I'm 18 and want to start figure skating.?

Question

I want to start figure skating. How long would it take to learn all the singles? Then doubles?

I've skated for a year recreationally and have been trying to teach myself. I can't do any jumps but I can do crossovers. I can do mohawk ( I think that's what it's called), 3turn and a variety of beginner's moves.

I'm going to start taking a beginner figure skating class in January. It's a weekly class for one hour. I also plan to practice skating at least twice a week for about an hour. That is the only time committment I have as of the moment since I still have to worry about school.

How much progress can I make in one year given these conditions? Will I be able to compete in competitions by the time I graduate? (I'll be 22)

Answer 1

I started beginner ice skating lessons at 12 years old. By the time I graduated high school at 17, I was in Freestyle 4, just starting all of the double jumps. But I started competative ice skating in the teen basic levels. I also had many years of ballet behind me, so that helped me out a lot.

Everyone progresses at different levels, so it's really hard to say just how long it will take you before you can compete, but they have children's beginner levels, teen beginner levels and adult beginner levels. You can probably begin competing at the basic levels in many ice skating arenas....it depends on their policies and age groups that are open with enough competitors in each catagory.

Once you start Intermediate levels, you might feel confident enough to try out a competition. As soon as I started into Intermediate 1, my parents bought me my very first pair of ice skates. During the beginner levels, I used the rental skates to see whether I would really stick with it.

When I was in my sophomore year of high school, I practiced early in the mornings and had to be at school by 8:30 am. The basic level classes were around 5 pm on Saturdays, I think, when the rink was closed to the public. After I got into the Freestyle 1 level is when I began taking early morning classes. Many days, after school was out, my mother would take me back to the rink to let me practice for an hour or two.

During my junior and senior years in high school, I was at the ice skating rink at 4:00 am, four days a week after I got past the Intermediate 2 level and I was skating competatively. I also practiced beginning at 6:00 am on Saturday mornings for class and practiced skating until 10 am or 12 pm. On Sundays, I would go in around 10 am and skate until around 3 pm. The people that took lessons could practice in the middle of the rink while other beginner level classes were going on.  I also took private lessons once or twice a week for five years because I wanted to skate competatively. I think I competatively skated in five competitions. Competative skating takes lots of endurance, grace, leg and muscle strength, so you should always start out warming up with various types of stretches before you ever step onto the ice.

You learn Basic 1 & 2, then Intermediate 1 & 2, then you go to Freestyle 1 and it goes all the way to Freestyle 10, if my

memory serves me correctly. Plus you do about an hour of practicing Figure 8's after you've passed Intermediate 1.

Freestyle 1 was when we started learning some of our simple

single jumps, spins and beginner foot work. Every level of Freestyle had more complicated jumps and spins. When I was in  Freestyle 4, I began learning some of my double jumps, single axels, layback spins, scratch spins, and some advanced footwork. Around Freestyle 5 or 6, you will have usually mastered almost all of your double jumps and you get into some of the really hard spins, fancy foot work and you should be pretty accomplished at retracing your Figure 8's.

If you practice two days weekly for about an hour, you may get

to Intermediate 2 by the end of your first year. It usually takes at least two hours of skating, four days per week to advance to the higher catagories, and you should plan on spending a minimum of two hours up to four hours per day practicing once you get into Freestyle skating. Classes are usually one hour long and we almost always practiced for at least 2 hours after every single class. It takes a lot of practicing and you fall a whole lot learning those beginning jumps and spins, so be sure to get yourself some knee pads. They help keep your knees from getting really badly bruised. And really serious Freestyle competative skaters also require custom made ice skates in a boot strong enough to support your weight when you land the jumps. As I said, once I was in the Intermediate level, I got my first pair of custom made ice skates from CA.

But about that time in my life, my parents separated right before I graduated high school at 17. By the time I turned 18,  an expensive divorce shot down my chances of continuing with classes and private lessons because my Dad stopped paying for all my lessons. Then I started college the next fall and he began paying for that. I still skated whenever I could manage the time, but when you are in college, you have to study a lot and it really cuts into your skating time. Needless to say, that's when I stopped skating competatively and only skated for enjoyment.

Best of luck to you!  I really think you will enjoy this a lot. I sure did and it is a wonderful way to relieve stress, too!

Answer 2

It probably all depends on how fast of a learner you are, though I think that learning something like that would take years. You shouldn't base a career off it just yet, if you aren't that good in it, but keep it as a hobby and eventually you might be good enough. Nonetheless, good luck.

Answer 3

Hi! I'm a figure skater and it seems like you're off to a good start.

Even though you're 18, if you're committed you'll get far.

Be sure to have a good coach, because it tends to speed up the learning process by a lot. It also helps that you have several moves down, but make sure you are not practicing your crossovers, mohawks, 3 turns, and etc. incorrectly. Also make sure to point your toes, have your check position held correctly, and you might want to try a simple waltz jump or your basic 2 foot spin.

By the time you're 22, you should be able to compete in competitions, and you probably will learn fast if you are willing to commit.

As a figure skater, you'll need to have good balance, strong leg muscles, endurance, and knowledge about the sport as well. You might also want to get your own equipment, which can cost a lot too.

Flexibility is also a big issue, but just stretching at home can help a lot!

Overall, I think you'll be able to make good progress and you definitely will compete by the time you're 22!

Good luck!

Answer 4

As others have already mentioned, everyone learns at a different pace - it all depends on you.  Get a bunch of people of the same age, size, schedule, etc to skate . . . and in a year, they will not all be at the very same point in skating.  Some whiz through the moves, others take more time.  And that's OK!

It's great will you be taking lessons . . . that's the first step in progressing faster.  You will also have a trained eye to make sure you are skating these moves correctly (that's the downside to teaching yourself - you can't "see" yourself skating).  

It's possible the first class(es) may seem easy to you because you already can do some of the moves . . . but do make sure you are doing everything correctly.  Go into the class as if you don't know these moves and listen to the instructor for any new piece of advice about it that you may not have come up with when you taught yourself (learn with an open mind!).  But if the moves are truly too easy . . . talk to the instructor and they may move you up to the next level (they did that for me!).  

Yes, you can compete - and for sure within the next 4 years.  Well before then, you would probably graduate to a private coach, which you may need to help you compete.  They have competitions for all ages and levels - even for beginners!  It's not just about doing programs with music . . . there are ones where you can just do "elements".  Though some prefer not to compete until they are of a certain level (like doing jumps or spins), I highly recommend gaining competition experience early on even without jumps/spins.  Get all the practice you can skating with "nerves"!!  Looking back, this is what I wish I had done.

I started in my mid 20's.  As we are not "kids", we can only commit so much time into skating because we have other commitments outside of the ice - that's just life.  But make the most out of your precious ice time - and you'll do just fine!  Long story, but I started competing at about 2-1/2 years - my bogus coach didn't want me to compete . . . I could have done it much earlier.  But, I did do Adult Nationals by year 3 with another coach - and have skated many competitions and shows after that!!!    

Best of luck - have a blast with your lessons!!

Answer 5

Everybody learns at a different pace, and it is very hard to say when you will learn which moves and how long it will take you. They hold competitions for the basics skills levels, and they also hold competitions for adult skaters (I believe you have to be 21 for the adult program though). Hope you have fun and good luck!