Special Ice? | Golden Skate

Special Ice?

Krislite

Medalist
Joined
Sep 22, 2010
This article states that the Russians will be using a special type of ice that will help skaters jump higher. What is it and has it ever been used before? :confused: I wonder how it will affect skaters who've trained under "normal" ice. I hope it doesn't throw them off.

Coming from the Russians this is kind of suspicious...:unsure:
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
What a bizarre sentence, stuck into an otherwise run-of-the-mill self-congratulatory article. (?)
 

colleen o'neill

Medalist
Joined
Nov 3, 2006
Uh-oh...is this the equivalent of fake turf for field sports , non-natural track for racecourses ? Hmmmm....

Eta ; I f someone falls, will they bounce ?;)
 
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Bluebonnet

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 18, 2010
What is this special ice?

Maybe they're not related at all but it made me think about the old blog I read from Allison Scott - Jeremy Abbott's mom.

http://ontheedgeofskating.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-11-10T07:31:00-07:00&max-results=7

On October 12, 2010 entry, she wrote:

For years, the place where I work was considered the home of figure skating. While the arena was torn down in 1994 and replaced with a new training facility about three miles away, my dream was to some day skate there. Last week, I finally got my wish - sort of. A coach whose famous last name is synonymous with a legacy of ice shows, organized some young skaters to perform for a convention group. No, he didn't get tank ice; he didn't actually get ice. What was installed was synthetic sheets of something that looked like packing material. I was intrigued. In the middle of our convention facility, laid out like Leggos, was a faux rink. Measuring 30' x 40' , this surface appeared to be something appropriate for Ken and Barbie. I watched several young athletes work their way around the rectangle, making it look so easy. Double Axel, camel spin, pairs lifts, Ina Bauer, catch-foot spin. I was in awe.

After everyone left, except for two colleagues who I trusted not to laugh, I sat in my business clothes, laced up my skates and ventured forth to the "Great Unknown." It was my turn to say I had skated at this iconic facility whose glory days of ice were long gone. This was my moment to relive those days in New York, Chicago, Denver and in the mountains. I was on home turf and I was ready.

Not exactly...

If you are of a certain age, you remember a movie called The Graduate, starring Dustin Hoffman, where his character receives advice from a family friend, Mr. McGuire: "There's a great future in plastics. Think about it. Will you think about it?"

I thought about it. Enough said.

She even has a photo there.
 
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Violet Bliss

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
Michelle Kwan was in Singapore for the opening of a new rink with plastic ice. I didn't think or know it would help performances.

Whatever this special ice is, it's not right or fair to surprise the Worlds competitors. The Russians are naturally the only ones to have practised on it.

This is more than :confused:; it's WTH and outrageous.
 

Yagudinah

Rinkside
Joined
Apr 21, 2011
It can't be the same as the Singapore ice. Kwan couldn't even do her spiral because of it. Apparently that ice feels a bit gluelike. You have to push all the time, because there's less glide. I can't imagine that's a suitable surface for the Worlds.
Might be entertaining though (a)
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
I think this is some sort of mis-translation. I seriously doubt that anyone has invented "special ice" that makes you jump higher and doesn't hurt your ankles.
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
Browning wrote in his book (or was it Hamilton, I don't remember) about the Worlds in Cinncinati in the 80s. The jumps were easier the way that the ice was designed, it was on a rubber? base. It's why, he thought (pretty sure it was Browning's book) Boitano took the chance at a quad.
 

Neda

Rinkside
Joined
Apr 12, 2011
Interesting. So, softened water makes a softer ice? I guess...

As long as skaters have no problem quickly adapting and adjusting to it, it's no big deal.

The goal is to make ice structure closest to ideal crystal cell. It's possible only when water totally free from impurities. You can freeze a plate of dirty water and a plate of clean one and look which ice is better. Hard water contains minerals which also brakes ideal structure.

Whatever this special ice is, it's not right or fair to surprise the Worlds competitors. The Russians are naturally the only ones to have practised on it.
There is nothing bad if skaters have for competition better ice then they used to in practice. This even give them some advantage. The opposite case is much worse. In Bern (euro champ) ice was up-and-down and overfrozen. It made him to crumble and caused deep trails. For example Artur Gachinski in lp landed triple axel then got into a trail of some other skater, stumbled and fell. Do you prefer such kind of ice for your favorite athlete who will skate one of the last and may be the very last?
 

Violet Bliss

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
I read a while back about some ice which was mixed with milk to make it whiter. I think it was Beijing but don't know if it's a standard practice.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
The quality of the ice can definitely make a difference. At the 2004 World Champioships in the ladies' qual;ifying round the ice was too hard at the morning session, and all the ladies were falling all over the place. By the second session the ice had softened up (melted) quite a bit and the second group of ladies did fine. TYis gave them an advantage in total points going into the short program.

I once saw a competition where there was a big puddle of water at one end of the rink, right in the Lutz corner. Each skater had the option of skating with or without yellow traffic cones marking off the area. (As I recall, Irina Slutskaya chose "without" and did a nifty maneuver where she squeezed the rail and shot out the other side. :) )
 

Ptichka

Forum translator
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
No conspiracy here :) Just an attempt to make ice that's less hard and is easier on the athletes' joints.
 

Violet Bliss

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
No conspiracy is alleged. Didn't even think of that. Just at such critical last minute, there should be no surprises. Are they practising on this special ice now?

Hey, maybe some people will overshoot and gain an extra revolution in the air! :laugh:
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Is ice made with so-called "soft" water really "softer," in the sense of providing a better cushion on landing?

Is is "bouncier," like a trampoline, to help skaters jump higher?
 
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Ravensque

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 31, 2009
I'm sure the skater don't like the ice to change too much from one venue to another. I suspect it will throw some of them off if they are unable to get accustomed to it quickly enough. Of course, it will benefit any skater who has been practicing on it for some time..........hmmm wonder who that could be.
 

seniorita

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 3, 2008
^ People in boards were saying the exact same for the skaters of Canada who had practiced more in Colosseum before Olympics than the rest of world skaters. So what?I thought the skaters of a hosting country are always in a sort of advantage anyway concerning these conditions.

If they adjust in places like Bern where the ice was worse than their training ice, I m sure they can adjust to an ice better than what they have used to. Never in arenas around the world the ice is the same anyway, they always need to adjust.

Btw If you fall and bounce back and land the jump, how much Goe you get:)?
 
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