Articles by Claire

Do you or your kids have a passion for ice skating? Below is my selection of some of the best figure skating books to read - including learning the techniques, biographies of figure skaters, history of the sport, and stories for all ages.

This article contains affiliate links. If you purchase using my link, I get a commission at no extra cost to you (learn more).

Technical figure skating books to learn and improve

On ice training

Let's start with books about practicing ice skating. Understand all the moves that create routines.

Ice skating books for beginners

Ice skating for the first time can feel overwhelming. The sensation on this thin blade are extremely different. Balance needs to be found.
Below are books for parents of beginner kids or adults getting into ice skating.

Off-ice training

As the skater advance and gets serious about the sport, off-ice practices become an important part of training. Below are books to guide the skaters on how to work out off ice in order to improve on ice.

Biographies of figure skaters

Figure skaters will love to learn more about their favorite ice skating legends: their practice routines, their path to success, their determination, the obstacles they had to face... Stories that will inspire. There is nothing better than learn from people who have already done it. They are great figure skating gift ideas (see more gift suggestions here).

Other books about ice skaters

For an introduction to the stories of various figure skaters

Figure skating books for kids - 4 to 7 years old

In this section I have gathered some for the best figure skating books for kids with charming stories of fictionnal and non fictional figure skaters.

Stories featuring figure skating - 8 to 12 years old

As you skater gets older, there are some fantastic stories about figure skaters.
However, I am sorry, I have not found any where the main character is a boy...

Young adult books featuring figure skating

Young adults, with a passion for ice skating, might enjoy the following stories about figure skating, young love, dreams and friendships on and off the ice.

Figure skating notebooks for training log

Journal or take notes about your ice skating practices in one of those notebooks. 

The following notebooks can be personalized:

History / culture of figure skating

It is also important to better understand the history and culture of ice skating so that we can make it move forward and become more inclusive. Below are some books worth a read to gain perspective, especially when it comes to diversity and perceptions.

History books about figure skating

Ice skating coloring books (adult and kids)

Want to relax while dreaming about ice skating? Check out these coloring books for adults and kids.

These are the ones I created:

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Below is an introduction article to give you a brief answer to: What is synchronized skating? It covers a little bit of the history, how it is skated, the rules, the equipment and how to get started.

This article contains affiliate links. If you purchase using my link, I get a commission at no extra cost to you (learn more).

What is synchronized skating? Introduction

Synchronized skating is a team sport where 8 to 20 figure skaters (depending on the level) perform a program together on a traditional rink. They must move as a flowing unit doing technical footwork while skating at high speed.
It is often simply called "synchro". 

Brief history from precision skating

From precision skating... to synchro

Can it be an Olympic sport?

Today, synchronized skating has been reviewed for Olympic eligibility, but it is not an Olympic sport.

Although it is growing very fast, synchro may never be part of the Olympics because:

• The teams are huge - 20 skaters each which means high accommodation costs
• It is difficult to televise: you don't realize the speed and difficulty via a screen
• It is not popular is many parts of the World which limits the potential audience
• There are not enough countries with teams when the Olympics is a contest between all nations around the world - at senior level, only around 20 countries have teams today

Learn more about figure skating at the Olympics.

Skates and equipment for Synchro

No extra tools have been invested to be able to join synchronized skating.
What the skater needs is pretty classic

Figure skates

Ice skates for synchro are typical figure skates. There is no particular requirement.

Typical ice skating equipment for training

The skater also needs the classic skating equipment such as blade guards, absorbent towel, blade soakers, a skating bag...
Check out my complete article about the essential figure skating equipment.

Team costumes

Of course, for competitions, tests and shows the skater needs to wear the team costume as the plan is to project unison.
New costumes are required each year for new programs

Basic rules & technical elements

The rink

There is the same ice rink requirement for synchronized skating as for the other disciplines of figure skating.
The Olympic size figure skating rink is 60m by 30m (196ft 10 inches by 98 feet 5 inches).
But in many towns, the practice rinks are a little smaller (56m x 26m).

