When do you think skaters can go back? | Golden Skate

When do you think skaters can go back?

iceskating21

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 10, 2018
We have been closed for 3 weeks. Local news said peak is expected soon. But I doubt whether our local rink can reopen in May. Look at China. It started in Jan and took 3 months to go back to "normal", even not totally. It may take another 1- 2 months before people go back to work, I guess. Even when places reopen, there may be rules for another couple of months, such as no more than 10 people gathering. For figure skating, it's almost impossible. A couple of coach, a couple of students and a couple of parents will definitely exceeds 10. Our freestyle sessions normally have more than 20 skaters, not including coaches. Considering all these factors, I doubt whether the rink can go back to normal before winter.

It's hard for serious skaters. Although there are off ice exercises, my skater feels that she lost her feeling. Her daily schedule is totally different and feels like forgetting skating. All events canceled. She was preparing for 2 relatively big competitions before lockdown. One is cancelled and the other is on hold. If it is rescheduled within 1 month of rink reopening, I doubt whether she can make it.

Overall, I am concerned. I wonder how other parents/skaters feel? When do you expect skating will go back to normal? How do you minimize the influence of this gap?
 

MGstyle

Crawling around on the ice after chestnuts
Medalist
Joined
Sep 1, 2015
It still remains to be seen. In Italy for example, they "may be" seeing the end of the worst period, and they are just starting to talk about the phase 2, where they will very gradually ease the lock down. Ice Lab, one of the hubs for Italian skaters, is in Bergamo of all places, the most hard hit zone - so it is likely to remain closed. Skaters might be allowed to resume training shortly in safer area, such as Trentino in a controlled environment.
Russia and Japan need to see if they manage to avoid a major outbreak and keep the situation under controll in the next few weeks, so let's hope for the best.
The US seem much more problematic, I am afraid they will be stuck for a couple of months unless something miraculous happens!
 

Ic3Rabbit

Former Elite, now Pro. ⛸️
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 9, 2017
Country
Olympics
We have been closed for 3 weeks. Local news said peak is expected soon. But I doubt whether our local rink can reopen in May. Look at China. It started in Jan and took 3 months to go back to "normal", even not totally. It may take another 1- 2 months before people go back to work, I guess. Even when places reopen, there may be rules for another couple of months, such as no more than 10 people gathering. For figure skating, it's almost impossible. A couple of coach, a couple of students and a couple of parents will definitely exceeds 10. Our freestyle sessions normally have more than 20 skaters, not including coaches. Considering all these factors, I doubt whether the rink can go back to normal before winter.

It's hard for serious skaters. Although there are off ice exercises, my skater feels that she lost her feeling. Her daily schedule is totally different and feels like forgetting skating. All events canceled. She was preparing for 2 relatively big competitions before lockdown. One is cancelled and the other is on hold. If it is rescheduled within 1 month of rink reopening, I doubt whether she can make it.

Overall, I am concerned. I wonder how other parents/skaters feel? When do you expect skating will go back to normal? How do you minimize the influence of this gap?

Until there's a vaccination, I don't see much opening up, especially places where people will be in groups or very close proximity to one another.

Be thankful that your skater is healthy and safe.

Many of us are just counting that blessing right now, even those of us not making a living because our skating and coaching/choreography abilities pay the bills.
 

MCsAngel2

On the Ice
Joined
Apr 10, 2019
In the US, IMO the absolute best case scenario for reopening entertainment and recreational venues (movie theatres and ice rinks and the like) is July 1. And that is if we peak everywhere in the next two weeks, and deaths are much lower than expected.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
There is also the possibility that even if the infection rate tapers off by the end of the summer, it will come back in a second wave next winter.

It is even possible that we will see a permanent change in the way sporting and entertainment events are staged and offered to the public.
 

Ducky

On the Ice
Joined
Feb 14, 2018
There is also the possibility that even if the infection rate tapers off by the end of the summer, it will come back in a second wave next winter.

It is even possible that we will see a permanent change in the way sporting and entertainment events are staged and offered to the public.

Hong Kong is experiencing either a first or second wave right now, depending on how you look at it.

Gods, I hope we're not all social distancing until July.
 

Edwin

СделаноВХрустальном!
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 5, 2019
Not soon. Most rinks depends on mass skating and recreational sessions for their income. And these kind of events will likely not be allowed anytime soon, I think at least until the start of the new school year when the general heath situation has improved drastically.

Russian top rinks that are exclusive to certain groups might open earlier, but only for that top group, which might be impossibly expensive? And even then, perhaps all disciplines will have to be gathered in one rink to make isolation and health protection more manageable.

Novogorsk might be out of the question since the gymnast's gathering debacle. And perhaps it is impossible to isolate the diverse training groups when they have to share some of the facilities like mess room, medical or strength training rooms?
 

davincisoprano

Rinkside
Joined
Aug 19, 2015
I hope things let up soon but I honestly don't see that happening. Right now I'm keeping an eye on some conferences that I was supposed to go to later this year, one being at the end of June. One was cancelled already (was supposed to be last weekend), and I'm fully expecting the one at the end of June to get postponed until next summer, and I'm honestly hoping that happens.

