Suggested supplies & gear for newbie girl?

[Abbyar]

My daughter is 5 1/2 and is recently into figure skating. She's taking LTS and private lessons and has just graduated to Basic 2.

I was a gymnast as a kid and learned on hockey skates, so this is all new to me.

Her coach was kind enough to find a very nice pair of gently used Riedell's, which have been sharpened and put to good use. She's now spending time on the ice 3-4 days a week and begs for more (although here aren't any more days available until she hits freestyle).

I've picked her up a pair of Chloe Noel leggings on sale, which I think will last her a while, and she likes to wear a Long sleeved tee and light jacket on the ice. I have hard guards for her and have to get some soakers - her coach was very specific as to keeping them dry once she's off the ice. 

So any advice for a new mom to the sport? I don't want to go overboard in case we get 6 months in and she's bored, but she's already made some great friends and is having a blast.

One last question - how much is too much ice time? On Saturday she had her private lesson, then stayed for two open skate sessions. I didn't pack her gloves, so she was half frozen by the time she got off. Then yesterday, she went through a public skate and a group lesson and only left 15 minutes before the open skate Bc she said she was starving. Is 5 hours in a weekend too much? We also go Wednesday and/or Friday for an hour. I just didn't think I'd be living at the rink when she's 5!

[Skittl1321]

Sounds like she has the gear she needs, except soakers. All you really need in this sport are skates, the rest is a bonus.  Putting her in leggings is a smart idea- Chloe Noel is a great brand, and at her level on sale is the right way to buy it. Spend money on lessons and ice time, not fancy clothes.  You can find much cheaper leggings in lots of places, depending on how cold the rink is, some people don't even use 'warm' leggings, but ones from Target or Old Navy meant for regular wear. (Target has great kids leggings- I wore those for a long time, since I'm a short adult.)

She should have a pair of soakers to cover her blades, after they have been dried after she skates. (I dry mine with a microfiber cloth, I've seen some people use socks...)  Until you get the soakers, don't store your skates in the hard guards. That is a great way to get some rust build up.

I think the general advice for 'how much is too much" at this level is "know your kid".  Most kids will complain, and then, don't make them skate.  Some will never stop- in which case you need to watch for signs that it is time for a break.  Ice time at this level is really like being at the playground- as long as she isn't training high level jumps and spins that are grueling on the body, there isn't really a 'too much'.

[FigureSpins]

A skate bag and soakers are the only thing she needs at this point.  Anything else is a "want," which is a slippery slope to fall down.  You've already started down it with the Chloe Noel's.  A lot of people compete off-ice with clothes, skate bags, soakers and unneeded equipment.  Make a budget and stick to it, resist the temptation to spend a lot of money on something you can get cheaper elsewhere.  I agree with Skittl - lessons and ice time are the most important things to spend money on.  I really think a lot of parents buy overpriced status symbols because it's something tangible, whereas lessons and ice time are intangible.  Just mho.

You can use (better yet, reuse) a tote, backpack or rolling bag as a skate bag.  Shoot for something that she can tote herself, so you don't become the mule.  It teaches them responsibility for their belongings. 

Make sure the bag has ventilation to allow air in and out or just don't zipper/close it all the way.  Air circulation keeps the skates and bag from getting stinky.  Toss in an old washcloth or car chamois to dry the skates with after skating. 

To make your life easier, tuck in a pair of gloves in the bag along with a headband, hairbrush and a few hair clips/pony holders so that if you do forget something, you have a spare handy when you get to the rink. 

Until you buy the soakers, you can dry the skates well and store them, blades-down, on an old towel in the bottom of the skate bag.  That will do the same thing as soakers, wicking away the moisture. 

At her age, having fun on the ice is the most important thing, but don't overdo it or she'll get burned out.  Most get tired after 30 minutes or so, which is fine at that age.  That much skating is okay IF you have her take a break and eat a snack every hour or so. Make sure she drinks water and uses the bathroom, too.  Exhausting herself or ending up starving isn't a good thing, because a lot of kids start to associate "tired" and "hungry" with skating in a negative way.

