With so many options online today we are purchasing more and more through the internet than ever before. And, there are certainly some better deals to be had by purchasing things online. HOWEVER, ice skates is not one of them!

As a long time skating coach, I cringe when I hear that someone is considering purchasing ice skates online. In essence, this means a person is going to purchase professional equipment online without trying the boots on, talking to someone about the quality of the equipment, reqlinquishing their warranty and get no promise of fit or continued service on the equipment. Really???? This doesn’t make sense.

I think the biggest argument that I hear for someone considering this option is that they think they are getting a better deal. Well, in the case of professional equipment, there rarely is a “deal” but more often a regret later after their purchase. The average cost to buying a good pair of skates in a pro shop at the rink for a beginning skater is about $120! Yep, that it! And, here are the upsides to purchasing them from a professional rink:

– They will measure your feet and recommend the best brand of boot and blade that fit the goals of the skater. Taking also into account experience level, age and ability.

– If the boot is a Jackson or similar, they will heat mold the boot to your foot.

– They will allow you to upgrade the blades separately, if needed or desired.

– They will guarantee the boot and the blade and have a money back guarantee if something goes wrong.

– They will mount the new blade on the boot and sharpen the blade before you get on the ice for the first time as part of the initial price. Usually blade mounting and sharpening are separate fees.

– You will also be able to purchase additional accessories for your skates while you are there just for your boots such as blade guards, soakers, wax, laces, etc.

– And, they will answer all your questions so that you will learn all about your equipment and how to care for it and protect it.

Last but not least, purchasing equipment from your local ice rink supports the smaller business. Ice rinks operate at a very low margin and often barely get by. Support them by shopping with them so that they can stay in business.

So, please, please, please do not purchase ice skates online. Save yourself the headache. When skates don’t fit right, it can negatively impact your learning experience and make it frustrating for your coach who really wants you to progress. Buy locally from your rink for professional equipment!

The idea of getting inside the ice rink can be daunting for people who have not tried ice skating before. But just like any other sports or hobbies, the basics can be mastered. You just have to practice diligently and patiently to reach your goal.

For those who wish to try ice skating, here are some tips shared by experienced people in the ice rink:

Keep your eyes toward the direction you want to go. It is completely understandable for first timers to always look at the floor when trying to ice skate. Take note though that this should be avoided. Otherwise you will keep colliding with other skater. So remember to look ahead!

Tie your skates properly. Make sure that your pair of skates is neither too loose nor too tight. Learn to try them properly whether you are renting or using your own skates.

Skate a few rounds to warm up. The ice rink will cause your muscles to experience drop in temperature. Warm up first so that your muscle gets heated a little. You can do this by skating for a few rounds and then stretching.

Keep your balance. Bending your knees while keeping your weight in front is the proper stance in skating. Avoid leaning back as this will increase the likelihood of you falling on your backside. You can also place your opened wide arms in front of you to help you attain better balance.

Learn how to stop. As you move forward and learn your balance, you also need to know how to stop. Just bend your knees while turning your feet inwards with the heels pointing out to stop.

Consider getting skating lessons. It pays off to invest in skating lessons especially if you really want to be good at skating. Experts will teach you things and tips to help you become a good skater fast. If you have friends, encourage them to learn with you. This will give you a boost of confidence and it would be more fun learning things together.

Wear appropriate clothing. Make sure that your clothes are not too tight or loose. Consider the fact that you would want to move well. Your movement should not be restricted so choose the right clothing. Keep in mind also the cold temperature when choosing your clothes.

Have fun. You might get frustrated at first as you would fall over and over again. But remember that the best skaters started that way as well. Loosen up instead of taking things seriously. Keep yourself motivated and have fun as you learn how to skate.

One of the most highly watched and televised sports are figure skating competitions. Here, skaters are judged according to their technique, style, routine, and performance.

Skaters have a way of making their routines look graceful and calm, much like ballet dancers. However, in reality their performances are not only difficult but require years of dedicated practice. There is no doubt that on their way to perfecting their routines they most likely had to endure numerous falls, bumps, and injuries.

Ice skaters who are eyeing competitive figure skating need to train doing the basic moves. Skills in making steps, turns, spins, jumps, and lifts are required in order to compete.

