BTW. here's what I DO,DO at the Rink with my skates. Somebody please correct me on ANYTHING I'm doing wrong. so I can know that I'm doing everything right. When I gt off the ice,the othr things I do is take a washcloth to both blades and dry the ice off (same cloth for each blade), I hen take that same cloth and dry the leather of my skates,laces and all. Along with drying the insid of bot boots wer my feet go. I then leave my blades uncovered in my skatebag to dry the rest of the ay on the way home.At home,I then take a big towel and dry every part of each skate. Inside included and put them back in my skatebag, while orginizing it for next time. Washclothes and gloves go in my wash to be cleaned for next time too. I was puttng the skiny gaurds on after that. But I took the gaurds off this morning, and threw the skinny away y suggestion from Clarice,and I'm keeping the gaurd of by suggeston of Bluemoon. Also, should I be puting a towel around my blades AT the Rink AFTER I dry the with a washcloth? Or should I be leaving my blades uncovered exposed to air in my skatebag on the way home, and be put a towel around each blade then? Are we talking a small dishtowel btw.? Also,just so I understand more. Can someone please explain WHY gaurds left on blades cause rust? How am I doing so far? BTW. thanks a BUNCH my FRIENDS!!!!! You all have helped me a lot and are the BEST!!! My next report on the 26th if I end up going.

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FSWer

It sounds like you're doing everything right, Dana. You're really taking a lot of trouble to dry your skates very, very well - more than most people do. You don't HAVE to wrap a dry towel around them unless you want to, but if you're going to do that, either right after you dry them or when you get home after letting them air dry a little would be fine. A small dishtowel would be just about perfect. A small hand towel would do, too. The guards left on the blades can cause rusting because they can trap moisture against the blade. Think about it - you put the guards on when you get off the ice and your blades are still wet. Then you walk to where you can sit down, take the guards off and dry your blades. The guards might still be wet inside, though, from the wet blades. You can't easily dry the inside of your guards, so you don't want to put your dry blades back in guards that might be wet inside. We use the soakers or wrap the blades in a dry towel because that can soak up any moisture that we might have missed. You're drying your blades so well, though, that I doubt you're leaving any moisture on yours at all!

Thanks Clarice. BTW. I DO have a bit of something I think is rust. But I'm not sure. How would I get rid of that? BTW. if I do. Do I leave my blades wrapped in the towel until the NEXT time I go Skating? Should the inside of my bag by wripped dry too btw.?

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FSWer

The only way to remove the rust is to get the blades sharpened again.

When you finish skating, get off the ice and put your guards on to walk to the bench where you can sit down and take your skates off. Walking to and from the ice is the only time you need to wear the guards.

Take your skates off and dry the blades completely. Don't just wipe the metal once; rub the blade to get them as dry as possible. If you don't have soakers (and it sounds as if you don't), take another towel (a dry one) and fold it over the blade. Then put the skate in your bag. The folded towel will absorb any condensation that forms on the blade as it warms up in your bag. It will also protect the blade from getting nicked in your bag and keep the blade from cutting the fabric of your bag. Do the same thing for the other skate.

This means you need three towels: 1 to wipe the blade, and one for each skate. Dish towels or small old hand towels will do. You don't have to wrap the whole skate, just cover the blade.

Then when you get home, all you have to do is open the top of your bag to let air into it between trips to the rink, This will let any moisture in the skates out.

You really don't have to wipe the leather and the laces and the inside of the bag. I don't - I just dry the blades and the sole, put on the soakers and put the skates in my bag. I usually leave a bit of the zipper open all the time to let air in, but I'm not nearly as careful as you seem to be and my last pair of skates lasted 16 years (actually, I still have them; they just don't fit anymore). It's the blades that are more delicate than the boots, which sounds funny because steel should be tougher than leather, right? But the edges of the blade are delicate and need to be protected the most. Sharpening is expensive and it wears down the blade so you don't want to do it just because you let the blades rust.