Being off the ice is killing me, just because that's been my way to keep anxiety down. And I ended up having a muscle spasm in my neck/upper back a week after we were given stay at home orders in Illinois, so I've only been able to go for walks for the past two weeks and only now feel like I could start doing strength stuff again. :-/
 

WednesdayMarch

Nicer When Fed
Medalist
Joined
Mar 24, 2019
Country
United-Kingdom
Skating has always been the thing that brings meaning and passion to my life. Being bereft of it now feels akin to how it felt after my catastrophic accident in 1999, although I am pretty confident that it won't be nearly 20 years before I can get back on the ice this time. My estimate is that it could very easily be September before rinks start to open again. I hope not, but I won't be overly surprised if it is.

As skating and related industry is the way I earn my living (I had to develop other skills when I couldn't skate any more and qualified as a tailor so I make custom garments), I am obviously concerned at my sudden, almost total, lack of income but I take great heart from seeing my skaters posting off-ice routines and shenanigans, often wearing the garments I made for them. Those guys are more than just my clients, they - and the wider skating community I see and interact with on platforms like Instagram - are my friends and I'd rather endure boredom and belt-tightening than risk any one of them with a premature lifting of restrictions.

We're all in this together while apart and I fervently hope that we all come out of it together. Stay safe - and as sane as you can without the ice!
 

SmallAminal

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 26, 2016
Unfortunately, I don't think that things will open up before the fall, at the very earliest. I am expecting my skater to be home from school for the remainder of the school year and I doubt that summer camp programming will move forward. And even if things open up, I will be very conservative about non-essential activities, including skating. With my health status, I have already let my skater know that we will have to be more conservative in reintegrating into "normal" life" so that we keep me safe.

With the research coming out around potential COVID 19 spread during running/biking (essentially, going at high speeds), it seems skating around a rink would be a bad idea using normal "social distancing" protocol as 6 feet/ 2 meters is not going to be enough space to ensure safety when people are exhaling hard and zooming around. The article I read suggested that if you are biking, you must remain at least 20 metres behind another biker ahead and that you should also try to offset and not be in their direct slipstream.

https://bgr.com/2020/04/09/coronavirus-outdoors-exercise-social-distancing/#


It is very sad and my skater is quite disappointed, but we are trying to have some perspective here. The real tragedy is everyone who has employment tied to the rinks - coaches, maintenance and concession workers, pro shop, etc.
 

Edwin

СделаноВХрустальном!
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 5, 2019
Unfortunately, I don't think that things will open up before the fall, at the very earliest. I am expecting my skater to be home from school for the remainder of the school year and I doubt that summer camp programming will move forward. And even if things open up, I will be very conservative about non-essential activities, including skating. With my health status, I have already let my skater know that we will have to be more conservative in reintegrating into "normal" life" so that we keep me safe.

With the research coming out around potential COVID 19 spread during running/biking (essentially, going at high speeds), it seems skating around a rink would be a bad idea using normal "social distancing" protocol as 6 feet/ 2 meters is not going to be enough space to ensure safety when people are exhaling hard and zooming around. The article I read suggested that if you are biking, you must remain at least 20 metres behind another biker ahead and that you should also try to offset and not be in their direct slipstream.

https://bgr.com/2020/04/09/coronavirus-outdoors-exercise-social-distancing/#


It is very sad and my skater is quite disappointed, but we are trying to have some perspective here. The real tragedy is everyone who has employment tied to the rinks - coaches, maintenance and concession workers, pro shop, etc.

Our virologists, epidemologists etc suggested the same with sporting activities: double arms length isn't enough to keep you safe. Which put a serious downer on outdoor sports and recreational activities, as you have stated.
 

yirumi

Spectator
Joined
May 25, 2015
here in NZ it will take at least another 6 weeks.. we are currently on level 4, when it drops to level 3 the govenment is likely to wait till there's no 0 cases.
 

iceskating21

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 10, 2018
Yes, as many of you mentioned, skating is a sports with speed in a closed place. These factors increase the risk. I expect it won't be considered until the whole thing gets really clean. Of course. for a rink to run "normally" as before, it is hard. Do you think it may open with some regulations, such as only 10 skater allowed each session? That actually would be nice for skaters. But in the aspect of finance, I don't know whether rinks can afford it or not.

My daughter has ice dance too. Just by thinking of coach and skaters should hold hands, I don't know when the coach will feel comfortable to teach. :frown:
 

karne

in Emergency Backup Mode
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 1, 2013
Country
Australia
here in NZ it will take at least another 6 weeks.. we are currently on level 4, when it drops to level 3 the govenment is likely to wait till there's no 0 cases.

I thought you were on level 3 now? There was a lot of chatter in our press about it because we wanted to see what would happen. Your lovely PM (can we keep her, please?) was over here for our National Cabinet discussing the possibility of opening the border to each other.
 

Ziotic

Medalist
Joined
Dec 23, 2016
I don’t think it will be more than 3 weeks in Ontario, provides our cases continue to decline.
 

