Boots and bunny hops

[Hannah]

I managed a few bunny hops in the group lesson today 8-) but had a question about the way my foot / ankle feels in my boot.

When I land on my toepick (mind, this is from just a few inches off the ice) I feel like the boot twists around my ankle. Or maybe my ankle twists in my boot. I stopped hopping because I could see a sprained ankle in my future!

The boot is snug all around my foot and heel, so I wonder if maybe I'm not tying it tightly enough? Do I need to add something to my ankle inside my boot? Or am I just doing something wrong with my ankle (perhaps relying too much on the boot for support)?

Thanks for any ideas!

[SkatingOnClouds]

Really hard to say, without seeing your technique, but it does sound to me as if you need to lace tighter from where the hooks start, but not too tight around the upper hooks (your skates are fairly new, from memory?)

[Hannah]

Thanks, I knew it was somewhat of a shot-in-the-dark, but I thought I'd put it out anyway. My boots are new. I'll try lacing tighter around the ankle next time I go.

[Skate@Delaware]

When my boots were new, i had to re-tie them after about 20-30 minutes of skating, so that might also be an issue for you. You skate, the leather warms up and stretches a bit and things loosen. The laces will stretch a bit anyway because of the force applied to them.

[Hannah]

I went skating this morning, skated about an hour, did bunny hops, and re-tied my boots three times. Worked pretty well, though I might have to start wearing gloves just to avoid the lace-bite on my fingers...

[doubletoe]

It's also possible that your boots are too wide in the heel. A lot of people have heels that are narrow even if they have feet that are normal or wide in the front (myself included). Next time you buy boots, ask if you should get a combination width. They don't cost that much more.

[Skate@Delaware]

If your laces are 100% nylon, sometimes it's harder to get then tight without the laces digging into your fingers and the laces slipping out of their knot. I use either 100% cotton, or 50/50 cotton/nylon. Seems to hold the knot better and not dig into my fingers as much.

[Leda]

this is actually one of the most reasuring thread to me! I always wondered if I was crazy for thinking my laces were getting looser so I would re-tie them, but now I know they stretch when they are new!8O (which they relatively are)

and I also feel my ankle wobble in my skate a little while doing bunny hops, but now I will just tie them tighter.;)

[Casey]

If your laces are 100% nylon, sometimes it's harder to get then tight without the laces digging into your fingers and the laces slipping out of their knot. I use either 100% cotton, or 50/50 cotton/nylon. Seems to hold the knot better and not dig into my fingers as much.
I prefer 100% cotton...however have callouses on my fingers from tying my skates so tight. I try to remember to put my gloves on first, even though it makes it a bit tougher to get the knot tied.

[Hannah]

I'm pretty sure the skates are all right in the heel, because when I lace tight enough over my foot and up into the first hook, my heel is PLANTED in my boot. I can walk around on my toepicks and the boot hardly budges around my heel.

I haven't been skating since the last time because I've been writing papers for my final "exams" week. :frus: