this is the Farmington feed bringing you information from the city of Farmington hi and welcome back to the Farmington feed I'm Karin Hajj Nikki the city's Communications specialist and I'm hungry for another episode of the feed today we have with us our new Skate School director Molly Burmeister and we're here to talk about our new learn to skate classes welcome Molly thank you for having me so can you remind me when you started with the city and then we briefly let our listeners know about your background and your role here yeah I started last year in August um I took over the first program session started in November and so I had a couple months of just catching up and learning from the previous director how she ran things and starting my own kind of Journey um I grew up skating I grew up coaching learn to skate and went to school came back started coaching again and just decided to try out learn to skate as a director and see what this world is like so rather than being on the ice coaching I get to see the back end of things and yeah exciting teach little ones how to skate but also interact with parents in the community yeah for sure so did you grow up in Farmington or near here so I grew up in Egan and I grew up skating in Burnsville so I've kind of been all over the South Metro um so let's get to the topic at hand learn learn to skate it is a US figure skating program correct yes I did learn that at my last job working at an ice rink so it's actually learn to skate USA is US figure skating USA hockey and USA speed skating oh they're all together so they cover all three aspects of on Ice Sports and it's just a great introduction for kids to get on the ice in all disciplines it gives you like goals for each level that they must attain to move on correct yes and it's not just you know for figure skating so there's hockey and learning how to skate for hockey and yes correct yeah so um so tell us a little more about the levels that that they offer yeah so learn to skate USA starts at the snowplow Sam level and then there's also our introductory class which we'll get into in a little bit too but snowplow Sam is the first levels that start on the ice it teaches kids how to really fall down stand up move forward gain their balance and kind of gain their bearings on the ice and that's where every skater starts whether they want to be a professional hockey player a speed skater or a figure skater and from there they progress through learning how to do like forward skating backwards skating edges turns once you get past snowplow Sam you go into the next introductory levels that aim more towards towards the figure skating or hockey and for our maybe older skaters cuz snowplow Sam is geared towards that 3 to six age range yeah the young ones yeah so if you are a little bit older than that and you're starting you would start in our basic skills program which is basic one you are learning the same foundational skills of fall down stand up and that is for ages six and up and so that can go all ages up until 18 where then you hit that adult level MH for sure yeah yeah I know when I first had to register my kid I was so confused yeah like where do we start where are they supposed to be you know in some places I know they do parents are on the ice initially with the kids and some places they aren't are we one of those places where the kids are with their parents or without so if you are registered for the parent child class that means that you are also skating with your child and which was not me I my husband do it yes it is totally optional okay and so for our parent child class the parent joins the child on the ice and they get to learn together so the parent doesn't need to be the strongest skater okay well to join them yeah but sometimes it gives those kids a little bit more comfort knowing that they have someone with them someone that they know yeah yeah but I also if you're not comfortable skating on the ice you can send your kid into a snow PL sammer basic one class and they will do just fine our instructors do a great job of getting kids on the ice sometimes it takes a little bit on that first day but once they're on the ice they're usually hooked and then they are excited to play games and excited to learn how to skate yeah because you guys make it fun too it's not just like this is how you do it right yes correct I know I've seen in other places that I've been with they do the markers on the ice too and I'm sure you guys do that and I've seen other little games what are examples of some of the games they get to play so a really popular game that our kids love to play is Mr Fox so it's similar to what you would play on a playground but they love that one it's more of like a you can March forward eight steps or if they're skating backwards wiggle backwards for 4 seconds whatever they want to do and learn to skate USA is all about fun so we have markers we have toys we have bubbles oh yeah bubbles help too right they chase the bubbles and they don't realize they're actually kind of skating yes and that's usually how kids get hooked in is they see all the toys we have a cart with a bunch of games and toys on it and yeah they love it okay cool so I know that each year that skaters need to purchase their learn es skate membership and how much does that cost and how does that work cuz people can be confused about that as well yeah so learn Escape memberships are purchased annually I believe their year starts July 1st okay so it's good from July to June of next year correct and so if you purchase a learn Escape membership you just go on their website and it has a link right to it on learn tocate usa.com and a membership costs $17 plus $150 tax so really they just need to say it costs $18.50 um but that covers you for a year and that's good for no matter what learn Escape program you go to okay and so if you're coming from a new learn Escape program into farmington's and you already purchased a learn Escape membership yeah it transfers over oh that's perfect do they have to supply you with a a number or anything yeah so when they register they you would input your learn tocate USA membership number and if you don't have it or if you forgot it for whatever reason I'm able to look it up in the system oh perfect and if registration closes and the session's starting and I don't see a learned Escape membership I just Reach Out out to the parent who's listed on their registration and kind of walk you through the steps on how to obtain one before session start perfect so we mentioned this just a minute ago there are some new classes that came out this past summer so can you tell me a little bit more about those yeah we introduced three new classes which I'm super excited about we introduced our ice explorers our adaptive skating and our adult skating so adult skating is like it says it's for anyone ages I think we have it 16 and up for sure that can join this class and so you come you learn how to skate you can bring friends they can learn how to skate with you and it's just more of a community building exercise class if you want to call it that so yeah it's a great way if you've either never learned how to skate before or if you haven't laced up skates in a while or if you just want some more guided instruction it's a good way to get back and it's cheaper than having a private lesson yes for sure and you get to build some community and friends in the group too so that's really cool I'm sure my husband will want to tell me to take that class cuz I don't know how to skate we'd love to have you I don't know I'm I'm one of those people that hugs the walls so what are the other ones you said ice explorers yep we have ice explorers which is our that's our like little little class so that's any child 1 and a half to 3 years old wow that's super young yeah 1 and a half to three years old and they are brought into the ring and we don't start on the ice quite yet