Dance and gymnastics classes are very helpful for skaters, so you might to look into that since her ice time is limited.  Off-ice can help her move up faster and qualify for the freestyle sessions.  They are a good bang for the buck, compared to light-up skate guards, lol.

Last bit of advice: buy a narrow/fine point permanent marker and keep it in your purse.  Use it to label the guards since they all look alike and are easily taken in error.  The lettering can wear off, so be sure to check now and then.  Ditto for those pants and the other items.  You can even put your last name on the bottom soleplate of the blade with a permanent marker, to make sure there are no mixups at skating parties.  If you label something, you have a better chance of getting it back if it's lost or taken in error.

[Abbyar]

Thanks!

You can use (better yet, reuse) a tote, backpack or rolling bag as a skate bag.  Shoot for something that she can tote herself, so you don't become the mule.  . 

And this is great advice, as it happens sometimes already (carrying those skates without a bag is a little difficult). I'll scrounge around - I'm sure we have at least one freebie backpack floating around a closet.

And thanks again!

[isakswings]

My daughter is 5 1/2 and is recently into figure skating. She's taking LTS and private lessons and has just graduated to Basic 2.

I was a gymnast as a kid and learned on hockey skates, so this is all new to me.

Her coach was kind enough to find a very nice pair of gently used Riedell's, which have been sharpened and put to good use. She's now spending time on the ice 3-4 days a week and begs for more (although here aren't any more days available until she hits freestyle).

I've picked her up a pair of Chloe Noel leggings on sale, which I think will last her a while, and she likes to wear a Long sleeved tee and light jacket on the ice. I have hard guards for her and have to get some soakers - her coach was very specific as to keeping them dry once she's off the ice. 

So any advice for a new mom to the sport? I don't want to go overboard in case we get 6 months in and she's bored, but she's already made some great friends and is having a blast.

One last question - how much is too much ice time? On Saturday she had her private lesson, then stayed for two open skate sessions. I didn't pack her gloves, so she was half frozen by the time she got off. Then yesterday, she went through a public skate and a group lesson and only left 15 minutes before the open skate Bc she said she was starving. Is 5 hours in a weekend too much? We also go Wednesday and/or Friday for an hour. I just didn't think I'd be living at the rink when she's 5!

I think you are off to a great start. If it hasn't been mentioned yet, I would also put a drying cloth in her bag...we've used older wash cloths and hand towels to dry our blades off. I think what you have for active clothes sounds great. My daughter wore leggings, t shirts and light weight zipped jackets for quite awhile before getting actual skating clothes. Eventually, she acquired practice dresses but still seems to mostly wear her leggings and t shirts.

As for practice time, if your daughter is asking to go to the rink and you don't mind being there, I say take her as often as she wants to go and how often you can afford to do so. Listen to her cues. At her age, make sure it stays fun! Good luck and enjoy the ride!

[AgnesNitt]

Many little girls want a Zuca bag. One of the mothers here recommended making it a reward for making a specific level (say, freestyle 1). That seems sensible.

Other things little skaters will want but won't do her any good/be of any use until she reaches freestyle are a rink tote, skating dresses, or a club jacket, or whatever crap/knick knacks the 'big girl' skaters have. None of that is necessary. I don't know what others will say, but Basic 2/ 5and a1/2 seems too young/low level to join the club.

If you poke around the forum you'll find a lot of eye rolling at little girls who show up for basic skills comps in multi-hundred dollar dresses, or in sexy dresses at 6(!) Keep your eye open for club sales of boots/equipment/dresses or notes on the bulletin board, or make friends with a mom with a daughter slightly older than yours and see if you can borrow/buy dresses that don't fit the older girl any more for comps.

