How-to: Tie Figure Skates

This guest post comes to you from Ice Coach. My blog, Ice Mom's Adventures in Figure Skating will move to IceMom.net on Saturday, April 3. Joining me in blogging will be Ice Coach, Ice Girl, and Synchro Mom. Together, we'll try to give you honest answers and occasional laughs as we look at figure skating from different perspectives. This guest post will give you a little introduction to what you might find on Ice Coach's blog.

Tying figure skates correctly is important because improperly tying skates could lead to injury and bad habits. The biggest issue of tying skates is making them tight. I have repeatedly seen new skating parents not tie skates tight enough. Their child gets on the ice; his or her ankles are falling inward and not supported at all. I also know of parents who thought they needed new skates or blades remounted because their child was having difficulty skating. When it came down to it, the solution was simply tying the skates tighter.

No socks. If you’re a competitive skater you should not be wearing socks in your skates. Socks can lead to blisters, which are no fun. What’s worse than socks? Bare feet. Bare feet lead to blisters and smelly skates. Skates should fit as snug to your foot as possible leaving little room for your foot to slide around. I recommend trouser socks; they are form- fitting and thick enough to wear multiple times without getting numerous holes. You can even get moisture wicking trouser socks.

Untie your skate all the way. (See photo above.) I have seen many people untie the first couple holes only. Make sure the laces are loose enough to easily slip your foot inside the boot. Start tightening the laces at the toe and work your way up the boot. Tie the skates tight, but not so tight they cut off your circulation. I always tie my skates as tight as I can pull and never have an issue with numb feet, and I always have enough bending room. New skates are a different story. You might want to only lace the top three hooks on new skates so you have room to bend.

No skate lace tighteners. Does anyone like these things? They seem like more of a hassle.  You can tie your skates faster and tighter by using your fingers.

Cris-cross the laces and wrap them around the fourth hook, the one closest to the lace holes. (See photo above.) I prefer wrapping them over the hook rather than under it, but you can go under to over, too.

Wrap the laces. (See photo above.) On the third hook, when you cross your laces, wrap them around each other a couple of times to keep them from slipping. Do this on the first hook as well.

Bunny ears. (See photo above) On the first hook, tie a bow. Take the bow’s right “bunny ear” and hook it around the first hook again and tighten it; do the same with the left “bunny ear.” Your skates should not slip.

Never wrap extra laces around your ankle or boot. If your laces are long enough to do this, they are too long. Buy a shorter pair. Skates should bend at the ankle; if you wrap laces around the top part of the boot it will prevent this.

Lace materials. If your laces still slip and you’re using 100% cotton blends, try a nylon/cotton blend. I personally prefer them and think they slip less. But I have others tell me that the cotton ones slip less. It just depends on what you like.

Tying your skates well will help prevent injury and is the first step to proper skating technique.

Do you have a suggestion about tying skates? Do you have problems with it? Let Ice Coach know what you're thinking in the comments! If you have other questions for Ice Coach, you can put them in the comments or e-mail her at IceCoach@IceCoach.net

As always, if you have a question for Ice Mom or the Advisory Board, please send it to me. If you have an idea for a post you'd like to see, let me know that, too. Are you an expert? Wonderful. I'm looking for figure skating experts. E-mail me if you'd like to write a guest post. icemom.diane@gmail.com