Harriet

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 23, 2017
Country
Australia
I don’t think it will be more than 3 weeks in Ontario, provides our cases continue to decline.

I think you're right there. Going by what's on the Skate Ontario website, and what I heard listening to their coaching webinar last night (don't judge me, I was really bored and it was about mindset stuff, which is actually interesting), they're waiting on two things. One is getting their Return to Play protocols formalised in line with provincial government requirements, and the other is for the State of Emergency Declaration either to be amended so that recreational facilities can legally open, or to be wound down. I seem to remember it now ends around June 8, doesn't it? Coincidentally, that's the same date SA goes into Stage 2 (all things progressing as well as they are right now) and our one and only rink can open again.
 

Elija

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 25, 2019
I thought you were on level 3 now? There was a lot of chatter in our press about it because we wanted to see what would happen. Your lovely PM (can we keep her, please?) was over here for our National Cabinet discussing the possibility of opening the border to each other.

We are on level 2 now and have only have two cases in the last week (both old ones I believe where the people are recovered but just now got tested). I know the rink in Christchurch has already reopened. In Auckland it should be tomorrow. With the borders still shut, hopefully we can keep Covid out now. And yes, hopefully we will have an open border with Australia soon! (Also just to clarify, the PM joined the Australian cabinet by AVL, she didn’t fly over there lol - not sure if that’s what you meant but it sounded like you meant she physically joined in). Are rinks in Australia open?
 

karne

in Emergency Backup Mode
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 1, 2013
Country
Australia
We are on level 2 now and have only have two cases in the last week (both old ones I believe where the people are recovered but just now got tested). I know the rink in Christchurch has already reopened. In Auckland it should be tomorrow. With the borders still shut, hopefully we can keep Covid out now. And yes, hopefully we will have an open border with Australia soon! (Also just to clarify, the PM joined the Australian cabinet by AVL, she didn’t fly over there lol - not sure if that’s what you meant but it sounded like you meant she physically joined in). Are rinks in Australia open?

The rinks are not open here yet, though apparently they will fall under the second phase of re-opening plans. In South Australia they have been given a date of June 8 - I don't know yet about the other states.
 

SmallAminal

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 26, 2016
I think you're right there. Going by what's on the Skate Ontario website, and what I heard listening to their coaching webinar last night (don't judge me, I was really bored and it was about mindset stuff, which is actually interesting), they're waiting on two things. One is getting their Return to Play protocols formalised in line with provincial government requirements, and the other is for the State of Emergency Declaration either to be amended so that recreational facilities can legally open, or to be wound down. I seem to remember it now ends around June 8, doesn't it? Coincidentally, that's the same date SA goes into Stage 2 (all things progressing as well as they are right now) and our one and only rink can open again.

The Province of Ontario announced that as of this Tuesday figure skating is allowed (along with a list of other non-contact sports where it is possible to maintain physical distance). So if you want to go rent ice privately (assuming there is any and you can fight with others to get it) you can technically skate so long as there is a very minimal amount of skaters on the ice. It just can't be under the auspices of Skate Ontario.

I don't think Skate Ontario was expecting something so soon, so they have asked all CLUBS to hold off on operations for the moment. Below is their latest announcement, also on their website.

"As a follow up to Premier Ford’s announcement yesterday, we can confirm the next requirements before skating can begin at any venue in Ontario:
An update to the Emergency Management and Civil Protections Act. No programming is allowed until changes are passed by the Government.
Return to Play protocols are complete and approved. Skate Ontario is working on these drafts, but still requires clarity on public health standards for each phase of the Provincial Reopening Plan and an approval process.
To be clear, no skating at any municipal or private facility can happen in Ontario until these two requirements are completed.
We understand that everyone is anxious to get started and may be feeling frustrated by the lack of more exact information at this time. You have our continued commitment to keeping you up to date every step of the way as information becomes available to us.
We are excited to head into a long weekend knowing that skating is on the horizon, and we look forward to working with you on a measured and safe return to skating.
We are planning a live townhall next week to provide updates and answer questions. Please check our website for further information."



Skate Canada has come up with protocols and guidelines for returning to skating, which can be found here:
https://skatecanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Return-to-Skating-Guidelines.pdf

Some stuff that will take a lot of getting used to- like coming to the arena "rink ready", putting on skates in the car (which will be a huge liability if your rink has stairs or in the winter....just saying) and keeping warm-up activities outside and encouraging cool down activities at home instead.
 
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Harriet

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 23, 2017
Country
Australia
I don't think Skate Ontario was expecting something so soon, so they have asked all CLUBS to hold off on operations for the moment.

What I understood from the discussion in the first minutes of the coaches' webinar was something a bit different: that until the State of Emergency legislation is amended, it will be a violation of the law for indoor recreational facilities such as rinks to open, so they were telling their clubs to make sure they didn't break the law by starting training too soon? But it was quite late so maybe I misunderstood. If a rink is open and a skater goes there under their own auspices that's a different matter, I guess, between the rink owners and the skaters.

I definitely got the impression they weren't expecting the green light to come so soon either! :laugh:
 
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