If  she wears a skating dress, she'll need skating tights. I think they're heavier than gymnastics or dance tights.


Oh, yeah, summer is coming, scoot down to the discount stores and load up on cheap magic gloves before they disappear for the season/

[Abbyar]

Magic gloves?

[Abbyar]

And the tights thing is difficult - gymnasts don't wear tights ever, usually gym (tight) shorts during practice, but never during meets - its bare legged. (I can't imagine slipping on a bar Bc of tights!)

Gymnastics also doesn't have the cross training with ballet that seems to be so popular in skating.

[FigureSpins]

"Magic gloves" are a nickname for "one size fits all" gloves.  They're just inexpensive knit gloves that lots of store sell. (Supermarkets, Five Below, Walmart, Target, even dollar stores.)  There used to be an actual brand called that, but more often, it's just a generic term.  Any kind of gloves will do for skating - there are no specialty status gloves.

IME, ballet builds posture and presentation in skaters.  Gymnastics builds strength and body control.  Try them both for a session and see which she likes; some kids like one more than the other.  I recommended gymnastics over ballet for one of the boys I teach - he needs to develop more body awareness and will definitely benefit from strength/jump training.

[accordion]

Magic Gloves are the super stretchy gloves that skaters wear. They are totally acrylic, don't absorb moisture from the ice and are terrific for keeping fingers toasty. Gloves also are good and taking the brunt of any wayward blades. A bare finger = slashing injury. Gloved hands = compression injury. An example - http://www.bestbuyfigureskating.com/products/72-Accessories/126-Figure-Skating-Gloves-Toddler/

I'd add a small water bottle, say 200mls. That size is easy to carry for a child and fits under the taps at the rink in case she needs more water.

[Abbyar]

Got it.

So, I can skip on tights until first performance/competition?

Any favorite brands? Are they footless at least usually for easy pull up?

I'm picturing stage tights - a little heavier than dress, with some sheen, but omg expensive (like $30). Is that a true assumption?

[sampaguita]

Got it.

So, I can skip on tights until first performance/competition?

Any favorite brands? Are they footless at least usually for easy pull up?

I'm picturing stage tights - a little heavier than dress, with some sheen, but omg expensive (like $30). Is that a true assumption?

I only use tights for competition, since they're expensive and easy to get holes on. I think Chloe Noel's will keep her warm, but if she complains it's too cold, you can just get a pair of footless tights (cheaper than over-the-boot).

For tights, I prefer Mondor. You can find them on sale most of the time in some store or another. I buy mine from eBay at much less than the SRP! If you're going to go over-the-boot for competition, go for the Mondor Evolution series. They're the only ones with buckles - the others have velcro (no-no for me! could damage the tights if used incorrectly), although since she probably won't be putting the tights on by herself, hook-and-eye closure would also be nice.

Other brands would be US Icewear and Capezio (if you can still find them--I think they're available at tidewaterice.com). AFAIK, Capezio has no buckles/velcro/hook and eye, so you'll have to sew it on yourself.

For tights, I think the main consideration would be how well the color would match. Even within the same brand, the colors are different (ex. Mondor 3310 suntan is different from Mondor 3337 suntan).

[dak_rbb]

My daughter wore skating tights from the very beginning.  She would wear one pr footed tights (then we didn't need to worry about socks) and then leggings or, if she wore a dress or skirt, a second pr of over the boot or footless tights for warmth. The skating tights are thick and do fine in the washing machine/dryer.  She had a couple prs of each kind and just alternated.  I found good prices on internet.  We would get new over the boot tights for competition so they would be nice, but we didn't worry about holes in her practice tights. She rarely destroyed the footed ones.  Eventually she would just grow out of them.  Usually I just get Mondor, but she also wears Bloch Endura dance tights.  They are thinner, but fine as a first layer, are inexpensive and wear well, and work for ballet and jazz at her rink as well.