Jumps are one of the most highly anticipated moves during a routine. When a skater jumps in midair, spins, and then makes a solid and graceful landing, audiences hold their breath and clap excitedly after. Since a jump is not only difficult but dangerous as well, a figure skater practices the move in a gym before training on the ice.

Audiences also look forward to watching a figure skater do a spin. A spin is when the skater turns rapidly and smoothly on the ball of their foot until he or she stops. There are numerous artistic variations to the spin and this can be witnessed in the many routines during figure skating competitions.

For pair figure skating, lifts are required. Here, the man will lift his usually dainty partner into the air while skating. Again, there are many variations to the lift.

Lifts are trained in a gym prior to executing it on the ice because they are dangerous and can seriously injure skaters if not practiced properly.

Figure skating is not only a sport but it is an art as well. It requires strength, skill, grace, and flexibility, among others. In order to master this sport, athletes must be strong and dedicated and willing to make huge sacrifices to bring beauty onto the ice. It is no wonder why so many people are huge fans of the sport.

Imagine an Olympic ice skater. Watch how she moves, leaning steeply, pressing herself powerfully around a corner, always perfectly balanced. See how she pivots, effortlessly back then forward, never losing her stride. Enjoy the smooth arcs her arms carve in the air, the graceful circling of the legs. Now remember that she’s doing all of this on cold, hard, unforgiving ice.

Imagine, now, an old man surrounded by a half dozen attackers. On a signal from one, they converge to grab the old man. They reach the spot where he’d stood, but he’s gone, and they collide with each other. Somehow, he slipped from their circle.

Again they surround him, and again he evades their grip, disappearing like the wind. They become frustrated. They go after him, attacking, trying to grab or tackle or somehow subdue him. The old man glides among the furious attackers, unperturbed, using the energy of their attacks to throw them onto the ground. Again and again they attack. The old man flows through them, striding here, whirling there, perfectly balanced, harmonizing with his unwilling partners. He seems like he’s dancing. But his attackers don’t want to dance with him any more than the ice wants to dance with the ice skater.

Watching well-done aikido is like watching an Olympic skater: the graceful circles, the gliding motions, the flowing extension. With an ice skater, though, one can understand that it’s her years and years of ceaseless practice that allow her to move so gracefully, not a prearranged cooperation with the ice. With aikido, though, people often suspect that there is some overt or covert cooperation by the attackers.

There is no such cooperation. In our dojo, we demand that attacks be as real as the skater’s ice. Of course for beginners, we slow down attacks so they can learn to move well. Our skater didn’t learn at full speed. But still, the ice is the ice. And a punch, even a slow one, if it connects, will be felt.

An ice skater may practice her spins and jumps on the padded floor of a gym. She may practice slowly. Ultimately, though, she knows she has to perform her art at full speed on the ice.

The grace and flow of well-done aikido, too, comes from years and years of training. At its roots, aikido is a martial art. Though we may practice slowly, we train with real attacks, ones with the force and solidity of ice. The performance of our art demands this reality.

Hans Muller was, and still remains to be, one of the best ice skaters the world has ever known. The 1947 result was due to the superb school skating of Hans who not only then, and until he turned professional after the 1948 Olympics, was the best man school-skater in the world, but I think even now still qualifies for that distinction. Hans was also a first-rate free skater, but when it came to competitions, so early after the war, when all young British athletes as well as those who had elected to stay here, were still suffering from nervous strain especially those who had remained in London as Hans had done as well as from the malnutrition inevitable amongst those who did not come into the category of workers, he was not able to reproduce his true form under the tense excitement of a European or World Championship.

Those, however, who were lucky enough to have seen his exhibitions given at hockey matches and other such light-hearted occasions realise what a beautiful performer he was. This was the position when once more into the arena of the 1948 European, World and Winter Olympic Games leapt a new Richard Button, who, together with his trainer Gustav Lussi, had seen and noted all that there was to be learnt in Europe concerning the school figures. The result was the unconquerable Dick, winner of the European in 1948 (before the rule confining it to Europeans came in), five World and two Olympic titles. This was the man who captured the imagination of all by the athleticism and sheer strength of his skating as well as by the very exuberance of his personality. He set a new fashion in the free, one which has now become part of the scheme of things, for a free programme without double and even triple jumps, without combinations of jumps and spins, on the lines first skated by this great American, would certainly be regarded as absurdly easy in any major competition.

