| Your skates, while important, are not as important as | | | | have your outfit on, the edge of the skate that is |
| your boots. A pair of low figure skates of the | | | | nearest the inside of your foot is called the "inside |
| correct size and shape does not have to be | | | | edge," and the edge nearest the outside is |
| expensive or even moderately expensive to be | | | | correspondingly called the "outside edge." It is well to |
| perfectly satisfactory for a long while. I skated for | | | | memorize these terms, for the actual skating figures |
| several years and learned all my fundamental figures | | | | are named according to which edge of the skate you |
| on ordinary five dollar figure skates, which today | | | | use to trace them. |
| would cost approximately ten dollars. | | | | To get back to the skates you are holding in your |
| So that you will know for yourself whether you are | | | | hands, grasp the blades firmly with the skates |
| being sold the right blades, pick up the skates on the | | | | perfectly level and near together. You will |
| counter and examine them carefully. Ask for a | | | | immediately notice that the shoe plate of the hockey |
| hockey skate and hold it in your left hand. Now ask | | | | skate is higher than that of the figure skate, and if |
| for a figure skate and hold it in your right hand. The | | | | you look more closely, you will see that the two |
| first thing you will notice is that the hockey skate has | | | | upright pieces that join the toe plate and the heel |
| a plain pointed end in front, while the figure skate has | | | | plate to the blade (in other words, the "stanchions") |
| a series of "teeth," or "picks." Hold the plate of the | | | | are much higher on the hockey skate than on the |
| skates in your hands with the blades facing upward, | | | | figure skate. This is important. The higher your foot is |
| and turn the blades to the light. | | | | from the ice, the harder it is to keep your ankle |
| You will notice that the hockey skate, in your left | | | | upright. It is much the same principle as stilt walking; |
| hand, has an absolutely straight narrow blade - that | | | | the lower your center of gravity, naturally the easier |
| is, the length of the blade is straight from heel to toe | | | | it is to balance. |
| and the width of the blade is perfectly straight | | | | Therefore it stands to reason that it is easier to learn |
| across. Now look at the figure blade. You will notice | | | | to skate on the low figure skates than on the high |
| that from heel to toe the blade is set on a slight | | | | hockey skates. Even if you are not sure you ever |
| curve. This is called the "radius" of the skate, and | | | | want to try figures, even if you think you will be |
| most figure skates today are set on a 7-foot radius. | | | | content to plain skate round and round the village |
| Look at and feel the blade itself. You will notice that | | | | pond or city rink, you will find it ever so much easier |
| there is a hollow ridge down the center of the skate, | | | | to learn to navigate over the ice on figure skates. |
| leaving two higher edges at each side of it. This | | | | You can play everything except top drawer hockey |
| hollow ridge is called the "concave" of the skate and | | | | on figure skates, but you can never trace even the |
| is what is meant by the term "hollow-ground" as | | | | simplest figures correctly or dance an ice waltz on |
| applied to figure skates. The sides of the hollow ridge | | | | hockey skates. |
| are the so-called "edges" of the skate, and when you | | | | |