Starting at a young age

[sophiarice]

hi i am a 14 year old girl and I was wondering if itis too late to start? i have done some skating class as a kid and have always enjoyed skating at rinks, but I'm not too sure where to start, I have a indoor rink in my town but I'm not sure if they do skating classes the way that I want, which is wanting to go further for figure skating. I'm very interested in it and really want to start

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

hi i am a 14 year old girl and I was wondering if itis too late to start? i have done some skating class as a kid and have always enjoyed skating at rinks, but I'm not too sure where to start, I have a indoor rink in my town but I'm not sure if they do skating classes the way that I want, which is wanting to go further for figure skating. I'm very interested in it and really want to start

Hi and welcome!

First of all, get in learn to skate classes at your local rink and go from there. You can skate and learn so much and skate well into adulthood on the adult competitive track. Please be aware that time is against you with being one of the elite skaters going to Nationals, Olympics, Worlds that you see on tv. You would have had to have started skating b/t ages2-5 and continue and have your triples by 12-13.

I do wish you well in the sport and to just take your time, learn correctly from a coach and to skate for many years. Also, if you are going to pursue this you will need to proper boots for your feet and fit by a pro figure skating fitter, not a pro shop and a hockey person.

 

[WednesdayMarch]

Welcome to the sport and the forum!

As Ic3Rabbit says, the best way in is to sign up for Learn to Skate (LTS) classes at your local rink and get yourself to a decent fitter for suitable equipment. Whilst it's generally accepted that to get to world class level you need to have started at a really young age, there's absolutely no reason why you shouldn't start at the still young age of 14 and get to be a really good skater, if you love the sport and are prepared to deal with the amount of time, money and commitment required. There are many disciplines in which to specialise and the opportunity to compete and skate in shows is always there. Or you might find that it's more a social thing, as you're bound to make skating friends. And that's perfectly okay, too.

Enjoy the journey!

 

[silver.blades]

Definitely not too late to start. I know someone who didn't learn to skate until their 20 and they got all their doubles and gold tests. I'm currently coaching a skater who started at 22 and we're just starting to work on their axel. I also used to skate with a man who didn't learn to skate until he was in his 80s. He wasn't doing anything fancy, but he was spinning and doing some of the simpler dances. It's never too late if it's something you enjoy.