I must make one statement here, however, to the effect that Cecilia Colledge had accomplished the double Salchow and experimented with other double jumps before the war started. It must be remembered also that pre-war jumping was not as high as it is today not in the immediate years before the war and in consequence anything away from the ordinary did not catch the eye of the “experts”, those at whom Grafstrom and Schafer used to laugh, so what was the use of risking anything extra difficult in any important competition when it would most probably pass by unnoted?

It was only when Dick Button jumped his special jumps at barrier height that notice simply had to be taken of them.

Therefore, except for the fact that there were no resident title holders, the position in the immediate post war years was identical with that in the early twenties; i.e. a new style overlapping and overwhelming the old. Just as Grafstrom in 1920 had entranced the skating world of his time with the sheer beauty of his every movement, so now Button thrilled and stimulated it, with the strength and virility of his performance.

All young skaters were inspired by an ardent desire to emulate the fiery leaps of the new master, and to such an extent did this go, that in a few years by the 1952 Olympic not only were these jumps included in the programme of the candidates for championship honours, but we actually began to see them in both junior competitions and tests by the ladies as well as the men.

After Button had decided to join the professional ranks, not as a teacher, but as a show skater, with a wonderful contract, at a wonderful figure, a contract which does not interfere with his education for the legal profession, at Harvard law school, his mantle fell on his countryman Hayes Alan Jenkins, who won the four World titles, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956 and the 56 Olympic crown with consummate ease, and who improves each year, so much so that now one can say we see in him a combination of the delicate artistry of Grafstrom combined with the athleticism of Dick Button. It is to be hoped that he will not succumb to the lure of big money, which of course is his for the asking not yet at any rate. He has a brother David, who is also a grand performer, and these two with their compatriot Ronald Robertson, whose father incidentally hails from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, present formidable rivals for their European competitors. And now what of the ladies? Who are the outstanding ones? and how do they compare with the giants of the past?

As I have said, the first post-war World and Olympic winner (with the 1947 and 1948 European, before the new rule) was the petite Canadian Barbara Ann Scott who won two World titles, 1947 and 1948, as well as the ladies Olympic Competition of 1948. She came over here looking like a Dresden china figurine, dainty and serene, untroubled by war nerves, and she gained her laurels under conditions unique in history.

Ice skating science fair projects can provide you with a new way to look at ice skating. The following sports experiments will look at how skaters use gravity, centrifugal force and friction to excel in their sport. Have fun with these experience and enjoy yourself as you learn more about science has information on the science of an ice rink.

Ice skaters melt ice as they glide across the surface. This hypothesis will need ice skating science fair projects to examine how heat is created in such a frigid environment. You will want to look at the friction that is created as the ice skater’s skate blade moves across the ice.

The thickness of an ice skater’s blade impacts how fast they are able to go. Ice skating science fair projects that test this hypothesis will need to experiment with ice blade thickness and try to find a correlation between the thickness of the blade and the speed the ice skater is able to produce. You can advance this project by also looking at the balancing point between blade stability and blade thickness. After all, it doesn’t matter how fast a skater can go if the blade breaks.

How does a Zamboni machine resurface the ice on an ice skating rink? This is a great hypothesis to look at if you are interested in the sports of ice skating or ice hockey. This experiment will examine what mechanical processes are used to remove scrapes and gauges quickly from the ice’s surface. Some of the questions you will want to answer with your experiments include: Does the machine use chemicals? Does the machine remove ice from the surface? Does the machine apply heat to melt the ice’s surface?

How does centrifugal force affect an ice skater during a spin? This is a great hypothesis to test. The goal of this project is to see how the skater’s brain responds to the force it is put under, how it helps keep the skater from getting dizzy and passing out and what the skater does to counteract the negative side affects that exposure to centrifugal force. What did you learn from this experiment?

Balance is a big issue that ice skaters continuously have to deal with. The final project idea that you can work with will look at how ice skaters utilize different balancing methods to produce different skating moves. For example, what science concepts do they use to keep their balance during a spin, and what science concepts do they use to keep their balance when landing a jump?

When you are into skating, figure skating dresses are one of the highest concerns of skaters. They are really having a hard time finding the right store to buy these dresses. But here’s the catch, there’s no need to buy a one immediately if you want to go skating or dress the part of a figure skater. You can go to any supplier of dance clothes which is a good way to find something appropriate. For sure, they have a wide assortment of these dresses that you can choose from.