My daughter loved wearing dresses and skirts when she was young (age 5-7ish).  I found a few inexpensive warm velvet practice dresses used on e-bay (maybe paid $15 each), a skirt or two, and some fleece leggings and that was plenty.  Now she's 11 and always wears fleece leggings which I purchase on e-bay from Sandradskate.  The price is reasonable ($30-$40 + $6 shipping) and they are the kind of fleece that's soft inside and smooth on the outside.  The leggings come with stripes on the side, but she will make solid black on request.  They are very warm and never wore out until my daughter started putting holes in them while working on double jumps (double axel is the biggest culprit).  It will be at least a few years before you get there!

Good luck and have fun!

[TreSk8sAZ]

So, I can skip on tights until first performance/competition?

Any favorite brands? Are they footless at least usually for easy pull up?

It depends on what she is wearing. Some skaters like to skate barefoot, some don't. I personally wear a pair of footed tights under my leggings to practice in. If I wear a skirt, then I wear the footed tights and a pair of tights over them (like footless or over the boot). If a skater wants to skate barefoot, then there would really be no reason for the footed tights.

I wear Danskin or Rainbo tights (although Rainbo is currently out of stock). I love the Danskin ones because they are thin and soft. They also last if you wash them in a delicates bag in the washing machine then hang dry. Mondor tights are good too. I generally only have one or two pairs for competition that I keep really nice that are more expensive, the others that I wear on a daily basis are cheaper.

[CaraSkates]

It depends on what she is wearing. Some skaters like to skate barefoot, some don't. I personally wear a pair of footed tights under my leggings to practice in. If I wear a skirt, then I wear the footed tights and a pair of tights over them (like footless or over the boot). If a skater wants to skate barefoot, then there would really be no reason for the footed tights.

I wear Danskin or Rainbo tights (although Rainbo is currently out of stock). I love the Danskin ones because they are thin and soft. They also last if you wash them in a delicates bag in the washing machine then hang dry. Mondor tights are good too. I generally only have one or two pairs for competition that I keep really nice that are more expensive, the others that I wear on a daily basis are cheaper.

I also wear footed tights/leggings to skate. For competitions I add over the boot tights. Sometimes, in summer, I wear skating knee highs (mine are old tights that wore out at the crotch but you can buy them from Rainbo) with my leggings/OTB tights. I also machine wash and dry all my skate tights - all the time for footed and at least once for OTB. Drying them shrinks the fibers together and you are less likely to get runs. I swear by it and I have tights that have lasted six years! I just toss them in with laundry, no special treatment. They do fade eventually (I'm talking years here) so I line dry the competition ones most of the time.

Slightly off topic, but do you have a source for Danskin skate tights? They are my favorite, I was so sad when they were discontinued. I have a Capezio pair that I like. I like US Icewear for over the boot and I'm planning to try their footed. So soft and pretty inexpensive!

[sarahspins]

My daughter has a really bad habit of putting holes in tights (she likes to run around without shoes) so I just buy her the cheap ones from Target (they're about $3/pair).. they come in lots of fun colors, and until she puts holes in them they do tend to last fairly well to normal use - washing and drying them with the rest of the laundry isn't a problem, but I do try to hang them up to dry when I can.  She wears them under fleece leggings though, not on their own.  She's generally fine in tights + fleece leggings at the rink unless it's really cold outside, then we'll sometimes add an extra layer.

I would probably buy "real" skating tights for her for competition (if she was ever to do one), but to be honest in the small sizes the fashion tights aren't that much different from dance or skating tights, and for practice wear they definitely get the job done and they're cheap   My daughter (7) has a few skating dresses we got for very little on ebay (and one we got at the club's dress sale) but honestly she tends to wear them more for dress up and play time than at the rink - she still needs a jacket over them for class or practice so in her mind that defeats the purpose and the dresses became less fun to wear at the rink.

