How did you get into skating?

[crazi4sk-8-ting]

Well I remember that I did not have the intetion to be a figure skater, I just wanted to go for fun. When I first walked on the ice I was like oh my god what did I get myself into, but after a while I got used to the ice so I was not stumbaling as much then I relized that this would be somthing I would like to do.(Not just as a hobby.) Well that was not very interesting maybe you guys will have a better story.

[SalchowChick]

Mines not that interesting lol. I saw Sasha Cohen skate and I was simply inspired. I'm pretty sure it was her 2004 Nationals short program to Malauguena.

[ouijaouija]

something iv'e always wanted to do, but I had a dream about ice skating and that very morning i went to check it out, saw how busy it was and went home. the next night i had a dream about it again and this time I went! that was last week :)

[Justine_R]

Mines not that interesting lol. I saw Sasha Cohen skate and I was simply inspired. I'm pretty sure it was her 2004 Nationals short program to Malauguena.


Seconded, mine wa sone of her earlier programs...I've been skating for 4 years now and her drive makes my drive go more, which has made me land doubles in only 4 years =].

[VegasGirl]

After watching my daughter take figure skating lessons for about a year it suddenly hit me how stupid it really was for me to just sit there and watch when it looked like so much fun... I immediately got up, went to the front desk and inquired about adult classes. :) The following week, after watching my daughter's lessons, I was out on the ice having my first one with my daughter sitting on the side watching me! 8-)

[Isk8NYC]

Cheap date in high school! LOL I always wanted to learn to jump and spin, so when I started working part-time and earning my own money, I invested in lessons.

[crazi4sk-8-ting]

something iv'e always wanted to do, but I had a dream about ice skating and that very morning i went to check it out, saw how busy it was and went home. the next night i had a dream about it again and this time I went! that was last week :)



So you only started skating a week ago???:o

[ouijaouija]

yup, a week ago, i went five times this week, and my first lesson is tomorrow!

Ill tone it down to 3-4 times a week though probably.

I also bought new skates and stuff, so I'm a little empty in the pockets!

[xofivebyfive]

Ummm 2006 Nationals is when I made up my mind to ask for lessons. But I think I knew I wanted to skate when I saw Sarah Hughes's Olympic LP in 2002. And Michelle Kwans Olympic exhibition. So for 4 years I basically kept it to myself because for whatever reason I didn't have the courage to ask my parents if I could. I guess I was just afraid they would say no because it was too expensive. But it's a good thing I asked because in just 4 months, I landed a flip today. :bow:

[rf3ray]

Mine was like I used to go skating with friends at night when i was in my 19s and 20s, but then life caught up with me did some UNIVERSITY study and now I'm in my 30's skating for 1 1/2 years landing Axels and doing 2Toe and 2Sal jumps, sometimes I wish I had of done it when I was in my 20's its only now that I am taking it seriously, I even do off ice with 11 yr olds oh well, but I'm the fittest out of them heheh

[Sonic]

Now this makes me I first feel real old...I fell love with skating in 1980 when my Grandmonther and I watched Robin Cousins win the Olympics.:mrgreen:

I always wanted to skate, but my parents had no money and there wasn't a rink near enough (awww! :cry:)

Finally, dream came true, a rink opened near us and when I was 12 my parents could afford to pay for lessons, so I skated for 2 years, was just managing double salchows then I gave up - partly through frustration of only being able to get to the rink once or twice a week, partly through wanting to spend time on other things...(i.e. boys! :oops:)

I'd often thought about returning to skating, but always found some reason or excuse not to - 'I can't afford it/I'll never reach the level I was at/I might injure myself'...until finally, at the end of last year I flung caution to the wind, phoned the rink and booked myself on an adult learner course.:)

The rest, as they say, is history.8-)

S xxx (sorry, didn't mean to write an essay lol!)

[fmh]

i wanted to do speed skating at first so i started canskate when i was 6...i just went up through in figure skating because I liked it.

[dooobedooo]

Wanted to keep fit for skiing. It worked! :)

Only planned to learn up to back crossovers .... but got the bug .... 8O

[skating_babe11]

I got into figure skating as a little kid because my mom and my auntie were both figure skating coachs so im guessing they pushed me to be one. and im glad i am because i love it!

