Hi Everyone,

I normally lurk but I thought I'd share this with everyone.

I frequently skate on a very dead public session in the mornings. There is this little old man who skates a few days a week also. He's not high level but he has his own skates and enjoys circling the rink. About a month ago, I was having a lesson and he fell backwards on the ice and hit his head. It was a terrible sound but he did get up, seemed ok, and he was back skating a few weeks later. Then last week he fell backwards again and hit his head. This time I was really worried he had done something to his head. He hobbled off the ice and when he sat down I noticed that his blades were actually pointed at the tail ends. The whole back end of the blade had been taken off. I couldn't believe it. I said there was no way he should skate on them and that whomever had sharpened them should be shot. He said he had just taken them to a local sporting goods store. Of course they could have just followed whatever the last guy did.

I think he's ok now ....but YIKES!

Lara

Oh, that's awful! Thank goodness he's OK.

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Terri C is a Bronze lady!
Gold Moves, here I come!

I smell a lawsuit in small claims court... (The sporting good store should offer to pay for a new pair of blades at the very least for damaging his skates like that!)

Lesson to learn from this... ask your fellow skaters or coach for a good recommendation for a skate sharpener!!! Do NOT go to a pro shop at the rink or some sporting good store! (Unless, of course, the guy in the pro shop was recommended by your coach or a fellow skater that brings the skates to that person. I know of one person that's like that!)

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Cheers,
jazzpants

11-04-2006: Shredded "Pre-Bronze FS for Life" Club Membership card!!!
Silver Moves is the next "Mission Impossible"
(Dare I try for Championship Adult Gold someday???)

Thank you for the support, you guys!!!

Very good advice!!!
I hope he doesnt come back until he has new blades.

That's terrible. No wonder the poor guy was having such terrible falls. I hope he replaces his blades and seeks out a reputable sharpening service. I hope he feels better soon.

Nicki

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www.myspace.com/insatiableskater

You sure they weren't just dovetail-shaped blades? Those hardly look like they have a back to them at all, but they come that way. It seems unlikely that man was falling because of that either way, because you don't actually skate on the back of the blade when you're going forwards. The furthest back your weight lies is actually right below the ball of your foot. You shouldn't be on the back of the blade at all.

Regardless, if some of his blade truly was sharpened off, he should get a brand new pair from that shop. But it seems really unlikely they'd do something THAT drastic, and that if they did, it would have much to do with him falling. Just my opinion.

You generally find this happens when they have been sharpening hockey skates, however it shouldnt happen on figure skates

Well he showed up today with new blades that look much better and his noggin seems to be ok. The old ones were not dovetails, they looked just like a hockey sharpening, they were an entry level wilson blade (I forget exactly which one). He said he's going back to the sporting goods store to complain (not that they will do anything I suppose) but maybe they will be more careful next time.

Wilson Excel, perhaps??? (Most beginning Riedell boots comes with those. My very first skates had those. )

He should complain to that sporting goods store, but yes, I agree that it's probably futile. I would give the name of your sharpener just so he doesn't go back to that sporting good store again!

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Cheers,
jazzpants

11-04-2006: Shredded "Pre-Bronze FS for Life" Club Membership card!!!
Silver Moves is the next "Mission Impossible"
(Dare I try for Championship Adult Gold someday???)

Thank you for the support, you guys!!!

I'd say that depends on your skill level. I've definitely seen beginners go straight off the back of their blade and fall. Hell, I did that the first time I wore hockey skates , and I was probably working on intermediate moves at the time. It's hard to tell how strong a skater he is from the original post, but I could definitely see a not high level skater have a brain fart and go right off the back of the blade.

It also highlights the importance of people understanding about their equipment. He needs a lesson about blades - shape, hollow, etc.

Good for him to even be out trying......I gather he does not want any formal education (LTS or a coach to show him the basics....) I hope he makes a skating friend who will gently guide him.

Lots of skaters fall over backwards, especially as beginners. I got my first concussion just about three months into LTS. I was just standing on the ice, and the next thing I knew, I was on the ice and my head hurt like the dickens.

It happens, don't act like it doesn't. I guess you've been skating for so long and you are so good that you forget what it is like to be a beginner.

Oh God, I really feel for that poor guy, I'm glad he's okay (or seems to be).

