dd needs some encouragement

[falen]

Well dd wears glasses and just recently got trial contact lenses.  unfortunately at the follow up her eyes were apparently too irritated and the dr would not prescribe the lenses.  She is devastated.  We will try again when allergy season is over, but right now she needs some encouragement.  She skates preliminary and will be moving up to pre juvenile and she got it in her head that the judges won't take her seriously if she wears glasses.  I read a post somewhere that there was a skater at nationals with glasses, but I can't find it.  Since you all are so much more knowledgeable and collectively have been to thousands of competitions, maybe someone can post me a link if there was.  Or even anyone skating at a higher level with glasses.

[falen]

it was not here it was on another website, but if you have any to add, please do!

[Sk8tmum]

There is a Canadian Senior Men's skater who wears glasses, but, it is very unusual to see. Competed in Nationals a couple of years ago, IIRC, out of British Columbia.

If contacts aren't an option, and the fumes, etc can irritate contacts regardless - can your DD see well enough to skate without them?  It's not so much not being taken seriously, it's more the logistics - it's hard to keep glasses on when spinning or jumping - unless you wear a sports strap of some kind to keep them on. My two kids  both wear glasses, but, don't skate with them - they can see well enough to manage without them. 

[jjane45]

Some glasses also seem to block peripheral vision...

[icedancer]

I skated for years without my glasses - started wearing them again when I started doing figures again so I could see the tracings on the ice - now of course I am older and my vision without my glasses is not so great - but yeah, can she see at all without her glasses?

[PinkLaces]

My DD skated through Preliminary in her glasses.  She never had any problems spinning or jumping - except a couple of times in the pole harness they got knocked off her face.  Scared the crap out of her. 

My DD got her contacts for soccer - she was a goal keeper.  The first brand we tried really irritated her eyes.  She got a different kind and has had no problems since.  Your DD may want to trial a different brand and see if that makes a difference.

[sampaguita]

Are you sure it's the lenses and not the solution? That's the case with me -- turns out it was the solution that was the problem. I changed the solution and the burning sensation was gone.

I wear contacts (good for 30 days) now when I skate, since my glasses can easily fall off if I do fall forward. However, I have to put Genteal on my eyes every hour or so to keep it moisturized. My eyes are dry, and heat and smoke make contacts feel so uncomfortable, so when I get home, I rest my eyes by wearing glasses again.

She might also want to ask her doctor about daily contacts. That might work better for her.

[blue111moon]

I skated for 15 years with very heavy glasses.  The judges didn't care.  They're not looking at your face.  (I know this because a lot of the judges are friends of mine and have told me this.  In fact, a lot of things we skaters obsess about - hair, make-up, costume, blade color - aren't high on their priority lists at all, and only get noted if they violate a rule, are hazardous or totally inappropriate.) 

The major problem I had with my glasses is that they were so heavy that they would fly off during spins.  I hated the look and feel of the ugly elastic sports bands that were made to hod them on, so I took to using tan adhesive tape behind my ears.  My hair hid the tape and the glasses stayed put.  I also had NO peripheral vision so judging how far other skaters were from me was difficult.

My vision was too bad to skate without glasses.  Back in those days, I was still doing figures and the thick lenses  caused so much distortion that I couldn't see the tracings - and when I could see them, they weren't where my blades were going.    Once I got contacts, I was amazed at how much easier tracing circles became. 

[sarahspins]

I don't know anyone high level who wears glasses, and while I do wear contacts to skate for myself, I often wear glasses to teach LTS... it's not a big deal to me, I can skate fine either way.  There are a lot of skaters at my rink who wear glasses... and I can say without hesitation that judges really don't care if a skater wears glasses... it's just not what they are paying attention to.