Here are some of the examples of skating clothes that you can use while you are still looking for these dresses. Since you don’t have a dress for skating yet, you can first try a leotard with a skirt and dance tights, you can also wear athletic pants, a shirt and thin socks plus a jacket or sweater, that’s all you need and you’re already good to go. There are actually a lot of stores that sell these kinds of clothes. You can check these stores online.

But if you don’t want to buy these clothes, your other option is to have them customized. Customizing your own dresses has a lot of advantages than buying brand new skating dresses. The advantages of customizing your own dresses is it will be measure to perfectly fit your size, the materials are assured to a top quality, and the dress would really be very comfortable for the skater. Unlike with the finish product, you may still need to do some alterations if it doesn’t fit you perfectly.

You can find a seamstress who has an expertise in making these dresses. If you don’t know any seamstress, you can ask other skaters that you know if they know somebody especially skaters who wear cute skating dresses. They might give you names of a seamstress or place that they know has cute and trendy skating dresses. In that way, you can already have your dress customized.

But before you do that, you first need to have your personal design of your skating dresses. If you can’t think of any, you can ask that seamstress for suggestions about them that would perfectly look good on you. Or, you can ask for sample photos of his/her skating dresses so you could get an idea about your design.

The majority of skaters have completed the ‘jump out of the car and put the skates on in two minutes to be in time for a lesson’ maneuver at some point in their career. Even the two minute ‘throw the leg up on the boards and stretch for 30 seconds’ move falls by the wayside in order to be on time. While proud to have made it on the ice before the clock hits 5:01, a skater has unfortunately increased her risk for injury. How?

In the majority of ice rinks, the temperature of the air is not ideal for exercising. Sometimes it can be downright frigid and you can see your breath! Cold temperatures do not make for happy and healthy muscles. A warm temperature will help to keep sufficient blood flow and nutrient exchange in a muscle, improving its elasticity. The looser and warmer a muscle is, there is a decrease in chance for a muscle strain if that muscle is put under stress. Now think about the amount of stress placed on your muscles during a jump or spin: a lot! Many skating moves also require a great deal of flexibility (darn biellmans and spirals!), and a tight muscle can be unforgiving in those extreme positions.

Picture a muscle as a bunch of thick fibers lined up parallel to each other, each with a certain amount of elasticity, like a rubber band. If you overstretch a rubber band, eventually it will tear or snap. The same is true of muscle fibers. A muscle strain occurs when it is not properly warmed up and its fibers become inflamed or partially torn, resulting in pain with a stretch or contraction of the muscle. A significant tear is more serious and may result in immobilization of a joint to allow for healing. No skater wants to take time off to heal. The solution is to always stretch before skating, or at least perform five minutes of warm-up exercises on the ice if you are running late for a session. Prevention is the key!

There are several methods of stretching: static, dynamic, and ballistic. Static stretching involves lengthening a muscle by holding it in an elongated position for a set period of time, typically 30 seconds. Dynamic stretching brings the muscle into its lengthened position, but is repeated 10-20 times and held for a much shorter duration. This method lengthens the muscle while simultaneously bringing blood flow to its fibers. In both static and dynamic stretching, greater range of motion should be gained with each repetition. Ballistic stretching involves bouncing movement at the end range of motion, and is not a recommended stretching technique.

Prior to stepping on the ice, it is ideal for a skater to complete at least ten minutes of dynamic stretching, using both the lower and upper extremities. If time allows, fifteen to twenty minutes will properly warm-up every muscle used while skating. Static stretching is not as beneficial prior to skating, due to the lack of blood flow to a muscle. A fan of dynamic vs. static stretching once said, “Do we stretch to become statues, or do we stretch to move?” It makes sense! Static stretching is highly recommended after skating or exercising, to cool down a muscle and lengthen it after many contractions have made it tighter.

The moral of this story is: a skater needs to stretch! Taking those extra minutes to take care of your muscles will result in a happier, healthier skater, with less injuries!

ISI is for the recreational ice skater that is looking to learn and have fun. Everyone has to start somewhere. Olympic skaters such as Dorothy Hamill, Scott Hamilton, Kristi Yamaguchi, Alisa, Czisny, and more, all participated in the ISI programs when they first started to skate. Ice skating offers both emotional and physical health benefits and is a great way to get in shape while having fun. When you become a member of the ISI, you enter the magical world of skating.

