HEY!!!!!! GREAT NEWS KIDS!!!!!! My staff and I FINALLY made contact with somebody live at Newington Ice Arena...and if things go well...FSWer GET'S HIS PASSES.....NEXT WEEK!!!!!!!!

__________________
FSWer

Hi Kids!!!! Just wanted to annouce that if things go well, I'll be going to get my passes and new reg. Figure Skates soon.

__________________
FSWer

Say Kids!!!!!! FSWer just got his first pair of......REGULAR MENS FIGURE SKATES!!!!! They are a DBX Brand, size 9, and came with the Gaurds. That's right....I was found to fit a size 9. As the guy at Dicks said skates are different when it comes to size. I fit a 7,and these are 2 full sizes up. My staff and I just wonder if they actually came sharpened. As they look it and come with the toe pick made already. Does anyone here wear this brand? Thanks.

__________________
FSWer

Get a coach or a professional sharpening person to have a look at them and see if they need sharpened. They may well be fine....

Good luck, have fun, and let us know how you get on.

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

CONGRATULATIONS! and have fun with your brand new skates!

Your shoes are a 7 and they sold you a 9 skate?

Put the skates on and push your toes all the way to the front of the skate so your toes are touching the end. Now put your finger in the back of your skate. It should be a tight squeeze to get a finger in there. If you can put a finger in easily, the skates are too big. Since DBX is a recreational skate brand, they're not going to have much ankle support anyway- if they're too big, you're going to be rolling onto your inside edges constantly. This is going to tire out your ankles very quickly, plus I know you've asked about gliding on one foot- that won't happen if you can't get off your inside edges!

If you do decide to return the skates, PM me- I can give you the names of a couple of places in central CT to go for skates where they know what they're doing and will get you the right size.

The skates will need to be sharpened, BTW, but don't do it until you're sure they fit and you're going to keep them. Usually if they've been sharpened they can't be returned.

__________________
Shae-Lynn and Victor: We knew you were champions, and on 3/28/03 the whole WORLD found out! Thank you for twelve wonderful years!

We tried them on,and they DO fit. My toes were found and everything.

__________________
FSWer

Here's the thing- unless you're someone who has been skating for years, it's very hard to judge whether skates really fit. That's why figure skaters and hockey players go to shops where the employees are skaters or hockey players themselves and know exactly how equipment should fit. I have a whole sheet I give to parents listing which shops in central Connecticut I recommend, and when I have very young beginners who don't need Riedell or Jackson skates yet, I have a page of information for their parents about skate fitting.

-The first pair of skates your child tries on should be his/her shoe size. If your child wears a half size, you may have to go up, but try going down first.

-With the skates on but not laced, have your child push his/her toes to the front of the skate so that they touch the end, and slide your finger into the back of the skate. If you can move your finger slightly, this gives your child an appropriate amount of growing room. If you can move your finger freely side to side and back and forth, the skate is too big. For adult skates, the finger should fit in the back but snugly.

-If you go up one full size from your child's shoe size and he/she still complains that the skate is tight or feels too small, try a different brand. The problem is probably at least partially the width, and a brand that runs wider will be a better bet for your child. Going to a longer boot than necessary just to accomodate the width of your child's foot will cause problems on the ice.

-Don't assume that employees of chain stores or general sporting-goods stores know how to properly fit skates. The fact that a skate will go onto your child's foot does not mean it fits correctly! Before buying skates from a chain or sports store, make sure you can return it if the fit turns out to be incorrect.

I've done skate fitting for a few of my students (I don't trust a couple of the guys in our pro shop, LOL) and as someone who has permanent foot injuries from ill-fitting skates, it's something I take very seriously. My adult students love it- off the top of my head I can think of three who have, at my urging, gone to one of the skate pros I recommend and finding out that either their blades were aligned wrong, or they needed a different size/model boot, or some combination of the three! The parents of my kid students, not so much

__________________
Shae-Lynn and Victor: We knew you were champions, and on 3/28/03 the whole WORLD found out! Thank you for twelve wonderful years!

Hey, don't forget to let us know how they feel on the ice! Stay safe and have a great time.

FSWer - any chance to get to the rink lately?

__________________

Maybe next week

__________________
FSWer

I just wanted to post an update and say that I just got a bag I am going to use as a Skatebag and reg. Skategaurds today from Sports Athourity.

__________________
FSWer

Well fokes!!!!!! Finally just went back to Newington Ice Arena again today!!!!!!!! I got there a little before 7. Put on my skates and hit the ice. LOL,the place was packed today. With everyone and their mother there. The first thing I did was try skating the whole way around the Rink. It takes 10min. to get around. LOL,the only time I almost feel was when trying to lift my foot up like my coach Caitlin had showed me to do. I timed it. As I tried it center ice. I also checked to see if Caitlin was there. But she wasn't there. I also told the desk that maybe Public Skate could be earier. Like at 4,etc. I lso found before I went that the recording says a different schedule then the website,and let them know that too. Finally also got my passes. So I am now offically a member of the Rink.

__________________
FSWer

it sound like that you had a great day at the rink , maybe in the future if i go to CT will be the first place that i visit.

Say,btw. I wa wondering if there's anyone here who goes to the Sat. evening Public Skate at 7:00 PM. at Newington Ice Arena? Bexcause if so,maybe we can me up. I don't go every Sat. and it's touch and go to when I'll go. But I'll let anyone know when and if I'm going a curtain day. Or if anything changes with me too,and maybe we can me. Anyone?

__________________
FSWer

BTW. are there any skaters here who can please give me somme tips on how to not only put on speed while Skating, but how to glide myself in from the ice to the side of the Rink? Like you see skaters do when they come in to retrieve their gaurds,etc. I'm moving my blades along the ice like my coach taught me. But all I do is stop right were I am. What am I doing wrong? Thanks.

__________________
FSWer

Do you mean a T stop where you place one blade directly behind perpendicular to the gliding blade and drag yourself to a stop?

If that's what you mean then stopping too soon is due to putting too much pressure on the dragging foot you should control how much pressure you apply slowly to get a clean steady stop

If that's what it's caled. But I'm not sure if were talking the same thing.

__________________
FSWer

Check this link and see if it's what you mean, it's also an instructional video so if it is, it will help you

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8CWdQyYxzc

It doesn't work for me.

__________________
FSWer

Try taking more steps before you start to glide. Gliding only works if you're moving pretty quickly- otherwise you do just stop.

Also, whe you say you're "moving your blades along the ice", you're lifting them up and down and marching, right? Scooting them back and forth without picking them up won't get you moving.

__________________
Shae-Lynn and Victor: We knew you were champions, and on 3/28/03 the whole WORLD found out! Thank you for twelve wonderful years!

I'm moving one skate at a time as quickly as I can along the ice with the blades flat down.

__________________
FSWer

You need to pick your feet up and down one at a time like you're marching. Sometimes we tell the little kids to pretend they're stomping on bugs

__________________
Shae-Lynn and Victor: We knew you were champions, and on 3/28/03 the whole WORLD found out! Thank you for twelve wonderful years!

I tried that and I'm just smacking the ice in 1 place.

__________________
FSWer

Do you understand how your edges work?

have you ever skated before

you basically need to learn the actual movement of skating which is essentially controlled weight transfer from one foot to the other

If you can picture yourself on a childs scooter, you keep one foot still and use the side of the other foot to push yourself along, this will give you the movement you need to learn how to push off from an edge and glide, after you've done this a few times try it the other side, this will eventually take you to the proper skating movements

I don't know if there will be any but try doing a youtube search for ice skating scooter, if not I have a video of my son having a go at it a few weeks ago which I can upload for you