I would also like to add that wearing contact lenses can be a HUGE adjustment.. I couldn't do it the first time I tried (and I was 24, I can't imagine trying to do it when I was younger), I never really got used to them, the ones I had were uncomfortable (I wear toric lenses and was constantly aware of them because they are thicker at the bottom) and my doctor wouldn't give me anything else to try, and putting them in and taking them out completely stressed me out... it took me way too long each time and I eventually gave up after about 6 weeks of trying to get used to them, and didn't try them again for 5 years (different eye doctor, was very patient with my initial complaints).  I had better luck with that round (for whatever reason inserting/removing was not a problem that time), but my eyes still weren't 100% comfortable until I changed brands again about a year later.

I think when she tries again it will go better.. my eyes are super sensitive during allergy season and I can't wear my contacts as often or as long... trying different solutions may also help.  Most of the multipurpose solutions bothered my eyes (stinging, itching, etc) but now I use AOSept (it's hydrogen peroxide which neutralizes into plain saline, Clear Care is similar but contains a disinfectant chemical) and a separate bottle of saline if I need to rinse off my lenses for any reason.

Daily lenses are also an option.  I switch between both, sometimes it's nice to know I can just pull out my contacts and toss them if they are bothering me, rather than dealing with the hassle of having a case and solution with me all the time.

[FigureSpins]

Some glasses also seem to block peripheral vision...

That's part of Dorothy Hammill's back story - Fassi was concerned about that on Figures, so he made her get owlish lenses so there were no lines.  Really, for freestyle, it doesn't make a big difference.  I skate in tight-fitting glasses all the time.  I take them off for laybacks, but I don't really need to see much for that spin.

Just tell the doctor that she had a reaction and try something else.  I know her vision correction is a major issue for you both. (I remember the synchro-no-tinted glasses saga.)

[Sk8tmum]

Charles Dion. Quebec. Canadian Senior Men's competitor. If you google him, you'll pop up images.

[falen]

thank you for all your responses.  DD definitely has seasonal allergies, I did not think about that.  Maybe try again in the winter.  I am going to look into all the brands you mentioned for eye drops.  I have noticed that the more natural the better for her allergies.  She is moving up, she even managed a double lutz once.

Her vision is 20/360 so uncorrected, that is pretty much legally blind, so no glasses is pretty much no go.

[mamabear]

I also recommend trying again.  I'm not sure how bad my vision is but I know they only started carrying contact lenses in stores that were strong enough a couple of years ago.  That may be one problem you run into with daily lenses-I've been told they don't have them in the strength I need.  I'm -11.50 if that means anything.   I've worn mine so long that it's hard to remember but I know they freaked me out as a kid for a while.  Definitely requires getting used to.

[VAsk8r]

I wear contacts, but sometimes I'll have a bad day and not tolerate them well. Skating really aggravates this; I've noticed my eyes are often dry, and I can't see well on the first few laps, but eventually I adjust.

So yes, I do sometimes skate in my glasses. I also saw a little girl test pre-juv moves last year in glasses. My coach will occasionally ask if I feel comfortable spinning, which I do, but other than that it's a non-issue.

I can't imagine the judges holding it against her! Hey, many of them wear glasses too 

[karne]

I skate and compete with my glasses on all the time.  I've only lost them once - when I tripped on my toepick and faceplanted the ice, and only then because the impact bent them out of shape. They''ve never budged on spins or jumps or anything, and I don't use a strap.

[tazsk8s]

My DD wore glasses on the ice until she was pre-juv and was landing most of her doubles. She had a bit of a scary incident while wearing them...was working alternate axel entrances with her coach in a lesson, caught a bad edge and went flying horizontally, and landed right on her face. We were very fortunate that the glasses didn't break and poke into her eye or face (though she had a black eye to end all black eyes) - they just went flying across the ice.  As soon as she healed up from the black eye, we were in to the eye doctor's to get her fitted for contacts. She was a tough fit...odd eye shape plus astigmatism, so we had to try a couple of different options before we found something that worked well. Definitely check with your eye doctor for other options. As others have said, some people are sensitive to different solutions, and some brands of lenses can irritate some people as well.

