Thinking of starting figure skating

[noratheexplorer08]

I've been interested in figure skating my whole life but unfortunately haven't gotten the opportunity to start trying it out until now. I'm currently 17 years old (18 in a few months), 5'1, 84-88 lbs, very slim, and have 5 years of tap, jazz, and ballet experience. Beyond the 5 years of dance, I've also taught myself, taken various drop-ins, and learned many K-pop and social media dances (my point being I'm still a very active dancer). I don't come from a very well off family (pretty average in U.S. standards) and I had the choice when I was younger to continue dance or pick up figure skating since we couldn't realistically afford both then. Now I'm able to make my own income and my family is in a slightly better place so more opportunities have opened up and I'm seriously considering picking up figure skating.

In no way am I expecting to ever reach Olympic or Nationals level but I am curious as to what level I could realistically reach if I started this year. I'm also aware that this is a very pricey sport. All this being said, if I have a passion for something I have a very hard time giving it up and I can see myself being very determined and disciplined in this sport. I also love performing and have little to no fear/anxiety when it comes to being on stage or having an audience. Again, I have no intent of becoming a top skater, but I would love any advice, tips, or opinions on starting this journey!

 

[Diana Delafield]

I've been interested in figure skating my whole life but unfortunately haven't gotten the opportunity to start trying it out until now. I'm currently 17 years old (18 in a few months), 5'1, 84-88 lbs, very slim, and have 5 years of tap, jazz, and ballet experience. Beyond the 5 years of dance, I've also taught myself, taken various drop-ins, and learned many K-pop and social media dances (my point being I'm still a very active dancer). I don't come from a very well off family (pretty average in U.S. standards) and I had the choice when I was younger to continue dance or pick up figure skating since we couldn't realistically afford both then. Now I'm able to make my own income and my family is in a slightly better place so more opportunities have opened up and I'm seriously considering picking up figure skating.

In no way am I expecting to ever reach Olympic or Nationals level but I am curious as to what level I could realistically reach if I started this year. I'm also aware that this is a very pricey sport. All this being said, if I have a passion for something I have a very hard time giving it up and I can see myself being very determined and disciplined in this sport. I also love performing and have little to no fear/anxiety when it comes to being on stage or having an audience. Again, I have no intent of becoming a top skater, but I would love any advice, tips, or opinions on starting this journey!

Hi and welcome! You may find you'll get more advice once the Olympics and World championships are over, as GS is mainly a forum for fans of skating and particular skaters and only a small percentage actually skate themselves, so our focus is all on the television these days. Also, it's an international forum, so only the American members who skate or coach would be able to describe specific test streams and alternative local competitions, as opposed to the ones that lead towards the national level because realistically you're starting too late to get into that competition stream even at the lowest local level. Most serious competitors started skating somewhere between the ages of 3 up to perhaps 7 at the oldest. (I was 5, which is fairly typical.) Since you're close to university years, you might look towards competing in the college competition stream, and/or joining a synchro team there, having mastered the basics of skating in your final high school year(s).

Where in the US are you? Do you have a club nearby that you can join and get coaching? Teaching yourself from videos is not recommended for safety reasons. You need a coach watching you and correcting small errors. You could start with group lessons and perhaps move into private lessons after a year or so in groups. I don't live in the US and don't know what is taught in the test stream in that country, but you should be learning edges forward and backward, crossovers, and a basic spin. What else they teach adult beginners in your country, I don't know. Clubs usually put on small shows once or twice a year and you could enjoy taking part in group numbers there even as a beginner.

Also knowing where you live would help someone here point you to the best skate shop and professional fitter in your area, since having the appropriate equipment from the start is very important. Ill-fitting boots can prevent you from learning even the basics properly.

It's difficult to be more specific, since your question was quite general, but good luck and enjoy your new hobby!

 

[Query]

It sounds like you are a very athletic & motivated person. If it appeals to you, you can certainly try. I'd bet you will be better than me within a few months.

Different rinks teach very different things in U.S. "Adult" group lessons. (By skating standards, you are an adult, but might still be comfortable in classes with some of the older kids. It sounds like you are good at learning somewhat like most kids do - by imitation - so a class aimed at them might work for you. Plus, many rinks choose not to teach many if any jumps in Adult lessons.) If the classes are small, good teachers often split their time among the students, and try to give each student what they want. It's a somewhat cheaper way to learn than private lessons. E.g., I recently took a group lesson class where 2-5 people came to each session after the first. How well that works depends a lot on the coach.

I've known people who started a fair bit older (sometimes over 30) than you, but had dance or similar activity backgrounds, who went to adult Nationals (in the U.S.). Some of them also became professional coaches - mostly part-time coaches, and sometimes mostly group lesson coaches. They sometimes see it as a way to support the costs of their skating habbit, or to get discounts at a rink. But it takes them at least a few years to become coaches. If you attend college full time, you may not have the time to do that.

Maybe you could also teach off-ice dance and other exercise classes at the rink to help support your habbit, especially if someone else isn't doing that. There is a lot of demand for that. I was told it pays a little better than teaching land dance classes. But most of the land dance teachers I have known spend more time traveling between studios than teaching, so they barely make enough to live. If you are at a rink already, teaching an off-ice class between sessions there could be more convenient.

I've known a lot of skaters who make do with group lessons + an occasional private lesson, and do moderately well. But as they get better, they eventually need more private lessons, partly because skating styles differ a lot coach-to-coach.