As for the guards, it's not just water that gets trapped inside them and hurts your blades. When you walk on the floor, you pick up bits of dirt and grit and that can get caught in the channels of the guards. Then when you put your blade in there, the grit can scratch and nick the blade and ruin the edge, which will make it harder to skate.

Every once in a while it's a good idea to wash your guards (I put mine in the dishwasher) to get the dirt out of them. Just remember to let them air dry really well before you use them again.

It's also a good idea to put your name on your guards so that if you do lose one, you can find it again and know it's yours.

Ok,are you guys talking about wearing gaurds if I have to walk a long distance to the bench? Or should I put my gaurds on even though I just skate over to the actual GATE to the Rink I came in? (Yes,that's what I do. I leave my gaurds in my bag and when I get off the ice wear I sit down is right there.The only thing that separates the rug and the ice is the piece of metal (whatever it's called) that comes before you step on the ice. When I store my bag. Should I keep it open until the NEXT time I go? Also should it be open just a crack,or all the way? Also I have the rubber gaurds. The kind that look like they can rip if used a lot. Although,I don't hardly EVER walk around the Rink or Lobby with my skates on. Also should those be washed? BTW. I keep a plastic storage or food bag in my skatebag to put my dirty washcloths I use from wriping my blades in. Is that good? Also,should I just be covering the blades (I'm using 3-4 washclothes)? Or should I also be covering were the metal is screwed onto my boot as well? BTW. does anyone have any unused soakers they can mail me? Thanks.

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FSWer

It seems like you're getting all confused with the advice you're getting here.

Ask one of the coaches at your rink to show you how to take care of your skates. Make an appointment with one ahead of time if you have to and have someone write down all the steps in order while you do them so you can look at the list later. Most coaches would be happy to have someone want to know what to do. Or ask the person in the pro shop to show you what do when they're not busy.

Personally I think you should ALWAYS wear guards on the blades unless you're ON the ice. Even one or two steps on a gritty mat can cause nicks. But I had a coach a while back who insisted that the ONLY thing a blade stepped on was ice and one of the first things I learned was how to stand at the gate on one foot, take one guard off, step in the ice with that foot then stand on that foot and take off the other guard (while hanging onto the wall at the same time).

I would think that leaving wet towels in a plastic bag would make them all damp and moldy. I just fold my towel and stuff it in the bag. A couple times a year I take it out and wash it and ry it and put it back.

As for soakers, try checking the rink's Lost and Found box (ask at the front desk where it is). Usually by this time of year there are a bunch of soakers and guards and gloves and mittens left behind and fogotten. The rink usually just throws them all out so if you can find a couple that fit (they don't have to match) you can take them. They come in different sizes so you may have to hunt to find the bigger ones. Even new, though, they aren't expensive - about $10 a pair and well worth the money if they keep your blades from rusting.

LOL,a little. But I just want to make sure I DO understand what I should be doing,so I can know I'm doing everything right. HEY!!! I trust you all because a lot of you ARE competitive skters. Or at least skate a lot more, and I know the advice you guys have given me before really has helped me a lot. You all are the BEST!!

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FSWer

Ok people!!! Here is my report from todays Public Skate. I got to Newington Ice Arena about 12:00pm. Public Skate didn't start until 12:30. So I had my Passes marked off (it turns out one of the girls I work with at my store was behind the Desk) and hung around a bit. At about 12:20 I went in and laced up my skates, and got right on the ice about 12:35 (yes I was making sure it was safe to go on the ice). My Staff and I both figured that not too many people would be there because of the heat..and I can tell you..we couldn't have been more right. As it turned out me,and 4 other skaters had the WHOLE Rink to ourselves!! With the least amount of skaters being 3 (me included) at the end. After Public Skate I did what you guys told me. I dryed off my blades (were they screw on to the boot included) and wrapped them both in towels (I use the huge big bath towels, the kind that is used to dry after a bath.As it takes about 4 wash clothes on each skate to cover each blade).As I don't have 2 dish towels big enough. Am I doing things right? I then got something to eat and then went home. I don't know my May schedule yet. But I will keep you all well posted on my skating. Thanks a bunch to you all for helping me.

