Understanding Different Types of Ice Sessions

Public Skating Sessions

Sessions for recreational skating, offering rental skates and skate buddy helpers. If you do not have your own skates, public sessions are a great way to get ice time. Recreational and competitive private lessons can take place during public sessions, but no program music is allowed, and freestyle elements may be limited to one area of the ice. Some public sessions are nearly empty, but others (particularly on the weekends) can be quite busy.

Freestyle Sessions

Freestyle sessions are designed for figure skating lessons and practices. It is important to have your own skates to participate on a freestyle session and to observe general rules about levels, ice flow, and priority on the session. Skaters doing a program wearing a belt have priority on the ice, followed by skaters in lessons. It is always important to watch out for others on the ice. It is best to protect everyone's safety rather than be correct about priority and risk injury.

• D/SS/FS Alpha & Above: At a minimum, skaters need to be able to fall and stand up independently and march/glide across the ice. This is the lowest level freestyle available at South Suburban rinks.

• D/SS/FS ISI FS 1 & Above: Freestyle 1 elements include forward inside pivot, waltz jump, half-flip jump, forward spiral, and backward edges.

• D/SS/FS ISI FS 5 & Above: Freestyle 5 elements include single jumps through single axel, various complex edges and turns, forward camel spin and sit spin, and forward and backward upright spins.