rude skaters

[icesk8r1]

Is it just me or are their alot of rude figure skaters? At my rink, some girls who are older than me and more advanced think that they own the rink and can use every inch of it constantly! they always go all over the ice and get into lessons and peoples' way. I know I choose my space at one side of the rink don't go flying all over the place. Am I being paranoid, or is this a common thing?

[axelkid]

You will find that the figure skating world can be a very snobby one. I remember when a friend and I went to an early morning figure skating freestyle session. We dropped our envelopes with seven bucks in them into a collection box and went out on the ice. There were about five or six on the ice, a few very good people (working on double axels and the like.) About ten minutes into the session, some lady motioned my friend over to the edge and told her this. "You know this session is technically a public session but its really not because these kids are really good and they're training for competition next week. So if you want to skate you can't get in their way". Can you believe the nerve of that lady telling my friend that she was getting in the way of her daughter? If she's good enough to do double axels, then she's good enough to avoid my friend in an entire rink with only 6 skaters. Sheesh! There are some mean people out ther.

[Floor Jumping Bean]

You know what really annoys me? Is that skaters who are better than you are often feel they get the right of way! It makes me mad, there's one skater, who is trying double axels and whenever I am in her way she'll say "Excccccuuuuuuuuuuuuse me!" and skate off huffily, nose in the air. Also, when my friend and I help each other on elements, she goes up to us and says, "Stop playing and actaully practice! You're taking up space!" We were only giving each other tips! <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :( --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/frown.gif ALT=":("><!--EZCODE EMOTICON STOP--> It's annoying. I try very hard to stay out of their way and when I am in their way, i always say sorry. And they don't care a bit!

[Brieanne]

this is probably the only reason why i don't like the freestyle sessions, especially since everybody in there is technically better than me, and a couple of times i have ACCIDENTALLY gotten in some skaters' ways and they give me this look like i have no right to be there or something. i know how a lot of you feel.

[Jackylutz]

There are soo many rude skaters that I have met in my life. Most of them are younger than me.....and of course a lot better in skating than me. But still that doesnt give them the right to be rude, so ill manner. The younger ones (usually) are not the most friendly people in the world. They act like they own the ice during public sessions, they have the right of way, and you should get out of their way. It bothered me for a bit, but now.....I just ignore them....and consider them ignorant and childish. On the other hand, when I meet adult skaters who skate because they love the sport, they are so nice. We would chat for hours on skating.....

[michellekwanfan]

I know what you mean! I just figure skate for fun. I was at a open skating session. At this rink, they block off a section of the ice for figure skaters to practice. I remember this one girl giving me the evil eye just for practicing over there, and I wasn't even in her way! Then she yelled at me to find another spot to skate. Then, later on, there was a mom and a little girl practicing in the figure skating section. She was teacher her little girl to skate backwards, I think. First, this girl told the mom that they had no right to be there. Then, when they didn't leave, she went and complained to the people working there, that they didn't deserve to be there!

[Skater13]

Where I skate its the same, all the older/better girls think they OWN the ice, and they'll be like to their friends "That girl keeps getting in MY way etc etc, its like ok, the ice is huge you can go practice wherever you want but I'm already here and its not like you own the rink, lol, its SO annoying : P

[KWB]

I'm not a skater yet but, I know exactly where you guys are coming from. About a moth ago I strated plying tennis on the school team and the first day of practice I felt so so outof place. I mean these guys have been playing for over like 5 years, for the most part the more experienced players (everyone!:lol )are really nice and try to help as much as they can. However, there was this one person in my practice group who drove me crazy. The looks, whispers, and the "I'm better than you are mentality"! But the worse part is that in our first match I had to play doubles and guess with who??? Needless to say it was a horrible experience and it took all the self-control with in me not to go "completely psycho" on him, I was like NEVER AGAIN!!! After that, I was starting to find out the it might have been a little bit of jealousy because my serve was better and I was really improving. Ever since, I just told myself, "you deserve to be here and your working just as hard and just as much as anyone else and be confident in yourself."So, just hang in there!!!

[tara637]

Floor jumping bean-
You will always see people like that. Well let me tell you a little story. I compete and I am 12 also the yougest compeditor the other girls are around 15-18. I am not trying to brag but I win almost every comp. we had, so they get jealous and they try to make me mad by criticizing my costumes,teasing me,and are really mean to me. I try to ignore them the best I can.I have a comp. tomorrow at 1:00-4:00. So I gotta get some rest now.

[Joshua]

I was with some friends skating around a public rink. In the middle of the rink were people practicing spins and jumps. I remember this one girl minding her own business and doing some nice sit spins and layback spins. I looked over and saw this other girl who really had this "whatever" look on her face. She did an axel or double axel jump, not to sure, right in front of the other girl who was spinning and afterwards she went over to her friend and pointed at the other girl saying, "In your face!" I can't believe how unbelieveably rude she was.

