Should Ice Surfaces Be Uniform for Competitions?

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sk8m8

Guest

• Jan 19, 2003

• #1

Should Ice Surfaces Be Uniform for Competitions?

I noticed that Uncle Dick kept harping on skaters putting too many moves close to the boards. He blamed both Savoie and Weir's falls on this. He basically noted that skaters get "too used" to skating on international assignments where the ice is "larger". When this is coupled with the fact that last year's Grand Prix final was marred with comments that were similar about the rink in Kitchner one begins to wonder if skaters should be adaptable to the rink or should the rinks that hold competitions be one size.
In other sports the playing area is always a specified area. In fact, there are many sports where if this isn't the case, you can't hold the event. What do you think about the idea of standarizing the size of the rinks to an "Olympic Standard", or is do you think it's neccessary?

 

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proudskatemom

Guest

• Jan 19, 2003

• #2

Re: Should Ice Surfaces Be Uniform for Competitions?

Yes, sk8m8..........its always a problem, at all levels, for competitions,and tests. This rink is Olympic size, so PUSH, this rink is NHL so you should be ok.....this one is rec size so hold back......this one has no corners, this one has soft ice, this one has hard ice.........one size, one standard would be a dream. Hockey and Figure Skating would have to agree though.......:rollin:

 

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icenut84

Guest

• Jan 19, 2003

• #3

Re: Should Ice Surfaces Be Uniform for Competitions?

<blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>Hockey and Figure Skating would have to agree though.......[/quote]

What's the standard size for a hockey rink? Is it different to a figure skating rink? (Olympic size is 60m/30m). Also, hockey ice has to be harder than for figure skating, but I think they can control the ice temperature to accomodate this. I agree there should be a standard size for things like competitions though.

 

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Show 42

Guest

• Jan 19, 2003

• #4

Re: Should Ice Surfaces Be Uniform for Competitions?

.......And while we're talking about rink size, what about ice surface. What advantage does a skater have right after the ice has been resurfaced opposed to the skater who has to skate on ruts? Size and surface should both be considered...42

 

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Joesitz

Guest

• Jan 19, 2003

• #5

Re: Should Ice Surfaces Be Uniform for Competitions?

Of course, they should be, but let's face it. The rinks/arenas have already been built. It's not like the Mayor of NYC is going to set aside money (at taxpayers expense) to produce the ideal figure skating arena. Donald Trump could do that, but would he?

Joe

 

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proudskatemom

Guest

• Jan 19, 2003

• #6

Re: Should Ice Surfaces Be Uniform for Competitions?

Icenut,

NHL standard size is 85' x 200', quite a bit narrower that Olympic 100' x 200' or 30m x 60m. Rec. arenas are usually 85 x 185. Those are standards only, there are many different sizes. Our ice is "Olympic" at 92' x 208'.

 

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mike79

Guest

• Jan 20, 2003

• #7

Re: Should Ice Surfaces Be Uniform for Competitions?

I think that a skater should be able to adjust to his/her conditions. If a skater is practicing at a rink all week for an event they should be able to know when to slow down and speed up according to the size of the ice surface.

It's very much like hockey in the sense that Europeans tend to have more success on Olympic ice while North Americans are more comfortable on regular NHL size rinks. Whatever the case is, these athletes need to adjust to their conditions, so figure skaters should as well.

 

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RoaringSkates

Guest

• Jan 20, 2003

• #8

Rink size - practice v. competition during events

I'd agree, except that often, for competitions, the practice rink is not the same rink as the competition rink. I believe this was true in Dallas, too. I remember Dick commenting on this in Dallas - for some of the skaters, the first time they stepped onto the competition rink's ice was during their warm-up.

I'm not sure if the Dallas practice rinks and their competition rink were the same size/dimension. Anyone have any info?

 

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AY2006

Guest

• Jan 20, 2003

• #9

Re: Rink size - practice v. competition during events

Hockey looks so much better on the Olympic sized rink. There should be no reason to have NHL sized rink... either for hockey or figure skaring.

 

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eliza88

Guest

• Jan 20, 2003

• #10

Re: Rink size - practice v. competition during events

It would be nice for all rinks to be the same size--I understand ice shows being on smaller rinks...I believe there are practice times scheduled for all competitors on the "competition" ice--therefore each skater should have a chance to get the feel of the ice, size, etc. When I was at 2001 Worlds, I remember MK's first practice in the arena--she spent at least 10-15 minutes just stroking and looking all around the arena, really getting the feel for the place...

eliza88

PS--on a side note, I got into baseball a couple of years ago and was REALLY irked to find out all the ball parks are different dimensions! A pitchers park, a batters park, oy vey! Guess if MLB can get away with it, so can skating!

 

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LADSKATER

Guest

• Jan 20, 2003

• #11

Re: Should Ice Surfaces Be Uniform for Competitions?

No, it would be impossible, as there are so many ice rinks throughout Canada and the US already built to regulation size. However, the skaters should be trained to do their jumps not so close to the boards. Some skaters have a bad habit of wanting to do their jumps near the boards. This can be very dangerous as we saw in the men's competition. It's up to the coach and coreographers to ensure the skaters safety - so they should address the problem beforehands.

Ladskater

 

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Shallah.K

Guest

• Jan 21, 2003

• #12

Darn right they should be standard!

All events should be held in an Olympic standard rink! Skaters are *supposed* to use the entire ice surface and if they are training properly on an olympic sized rink and are fulfulling this rule of course they will have trouble adapting to a US hockey rink!!!! Dick was sooooooo wrong blaming the skaters!

Just look at footwork sequences - if a skater gets their program properly choreographed to fulfill the rules about footwork sequences to go from one end of the rink to the other they will run out of footwork before they run out of rink if the program is designed for hockey sized rinks. If it is designed for a proper Olympic program in an Olympic rink they will run out of space before they can do it all. Maybe this explains why so many skaters do not fill out the rink with the footwork and stop a few yards out from the barrier which could get them nailed with a deduction in the SP.