AS a side note, I don't think the judges even noticed or cared that she was wearing glasses when she did wear them on the ice.  Can't say there was ever a time that I felt she was marked lower than she should have been because she was wearing them, nor did her general trend of placements suddenly get better when she got the contacts.

[PrettySk8Dress]

As both an ISI and USFS competitor and an ISI judge, I wear glasses for both activities. I have never had a problem with glasses in either activity, although with a hard fall on the ice, my glasses can and do come off. I have never broken my glasses by a fall, however. I have done well in Pre-Bronze and Bronze ice dancing at USFS Adult Nationals wearing glasses. From my association with other ISI Judges, I can say that having glasses or not is never a consideration when judging. But tell your DD, falen, that I will offer a personal opinion for her consideration. I personally think that many girls who ice skate look cute, and very proper, wearing their glasses. The insistence of wearing contact lenses by ice skaters is way overrated, IMO.

[sarahspins]

The insistence of wearing contact lenses by ice skaters is way overrated, IMO.

I agree.. and I should have added earlier that it was actually cycling that pushed me to try to wear contacts again (I wanted the convenience of being able to wear "any" sunglasses, and not having to bring my regular glasses along), not skating

[lemongranita]

It took me a few goes with different contact lenses before the optician would sign me off on them - I have extra moist, extra squishy ones that are marketed for skiers and supposed to cope well with cold/dry conditions. So while I'd agree with others that wearing glasses should be fine, there's also hope for her being able to find a brand of lens that works, at some point down the road.

[falen]

Lemongranita, what brand is that?  She always complains that her eyes are dry and feel like there is sand in them.

[falen]

. But tell your DD, falen, that I will offer a personal opinion for her consideration. I personally think that many girls who ice skate look cute, and very proper, wearing their glasses. The insistence of wearing contact lenses by ice skaters is way overrated, IMO.

Thanks I will pass that along

[4711]

Lemongranita, what brand is that?  She always complains that her eyes are dry and feel like there is sand in them.

I personally enjoyed accuvu Oasis. They are extended wear lenses (although that is still not recommended) and rather moist on the eye.
I had a different kind after, to accommodate my asticmatism, but the Oasis rocked!

[Sk8tmum]

Yes I use the same Acuvue ones; they work well.

My kids don't wear their glasses.  This was a deliberate decsion by their coaches back in the day; they wanted them to get used to skating without them, and they see well enough to manage.  For my one kid, it wouldn't be a problem; she's a dancer, not a freeskater, and she would be unlikely to lose them skating.  However, my other kid is a high-level skater, does land doubles, does land triples; does do deathdrops, flying all sorts of things, weird spins in strange positions (including ones that involve pressing face to a leg, then twisting into another spinning position) etc.  There is no way that glasses would stay on without a strap, and even then, they would have to be very secure to prevent them shifting when skating.  Also, peripheral vision ... the risk to other skaters of losing them in "the periphery" would be very real.  Contacts are now used, and successfully, so, we went that route. That's just our experience; YMMV, and I know that other skaters do skate with glasses and other eyewear successfully.

A judge won't hold it against your kid if she wears glasses.  Nor would an evaluator.  If that's what she needs to skate - she needs them to skate, and that's that!

[sarahspins]

Another Acuvue Oasys (for Astigmatism) wearer here too

I also sometimes wear the 1-Day Acuvue Moist for Astigmatism.. they are the only daily lenses my doctor could find that worked well with my RX.. a lot of brands only offer 4 different axises for the astigmatism correction, and my RX for each eye always fell in between, it wasn't anywhere close to one of the options.

[sampaguita]

Lemongranita, what brand is that?  She always complains that her eyes are dry and feel like there is sand in them.

I have the same problem, but I still wear contacts on skating days. I just use Genteal every 30-60 minutes. When I skate though, there's no need for Genteal (maybe because it's colder inside the rink). I take off the contacts as soon as I get home to rest my eyes.

I've tried O2 Optix, which is made for silicone hydrogel. It's supposed to be for those with dry eyes but I didn't find any significant difference between that and Biomedics 55 (my current brand).