it's a we follow learn to skate USA curriculum so they start by coming into the rink we get to know the rink get them comfortable with the Zamboni and the yeah that could be scary yeah yep and so rather than putting them on the ice mhm they get familiarized and then they also learn a couple of the skills that they'll do on the ice we teach them off off the ice first so we teach them how to fall down and stand up safely without getting hurt we teach them about how to March forward using big steps so that when they have clunky skates on they can continue those big steps so do they have the skates on with skate guards doing that on dry land so for some of it they do yep so they start without just an tennis shoes and it's very low risk not scary for them and then building them up yeah and then we talk about skates we talk about how to put skates on and then they have skates on they do some stuff off the ice and then we transition them onto the ice where they get to play games and yeah have fun do all the stuff that all the other kids are doing okay cool yeah and then your final new class was adaptive skating right yes yep so adaptive skating is for any individual who needs some more specialized equipment or if they have more developmental needs that aren't met in a normal big class big class and so they get individualized or more specialized attention that um can help them so it can be anything from a intellectual disability a physical disability it can be someone who's just struggling to deal with all the noise and everything that's going on on in the environment yeah and so we really just adapt that class to fit their needs and make sure that they're having fun and enjoying skating like everyone deserves the chance to do for sure okay that's awesome so sessions available this fall um when do they start and how does that work so our next session is going to be four weeks long and it's October 5th through October 26th and it is from 8:15 to 11:15 in the morning so you'll get a 30 minute PR practice and a 30 minute lesson depending what level you're depending on what level yep so when you register it'll give you some options for times if there's multiple classes offered in that level yeah our deadline for registration is on October 3rd okay and if you have any questions registering they can reach out to me I'm happy to answer any and all questions and for sure if they get it put in if they put themselves on the wrong level or put their child on the wrong level like we could always adjust that yes yep so the instructors and I on the first day of classes are always watching the kids to see if they would be better suited in a different group and if they are it's usually within that same 30 minute time frame yeah so we just move them to a different class that's going to be more appropriate for their skill set perfect and then there's another session that happens after that correct yes second session this fall starts November 9th and runs through December 21st and it's it's a six week session we do skip the week of Thanksgiving perfect but it's the same times in on Saturday on Saturdays yep so 8:15 to 11:15 and after the four-week session if you're signed up for that one and you get to the end of it there's a couple days break between the end of the first fall session and the beginning of the second one where you will receive a report card that tells you what level you should register for for the next session so you don't need to guess or figure out if your child or you have progressed past certain levels we give you a report card that says this is what you should register for and again if you get to that next session and you find out you've been put in the wrong class we can always make adjustments and get you where you need to be perfect and then again this will continue in the winter as well those dates haven't been set yet but we that will be in the forthcoming uh isue of the currents our wi Edition so we kind of talked about a little bit of everything if they don't know what class to start with they can contact you if they're in the wrong session they can get transferred what's the most important thing you want to tell those people that are interested in skating classes and either don't know where to start or afraid or whatever what would what would your advice be yes everyone starts somewhere yeah and skating is for everyone so you are not too old Too Young Too anything to be able to skate it's for every and I am I've been in the Skating World a really long time so I happy to answer any questions you have whether you want to go the figure skating route or hockey route or speed skating will'll get you set where you need to go and again I'm always available for questions so whether you send me an email or call me I'm always happy to chat and kind of go through any questions or concerns that you might have about SK great and you know I think it's important to talk about the fact that you know well last year's ice rinks didn't last very long because of the weather but when we do have a real winter and you want to go out skating on those outdoor rinks like it's great to take a class just so you know what you're doing right yes I mean then you then you're safer on the ice right cuz you know how to fall you know how to get up and you know how to do all those things with with your family and friends and learning how to fall is the first step that every skater learns how to do you can't you SK you're to fall so you have to learn how to do it gracefully right correct falling is inevitable even I've been skating for how many years and I still will fall and so it's learning how to fall and then how to get back up and try again because if you can do that you're going to learn a lot and you're going to have a lot of fun oh the one thing I just thought about for those Littles do you guys require helmet to be worn for the littles yeah great question so helmets are required for all of our snowplow Sam classes as well as our basic one which is ourn yep six and up beginner and we also have our hockey one class which is our beginner hockey players and so hockey one also requires helmets as well as all the hockey classes yeah I mean hockey players have to wear helmet all the time so yeah and some people think that if they're that little they might not need it but they definitely need it for sure you never know and then from there anyone who feels more comfortable wearing a helmet we're not going to tell you no we encourage everyone to wear a helmet if they're going to feel safer for sure but yeah for those beginner classes it is a requirement all right well thank you for your wealth of knowledge and information like super exciting to have these new classes and hopefully a lot of people get signed up this uh fall but I do want to talk about other um skating opportunities there's going to be no school open skate and open hockey um in October on the Thursday October 17th and Friday October 18th so open skate will be from 3:15 to 4:45 p.m. and that costs only $6 a person and there will be skate rental available correct yes open hockey will be broken down by levels and cost 11 per skater session times start at 10: for peeee and u12 11:45 for Squirts and U10 and 1:30 for mites and 8 skaters must skate with their age group and wear all their equipment to stay safe remember fall learned to skate has two sessions the four week session starts on Saturday October 5th and the 6 week session starts Saturday November 9th registration is available at web track. Farmington mn.gov and then look for our winter information in the currents coming up well that concludes this month's episode of the Farmington feed thank you for listening we look forward to connecting with residents with this podcast if you have any feedback guest requests or ideas email me at communications at Farmington mn.gov don't forget to subscribe to the Farmington feed wherever you like to get your podcasts