The goal

The goal of a synchro team is to perform routines with:

• technical step sequences,
• intricate formations (isolated or holding)
• speed
• unison 

Required elements (list varies based on level) include: 

• No Hold Elements: footwork performed in unison when skaters are not connected. The block must remain aligned. Points increased for alignment stability and difficulty of the steps
• Pairs Elements: technical elements when 2 skaters hold one another such as step sequences, spirals, lifts, spins 
• Wheels: to perform a wheel every skater must rotate around a common center point. There are different shapes of wheel possible (number of arms for example) and points increase with the difficulty of the step sequence.
• Blocks: step sequences performed in 3 to 5 parallel lines which should be straight and evenly spaced. Points increase for alignment, step difficulty, pivots, changes in direction or in configuration.  
• Circles: any formation in the shape of circles (one or multiple, interlocked, disconnected...). Extra points are given when the circles are traveling while maintaining the shape.
• Intersections: when skaters move towards each other in lines and intersect. Extra points for the difficulty of the intersections: angle, turns, whip
• Lines: so many options here...
• Moves in the Field: sequence of movements with at least 3 different free skating moves (spirals, spread eagles, Ina Bauers...) and linking steps

How to start

1. Learning to skate

First thing first.
Before trying to skate attached to other people, you need to learn to skate on your own.
Synchronized skaters normally start with figure skating or ice dancing classes.

2. Reaching technical minimums for the team

Not all clubs have synchro teams.
If there are synchro teams with different levels at the rink where you skater practices, he/she can join the team when minimum skating level is reached.

Levels & competitions in synchronized skating

Levels in the US

In the US, the synchronized skating teams can compete in 14 levels depending on age and skill level of the members:
Preliminary, Pre-juvenile, Open Juvenile, Juvenile, Intermediate, Novice, Junior, Senior, Open Collegiate, Collegiate, Adult, Open Adult, Open Masters, and Masters.

The 2 main competitive levels (with short and free programs) are:

• Junior - 12 to 16 skaters aged 12 to 18 - but check the applicable rules for the year / competition - 16 skaters may be required
• Senior - 16 skaters who are at least 15 

How is synchro judged

For the competitive levels, the teams perform programs with required elements as listed earlier in this article (circles, intersections, no holds, blocks, wheels...). For Juniors and Seniors, the teams have to perform 2 programs (short program - 2min50 long and free skate 4min long for juniors and 4min30 long for seniors).

The judges will rate according to the International Skating Union system based on:

• skating skills - technical difficulty in the steps
• team skills - technical difficulty in the overall team movements including transitions
• unison
• speed
• dance interpretation

Technical Element score - Points are added this way:

• Each element has been assigned a difficulty level by a technical panel. It has a pre-determined base value.
• For each performance, judges assign a grade of execution (GOE) from -3 to +3 to each of the elements
• For each element, the highest and lowest GOE values are removed - the remaining GOEs are averaged and added to the base value.
• The sum of those scores make the technical element score

Program component score. Point are added this way:

• Each judge gives a mark between 0.00 and 10.00 (with 0.25 increments) for the following 5 components: skating skills, transitions, performance/execution, choreography, and interpretation
• The highest and lowest are removed and the mean is calculated
• Factors are applied
• The scores are added to make the Program component scores

Both scores are added, and the team with the highest score wins.

Some competitions may still use the older rating system with a range from 0.0 to 6.0.

Famous synchro teams

The sport is dominated by 5 countries: Russia, Finland, Sweden, USA, and Canada.
Some of the most titled teams at Senior level are:

• Team Paradise from Russia
• Marigold IceUnity from Finland
• The Rockettes from Finland
• The Haydenettes from the USA
• Nexxice from Canada
• Team Surprise from Sweden

More articles about figure skating:

• The essential pieces of figure skating equipment you need - read article
• Gift for figure skaters - 50 ideas - read article
• Figure skating off-ice training routine - what to work on - read article
• Best ice skating bags to carry your skates - read article
  
• Best ice skate towels to dry out blades - read article
• Best Figure Skating Protective Gear - read article
• Figure skating training clothes - tips + 5 looks - read article
• Best figure skating tights and leggings - read article
• 9 Tips fo Figure skating moms and dads (competition level) - read article
• Figure Skating Competition Checklist - read article
• Figure skating coach gift ideas - read article

Let's have a look at one of the essential figure skating equipment to have in your bag: how to choose the best figure skate guards to protect your blades and keep your skates in good condition. We will be covering all you need to know: technical systems, colors, sizes, maintenance, customization... 

This article contains affiliate links. If you purchase using my link, I get a commission at no extra cost to you (learn more).

What are skate guards and why do you need them?

Blades are an essential and expensive part of your skate.
It is very important to know that ice skate blades can only touch 2 types of surface without being damaged:

• ice
• rubber flooring

And even on rubber flooring there can be dirt, stones or metal you don't see that can damage the blade.

