Anonymous wrote:I mean...are the figure skaters prepared to gain like at least 50 pounds and start getting smashed into the boards...and possibly fighting?

Just seems a little strange. Like saying that a downhill skier is now going to become a freestyle skier...both sports take place on skis, but require a different physique and mental approach.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, and hockey is a lifetime sport, rec leagues, etc. Figure skating is...not.

You are loud wrong about that. If you feel like a road trip, the 2026 U.S. Adult Figure Skating Championships, sanctioned by US Figure Skating, is next week in Duluth, Georgia. Every year at Adult Nationals, the youngest skater presents the oldest skater with the Yvonne M. Dowlen Trophy. Last year, 21-year-old Maggie Altmann had the honors in presenting Connie Curry with the Trophy. Connie was 86 years old. In 2025, twenty-four women and two men skated in Class V technical events. As they proudly state, Class V is for skaters aged 66 'til death.

Oh, wait, there's more. The International Skating Union sponsors an annual event for adult skaters in Oberstdorf, Germany. Last year, Jana Pribylova from the Czech Republic was the oldest skater in the competition, taking silver in Silver Ladies V. Jana's daughter, also named Jana, greeted her mother in the Kiss and Cry after the elder Jana's skate. (For her part, the younger Jana won her event, Masters Elite Ladies IV, the highest technical level.)

And those are the singles skaters. If the ages of both partners equal at least 100, they can skate in dance and pairs Centennial events at Adult Nationals. And how many sports can you compete against your children for a national championship? In 2015, Tim Bookwalter and Barbara Walker won a national pewter (4th) medal in Championship Adult Dance, two places behind Tim's son, Erich Bookwalter, and Melissa Patsalides' silver medal winning performance.

Many adults don't compete, but they grow their skills in pursuit of passing aptitude tests in free skating, Moves in the Field (I refuse to recognize the silly new name), dance, and even school figures. Adults who pass the gold level tests earn the same gold medalist status and jackets as the kids.

If that ain't lifetime, I'm not sure what is. Adults Skate Too.

https://usfigureskating.org/sports/2025/11/3/2026-us-adult-figure-skating-championships-presented-by-prevagen.aspx
https://www.facebook.com/USFSAdultSkatingCommittee/posts/at-86-years-connie-curry-was-honored-with-the-yvonne-m-dowlen-trophy-at-the-2025/1276894067770115/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mrqwim-A6s&list=PL-CheZaoFWwT1yF7IVOlRQ7lCRN8fOfid&index=10
https://usfigureskating.org/sports/2025/9/4/adult-skating.aspx

I started figure skating competitively as an adult, and loved it. All the good parts of the sport without the toxic coaches and pressure to diet and achieve triples. I competed on the regional circuit and at ISI Worlds. Also played ice and roller hockey. For me it wasn’t either/or, it was both/and. I just loved skating.

Both sports had a very different vibe. Surprisingly, the hockey crowd was a lot more chill. The adult figure skaters I hung out with were a little more high strung. Even though we weren’t dealing with toxic coaches and constant pressure to diet and achieve triples, there was still a lot of drama, jealousy, rivalries, and backbiting. I guess that’s a given with performative sports. I had closer friends among the figure skaters, but I liked hanging out with the hockey gals more.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, and hockey is a lifetime sport, rec leagues, etc. Figure skating is...not.

You are loud wrong about that. If you feel like a road trip, the 2026 U.S. Adult Figure Skating Championships, sanctioned by US Figure Skating, is next week in Duluth, Georgia. Every year at Adult Nationals, the youngest skater presents the oldest skater with the Yvonne M. Dowlen Trophy. Last year, 21-year-old Maggie Altmann had the honors in presenting Connie Curry with the Trophy. Connie was 86 years old. In 2025, twenty-four women and two men skated in Class V technical events. As they proudly state, Class V is for skaters aged 66 'til death.

Oh, wait, there's more. The International Skating Union sponsors an annual event for adult skaters in Oberstdorf, Germany. Last year, Jana Pribylova from the Czech Republic was the oldest skater in the competition, taking silver in Silver Ladies V. Jana's daughter, also named Jana, greeted her mother in the Kiss and Cry after the elder Jana's skate. (For her part, the younger Jana won her event, Masters Elite Ladies IV, the highest technical level.)

And those are the singles skaters. If the ages of both partners equal at least 100, they can skate in dance and pairs Centennial events at Adult Nationals. And how many sports can you compete against your children for a national championship? In 2015, Tim Bookwalter and Barbara Walker won a national pewter (4th) medal in Championship Adult Dance, two places behind Tim's son, Erich Bookwalter, and Melissa Patsalides' silver medal winning performance.