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FSWer

Wel fellow skaters!!!! Just went to Newington Ice Arena again today for Public Skate. I got there at 12:30 on the botton!! Registered with my Skate Passes at the Desk,and went in to put on my skates and hit the ice!!! I must admit I had to get off and go check the Desk for something. So I did have my first experience using Skategaurds today. Though it took me about 10min. to get them on tight enough. As I'ver never actually fully used Skategaurds before. LOL,turns out I ended up walking with my gaurds loose and coming off the first 2 trys.(Kind of like walking on the gaurd with the blade it'self for a few min. going along the rug. I have the rubber kind. The ones with the interlocking slider that moves up from the back of the skate and you tip up into the grove to lock it in place. Yes I did ckeck my blades and they seem ok. Though I don't know if gaurds coming off like that can hurt blades). Anyway after that I got back on the ice. You skaters are going to be so proud of me. As I actually did my first REAL HOK-UP to a line of skaters today to try to be pulled along. Unfortently didn't stay hooked. I want to tell you what I did and you skaters tell me what I was doing wrong. I skated up put 1 hand on the skaters hand and bend down with my knees bent. Yet I still got pulled off balance. Does anyone know if the trick to that is how many hands you use and how you HOLD the skaters hand? (yes this was a moving line). Or is it all in how FAR DOWN you bend? Should I bend to the skaters arm -level? Also should I just be bending my knees. Or how exactually should I have my blades when doing it? Will I be pulled off balance for ex. if my blades are not straight or side by side? Or how SHOULD they be? BTW. we had about 11 people to a dozzen skaters at the Rink.

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FSWer

It sounds like you had a fun time!

Be careful when you hook onto a line of skaters. First make sure there is no one else in the rink who could get caught by your line and that activity is approved by rink management. (I'm guessing you would always do this.. but just in case anyone else gets any ideas to try this!)

You can hook up with one or both hands if you're on the very end. But that spot is very tricky, so bend your knees a lot and remember to lean into the center of the line. One reason you may have become unhooked is because you were being pulled out of the line by the force of the movement. Everyone feels this force, but the person on the end feels it the most, because they have no one to help stabilize them on the outside. You have to make up for this by leaning towards the center of the line.

Ok,what exactually IS leaning torward the center? How would I do that? How again should my knees be bent? Also on a double handed or single handed hook should you grab a skaters arm or just the hand? Also once I get hooked. How should my body be to help keep control? Skate blades included.

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FSWer

Leaning toward the center is pointing your entire body toward the person who is at the center of the line. For example, if your line is going straight ahead the center is the person represented by the "0" in this diagram:
/xxxx0xxxx\

and everybody who is not the center should lean the direction of the lines in the example above.

If your line is going around in a circle, the center is the person who is going the slowest... and because you were on the end, you were going the fastest (it's the hardest spot to skate on a line that rotates).

Ask the skater you are hooking up to how they want you to hold. There are different ways to do it, and what is comfortable depends on how tall you are and how tall the person next to you is. In synchro skating there are certain holds you have to do, but when you are just skating with your friends, do whatever works for all of you so no one gets hurt.

And as always, your knees should be bent a lot. Think about how you feel when you are getting ready to sit in a chair... just before your backside touches the seat of the chair.

I hope this helps! And if I'm not being clear, I'm hoping one of our more experienced synchro skaters can describe it better.

I suspect we're not talking about a synchro line with a pivot person in the middle. From seeing what people do on public sessions, FSWer is probably talking about just a line of skaters going forward around the rink, collecting people as they go by and can grab on.

Frankly, Dana, I don't think your skating is quite up to that level yet. You really should to be able to move and maintain your own balance before you can hold someone else (who might not be any more stable than you are). Also, if someone ahead of you falls, you have to be able to stop quickly or got around them. From your descriptions, while you are doing great, I don't think you're quite at that point yet.