Though some rinks also offer lessons outside the regular syllabus, taught by very good coaches - sometimes famous coaches. They are SOMETIMES very good at teaching in group settings - though that is less common in the U.S. than I have been told it is in various European countries.

And some rinks run "camps" (especially in the summer), which you MIGHT still be just young enough to attend, which involve a lot of somewhat advanced skating classes/day, alternating with off-ice classes.

Also, you don't have to limit yourself to competitions. A lot of rinks & clubs have "shows". And there are also Ice Theater groups. As with Synchro, the most competitive might exclude you unless or until you get very good, but many rinks run their own which are less selective.

Ice Dance could maybe carry over a lot of your land dance skills. Ladies (I guess you are one from your screen name, apologize if not) often have tremendous trouble finding competent male partners, but at some facilities you might be able to find another lady partner - romance isn't implied. There are even separate competition categories for same sex couples.

In terms of jumps and spins (and lifts, if you do ice dance), ballet dancers who switched to or added skating have told me they had to relearn a lot of things, but many of them do pretty well. And you have already showed you can learn different styles of dance.

 

[Diana Delafield]

I've been interested in figure skating my whole life but unfortunately haven't gotten the opportunity to start trying it out until now. I'm currently 17 years old (18 in a few months), 5'1, 84-88 lbs, very slim, and have 5 years of tap, jazz, and ballet experience. Beyond the 5 years of dance, I've also taught myself, taken various drop-ins, and learned many K-pop and social media dances (my point being I'm still a very active dancer). I don't come from a very well off family (pretty average in U.S. standards) and I had the choice when I was younger to continue dance or pick up figure skating since we couldn't realistically afford both then. Now I'm able to make my own income and my family is in a slightly better place so more opportunities have opened up and I'm seriously considering picking up figure skating.

In no way am I expecting to ever reach Olympic or Nationals level but I am curious as to what level I could realistically reach if I started this year. I'm also aware that this is a very pricey sport. All this being said, if I have a passion for something I have a very hard time giving it up and I can see myself being very determined and disciplined in this sport. I also love performing and have little to no fear/anxiety when it comes to being on stage or having an audience. Again, I have no intent of becoming a top skater, but I would love any advice, tips, or opinions on starting this journey!

You describe your love of performing, but don't mention if you are thinking of perhaps getting into one of the ice shows, either touring or on a cruise ship. We had one dancer-adult-beginner-skater inquiring on GS about a possible career in ice shows, which is why I mention it. If so, you should be aware that many of those companies have a required size range for cast members because they want relative uniformity in a line of chorus skaters (you need a resume as a competitor to be a soloist), and have a stock wardrobe of costumes that you have to fit. I'm afraid you're much too short and very much too thin for those. I know someone who got into a Disney company and showed me the requirements -- Disney is more lenient as to height, presumably having a wider variety of cartoon character costumes, but emphasize that skaters must look fit and healthy. They listed body mass index for various heights, and for your 5'1" (my friend is 5'2") the required BMI was 100-120 lbs. So to get accepted by a show and fit the costumes, you'd have to gain a lot of weight.

It's not that difficult, if shows are your goal. I once was hospitalized for several weeks with a viral thyroid infection that revved up my metabolism so much my weight burned down to 85 lbs (I'm only a bit taller than you). By rights I should have died of organ failure, but I rallied and recovered. With supervised and determined high-calorie eating, I gained 20 lbs in the first month and then a few more pounds more gradually, and got back the strength needed for pairs skating. My partner had refused to do any pairs elements with me during my recovery. He said I was so skinny it would be like tossing around a handful of sticks .

You may not be thinking of show skating as a career, but just in case you were, I thought I'd mention this. If you just want an enjoyable activity in addition to your dancing, then let us help you get the right skates for your foot shape, whatever that is?, and enrol in lessons. You may find you have a new hobby to love. I'd been skating for many years before I decided to add ballroom dance to my activities, having studied just about all types of dance off-ice before. I got hooked, and now compete in ballroom as well as performing on ice with my longtime pairs partner. Good luck!

 

[dorispulaski]

You should also know there are Adult Skating Competitions.

There are also Synchronized Skating teams at all levels. The good thing about synchro is that ice time and coaching is a shared expense.

And there are Theater on Ice Teams.

Your dance training is definitely a plus.

After you have skated a while you might find you could participate in those sports.

 

[Query]

I'm not a great skater, and am not medically trained. I'm totally unqualified to guess how far you could go or what your weight should be. People like Diane have much more knowledge of the criteria for admission into elite professional skating troupes - but that isn't everything in life. There are people in recreational troupes with a much wider range of body types.

You (noratheexplorer08) are within the BMI range (if perhaps on the low end) of some professional dancers.

We haven't seen you, and have no knowledge of your bone frame size, joint structure, physiology, or goals wrt ballet and other performing arts.

If you have a very thin skeletal structure or specific joint health issues, I wonder if you should consult an orthopedist and/or rheumatologist before taking Internet advice, even from an elite skating coach, on ideal body weight. And even if they say you would be healthier closer to the usual athletic BMI range, whether you should maybe not gain the weight too fast?

Though of course falling "right" is a huge part of skating, and should be practiced - and might be harder if you don't have much padding between your skin and bones.

In the history of skating, there have been a few retired professional prima ballerinas who became world class skaters. But for everyone like that, there is an enormous number of people who achieve less. We haven't seen you dance, practice safe falls, or try skating. Without that, I wonder if it would be hard for even an elite coach to guess how you could plausibly go. And without a medical exam, I wonder if even an appropriate medical specialist would have trouble saying what a healthy weight would be for you.