[flying~camel]

I started as a teenager because my family were always fans of figure skating and I just wanted to try it.

I came back to skating as an adult because I missed it and wanted to get some exercise doing something I loved :P

[Emberchyld]

I think I might have one of the wierder things that got me into skating:

I've always wanted to skate, but was too afraid of hurting myself or messing anything up when it came to dancing.
But, then...

I tore my achilles tendon a year ago, and when I got cleared to start doing "normal" activities this past February, I begged to be able to go skating-- the boots were more protective of my tendon than in most activities, and since walking sometimes was still (and fast can still be sometimes) painful, it would be a way to move quickly and have some really fun activity back in my life again. I was just going to putter around on public sessions now and again.

But my therapist told me that he wouldn't allow me to skate unless I had good skates (not $20 target skates) and wouldn't hurt myself by wiping out badly. So I bought the skates, signed up for LTS, and... fell in love.

Of course, now I'm going broke because I'm back to dancing and skating! *sigh*

[LilJen]

(Sonic, you're not so old. . . )

I remember seeing Dorothy Hamill win her gold medal in 1976. (Banner year for girls; I was also inspired by all Nadia's perfect 10s in the Summer Olympics.) My dad and his dad before him were avid hockey skaters & stars in college (my dad still plays hockey at age 71), so we were on skates early, stick and puck included.

I never took lessons, beyond some "step, step, glide" that I vaguely remember from early childhood and was never able to as a kid (no money, busy with other stuff). So at age 30 (?) I decided to try a LTS. Did two 6-week sessions, I think, and then got pregnant. A few years later, I realized, "hey, my daughter is almost 5! I should skate again!" And here I am.

[Sonic]

(Sonic, you're not so old. . . )

I remember seeing Dorothy Hamill win her gold medal in 1976. (Banner year for girls; I was also inspired by all Nadia's perfect 10s in the Summer Olympics.) My dad and his dad before him were avid hockey skaters & stars in college (my dad still plays hockey at age 71), so we were on skates early, stick and puck included.

I never took lessons, beyond some "step, step, glide" that I vaguely remember from early childhood and was never able to as a kid (no money, busy with other stuff). So at age 30 (?) I decided to try a LTS. Did two 6-week sessions, I think, and then got pregnant. A few years later, I realized, "hey, my daughter is almost 5! I should skate again!" And here I am.

Thanks LilJen!
That's an inspiring story...especially for someone who's planning to start a family in the next few years...(help!):giveup:

S xx

[Blop!!!]

I started out playing hockey when i was about 5 but instead of skating after the puck i would go on one of the red dots and spin around.:lol: My parents concluded that I'd like figure skating better, and they were right. I'm caught in the sport now. I love it!

[soniaissuper]

Katarina Witt's "Carmen" performance in Calgary was the first time I remember watching figure skating on television. I was a third grader and living in West Texas (not exactly a hotbed for winter sports). So without a rink I improvised. I would attach ziplock baggies to my feet and glide on the shag carpet. I am sure I was some sort of static conductor hazard but in my mind was flying on a rink.

Fast forward eighteen years and that same girl is now on the ice. Growing up an avid fan (thanks to my parents who are also avid fans) I always passionately followed skating. But in the Fall of 2006 I began to study the sport myself (even working with an Olympian). Sunday I take to the ice in my first "proper" competition. Although I am still quite the beginner it's so exciting to feel the cold air on my face, or to follow a line my skates have etched on ice, or to just hear everyones skates plow to a stop. Being at center ice is as magical as I envisioned it being.

[LilJen]

Originally Posted by LilJen
(Sonic, you're not so old. . . )

I remember seeing Dorothy Hamill win her gold medal in 1976. (Banner year for girls; I was also inspired by all Nadia's perfect 10s in the Summer Olympics.) My dad and his dad before him were avid hockey skaters & stars in college (my dad still plays hockey at age 71), so we were on skates early, stick and puck included.

I never took lessons, beyond some "step, step, glide" that I vaguely remember from early childhood and was never able to as a kid (no money, busy with other stuff). So at age 30 (?) I decided to try a LTS. Did two 6-week sessions, I think, and then got pregnant. A few years later, I realized, "hey, my daughter is almost 5! I should skate again!" And here I am.