Even a little dent on your blade can make ice skating very difficult. Chips in the blade edges mean less control on the ice. To fix it, you will need to sharpen a lot which reduces the life of your blades (see my article about sharpening figure skates).
Therefore, you should protect your blade as soon as you step off the ice. They are one of the essential equipment to have in your bag.

Blade guards are covers made of plastic that you place on your blade. They are designed to protect them.

As a general rule, the less you walk in skates off the ice, the better.

Just don't forget to remove them when entering the ice (I write from experience, it is painful).

Note: do not get confused with the blade soakers which are made of absorbent tissue and protect the blade inside the bag. Some people call them guard as well.

2 systems - which are the best figure skate guards?

There are mainly 2 types of guards for figure skates.

The Centipede / Latch system

This is often the preferred guards for beginners and young kids.
This is because you don't have to cut them. You just have to adjust the back fixation in the right hole for the size of your skate, which means it can grow with your kid's skates.

PROS:

• Easy to set up
• Can be kept if you change skates' size

CONS:

• After a while, they can become loose and the fixing attachment dislodge as you are walking
• For young kids with small fit, they are very long if you don't cut them

The Universal / Spring system

All figure skaters from a certain level use those.
They are made of 2 pieces of plastics connected by springs which are screwed in the plastic.
You have to cut them to the size of your skates so that there is tension and a little bit of space between the plastic parts when set up on the blade.

PROS:

• Very stable
• Best protection of the whole blade

CONS:

• More difficult to set up (but instructions are sent when them)

Spring system made to order: Rockerz

If you want to remove the constraint of setting it up and still have the benefit of a spring system, check out the Rockerz blade guard. They are one of the most popular brands.
They are fully customizable based on:

• skate brand
• skate size
• colors

So they make a great new figure skating gift (see all my suggestions)!

Other criteria - how to choose you ice skate blade cover?

Reviews of quality

Make sure to check the reviews, as some brands use cheap springs. You want to buy something that can last.

Where they are made?

Some of you may be interested to know where they are made. You might prefer buying local.
Considering the low price of this type of product, they are often made in Asia.
Rockerz® are apparently made in USA

Color

Choose your colors. There are a lot of choices whatever product you select. You can express your personality!
Plus if you choose the spring universal system, you can buy 2 pairs in different colors and mix them! Same with the Rockerz, you can choose your colors.

Recycling status

The Rockerz brand indicate that it is "Made with recycled materials. All parts 100% recyclable"

Size - How to fit your Skate guard (spring system)?

Are there different sizes?

Most guards are 'one size fit all'. You have to cut them to the size of your skates
Just note that for the centipede, the shape at the front of the guard is different for hockey skates and figure sates. So, buy the figure skating version.

How to fit?

If you have chosen the spring system, you will have to cut them.

1. Check the length of the 2 pieces against your blade. Determine if they need to be cut
2. As needed cut one module by one module until it is just under the length of the blade - cut on both pieces to keep the attachment in the middle - use a saw or a strong box knife.
3. butt the two cut ends together, mount the springs in the most appropriate holes to balance the spring over the 2 pieces. You may have a gap between the 2 halves. through which to mount the springs.
4. One screw goes on each side; when it gets through to the other side, position the ring from the other spring and keep screwing it in so that it locks.

It is normal to have a small gap between the pieces of plastic - you need tension!

How to personalize your ice skate guards?

Put Your Name On Them and / or decorate

There are not that many skate guard options out there, and it is frequent to have the same as other skaters which means finding your guards at the end of the session is annoying.

So you can write your initials, your name or fully decorate your guards to make them recognizable.

You need permanent markers that work for plastic.

I don't recommend stickers. They won't stay stuck for long as you torture your guards on and off the blade.

Mix the colors

As I wrote earlier you can mix colors of guards to have something that you love.

Extra Tips

When not to use blade guards?

The guards are important to take care of your skates. But blade guards should only be used between the time you get off the ice and the moment you remove your feet from the skates (and the opposite).
Once you are out of them, you should remove the plastic guard, thoroughly dry the blade and the mounting places and place blade soakers on them.

The guards should NEVER be left on the blades once they are taken off, in the skating bag or outside the bag. The plastic will collect moisture and a long contact between water and the blades will cause rust to form.

Clean your equipment

Over time, a lot of dirt can be collected inside the guards. And remember, you are wearing them so that your blade doesn't get in contact with dirt and grit...
Therefore, you should clean your guards regularly to avoid all damage to your blades.

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