How to determine the initial blade position before alignment

[elvi8ivl3]

Hi everyone!

I recently had blades mounted on my daughter's new ice skates at a local pro shop and noticed that the technician did not assess her foot biomechanics—such as gait or pressure distribution—before mounting the blades. Instead, he attached the blades to the boots first and then asked my daughter to wear them and adjust the alignment afterward.

This made me wonder: How do technicians typically determine the initial blade alignment? Is it primarily based on the shape of the boot’s sole and their experience, rather than any biomechanical assessment?

Additionally, I noticed that the blades on her left and right boots are not symmetrically positioned. Is this asymmetry normal, or could it be problematic?
https://imgbox.com/qPrXBMVk

From what I’ve read, research suggests that initial blade alignment should reflect a skater’s natural biomechanics, particularly the center-of-pressure (CoP) trajectory observed during walking and standing. The CoP—the point where ground reaction forces converge—typically moves from the heel through the arch and toward the big or second toe during push-off. Aligning the blades with this natural pathway is theorized to optimize balance, power transfer, and edge control, establishing a solid baseline for further adjustments. However, it seems that none of the technicians at my local shop follow this approach.

My main concern: If blade positioning does not account for an individual skater’s biomechanics, could this compromise performance or increase the risk of injury? Additionally, is an intentional asymmetry in blade placement ever beneficial, or is consistency between skates essential?

 

[tstop4me]

* Left feet and right feet are not always the same, and may require different blade positioning and alignment.

* Some techs will evaluate the skater's feet before making the initial mount (particularly evidence of pronation/supination). Others will use a default initial mount. But the real proof of the pudding is in the skating. That's why it's important to start out with an initial temp mount (two screws in the elongated slots in the sole plate and two screws in the elongated slots in the heel plate) to allow for minor tweaks and to minimize the number of holes that need to be plugged, should a fresh mount be needed to accommodate larger changes. ETA: I just viewed your photo. Your tech installed an initial permanent mount (with additional screws from the four for a temp mount). They shouldn't have done that.

 

[Query]

Were these her first skates, or was he following what the previous skate tech had done?

While it is easier in some respects to modify mounts if no permanent screws and holes are used, it is still possible to modify such a mount. Perhaps some skate techs aren't physically strong enough to stabilize the blade position for long enough to observe how the skater skates. Especially if the skater tries jumping on the test mount.

I'm not medically trained.

But It isn't possible to follow the most common COP walking trajectory for most people. Because, as best I understand it, COP walking typically moves from about the center of the heel, laterally (to the outside) through the lateral longitudinal arch, then rocking medially (to the inside) through the big toe. The rockovers provide a lot of the propulsive force in most people. In other words, not a straight line. But a properly mounted figure skating blade should be in a straight line. Instead, you modify the gait. For one thing, it typically involves much more hip roll than ankle roll.

Also, the COP trajectory typically depends a lot on the heel height. Figure skates (and to some extent hockey skates) are rather high heel shoes. (But provide ankle support, while high heel fashion shoes typically provide none.) As an example, some people say barefoot walkers and runners, and trained ballet dancers, often keep the COP down the centerline of the foot, though in the case of ballet, that may be partly an aesthetic standard.

And the gait you choose to train towards might be different for figure, hockey and speed skating. E.g., figure skating aesthetic standards (figure skating is in some respects a form of dance) often require you to remain in pronation (on inside edges) or supination (on outside edges) throughout an extended motion. This is because some moves require such edges, and because skating is usually at high speeds, so centrifugal force substantially modifies the effective direction of gravity+centrifugal force, which figure skating standards usually require to be in alignment with certain body parts. And it is very common to remain balanced at the ball of the foot, or some other point for an extended period. In hockey and speed you can choose to be more efficient, though sometimes hockey players stay on inside edges for better stability against the attempts to destabilize them that an opposing player might create. In speed skating, as best I understand it, efficiency is the overwhelming priority. Which means you start in fairly extreme supination, and push through to fairly extreme pronation. But for short and long track skating, the skater will almost always be leaning into the ellipse, and skating counter-clockwise, so the blade is always mounted off-center, and is also bent to be slightly warped.

Another issue is that most shoes provide enhanced stability because they have a wide area of contact. Which podiatrists modify by changing the shape of the bottom of the blade. Whereas skater's balance and stability must be created in part by athletic training.

Nonetheless, it is very common to modify mount points and alignment to work optimally for each skater. And you can to some extent modify the insoles to create some of the same effects. I originally offset my blades to one side, because the bottoms of my feet were not tilted the same way as the footbeds of my skates, but decided I could spin and twizzle better by moving the blades to the centerline, and changing the insoles.

What I'm mostly saying is that walking and skating aren't the same. There are also a lot of different theories about what gait should look like, for walking, running, and skating. And that what the skate tech did can still be modified. As long as the skate tech figures out how to optimize the skates for your daughter, nothing bad has happened yet.