Ice Time Scheduling

Over the many years of my skating and coaching career, I have noticed some trends when it comes to ice time.  It's kind of funny, because you have two complete different philosophies when it comes to Recreational Rinks and Training Centers.

Recreational Rinks tend to have early morning sessions and afternoon sessions that may sometimes interfere with school hours.  With Recreational Rinks it's about being able to fit in all groups of skaters, such as us Figure Skaters, Hockey, Short`Track/Speed Skating, Public Sessions and other types of Groups that I may not have mentioned.
For parents, especially the ones who work, it makes it extremely difficult to get their kids on the ice.  There is a lot of scheduling involved which leads to the occasional speeding ticket, because Mom/Dad tried to get Susie to the Rink on time after School.  So what can we do about this?  One option would be to Home School, not something I recommend unless tutors are available.  The second option is to work with Management and figure out a way to get the ice time you need by showing them how they can be more profitable by changing the hours to what the skaters need.  Perhaps you are willing to pay a little extra money to skate these "requested" hours in order for the rink to make the profits they need.  With that option a big group of skating parents is needed for cost sharing and planning purposes.

Training Centers tend to have a more structured schedule and usually run more then one sheet of ice.  They tend to have one sheet dedicated mostly for Figure Skating.  You will find that sessions will be more accommodating to kids who attend regular school.  They will also showcase sessions specifically for Elite/Senior level skaters (late mornings/early afternoon), High/Low Freestyle Skaters, Ice Dancers, Pairs, Adults (Noon), and Moves in the Field/Stroking/Spin sessions.  That ensures that skating stays safe for all people involved.  
Training Centers are great for skaters, but tend to be more expensive.  This is also where you find a much bigger community of Skaters that can support the amount of Ice that is available for the sport of Figure Skating.  Without a big community of skaters, Training Centers end up going under due to lack of funds to pay for the ice/staff/maintenance.

So the conclusion I made is this:  If you are lucky enough to be training at a Training Center, then great!  But if your only option is to skate the 5am-8am and 3-5pm freestyles that may be crowded with a whole array of skating levels, then you might want to look into joining forces with other Skating Parents and Coaches to make a lucrative deal with Management in order to get the ice time you want and deserve.