Its a really good point about making sure you get your blades sharpened by someone who knows what they're doing.

Here in the UK there's one guy that everyone trusts to do it...he's going on vacation for two months soon, so there's a last-minute panic with everyone trying to get a last-minute sharpen in!

The bit about falling over backwards...I've seen this happen to skaters of all levels - it just takes a second of lost concentration and WHOOOMPH!

S xxx

I am glad he is ok!!!
I've had two really bad falls going over backwards. One was from a standstill and the ice gremlin knocked me over backwards....the other was while doing back progressives and I caught the heel of my blade in the ice...down I went! The only thing that saved me from hitting my head really bad was remembering advice from the hockey coach "tuck your chin to your chest if you fall"-best advice i've ever been given! Took almost a month of twice a week chiropractic to straighten me back out!

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

Is he ok?! If he is only circleing around the ice than he must have rec. skates (no reason to buy $1000 skates if that's all he does.) Even though, He or NO ONE should EVER get there skates sharpened at a sporting goods store or the public rink unless they sell skates (if they sell skates there is a higher probobility of them actually knowing what they are doing). I have had a bad experence with a sporting goods store AND the public rink sharpining my skates and they almost rewened my blades the skating store had to shave down a lot of blade to get it back to normal! (even thought they were very short)

Just because the rink sells skates doesn't mean they should sharpen them also! I never get mine done at my home rink....never!

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

At our pro shop, none of the cashiers will accept skates to sharpen beyond recreational/beginner skates. Much as the sharpeners think they can sharpen whatever comes along, they don't understand how a high level blade needs to be sharpened! Our cashiers all know to send out any thing beyond a beginner skate to our local skate pro. I guess people who know nothing around here about skates and sharpening are lucky because we'll let them know who should sharpen their skates!

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- Ashley

Ummmmm dude, what's with the lousy 'tude??? If you'd actually read my post, you'd notice that I said it's unlikely to fall over backwards when you're going forward. I didn't say it's unlikely to fall over backwards period. I fall over backwards, mostly on stupid stuff- never pretended it "no longer applied to me", that's stupid. Everybody falls. Backwards, forwards, who really cares how? If you don't fall you aren't challenging yourself.

All I was saying is that usually when you're going forward, you fall forward (and that actually hurts a hell of a lot more). I was just talking logistics here, I have no idea why you'd respond like that. How lame. Some things here apparently never change.

Is that Terry? I have to admit that I'd rather go to him, but I don't like driving down the M4 and if I don't, I have to wait for the Husband to take me. It's easier to get my coach to take my skates to John Hamer, but I don't know when I can get them done. Sigh..... must ask him to go again before he goes on holiday.

Actually, they're all right at the moment, but I don't know how long they'll be all right for!

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

Go back and read some of your posts.

No more from me.

I think it may be John Turner.

Hmm, that's going to mean a Serious Shortage of Sharpeners in this country for the next few weeks then, since I heard yesterday that Terry isn't sharpening right now as he's having his bathroom redone (not quite sure of the link there...).

John Hamer is setting up as a sharpener, though, and I think he's done my skates before, so that's all right! But not much good for people who are not within easy reach of Gillingham.

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

Well, I don't post anything unless I think it'll help whoever I'm replying to, and I give pretty good advice. So I'm not really sure that explained to me why you took your attitude out on me. But "no more from you" is a pretty good deal to me, and that would sure solve this issue. Feel free to skip my posts if they somehow bother you (although I really don't see how...but that's also not my problem). Feel free to pm me if you've got something personal against me to say. There's really no need to bring drama into a perfectly benign thread just because you've got a problem with someone. I believe that *is* partly what pm-ing is for.

Moving on.

Moving back on topic...

One of the guys at my rink, who happens to be in his 70's, has a saying, "If I'm not falling, I'm not learning!"

Of course, I'm sure it doesn't apply to the falls that come out of nowhere (i.e., like when you are standing still on the ice and the ice gremlin knocks your blades out from under your body...) but the falls from challenging yourself.

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

someone gave me a hockey sharpening before a seminar with Kathy Casey. I was mortified, but I got new blades from the pro shop because of it.

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Champagne in 2005, 2008, 2009 - who's next out of the pre-bronze club...?

Wang chung!