Want to start ice skating but not sure where to start

[AbiNoisette]

Okay so my new years resolution (inspired by dancing on ice) is to learn how to ice skate! I'm 16 and not very sporty at all, but I'm a dancer so having good balance and all that I think this is something I might be okay at, so I just have some questions for anyone who ice skates.

I know I haven't even begun yet but when the times comes to it and I get my own pair of skates what brands would you recommend? Are there any features(not sure thats the right word to use but you get what I mean) that I should look out for when buying?
I've looked at my nearest ice rink (Planet Ice in Cardiff) and normal rates are just like £6 an hour including skate hire, which seems pretty reasonable to me, or you can take part in a 6 week course for £60. How much would I actually learn from a course more than what i could pick up myself if I were to go once a week or something? Is it worth it? Also on the course, would it be full of little kids and stuff? Im going to do it with a friend so it's not a huge deal but we'd prefer to be with people more around our age..
Aside from this there's a 'learn to skate in 5 days' crash course kind of thing, would that be better to start off with?

Really excited to get on the ice but I'm not sure where to begin! Hope someone can help.
Thanks!

[Lily]

Okay so my new years resolution (inspired by dancing on ice) is to learn how to ice skate! I'm 16 and not very sporty at all, but I'm a dancer so having good balance and all that I think this is something I might be okay at, so I just have some questions for anyone who ice skates.

I know I haven't even begun yet but when the times comes to it and I get my own pair of skates what brands would you recommend? Are there any features(not sure thats the right word to use but you get what I mean) that I should look out for when buying?
I've looked at my nearest ice rink (Planet Ice in Cardiff) and normal rates are just like £6 an hour including skate hire, which seems pretty reasonable to me, or you can take part in a 6 week course for £60. How much would I actually learn from a course more than what i could pick up myself if I were to go once a week or something? Is it worth it? Also on the course, would it be full of little kids and stuff? Im going to do it with a friend so it's not a huge deal but we'd prefer to be with people more around our age..
Aside from this there's a 'learn to skate in 5 days' crash course kind of thing, would that be better to start off with?

Really excited to get on the ice but I'm not sure where to begin! Hope someone can help.
Thanks!

Hi, I skate at Cardiff! I'm currently doing the 6 week courses. They seem expensive but they are good value when you consider that it includes ice time and tuition. I'm currently doing the adult classes but I used to do the mixed weekend classes. I was with all kids (I'm 21) but it was fine. I would say definitely go for the classes over learning to skate yourself. The crash course might be good for teaching you the basics and maybe passing the first one or two levels, but not much more.

As for skates, there are loads of different brands, it's probably best to go try some on. I think they only stock Jackson skates at the rink shop. I started on Jackson Artiste and they were fine, although I bought them second hand so they never fitted well. The Jackson Mystique is also a popular choice for beginners. Risport RF4 is a popular beginner skate, although some people find them too narrow. There is also a skate shop in town, Proline Skates, it's in high street arcade. They have risports there if you wanted to try them, although they don't seem to know too much about figure skates. They also have a website. Go for a skate which is advertised as a beginner skate but not a recreational skate if you decide you want to pursue skating, as skates like the SFR ones just aren't built to last.

Hope this helped! PM me if you want more info about Cardiff

[The ice mouse]

Hi and welcome to the madhouse (sorry forum). You will find us a friendly bunch.
 
With regards to your question -
 
It will depend on how you want to start as each has its pros and cons
 
I would say that you could either go for the group lessons (£60 option). This will give you a good basis and let you see what is involved. It will also let you find out about the coaches and how the rink works
 
To give you a boost the 5 days course will give you a good start very quickly (I take it you are reasonably fit)
 
You could combine the 2 and go for the the 5 day course and then the 6 week course.
 
After this you may look at private 1-2-1 lessons (this will depend on coach availability. If you are doing it with a friend then you might consider stil having private lessons, but have a 2-2-1 (if the coach allows - this could half the cost) Private lessons are normally 15min or 30min in duration
 
What ever you decide - enjoy your skating
 
.....and remember - there are no daft questions, just those you don't know the answer to.
 
The Ice Mouse
 

[23inmyhead]

I would definitely say take some lessons rather than trying to teach yourself. I started with the Skate UK 6 week courses and found them really good for learning all the basics. Now I still do group lessons but also have a private lesson every week.


Re boots, the Jackson Mystique is a good starter boot especially if you have wide feet. I've had mine nearly 2.5 years and they are still fine for what I am learning to do now - upright spin, 3 jump, cherry flip jump.


Good luck with the skating, I'm sure it won't be long till you are as hooked on it as the rest of us on this forum 

[AbiNoisette]

Thanks everyone! I'll probably go ahead and book the 6 week course, cant wait!

[transmissionoftheflame]

Definitely take lessons - some people I know are self-taught but I think you get there way quicker with lessons.
A 6-week course gives you longer to practice stuff between lessons - and I would urge you to get in as much extra ice time as you can because you will get more out of the lessons.  A crash course on the other hand means you're on the ice every day which might help you get used to it quicker - if you have a week break the ice will seem newly unfamiliar every time, daily it will start to feel more like home...

[katepilarr]

no advice re lessons as i wasnt a complete beginner when i started ( and only ever had private lessons ).
re boots, i second what others said, jacksons are a nice boot and apparently fit a lot of people, unless you have narrow feet - then i would go for risports RF4. bladewise, you shoud start on beginner blades ie with a round toepick ( something like this http://www.figureskateoutlet.com/images/products/F104.jpg) which the mystiques and artistes come with. a bigger toepick (http://www.goldstockssportinggoods.com/media/images/FSPR_0001-0007.jpg) , like jackson mirage  or markIV would be too big a toepick to start with.  the round toepick will take you through to first jumps.
as a dancer i am sure you will make a speedy progress. also you are still very young which makes things easy to pick up.
good luck and happy skating!

[ceiliaanne]

Have you ever skated before?  If you have, and you can make it around the rink fairly easily, then go for it - book some SkateUK lessons.


If, on the other hand, you've never ever stepped onto the ice before, I would suggest taking that £60 you would have spent on lessons, buy some cheap skates from the rink's shop and go skating on public sessions for a couple of months.  If you can't stand up on the ice yet, then you're likely to spend six weeks clinging to the barrier unable to move, which seems a waste of money to me.


There's a really good post about this here: [size=78%]http://xan-boni.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/cake-or-death.html?m=1[/size]


The post after it is pretty good too.


Whichever you choose to do, good luck and I hope you have lots of fun doing it.

[katepilarr]

  If you can't stand up on the ice yet, then you're likely to spend six weeks clinging to the barrier unable to move, which seems a waste of money to me.

i think the OP has a good chance of not clinging to the barrier, or at least not for long. i would say go and have a feel of the ice before you start lessons, so it all isnt all new and scary. go for the lessons unless you have a friend who could show you how to start.

[patchman]

I will be repeating what other said, but do not teach yourself!

I skated as a kid once a week during winter months for probably 5 years but no lessons. All I could do was going forwards with a good balance (mostly on one foot), and going backwards at snail speed and with my bum sticking out. 25 years later (i.e. one year ago) I picked it up where I left it, this time with youtube. OK I learned some tricks by observing, but I also did a few very silly things which ended up hurting me. I had no one to ask and it took me 2 months to figure out that classes would be a good idea.

Ever since my first class, I have made much faster and yet solid progress, and the feedback from my coach always leaves me with tons of specific things to practice rather than mess around. Also, I got much further than I would ever have contemplated getting a year ago.

With hindsight I regret that my parents never put me in a figure skating class, I admire the kids at the rink when I see the fun they're having when performing shows or exchanging tricks.

[vegetable]

Definately go for the lessons!

When I started I had skated a couple of times, but been barrier clinging unless forced off it... in my first skate uk lesson they started to teach us going backwards which seemed very advacned to me!

As a dancer, I don't imagine you'll be clinging to the barrier for long, but go and have a skate round before you commit to lessons to make sure you enjoy it!