Hello, I'm a skater's grandmother!

[Crabcakes]

I was looking for something my granddaughters could do to help relieve stress from a rough family situation, and took them ice skating. (Not me- I watched). They LOVED it and did well! However, there is NO one to give us advice. I gleaned what I know from parents and grandparents at the rink. The girls are in Basic 3 and 5 and loving it!

I just read someone talking about over/under lacing. I always laced by granddaughter's skates in what seemed to me, an intuitive way. I did them over. Then when we bought new skates, the sales man laced them from the bottom up. Does it make a great difference?

Learning as I go! Thanks!

[Sierra]

Bless you- skating will be a great escape for the girls

Talk to the coaches. They know everything you could ever need to know. Snag them coming off the ice.

Have the skater decide how she likes to lace them. I pull mine tight on the foot, cross & tie them at the instep, then lace up all four hooks, going over/under on the hooks. It's pretty individual for each skater. At their levels, it's not a big deal, it's just important that the laces are snug and unlikely to loosen.

[FigureSpins]

Welcome to skatingforums!

As long as the skates are tied tightly, over/under the hooks doesn't matter. 

[Crabcakes]

Thanks! There is a lot to learn. Once they started, the coaches CAN be helpful, but some of them are a bit stand-offish. Nothing gives me more pleasure than watching them learn and practice!  I wish *I* could get out there with them. At the rink where the girls skate, the EMTs are there EVERY time we are... I do not want to be one of their victims, er, patients! But it looks so wonderful.

I used to skate on a duck pond with twigs and duck poo, so the rink looks fabulous to me, even though a lot of patrons complain about the ice maintenance!