FAQs
Equipment
First and foremost, your child needs good skates. The kind of skates suitable for your child will depend on the program you're enrolling in, and on your child's size and strength. Some skate brands will be more suitable for your child than others. In general, we recommend that you do not buy molded (plastic) figure skates. They usually don't flex well enough through the ankle to allow a proper knee bend and range of motion. Ask one of the coaches to take a look at your child and recommend some options.
All skaters in the Kidskate and CanSkate programs are required to wear CSA approved hockey helmets.
How do I buy skates for my child?
There's no such thing as weak ankles, but there are plenty of skates on the market with weak ankle support! Look for thick, leather skates with generous ankle support. These will conform to the foot in time. The toes should be able to wiggle, the heel should fit snugly. Properly fitted skates are usually one size smaller than your normal shoe size. A thin acrylic blend sock or stocking allows the skate to have a snug fit that permits the toes to be relaxed in the toe box.
How should I take care of my child's skates?
One of the most important pieces of equipment to a skater is, not surprisingly...the skates. Taking good care of your child's skates helps their performance and ensures their safety on the ice.
Moisture should be wiped off the blades, soles, and leather uppers of skates after each skating session in order to prevent rusting, and to maintain the quality of the leather. Skates should be allowed to dry thoroughly when not in use (do not keep skates in a sealed bag between sessions).
A beeswax preparation can be applied periodically to help ‘waterproof’ leather soles (eg. Sno-Seal). Scuffs to leather uppers can be minimized by use of boot covers or removable tape (eg. SK8tape). Skate polish can be applied as needed to give a clean appearance to the boots but remove old polish and do not polish too often since this contributes to buildup.
Always have your child wear skate guards to protect his or her blades when walking on hard surfaces. Cloth blade covers should be used to protect blades when skates are not in use (remove the skate guards when skates are stored).Intervals between sharpenings are largely determined by personal preference. As a rule of thumb, blades can be sharpened after 25-30 hours of use. Always choose services from reputable technicians who are experienced at sharpening figure skates.
Benefits of Club Membership:
The benefits of belonging to a Skate Canada Club are many. Here are just a few:
- Your child will be a member of Skate Canada, the national governing body for figure skating in Canada
- You register your child through your Home Club which makes you, as parents, voting members of the Club, providing your child is under the age of 18
- Your child will receive a Membership Registration Card with an identification number that has been recorded at the National Office of Skate Canada. This number will not change and remains your child’s link to Skate Canada forever, even in years you are not an active member. Keep the Membership Card in a safe place, as your child will need this registration number to participate in Skate Canada sanctioned events
- Makes your child eligible to take Skate Canada tests, participate in Skate Canada competitions, ice shows and other sanctioned events
- Privileges to enter the Members Only website of Skate Canada, that contains all the important information about our association.
- An accident insurance benefit at a substantially lower cost to the members than that available in other sports (80 cents plus applicable provincial sales tax per member).
- Access to high quality programs that are recognized and often sought after internationally and by other national sport organizations.
- Access to qualified, NCCP certified Skate Canada professional coaches who have been trained through high quality training programs developed by Skate Canada.
- National registry of figure skating qualifications (tests) and results (for qualifying events) held in a central computerized system for easy access.
FYI - We register each and every skater with Skate Canada. This $32.50 membership fee is paid yearly to Skate Canada. Not only does this membership give skaters insurance coverage, it also comes with the privilege of belonging to an association which is recognized the world over. Since the Cambridge Skating Club is a sanctioned club with Skate Canada, the club and skaters are entitled to participate in competitions, take tests, and participate in various events the club may hold during the skating season.