When you become a member of the ISI you become a part of the largest recreational ice skating organization in the world. You then have the opportunity to participate in their successful learn-to-skate programs that are for every age and every ability. You even have the opportunity to earn achievement patches when you test your new ice skating skills in their ISI testing programs. Your membership will allow you to compete in the many local, district, and national competitions and shows that they host. In addition, to all those things, you will also receive excess accident insurance with your paid membership which is a nice thing to have. So lace up your skates and hit the ice and learn how to ice skate in their “weSKATE” program.

The ISI offers a recreational learn-to-skate program they call “weSKATE”. Their learn-to-skate programs have been around for many years and have proven successful. Their “weSKATE” program is for all ages and ability levels and you can find skaters from the ages of 2 up to 92 participating in the programs. The program is broken down into levels that let you learn skills, test those skills, and move on to the next level. The levels of their program are “Tot 1-4, Pre-Alpha, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Freestyle 1-10, Open Freestyle (Bronze/Silver/Gold/Platinum), Couple 1-10, Pair 1-10, Dance 1-10, Free Dance 1-10, International Dances, Figure 1-10, Special Skater 1-10, Hockey Skating 1-5, and Hockey Skills 1-5.” As you can see, there are not only many different levels but also different disciplines of ice skating to learn including Ice Dance and Hockey. So now that you are having fun learning and testing your new ice skating skills, perhaps you’re starting to get the competitive itch or maybe you are ready to show off what you have learned to your friends and family.

Being a part of the ISI you are eligible to participate in the many ISI sanctioned local and district competitions as well as 6 national competitions each year. They even offer collegiate skating. At each competition each skater will be placed in an event group based on age and ability levels. It is not so much about being competitive and winning as it is about meeting fellow skaters, making new life long friends, seeing new places, being part of a team, and having fun all at the same time. When you participate in an ISI competition you not only have an opportunity to earn medals or awards as an individual but you earn points as a member of your ISI team.

The Ice Skating Institute offers something for every ice skater. Whether your interest is figure skating, ice dance, or hockey you can learn new skills, earn achievement patches, and compete as an individual and part of a team. While learning how to skate you are exercising both your mind and body, staying fit and healthy, seeing new places and meeting new friends, but most of all-having fun!

Physics is what drives the skates, be it the traditional roller skates or the new age inline skates. The world is all about science. And when it comes to talking about the science behind working of things, it is physics bang on.

Newton’s law of motion are comprised of three basic laws. Instead of going from laws 1 to 3, let us go in the order of how the skater begins skating and finally stops. This way the understanding of underlying laws becomes easy.

Starting the skating process

The skater begins the process of skating by pushing the toes and heels on the ground, opposite to the direction in which he/she wants to move. Here the energy from the muscles (potential energy) is transferred to the wheels (kinetic energy) of the skates. The skater moves because, the ground exerts an equal and opposite force to the wheels, thereby making it spin.

This is governed by Newton’s third law of motion which states that, “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction”. The action here was to push the ground with the skates and the equal and opposite reaction was to push the skater forward.

While this happens, the wheels spin because of a torque which is produced by friction from the ground. This friction is called static friction. This force causes one surface to slide over the other. It happens so that when the roller blades move forward, the surface of Earth moves backwards to let the skater move. Sounds bizarre?! Well, the Earth is so huge that you hardly notice that it is going few millimetres to the other side!

Repeating the process to gain speed

To go on this entire process is repeated over and over again to gain speed. This is governed by Newton’s second law which states, “The rate of change of momentum is proportional to the imposed force and goes in the direction of the force”. It means if you push twice as hard, the acceleration is going to be twice as much.

It also indicates that if you push the other way, you will decelerate, that is, reduce your speed. It also suggests that heavier the body (or the person), more force is required to accelerate. Hence, lighter the person, faster is the acceleration going to be.

Gliding with momentum

After a while the skater will start gliding or coasting. This occurs solely based on momentum gathered from the high speed gained earlier.

Newton’s first law of motions states this as, “A body remains at rest or in motion with a constant velocity unless acted upon by an external force”. That is, the skater will continue to coast unless he/she stops by applying brakes or he/she bumps onto someone or falls and trips due to loss of balance.

This is how physics and skating are related by Newton’s laws of motion. Next time you skate, experience it from physic’s eyes.