Many adults don't compete, but they grow their skills in pursuit of passing aptitude tests in free skating, Moves in the Field (I refuse to recognize the silly new name), dance, and even school figures. Adults who pass the gold level tests earn the same gold medalist status and jackets as the kids.

If that ain't lifetime, I'm not sure what is. Adults Skate Too.

https://usfigureskating.org/sports/2025/11/3/2026-us-adult-figure-skating-championships-presented-by-prevagen.aspx
https://www.facebook.com/USFSAdultSkatingCommittee/posts/at-86-years-connie-curry-was-honored-with-the-yvonne-m-dowlen-trophy-at-the-2025/1276894067770115/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mrqwim-A6s&list=PL-CheZaoFWwT1yF7IVOlRQ7lCRN8fOfid&index=10
https://usfigureskating.org/sports/2025/9/4/adult-skating.aspx

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You don't have to be -big to be a good women's hockey player. Kendall Coyne Shofield is 5'2" and has two gold medals. Cayla Barnes is also either 5'1" or 5'2". Amanda Boulier is only 5'1". There is a place in hockey for small, fast players. I believe Cayla Barnes started out as a figure skater.

Very few girls over 5’8” play ncaa

This is just wrong. Generally defenders tend to be on the larger size, and D1 girls tend to be taller as well, but there are plenty of girls under 5' 8" playing NCAA hockey. Looking at just the teams that went to the finals in D1 and D3:

Wisconsin - of the 26 girls on the roster, 12 are under 5' 8"
Ohio State - of the 22 girls on the roster, 12 are under 5' 8"
Wisconsin River Falls - of the 26 girls on the roster, 14 are under 5' 8"
Nazareth - of the 27 girls on the roster, 23 are under 5' 8"

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Figure skating at a high level is not a lifetime sport, the adult championships notwithstanding. It’s a toxic, perfectionist culture with abusive coaching practices that are not acknowledged or addressed. My daughter’s coach still weighed his skater and told my daughter to find ways to punish herself every time she missed a jump. Please, tell me another sport where two major female competitors (Gracie Gold, Amber Glenn) spent time in inpatient mental health treatment during their competitive years. Choose hockey or basically anything else.

While this is all true, so many of us end up back in the sport one way or another I would say a third of the competitive skaters at our rink are second generation figure skaters.

Bullshit

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You don't have to be -big to be a good women's hockey player. Kendall Coyne Shofield is 5'2" and has two gold medals. Cayla Barnes is also either 5'1" or 5'2". Amanda Boulier is only 5'1". There is a place in hockey for small, fast players. I believe Cayla Barnes started out as a figure skater.

Very few girls over 5’8” play ncaa

You do realize this is that mental health struggles are emblematic of literally every sport at the elite level, correct?

Stop bashing figure skating because you or your daughter couldn’t cut it.

Anonymous wrote:You don't have to be -big to be a good women's hockey player. Kendall Coyne Shofield is 5'2" and has two gold medals. Cayla Barnes is also either 5'1" or 5'2". Amanda Boulier is only 5'1". There is a place in hockey for small, fast players. I believe Cayla Barnes started out as a figure skater.

Anonymous wrote:Figure skating at a high level is not a lifetime sport, the adult championships notwithstanding. It’s a toxic, perfectionist culture with abusive coaching practices that are not acknowledged or addressed. My daughter’s coach still weighed his skater and told my daughter to find ways to punish herself every time she missed a jump. Please, tell me another sport where two major female competitors (Gracie Gold, Amber Glenn) spent time in inpatient mental health treatment during their competitive years. Choose hockey or basically anything else.

Anonymous wrote:Figure skating at a high level is not a lifetime sport, the adult championships notwithstanding. It’s a toxic, perfectionist culture with abusive coaching practices that are not acknowledged or addressed. My daughter’s coach still weighed his skater and told my daughter to find ways to punish herself every time she missed a jump. Please, tell me another sport where two major female competitors (Gracie Gold, Amber Glenn) spent time in inpatient mental health treatment during their competitive years. Choose hockey or basically anything else.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Figure skating at a high level is not a lifetime sport, the adult championships notwithstanding. It’s a toxic, perfectionist culture with abusive coaching practices that are not acknowledged or addressed. My daughter’s coach still weighed his skater and told my daughter to find ways to punish herself every time she missed a jump. Please, tell me another sport where two major female competitors (Gracie Gold, Amber Glenn) spent time in inpatient mental health treatment during their competitive years. Choose hockey or basically anything else.

While this is all true, so many of us end up back in the sport one way or another I would say a third of the competitive skaters at our rink are second generation figure skaters.