Learn to Skate
Whether it's your first time on the ice or a reacquaintance with an old pair of skate's ice skating can be a fun and invigorating activity for everyone.
CanSkate volunteer skating coach, Katie Cumby offers these six steps to help you glide across the ice:
1. When you first get on the ice, take small steps. Take time to find your centre of balance and get comfortable on the ice. Avoid holding onto the boards as much as possible.
2. Once you're able to take small steps confidently, move on to bigger, longer steps.
3. Eventually you'll find yourself gliding. Remember to push with one foot and then the other. Try to push with the side of your blade and never with the toe pick, if you have one!
4. As strange as it might sound, you should practice falling down. That way, when you lose your balance out of nowhere, your body will be trained to fall in such a way that you can avoid injury. Start off by bending your knees and squatting down toward the ice. Gently fall to the side and lean forward slightly. You want to avoid leaning too far forward or backward so that you don't hit your head.
5. To go along with falling down, you should also train yourself to get up. Start by kneeling on one leg. Put both hands on the leg that is NOT on the ice. Push yourself up to a standing position.
6. It's very important that you learn to stop. Start with a simple practice exercise. Stand on the spot with your feet close together and parallel to each other. Bend your knees and push out to the side with one foot. You should see some "snow" forming on the ice. Try the same movement on the other foot. Once you're confident with that exercise, try it with a little speed. Take five steps, glide with your feet close together and then push out with one foot.Take the Live Right Now challenge and Go Skating today!