I'm on a CO flight tomorrow from ATL-EWR. I always travel with just my carry-on bag, never had any problems. However, tomorrow, I plan on bringing my figure skates with me to NY. The Continental lady on the phone said that there would be no problem with security bringing them on board, but I seem to recall hearing in the past that I would be required to check them. I have kind of a tight run to get to my flight tomorrow, so I really don't want to run into any problems with security - however, I'd also really like to carry my bag on and not check it (especially with expensive skates inside).

Does anyone know anything about this, have experience with it, have helpful tips? I would really appreciate it! Thank you!