Plus as tall as you are, you have a lot more weight and mass to be controlled. Lines generally put the bigger people at the beginning, like the engine on a train and the smaller, lighter people at the end. Having a big person at the end acts like an anchor and if you're not absolutely steady and able to keep up, you can pull everyone off their feet.

While lines can be fun, they can be dangerous.

LOL,actually..I'm small for my age. LOL I guess I should just keep trying. Even though I'm not that great a skater. I have confedence in myself and know that I can do it. As I've always wanted to do it. LOL.

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FSWer

Ok people!!!! Here it is!!!!! I got to the Rink a little late. After Public Skate stated. Went to the Desk. Had my Pass marked,and went in. I got on my skates fast,and went right on the ice. LOL,I fell a few times.From my blades being off balance. But got up each time. I tried jumping,and actually jumped a bit off the ice. As well as a bit of practice to balance on 1 skate. LOL,which is a LOT harder to do on skates. Then off-ice on shoes. You just want to put your foot down. LOL,what IS the trick to staying balanced on 1 skate while puting the other up? LOL. Also I've been wondering one other thing. When I go and switch from doing 1 move to another. I always have to stop in between. Is there a trick to doing multi moves without stoping?As far as keeping your blades going gos? Or is it all in how fast you go and how good a skater you are? At 1:50 when I got off the ice. I went to the Food court and got something to eat. LOL.,I even asked the girl at the counter if she wanted to skate with me sometime at a Public skate,and she took me up on the offer. I also watched the Freestylers while waiting to go home. I also saw 2 skaters who looked like the might be in training to be Ice-Dancers!!! BTW. does anyone know if your allowed to go IN and watch Freestylers? As long as you don't bother them? Or are you supposed to just watch from the window? Or does it depend on the Rink? I go again next week. So watch for my report.You skaters have helped me a lot!!! Thanks a bunch!!!!

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FSWer

It's easier to balance on one skate when you're moving, rather than standing still. So you want to start with a two-foot glide. Make sure your feet are close together in the two-foot glide, so when you pick one foot up it will be easier to balance. If your feet are too far apart to start with, you'll need to put your foot down right away. You don't have to pick up your foot very high - it can be right next to the ankle of the foot you're standing on.

I have my class practice this on the blue line. The skater skates forward 4 steps, then does a two-foot glide with both feet next to each other on the blue line for 4 counts, then picks up one foot and holds it as long as they can. Don't worry if your one-foot glide is very short at first - it takes practice to hold it longer. Be sure you're standing up straight and tall. We like to pretend we're balancing pizzas on our heads!

So,I should start by first getting the glide of my marching steps,and once I'm gliding,put my foot up? Or how do I get into a 2 foot glide.When you say my feet should be together. Do we mean the blades being side by side? btw. I found I can Dance on ice and that does start your marching steps off.

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FSWer

Yes, first start with your marching steps, and once you're gliding, pick your foot up. When I say your feet should be together, I mean your feet are side by side. If you try to glide with both feet next to each other on the wide blue line you'll have it about right. If your feet are next to each other, your blades will be close enough.

Well fellow Skaters!!! Just went to the Rink again today.I got there a little after 12:30 pm. Registered at the Desk,and went in to dawn my skates. As Public Skate had already started. There were about 6 skaters on the ice. A friend of mine took some pics of me and had them developed. So I now have 2 pics of myself standing on the ice (yes,they were only still pics). I skated around and a 4 year old girl came up and wanted to skate with me. Unfortunely she began to feel like I was squeezing her hand. However when I skated over the Aunt told me everything was ok and she was always like that. I also tried a 2 foot glide (I'm not sure if I was doing it right) and once again tried lefting my leg up. LOL, but all it wanted to do was go down. There was a skater there (yes she does compete in small competitions) with another kid who I asked about how you find your natual balance on 1 foot,and she said that you do need to start with the 2 foot glide as you guys said. But you also have to lift your foot as if your going up stairs. I also asked her how you get your foot right up out (as in a Spiral),and she just said you have to start small. LOL. I also asked her to show me her Spiral and I told her that even I can't do that. The girl at the Desk also turned out to be a Solo Ice-Dancer. I then went home. Next report next week.

