New skates + questions!

[crystalnova]

Hi! This is my first post here so please forgive me for my noobiness and the load of questions I have. I'm 17 years old and I just got back into figure skating after about a 10 year absence. Long story short, I was able to convince my mom to let me skate again! Even though those dreams of becoming a professional figure skater never came true, I've never been so happy.

Anyway, I didn't get very far when I was young so I'm taking a teen/adult workshop and we're currently learning forward and backward crossovers. I got really frustrated with the rental skates because my ankles would slip under me whenever I practiced my crossovers due to the lack of support. There were days where I was able to execute them with no problem but one day I just couldn't regardless of how many times I relaced them and my ankles started to hurt, so I bought a pair of Jackson Classique (newly sharpened)!

I bought them when there was a week break from lessons due to a competition at my rink so I haven't gotten to test them out yet. I'm currently wearing them around the house to break it in. So I was just wondering if I should go to the rink to test them out before the lesson or would it be fine to do so the day of the lesson? All my life I've skated on dull blades (my first pair at 7 years old were never sharpened because my mom and I didn't know any better  ) so I don't know what to anticipate. I've heard that it'll be harder to snowplow stop? We're supposed to learn the t-stop for the next lesson which I've heard is better, I'm not sure. I'd just like to know what to anticipate and be cautious of because I don't want to damage the blades or anything.

I know that it's best to take off/put on your skate guards while next to/on the ice but would it be fine if I had to walk a little on the padded floor to get to them?

Also, I'm going to be using an old backpack to carry my equipment to the rink but where should I put it? My rink has small lockers for a dollar per use but they wouldn't fit it. My mom will be dropping me off so I won't have someone watching my stuff. Would it be fine to just leave it under the benches? Would my stuff be safe? Are there any unwritten rules or warnings I should know of regarding this? I know I'm over thinking this and sound really paranoid but I don't want to take any chances.

If you stayed to read this entire thing -- thank you, you're amazing! 

[Loops]

Welcome!  And welcome back to the ice.

It wouldn't hurt you any to test them out before the lesson, if you can.  Having sharp blades is going to feel very different.  You should have an easier time with your edges, but for the first while you'll have trouble stopping.  There are lots of tips and tricks for dealing with sharp blades- if I feel that mine are too "grabby" (you'll understand when you skate on them), I stand at the boards and scrape up snow (off all four of the edges) for a bit.  Then I skate some deep edges.

If you're wearing them a lot, you're probably dulling them down a little even with the guards.

Plus going early will give you a chance to start breaking in your new skates. 

If you can't make it before, then don't sweat it, but do warn your coach. S/he might have some other tips for you.

Good luck and enjoy!

[blue111moon]

The above advice is good.  Answers to all your questions about storing your stuff depend on your particular rink and the people who go there, as well as the time and day of your ice time.  Your best bet is to ask your coach or watch to see what the other skaters do. 

At my home rink, for example, during the club sessions, there's no problem leaving skate bags and backpacks in the lobby under the benches (it's the only place to leave them because the rink doesn't open locker rooms for figure skaters anyway).  There aren't any strangers wandering around and there are usually a couple of parents sitting in the lobby who can keep an eye on bags.  During group lessons, however, it's better to take bags into the rink and leave them out of plain sight because the public session starts right after lessons and there are lots of people just milling around the lobby and no way to keep an eye on who belongs to what stuff.  If that sounds more like what your session is like, then you should either take the backpack into the rink and stow it somewhere safe or stow the important stuff like shoes, phone and wallet in a locker.  Or if there are parents sitting in the stands watching their kids, you could politely ask one of them if you could put your bag near them while you skate.

In any case, don't take anything valuable with you into the rink and don't leave the bag gaping open when you're not with it.

[icedancer]

Welcome back to skating!!  Awesome!!

I think it's okay to walk a little on the padded floors (I don't use guards any more because I got sick of losing them but it is probably better to wear them most of the time when you are not on the ice just to keep those blades nice) -

As far as leaving stuff at your rink I would agree with the above poster who said to take your valuables and put them in a locker if you can.  If the bag doesn't fit in the locker then leave the bag - but don't leave your wallet, keys, etc., in the bag under the bench if possible.  You can always get another bag but losing money, wallets, keys, etc., can be very painful and frustrating!!

Good luck with your skating and have fun!

[Query]

If your mom is dropping you off, you probably don't need a backpack. A cheap supermarket bag, like the $1 mesh bags, is surely enough. Or just carry your skates, upside down, in your hand, and take nothing else but the money you need for the session.

If you really need a backpack, because you are going to do something else later, can you get away with a cheap little $5 - $10 daypack instead of a full backpack?

Also, a lot of people at a lot of rinks carry all their stuff over to the penalty area benches inside the rink area that the hockey players sometimes use, that are a bit hard to get into from outside the rink, because fewer people will steal when the owner can see them do it.

Good luck.

[crystalnova]

All of these advice and tips are exactly what I've been looking for. Thank you everyone for the warm welcome and for answering my questions! I really do appreciate it!

[littlerain]

Welcome! I've just returned to skating after about 15 years I'm almost 27, and I wish I came back to it sooner! I've been taking group lessons for about two months

Anyway, I agree with the others. Walking a few feet in the rink without guards won't kill you and leaving your bag out is really dependent on your rink. I do leave mine out during class, but if I'm at a weekend public I try to leave valuables in the car. (My class is during the week so there's pretty much only coaches, a few skaters and parents, and the other people in my class there) oh, some of the women in my class do take their purse and put it in the hockey boxes during class

Definitely get on the ice before class if you can. That way you can be a little bit used to how they feel.