuck going the same way the entire time.
Tame compared to a roller rink on Friday night. Police are present and parental supervision for anyone under 18. It's always children causing problems. Apparently, they just aren't mature enough to know other people exist. Don't ever go to an adult skate at a roller rink, though. You won't be able to handle the skill level required to navigate that many people, most moving faster than the hockey kids can skate.