I don't even own a pair of skating tights myself.. when I've had to wear a dress I prefer (dance) body tights with a pair of footless or transition low-rise dance tights on top for more leg coverage - it also avoids the "waist roll" look, and dance tights come in more colors than skating tights which means I have found a combo that matches my skin tone fairly well, so I don't have the super pale on top with super tan legs look (I don't think it's flattering).  My normal skating attire is black body tights + leggings (and of course some sort of shirt).

[fortune8]

Mainly wanted to post to say hi as I have a 5 y/o girl skater too and as a family we also juggle gymnastics with figure skating.  She doesn't skate nearly as much but loves it and is progressing nicely.

I always swore I'd never buy a zuca because of the cost. But I ended up buying one when my elder skater reached free skate level, my little one had been obsessed/dedicated for over a year, our old bag fell apart, and I was struggling to lug stuff around efficiently. Now I'm completely turned around on the subject to the extent that even though my boys are total beginners I'm going to buy one for them too (then we'll have one for girls and one for boys).

My skaters ask for skating things for birthdays and Christmas and I keep my eyes peeled for cheap things we can pass off as being skating-related (like gloves, hats, and cute face washers).

[Abbyar]

Thanks!
She's been taking Tae Kwon Do for the past year+, and although she enjoys it, she begs to skate. I do notice that she's been putting more umph into TKD as we've scaled back to give time to skating - so perhaps the balance of both sports will help keep up her concentration.

How many hours a week does your daughter skate & take gymnastics. I find if I have her home more than one evening at a time, she starts doing head stands and cartwheels in the living room. 

[FigureSpins]

TKD is very good as a cross-training sport for figure skating, btw.

[TreSk8sAZ]

Slightly off topic, but do you have a source for Danskin skate tights? They are my favorite, I was so sad when they were discontinued. I have a Capezio pair that I like. I like US Icewear for over the boot and I'm planning to try their footed. So soft and pretty inexpensive!

I wear style 72, the Danskin footed microfiber tights. I usually get them through discountdance.com as they are cheaper there. I miss the "real" skating tights from them!

[CaraSkates]

I wear style 72, the Danskin footed microfiber tights. I usually get them through discountdance.com as they are cheaper there. I miss the "real" skating tights from them!

Hmm, I will have to give them a try! I am hanging on to my last pairs of "real" skating tights! I think I'm going to try the knee highs from US Icewear too!

[fortune8]

Kidliwinks 1 and 2 are in touch with their inner lazy bone (no 2 skates plus does acrobatics; no 1 is nearly grown up), but the rest are like your DD. 

My 5 y/o skater is number 4 of 5, and she currently has 1 x 30 min private plus 2 x 30 min group lessons pw (plus 30 min practice after the group lessons). She's now doing ballet as well. Her schedule doesn't fit with gymnastics. Next year she'll join a cheer team to try to wear her down.

It's numbers 3 and 5 that are most painful. 3 (8 y/o girl) skates once pw plus has gymnastics/acro/cheer pretty much every day now. And still bounces around after training - eek!! Number 5 (5 y/o boy) skates twice pw. He's not predictable enough to skate safely on freestyle sessions and isn't old enough to start acro. If only they sold children's valium lol.

[davincisop]

Another little thing I suggest is when it gets really cold is one of those ear warmer headbands. I have found it easier to skate with one of those over a hat, and it stays on better with my hair in a ponytail.

[FigureSpins]

I have two really great fleece headbands that I bought at Five Below many years ago.  They're well-made with two layers of lightweight fleece and sturdy edging fabric.  The two ends are sewn together so that you can pull a ponytail through it to keep it in place.  Works great, even during layback spins.  (When I have long enough hair for a ponytail...)

[alainajane]

TKD is very good as a cross-training sport for figure skating, btw.

I agree with FigureSpins.  I've been practicing TKD for 14 years and skating for about 6 months.  I feel like the two complement each other well.