Fitting Skates – A Beginner's Guide

Your skates are your only piece of equipment: they must be comfortable, fit properly and provide enough support to accomplish the skills you are working on.  

They will make a world of difference in your enjoyment of this great sport and your success. 

Skates should always be tried on in person, under the supervision of people who know how to fit skates well.  Blades should be mounted and sharpened by a knowledgeable person.

Tips

The type and quality of the skate that you need depends on the skill level of the skater, their height and weight, age, and the size and shape of the foot. 

• Never buy skates more than ½ size larger than your foot measures – other wise the skate will break down too quickly and you’ve lost your investment anyway
  
• Skate and shoe sizes are generally NOT the same: skates can be ½ - 1 full size smaller than your shoe size
  
• Molded plastic or vinyl skates are not recommended – they are cold and don’t offer the support that is needed
  
• Look for blades that are screwed on rather than riveted so the blade can be moved if necessary
  
• If buying used skates, make sure there are no wrinkles!

Sharpening Figure Skates

• Sharpen skates as soon as they are purchased
  
• Use a good skate sharpening company
  
• Re-sharpen skates after approximately 20-25 hours of skating (depending on usage and care)
  
• The bottom pick should NOT be removed – the pick is part of the design of the figure skates and is essential to proper balance.

How to Fit Skates

• Partially lace boots through instep
  
• Wiggle foot forward so toes can touch the front but are not cramped
  
• Stand with weight equally distributed on both feet
  
• Bend knees
  
• The space at the back of the heel should not be more than an pencil width

How they should feel

• Skates should fit snugly around the ankle and heel with some room to wiggle your toes
  
• There should be no looseness or creases in the boot
  
• The tongue should be well padded and wide enough to cover the front of the ankle and stay in place
  
• Walk around in the skates off the ice; they should feel comfortable

For more information, please see the Dress Wright On Ice video on YouTube.com.

How to care for your figure skates:

The biggest enemy for figure skates is H2O. Immediately after skating the blades should be dried with an absorbent towel or Chamois and soft covers put on. Once you get home take the skates out of bag, remove soft covers and air out overnight. Just opening the zipper on the bag is not enough.  If the blades are not dried properly they might rust. Rusty blades will hinder the skater’s performance and sometimes permanently damage the blade. In most cases a sharpening will remedy the situation. 

With regards to skate sharpening ask your coach for the names of few reputable figure skate sharpeners in the area. There is a little more to sharpening a figure skate then a hockey skate and you do not need the expense of replacing a blade due to improper sharpening. The blades need to be sharpened after every 25 to 40 hours of use depending on several factors including blade quality and care. 

Walking on dirty rubber floors without guards will dull blades reducing number of hours between sharpenings. Stepping on concrete or tiles without guards will damage the edges immediately. A good way of checking blades for sharpness or damage is with your finger tips. It is hard to feel edges when blades are cold so do this before skating. Your skate sharpener or perhaps your skating coach can show you how to check blades for damage and sharpness.  

Written by; “ Jake’s Figure Skate Sharpening “ 

www.jakesskatesharpening.com