back on the ice after 14 yrs

[skatin83]

havent been on the ice for 14 yrs. did it when i was really little. when i was on the ice it didnt take long to pick it all up again could go backwards figure eights were good spins were kinda bad. was skatin and a little child was right behind me. then i forgot to stop abd kinda just freaked out. landed really hard on the ice and hurt myself. will go back on the ice cause it was really good. after it all happened i think i worked out what i did wrong. must havent dug the bacfk of the skate in the ice and then fell. did i mention im a newbie from australia. is there anyone else here who has just gotten back on the ice.

[Kevin Callahan]

Yes. Well, in a manner of speaking. I was off the ice for a decade. I played hockey back in 1996. Of course, being originally from Chicago, I learned how to skate quite early and can't remember when I actually learned not to fall on the ice.

This summer I went out on rental skates to see if I could still skate. I found I could, but only after seriously blistering my feet. So I got some cheap skates and they served me well over the last six months or so, but I've recently picked up better beginner/instructional skates and am waiting on even better skates.

I have a coach, a regular training rink, another rink, as well as two rinks down at school. I guess that pretty much sums it up.

[skatin83]

thats the thing im from australia. there arent many ice rinks in the state except for one which is about an hr away and another which does not feel as good to skate on. started skatin when i was about three and stopped when i was about 10. went back on today and couldnt belive that i feel over. think maybe i should get a pair of second hand ones just to see if i stick with it. the hire ones r blunt and r plastic. know im a 10 in the hire skates would that mean im a 10 in other one. does anyone here think i should get a pair off of ebay or would u all stay right away.

[Kevin Callahan]

If you intend to skate regularly, getting your own skates, even recreational ones, is a good investment. Rental fees can add up unless you're in a class and they waive the fee. You also can't really expect to so much except skate forward in them. They're made for people who can't skate to plod around in every once in awhile, not for skaters who are on the ice often (I call these people skate-civilians :P).

As for ebay, think about this: would you buy a pair of shoes without trying them on? I wouldn't. Skates are just specifically designed boots with blades attached. Why do you think the above logic wouldn't hold true for ice skates as well as shoes? If you know your size accurately, sure, you can find the proper boots online. If I called up SP Teri right now and gave them the measurements I was given at my fitting, I could order them, and I'd be reasonably assured they would fit. However, I'm guessing you don't have access to these measurements, and you're probably not serious enough to request a boot fitting. I would honestly stick to beginner/instructional boot/skate combinations from brands like riedells or jacksons. Those brands seem to be popular with newer skaters. From what I'm told, SP Teri, Harlick, and Graf are for more serious skaters with specific goals in mind, but your mileage may vary, and I'm sure other skaters, most of which are far more expert than me, will chime in.

I'd recommend you see if the skate shops at the rinks you mentioned carry skates. In America most carry riedells, a few carry SP Teri's, and they're usually the beginner models in various sizes. I would say be prepared to spend around $200 American, give or take $100, depending on brand, model, attached blades, sales, and supply/demand in your area. I lucked out managing to get my Riedell Blue Ribbon 121s for basically half-price.

Now as for the rinks, well, I can't help you there. In the DFW area of Texas we have rinks out the wazoo. I believe there are at least four within a ten, fifteen mile radius of my house. Stonebriar Ice, Starcenter Frisco, Starcenter Plano, and some other locally owned rink I've been told about but never been to, also in Plano. Not to mention the bajillion other Starcenters in every suburb as well as rinks in Dallas and Fort Worth proper within about thirty. In Austin, there are two. Rink quality matters, but only to a point. If you plan to compete, then you should get used to different rink qualities, because although many rinks will have in-house competitions, you hopefully don't want to stay there!

Hope this helps, and I patiently await one of the regulars to sweep in and correct my gross mistakes, assuming I've made any.

[Rusty Blades]

Well ya'll not the only ones dusting off the cobwebs! And you're ahead of me since I haven't been on the ice yet!

I LOVED to skate! I started a bit late (14 or 15) and skated 10 to 20 hours a week until I took a spill in 1973 and banged up my knees. By the time I got off crutches, it was summer and by fall I was off to get married. Somehow the skating just faded away...

I'm going to look up a good coach and get some advice on boots and blades but I have some weight to loose and a lot of conditioning to do before I get back on the ice and see what (if anything) I remember!

[kelbel]

I too am looking to get back out there and I am looking for a new boot. The last boot I owned was a Reidell gold star, I kept them after I stopped skating competativly and they were abused. So before I start to train again I have to get a new boot. I have been looking into the diff between the graf and riedell boots. Any thoughts? Comfort? sizing? and overall performance?
Thanks in advance.