Thanks LilJen!
That's an inspiring story...especially for someone who's planning to start a family in the next few years...(help!)

S xx

Heh. . . she keeps begging to go. We've gone a few times but I'm not letting her take lessons until she stops clinging to me for dear life. Thinking the family is done but I would be sad--because I've made so much progress and am enjoying myself immensely--to have to take another multi-year break. It does require spousal cooperation to get me my ice time!

[AlissaCzisnyFan]

I saw Michelle Kwan skate at 2002 Nationals. :D

[TimDavidSkate]

Well I remember that I did not have the intetion to be a figure skater, I just wanted to go for fun. When I first walked on the ice I was like oh my god what did I get myself into, but after a while I got used to the ice so I was not stumbaling as much then I relized that this would be somthing I would like to do.(Not just as a hobby.) Well that was not very interesting maybe you guys will have a better story.


Me neither, but after watching the Tonya and Nancy fiasco sky rocket the roof and tons of exposure of figure skating, I finally gave it a shot.

Funnny, whenever I step on the ice for competition, seconds before I start my pose, thats what I think, "What the F**k did I get myself into?" 8O

[skatingdoris]

I used to skate a small amount as a child but our local rink shut down and I was no longer able to continue.

Then last easter I went on a skiing trip with university, skiing was alway somthing i'd wanted to do but never had the chance.

To say it was a disaster would be the understatment of the century and after careening downing the side of a black run (I was not there on purpose 8O ) and smashing my face in. Then getting seperated from my group and ending up in a completely different resort on the other side of the mountain and having the slope police and normal police out searching for me, I came to the decision that skiing was not for me!!

however the milling around on the flats, propelling myself to the ski lifts and the like reminded me so much of being on skates that I decided to go and start lessons again.

The stupid thing is I probably wouldn't have actually got round to going back if my flat mate and had not had a massive argument 2 days after we got back from the trip, and I wasn't trying to find ways not to be in the house at the same time as her!!!!

Of course now I have to find different exuses to go to the rink and my bank balance is even worse off :roll: .

[jazzpants]

First exposure to figure skating: Dorothy Hamill at the Olympics!

How I got into skating myself: moving to a home that's a block's walk from the skating rink! :P

[Raye]

They opened the brand-new rink in my hometown just shortly after my 17th birthday, so my sister and I signed up for lessons...

5 years later, along came my firstborn, followed closely by 2 and 3...

Three years ago I went to the Carnival put on by our local skating club. I was sitting with a good friend and her 22 year old daughter, and made a casual comment that I used to skate when I was her age and how much I missed it. (sigh)

the 22 year old's response:

"Did you know we have an adult team at 8-rinks in Burnaby..........."

The rest is history

[sk8nlizard]

I was 3 and the rink that I skated at was in a mall. I begged my mom to buy me a dress....16 years of competitive skating, and 3 years of coaching later...here I am, still coaching and still loving the sport.

[jcookie1982]

I have loved skating ever since I can remember. My dad had me out on the ice by the time I was three, and I skated for fun for years. Now I wish I would have started taking lessons before last year, but its better late than never.

[skating_life]

Well I was in ballet first.
And then I kind of got sick of it when I was four years old, so I started up skating to do in the mean time. I loved how fast I was going through the levels (unlike ballet where you have to stay in it the whole year) and I loved being cold all the time instead of being warm. So I officially started skating when i was 4 years old.

[Figureskates]

I started when they first opened the South Mountain Arena in NJ. I loved it.

I then went to Clarkson in 1964 and in those days, you did not figure skate there! I played hockey but managed to destroy my left knee which I had partially rebuilt in 1968. Didn't skate again until 1998 at the ripe ole age of 52. Discovered though that I could not land on my left knee so had to switch from CW to CCW. No small feat to rewire the brain!

At 60 I have a few of my single jumps but with arthritis developing in my lower back, the jumps sometimes really aggravates it so I started to work on figures and have been doing that for about a year...hope to take my pre-figures test next month. I go to Adult Week at Lake Placid every August to patch since the Lussi Rink is great for that. Only regreat is I waited 30 yers to take up skating again and where I have lived for the last 28 years, I am right around the corner from the Hayden Rink here in Lexington...now how incrediably dumb is that?:roll: