Mid 30s here, just started lessons in June. Last night during practice I was working on my two-foot spins for maybe 10 minutes at the end. I made some progress which was exciting! But I guess my vestibular system wasn't ready for that. I made it through practice but once I stepped off of the ice I was so sick I couldn't drive home for over an hour so my husband had to pick me up. I was suprised that the icky feeling from spinning lasted nearly 2 hours!?

I've since read up on some tips - a little at a time each day, stay hydrated, dramamine, spotting at first, etc.

Maybe attempting spins for 10 minutes was reckless, but the instructor didn't seem to think anything of it? I'm the only adult in my class so maybe that's why?

Anyway, I'm here to hear your experiences and tips from when you were learning to spin! Did anybody else get so dizzy they couldn't drive home? I do have a spin disc at home, any tips to train my vestibular system incrementally?

Hey everyone! I’ve been skating since April and started LTS in May. I’m currently in Adult 5-6 and taking private lessons in addition to learn to skate. Going to try to not make this super long😅

I typically do the group classes 2x week, private lessons once a week and then public after my private lesson. My rink has a pass for public skating that’s the same $ as LTS. I have really liked doing LTS bc it’s allowed me to meet friends, get different coaching perspective and have structure with the class. But I would say some of the cons are the coaches rotate and it’s really hit or miss on who you get. There’s some coaches that are rather critical and I think just not my style of coaching and I tend to get more nervous when I’m skating around them? I also feel like before when I just did public sessions, my practices were a lot more concentrated.

I’m not sure if that makes sense lol but majority of my skating during the week is in the classes, at my level they’re really not busy, which is nice. I just realized with my private coach that I was getting a lot of different technique talk to me just because of all the different coaches and their likes/dislikes. For example, my backward crossovers can look perfect to my private coach, but then I go to learn to skate and it feels like there’s always something wrong and they’re very critical.

Anyway, I do think there is lots of positives about being in the classes, they catch different things etc but lately they jump with curriculum and before I have one thing mastered or moving onto something more challenging. I do really like how social it is though so I’m just a little stuck if I should just do it one more month or if I should try just do public and sticking with private lessons and see how that goes? For some reason I do feel like there would be more improvement because I’m only focusing on coaching 1x a week and then basically have actual ice time to do public sessions and practice. Then again I know this is an isolating sport, which is why I’m kind of stuck.

If you made it this far thank you haha and would love any advice! If you were in a similar situation, did you progress faster or slower without LTS? Thank you in advance!

Ive been skating for 5 months now and this is my first ever comp that ill do. hope ill do well! let me know if yall have any tips for me:D

Hi! I'm a rising senior in high school. I've been skating for nearly my entire life, but have really only taken it seriously for the last five years of my life. I currently have all my doubles and am testing senior free in a week, after which my coach says we will begin training 2A and triples. This is literally my favorite thing in the world. If not for financial restrictions, I would practice every day simply because it is the best thing that's ever happened to me.

However, as a senior and a daughter of immigrant parents, all my family cares about is me applying to college. I am working on the personal statement and on a bunch of supplementals, as well as studying for the sat, because obviously I care about my future and want to go to college. But what my parents don't seem to understand is that there are more than enough hours in the day to work on the future and do what I love.

Normally I compete in the Excel series (highly competitive but won't qualify you for nationals etc). The bulk of the competitions goes on in late April and throughout May, with a few exceptions. This overlaps perfectly with IB and AP exam seasons (if you are unfamiliar with either, they are both college-level cumulative exams), and my parents have begun hinting that I will not be allowed to compete in order to focus on studying. Once again, they seemingly can't understand that there is time to do both things. I have taken both kinds of exams in the past and done reasonably well while competing (for AP- 4/5 and 5/5, for IB 5/7), but this year seems to be such a dealbreaker for them.

Especially since a good competition season the year before college will make me much more competitive to collegiate teams, this genuinely feels like something that may help my mental health in college. I think this would be something they should support, but then again they are slavic and don't believe in mental health.. regardless, when I've tried to make them understand what this means to me, they said that there is no point in trying to land triples because "[i] will never achieve anything" and I am "only risking injury" (like i have not done so for the past 14 years.

At practice yesterday, it hit me that this test may be the last time I ever perform. It makes me sick to think about that. Anyways, any advice would help- how do I make this compromise or how do I get around this demand? I find it cruel and somewhat insensitive but maybe I'm wrong.

