The Importance of Skates
Skates are probably the most important element in figure skating. This is because you can't get on the ice without ice skates. You need them to perform any type of jump, spin, footwork, etc. Ice skates aren't just used for figure skating, they're used for hockey and bandy also. The most important decision skaters make is what type and size of skates they're going to buy. There are also many different parts to the ice skate. You can read below for more information on that.
Parts of the Skate
There are many parts of the ice skate. To the right, is a picture of a figure skate. The names of the different parts are: lining, tongue, hook, backstay, boot, lace, heel, stanchion, eyelet, sole, edge, blade, and toe pick. In that picture, you can see where those parts are located on the skate. The three parts you use the most in figure skating are the boot, blade, and toe pick. The main job of the boot is to protect the foot and ankle as you jump. The toe pick is at the top of your blade and it looks like it has sharp, jagged teeth on it. Well, those "teeth" are for performing a jump or any kind of footwork. It is not meant for spinning on. Finally, the blade is meant to skate on. It's never used to jump off of because that is dangerous. There are many different types of blades, but they all depend on what type of skate you're using. There are hockey blades which are flat and don't have a toe pick, there is ice dancing blades that are about an inch shorter than normal blades because you need to be able to dance on them, and there is different blades for skaters at different levels, age, or size.
How to Take Care of your Skates
Taking care of your skates is important because you need your skates to skate. So, if you don't take care of them, you can't skate. Anyways, the first part of taking care of them is getting them sharpened. You should get them sharpened right before they start to feel dull. If you wait too long, you're basically wasting your practice time because your skates aren't sharp enough. Another way that you can take care of your skates is to dry the blades very good after you skate. If you don't do this, the blades could start to rust. A third way you can help yourself take care of your figure skates is to lace your boots up tight and completely. If you do all of these things, your skates will always feel like they're brand new!
Information from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_skate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure_skate http://fredsskatesharpening.com/qa_blades.html http://figureskating.about.com/od/equipment/ht/skatetakecare.htm
Pictures from: http://emmarhes.edublogs.org/2011/01/14/week-short/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/cjmedia/5011509399/
Pictures from: http://emmarhes.edublogs.org/2011/01/14/week-short/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/cjmedia/5011509399/