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FSWer

Ok fellow skaters!!!! Here it is. I got to Newington a little before 12:30. Checked in at the Desk, and went into the Rink to Dawn my skates. The Zamboni was just finishing smoothing the ice. I got on for Public Skate and found myself in the middle of a Skating Party (a kid's birthday). There wre about 11-12 skaters on the ice including me. I praticed the 2-Foot Spin,and I don't know if I WAS Spinning. But I did go faster this time. However I couldn't make my arms control my speed. All they seemed to be doing was just moving in and out at the same time. We all skated to that song (I forgot the name). Move to the right..move to the left...everybody clap your hands. All the skaters were too busy to skate with me. But HEY!!! I had fun. Next repot next month.

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FSWer

Well my fellow skaters!!! I just went skating today,and I'm ready to post todays Report. I got to the Rink a little before 12:30.The start of Public Skate. The lights were still off.So I waited for them to be turned on. While I registered at the Desk with my Skate Passes.I went in and put on my skates.I was the only Skater there to start with.But as Skaters came in.We wond up with a total of six Skaters on the ice.GUESS WHAT MY FRIENDS!!! I didn't actually DO a Spiral. But I DO BELIEVE I FINALLY got one leg AND foot at least HIGHER off the ground today,standing in place. Or so it felt like it. I could be wrong. LOL,I know you start with a two-foot glide. But how skaters maintain balance on one skate blade. As well as keep gliding on ONE skate. AFTER lifting their Free-leg off ice,rather then end up stopping in place to balance on the other is still bathuling (sorry if that's spelled wrong) to me. If anyone here can please explain the trick,I would really appreciate it. Also I am proud to say that I FINNALLY got to try my hand at putting on music (yes,my Rink actually has a DVD/CD. Player in the Rink at Rinkside,and let's Skaters put their own music on). A Skate showed me how to do it. So I can now put music on myself. One of the kids skating also had sparklers on her skates. I have never seen that!! Public Skate ended at 2,and then I left.

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FSWer

Hi Dana! It sounds like you had fun today!

It's actually easier to balance on just one foot when you are moving, and the faster you are going, the easier it is to balance on just one foot. I teach this skill all the time. What you need to do is master just one small part of it at a time, then add the next small part.

1. Get a good two foot glide
2. Be sure your arms are slightly in front of you with your hands about belly button height
3. Do this two foot glide with arms held steady, no tilting, no moving arms or hands. Do it many times to be sure you have got it.
4. When you can do the two foot glide like that, completely still, then go on to step 5
5. Without moving anything else, pick one foot straight up. Do not try to push when you do this. You must hold everything very steady and just pick that one foot straight up in place. Do not let your foot move forward or back when you pick it up.

You can practice picking up your foot and keeping everything else still while you hold onto the wall with one hand. Sometimes it helps to suck your tummy in when you are trying to keep your arms from moving. It also helps to make your fingers stiff.

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Yeah..but fo ex. when I'm on the floor,I just lift one foot up and balance in one place. So what makes it possible to continue gliding once you have started a glide on 2 feet and lifted up one foot. Rather then just end up balancing in on place?

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FSWer

If you're already gliding on two feet, FSWer, you should keep gliding even after you pick up one foot. It's kind of a rule of how things work - things that are standing still will stay still until something happens to make them move, and things that are already moving will keep moving until something happens to make them stop. If you stop gliding when you pick up one foot, you've done something to stop the glide - maybe you rocked a little forward and caught your toe pick or something. But if you hold everything very still and steady in your two foot glide, like dbny says, and keep everything still and steady when you pick up one foot, you should keep gliding for a little bit. Keep practicing!

Ok,how should I have my arms and hands to get and to keep maintaning balance on one skate?

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FSWer