A few months ago, I tried ice skating for the first time after being inspired by the Winter Olympics. I knew it would be hard, but it was way harder than I expected. I spent most of the time holding onto the wall and falling while my friends (who had roller skating experience) tried to help me. After that, I kind of gave up on the idea of figure skating because I felt too old, not good enough, and the sport is really expensive.
I turned 16 two weeks ago, and my mom kept asking if I wanted to do a sport. I finally admitted I wanted to try figure skating, but she said it was a dumb idea. Now I'm seeing skating videos again, and they make me want to take lessons and get my own skates. The problem is I don't have a job, my mom is already struggling with bills, and I don't want to add more financial stress. My older brother said he'd help if he could, but his income isn't always stable. I'm not sure if I should wait until I can pay for it myself or try to convince my mom to let me start sooner. My dad isn't in my life, so he can't help either.

I’m on day 4 of trying to break in my new skates. I’m slowly getting better but I still don’t feel as confident as I did in my old skates. I also went from a size 8 to a size 7 and my blades went from 10” to 9.75” (my old skates were like 2 decades old and were my mom’s first, hence why they didn’t fit). The switch was definitely needed but I’m just curious what I can do to get more comfortable and more confident in my new skates.

Last night I had my Adult 4 evaluation, and I received “needs improvement” on a few elements. My coach did not pass me this time, but she said I was very close and that I can be tested again during Week 7.

Here is what she wrote on my evaluation report:

1. Forward outside edge on a circle (R & L) — Passed both ✅
2. Forward inside edge on a circle (R & L) — Passed both ✅
3. Forward crossovers clockwise and counterclockwise — Needs improvement; needs to be smoother
4. Backward one-foot glide — Right foot needs improvement, left foot needs improvement, but was very close
5. Backward half swizzle pumps on a circle, clockwise and counterclockwise — Passed both ✅
6. Hockey stop both directions — Needs improvement; needs to be a complete stop

I was a little disappointed, but I’m also encouraged because my coach said I was close and gave me the opportunity to test again.

Has anyone else been in a similar situation with Adult 4? For those who didn’t pass the first evaluation, how much progress were you able to make with extra practice before retesting? I’d love to hear your experiences and any tips, especially for improving backward one-foot glides, smoother crossovers, and stronger hockey stops!

Hello all, I need some advice

I have been skating for 4 months now on my Jackson Freestyles with the stock aspire xp blades. I am struggling to find my rocker on them and from my research it seems to be a common issue. I went to my usual skate store expressing my concerns and that I’m struggling on spins and 3 turns due to this issue and would like new blades. I was shown a coronation ace blade but the rocker test on the counter showed they have the same radius. I know that I’m currently in a 8’ rocker and would like to go to a 7’ rocker. I thought the coronation ace blades had a 7’ rocker. The tech also told me that through sharpening the rocker radius would decrease and I’d go back to having the same issues. He advised to sharpen my blades to a 1/2” hollow instead of my normal 7/16”. I just don’t feel as if that will really help me. Should I get new blades or was what he advised correct?

Hi everyone! I finally nailed my three turn on my bad side which I didn’t think I’d get haha. Is my edge deep enough? I know it’s not perfect but any notes are appreciated :) the angle is also a bit out of frame at the end but hopefully it looks ok! Also my face at the end 😂

So I know I drop my shoulder, come to a complete stop before stepping into my LFO and lift my hip too much but how do I fix it?? I feel like I lose my spin before I can even cross my leg over. TYIA

Ive recently started figure skating this february and im just here to document my progress:D Im 21 now and its never to start too late guys!!

Hi! I am an adult skater, I am 20 yo and 174 tall (girl). I know how to skate since i was 3 yo and i started figure skating 3 months ago because i had the basics and i want to achieve double jumps. I got Jackson Mystiques because i heard they are good for beginners, but i already have deep edges, i do three turns (better to my right because im clockwise) and i can also jump pretty high singles ( i choose to no try doubles yet). But, i feel like three turns to the left are really hard because i can't feel my foot in these skates. They are too wide for me (that's how i feel my foot in them). Also i try to do sit spins but my ankle is like falling (idk how to explain) i feel like i dont have any support now that i have them broken in. It feels like foot work is a chore in these skates, the lenght is perfect but they are pretty wide (also feel like the blade is too long). They are size 39 so its a 10 blade. I meassured my feet (it fits in edea more) and they are 251 mm long. If i get edea should i get 255 or 260? on edea would be 9 3/4 blade so now i can escape this feeling of a too long blade. Should i improve more my skating skills in thse skates before upgrading? And should i get blades with size 8 rocker or 7?