[Snowflake3939]

I just got back on the ice after many years of only being able to skate once every three years or so. For eleven years we lived in an isolated town where we had ice for maybe three days a year (if we were lucky) when we flooded the tennis court. Then it would rain or not be cold enough and that would be the end of that for the rest of the winter. My feet got wider and my skates cramped my feet so I only went skating about once every three years after that. After having Wifas I could never go back to using CCMs! But when you have three kids, new skates keep getting put to the bottom of the priority list! So for twenty seven years I needed new skates. Last spring I was in the skate shop at 8 Rinks in Burnaby and I started looking at the skate boots on the wall. Jesse Sturdy was working in the shop at the time and gave me advice about what to look for in a new boot. So then I started trying them on! Because I require a combination fit, none of the boots I tried on fit quite right - that is until I found a pair of Reidell's (that just happened to be almost the most expensive boot in the shop!!!). After all the other pairs, these felt so good on my feet! As I was trying these on, Victor Kraatz walked in and said "Those are pretty nice looking skates!!!" Then he sat down in front of me and gave me more advice about breaking them in. We had a really nice conversation for about half an hour until he had to go back out on the ice. Needless to say, I left the skate shop with a new pair of boots. Victor told me to go home and look at my old blades to see if I could use them with the new boots. I couldn't, they were ruined by having them sharpened at the local sports store. So when I went back to 8 Rinks a couple of months ago, I got new blades.

Then we moved from Northern BC to Red Deer, Alberta! They have over 50 rinks here! Most of them are outdoors - there's one in every neighbourhood. So for the last few weeks, we've been skating outside at different rinks and I'm going to join the Silver Blades club soon. At first I was so afraid that I was going to fall and break something but it's slowly coming back to me. Breaking in the new boots will take some time because I was told that the boots I have are one of the stiffest boots out there.

We're going skating this afternoon - "free" public skating today at the Centrium (home of the Red Deer Rebels!)

[Rusty Blades]

That's wonderful to hear Snowflake! What are you wearing for outdoor skating in Red Deer? Since I am in a rural area, the closest ice is outdoor and I don't want to freeze!

(Can't afford the Winnipeg Winter Club yet ;)

[Snowflake3939]

We're having an unusually mild winter here in Red Deer so when we've been skating, the outside temperature has been between 0 and 2 degrees celcius. It has been up as high as 9 on some of the days. So I haven't been wearing anything out of the ordinary that I wouldn't wear to skate indoors. Just been wearing my skating tights with skating pants over top, a fleece jacket, a headband to keep my ears warm and those little stretchy gloves that are so cheap nowadays. If it gets to be less than 10 below, I probably won't skate outside and go back to the indoor rinks. I'm sure Manitoba is a lot colder right now - I probably wouldn't be able to skate outdoors there!

[emma]

I too am looking to get back out there and I am looking for a new boot. The last boot I owned was a Reidell gold star, I kept them after I stopped skating competativly and they were abused. So before I start to train again I have to get a new boot. I have been looking into the diff between the graf and riedell boots. Any thoughts? Comfort? sizing? and overall performance?
Thanks in advance.
I too have come back from all very long time off ice (30 years). As a kid i always skated in Riedells and loved them. When we moved to where we had a rink i decided to start skating again. I went to our local skate shop and tried on every make of skates that they carried. Riedells, S P Teris, Gams, Jacksons and Grafs. The only boot that did not kill my feet was the Grafs. I ended up buying Graf Richmonds on the advice of the sales person because i had not skated in a long time. I wish that i had brought the Graf Edmontons instead. I love the Graf Richmonds but less than two years later the have broken down to the point i need new boots. I skate 10 to 15 hours a week. . The down side is Grafs do break down a little easier than say S P Teris. But much depends on how much you skate and a what level. I am and adult gold level skater. The only other thing i have noticed is that the heel is not as high as other skates so you tend to sit further back in them, a real problem when doing things like brackets when you tend to fall off the back of the blade!!

[angelskates]

What state are you in skatin83? I'm also from Aus (there are a few of us on the board) but not living there.

[Ramsey]

I hung up my hockey skates in 1962 and have tried most brands and models

of figure skating boots since starting again in 1965.


Almost every brand of good quality boot requires a break-in period, some

more extensive and painful than others.


The first boots that really worked well and held up too were Stanzione's,

made in New York - and they haven't been available for many years now.


Harlicks worked fine and could be rebuilt once at the factory, but I am very

hard on boots and quickly switched to SP Teri's. They were great! - but

my last extra strong custom SP's broke down in five weeks, then lasted for

fourteen weeks after the factory re-build.


The only boots I have found that really hold up are also the most comfortable

I ever owned. My Klingbeil customs have just been returned from a second

"factory re-pack" and feel much like bedroom slippers with awsome support!

They are now three and a half years old and going strong...


Ramsey