[amandadupre]

ITA there a lot of rude skaters. I'm not a competitive skater myself, but I love to go to public skating sessions and skate (I can do a few spins ect not too much though). ANYWAY there was a girl there who was about 10, and I talked to her a few times (she was always there when I was for some reason). I would tell her that her jump looked good, that kinda thing. She would never tell me thanks or anything, just give me a look like, of course it was. Then one time the figure skaters were working in a corner, and there was a mother helping her young daughter (maybe 4 years old) w/front crossovers, and she goes up to the mother and goes, "This is our space, you have to leave." I though that really uncalled for.

[Jskate]

During a public session there was a girl about 12 practicing double axels. A beginning older skater was stroking around the rink when the girl launched into her jump and collided with the woman. The woman smacked her head on the ice and blood started streaming from her face. An ambulance had to be called and the woman was taken away on a stretcher and treated but she was OK. The skater's mom told her daughter to go and apologize to the woman. The girl refused screaming "I'm not apologizing to her, she was we in my jump circle, I had the right of way. The mother didn't make the girl apologize. I was outdone.

[amandadupre]

omg Jskate. I can't believe that!! That's so horrible. If I were her mother, I would have insisted she apologised, and then punished her for rude behavior. How awful!

[Hadas]

I know how you guys feel! I guess it's pretty typical, i mean, GEESH, the better skaters <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> should<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> own the ice ;) . I felt that way once when i was with my coach on the ice, and this snobby girl was giving me wierd stares. Not only does it hurt my feelings because i work just as hard as her, it made me feel REALLY uneasy. Oh well, the best thing is to ignore them, that's pretty much it!

[Luv2Sk8]

I've been on both sides of the story. My normal rink I am the highest level skater there, and behind me and my best friend gwen whose pre juv, theres a big drop ability wise. The most annoying thing to me is when people don't look where they are going at all. I used to get really annoyed and go vent to my coach until I skated at Ice House in New Jersey. There was this one girl who I watched out for all session, and was in awe of, who was a horrible snob. I got in her way once and would have moved, except that I would have hit somebody else coming the other way. She goes "O my god!!" in a real snotty voice. That really ruined my day. So now if I yell at someone to get out of my way at my rink (like "excuse me!" not "excuuuuuuuuuuse me" ;) ) I always go up and apoligize after the session. I always tried not to be mean, but now I try harder, cuz I don't wanna mess up someones day like that girl messed up mine.

[aehodman]

....ITa with jackylutz, most adult skaters ARE really nice. But, as my grandma always said, there's always a bad apple in the bag somewhere. Out of all my negative experiences with rude skaters, only one has been a younger skater (she threw her hand up in my face as she skated by me, as I was working with a coach on my Moves test, rude!!!!). The other two have unfortunately been fellow adult skaters -- both times, the comments were horrendously condescending and thoughtless, which was uncalled for both times because I either at the same or -- in the case of the second incident, a much higher level -- than both of them. I agree with most of the posters here that a lot of rude skating behavior seems to come out of some internal feeling of those skaters being tremendously insecure about their own skating or abilities, and trying to find a way, however inappropriate, to make themselves feel like they are "the best" or "better" than you are -- although how on earth being rude and insulting vaults one's skating ability to new heights is unfathomable to me. I try to ignore these people as much as possible, as their negative attitude really seems to become their own undoing, as their skating stagnates because they feel they don't need to improve anything because their skating is perfect as is.

[AshBugg44]

There are rude skaters at my rink too. I usually know who they are and try to stay out of their way just b/c I don't want to get into anything. Sometimes I tell people to move, but I do that when I'm doing something right there and they just skate right by me. Once I was doing a fast scratch spin, and this lady (not a fiure skater, just some lady during public) came skating right towards me and wasn't even trying to move, like she knew I'd see her. Luckily I did and stopped!

[candygirl559]

Fortunately I've never met any rude skaters yet. The ice rink I skate at, everybody is pretty nice to everyone else. I hope that I never meet any rude skaters but I think that's bound to happen.

[MariKat19]

I can understand both sides. Is is kind of annoying when that happens. At my rink there was a pack of advanced girls, all working on double axels, all about 12 or 13 with big attitudes when someone got in their way. I hated them for the longest time until I slowly got to know each girl and see that they don't really mean to be that way to be snotty, but there are sooo many people who DON'T look where they are going. Out of about 9 of them, I got to be friends with seven, and once they know you, they are very nice to you and don't get mad if you get in there way because you're a friend.
But what I REALLY hate is teenage girls who are beginners and they think they are soooo good, and if anyone else tries to skate near them they get a really big attitude. That happens with girls who can't skate too. But, it is SO annoying!
But if some girls are just unbearable, everyone else can unite against them and be mean right back.