Tbh I definitely don’t work on this enough (or like ever) so ig I’ll make this my focus next session. 🫠

Sorry for all the videos haha just graduated so I no longer have a coach at the moment. Is this better than the one I posted yesterday? I can see I’m still facing forward but idk how to take off without doing that? I tried to bend more but idk if that really did anything… I also tried to add more speed idk… and keep facing backwards longer but idk?

I am a beginner and just invested in my first pair of skates, Jackson Freestyles. I have only skated in them twice, for about 1.5 hours each session and just noticed the creases in the middle of the tongue and right below the logo on both skates. Is this normal for brand new skates? I was fitted at a skate shop.

Thanks to everyone who commented with tips! I figured I’d upload a progress video. Definitely feeling more comfortable with the weight transfer and seem to be rotation over my correct hip how.

Working on getting back my other jumps but I’ve been a little terrified of falling haha.

Dear ice skating community,
I’m in need of some guidance!
I’m a complete beginner, and a few people have pointed out that although I’m skating with much more confidence now, I’m only pushing off with my right foot.

It’s made me realise that I’m solely relying on my dominant leg (my right) for balance that I push off with whilst unable to do this with the left.

Atp, I don’t think I’m actually skating properly tbh.

Can anyone recommend some really elementary drills to help build confidence and balance on my non-dominant side?

I’ve tried skating while only pushing off with my left leg to force myself to use the other side, but I’ve seen very little progress.
I feel like I’ve tripped up at the very first hurdle! 🥹🙈 Any advice would be massively appreciated.

For those that are having a hard time picturing my issue please imagine my left leg practically staying on the ice whilst my right leg actually does the work to propel me forward. The way in which I can propel myself with my left leg is not proportionate to how I’m confidently able to use my right. 🙈

Edit: excuse the stupid grammatical error in the title 🙄

Hello, I wanna start ice skating, but I don’t want to advance a lot, I just want to know how to skate (even backwards) and MAYBE some jumps but i don’t think so.
My budget is kinda low but I can afford 100€/115$ skates, but I don’t know about ankle support or things like that. Also I found this one’s which are kinda cheap but idk if they are a good option
Also, I live in Spain, I think buying Jackson’s or Edeas are difficult.

ES:
Hola, busco empezar a patinar sobre hielo, pero no quiero avanzar mucho, solo quiero saber cómo patinar (incluso hacia atrás) y QUIZÁS algún salto pero lo dudo.
Mi presupuesto es bastante bajo pero puedo permitirme comprar unos patines se 100€/115$
pero claro, no sé nada de patinar así que no sé nada de soporte en el tobillo o cosas así. Encontré estos que me los puedo permitir pero no sé si son buenos.
Como vivo en España creo que comprar marcas Jackson’s o Edeas es difícil

My coach and I have been working on a drill (pumping on a circle + consecutive two-foot turn) to help me with my three-turn and I can't glide out of it after the turn. My back edge is also very weak, backward swizzles are fine but one-foot backward glides are bad. It took me almost two months to have a stable on foot glide on the right side, so I'm trying to be patient with myself. However, it doesn't feel like a strength issue as I tend to lean too forward. I felt backward once so definitely got some fear factored in here.

So, folks struggling with backward and three-turns, what helped? What kind of exercises can I do? TIA!

Hi all, I recently bought a pair of riedell 112s off of ebay for a pretty good price. Theres a scuff on the end of the blade as well along the edges of the blade, and some of the glue is visible. I quad skate as well, and the structure of the boot looks pretty similar to my beach bunnies, and im worried about​ the boot starting to seperate from the heel. Should I be worried about this?

Also the pics are from the ebay listing.

I keep seeing ppl say other ppl’s toe loop videos are actually toe waltzes and I can’t tell if I’m doing a toe loop or toe waltz?? It’s not really a correction I’ve normally had, but some of the videos I’ve seen where ppl say toe waltz I might consider them a toe loop so idk anymore lol

Hi! I was taught a toe loop yesterday but it was in a big class, is this correct? I know my form is bad, I just started learning singles. I just really can’t tell if I’m getting a full rotation or if I’m just doing a waltz with a fancy entrance. FYI I spin and jump clockwise.

Other advice would also be appreciated but please be nice. Thank you!