Ice Skating Gear For A 13 Year Old

Question

I wanted to start up ice skating this year and I need to know how much everything would be.

Workout gear, Ice skates, Make up, Dresses.

And I would really like to know some URLS so I can check some out.

I'm about a 10-12 girls maybe a 14, with a 7-7.5 shoe size (woman's.)

I would love to know how much everything would be (average)

And how much lessons would be?

I would really appreciate people with experience!

And maybe some extra detail?

thanks!

-M.B.

Answer 1

Prices really depend on your skating level and where you want to go with the sport.  Some coaches may require practice dresses, while others may not.  You can just wear shorts and a tight fitted shirt and a zip-up jacket.  Make-up depends on quality.  You can get $1 pieces at Target (ELF) or head to a make-up store like Merle Norman and pay lots more.  It really doesn't make too much of a deal.  Dresses are expensive.  They can be at least $100 each.  What you can also do is go to a dance store and get a skirted leotard, which is the same thing as a skating dress basically.  Skates can be as little as $150 or they can be several hundred dollars.  Beginners do not need to purchase expensive boots or high level blades, in fact, they should not do so for their safety.  Expensive boots usually indicate stiffness in the ankle which is unnessessary until you reach higher levels.  You will also need to purchase soakers (soft blade covers) and hard guards, which are both under $10.  There are 2 ways to take lessons.  You can do a Learn-to-Skate program that teaches basic skills like stroking, crossovers, stopping, etc., and once you reach freestyle levels (only lower levels, I'd say only freestyle 1 and 2, should do learn to skate, as higher levels need more space), basic 1/2 jumps.  At my home rink, it costs $80 for an 8-week session of 30 minutes of ice time per week.  If you want a private coach, rates will vary.  My coach charges $15 per 1/2 hour lesson.  I hope this helps and good luck with skating!  

Answer 2

Skating can get VERY expensive, but there are ways to be smart about it and keep costs reasonable.

The most important thing, next to coaching/lessons, would obviously be your skates.  Since you intend to take lessons, Riedells are a great skate to start with.  The more beginner-type skates coming in boot/blade sets (for advanced skates, boots and blades are purchased seperately) and they're very popular.  Maybe start with a Riedell blue ribbon or one of their mid-level medallion skates.  You can check them out at riedellskates.com where they have a usage chart, which is great for figuring out where you fit in with their wide range of boots.  Blue ribbons are about $130.00 and go up from there.  Be sure to go to a skate shop and get professionally fitted to ensure you order the right size/width and brand/model.  Skates are not sized true to shoe sizes and each brand runs differently.  Check with skate shops for used skates.  If your feet are still growing, it may be a better deal to buy gently used boots/blades.  Many times skaters get new skates and hit a growth spurt, quickly outgrowing them.  Also check at the rink to see if anyone's selling skates in your size.  Make their loss your gain!  :)

If you get new skates -- make sure to have the blades shapened prior to use.  New blades do not come pre-sharpened and only trust your blades to an experienced sharpener....usually the skate shop you bought your skates from.  Sharpening can be very cheap on up to around $30.  Your blades should be sharpened around every 20 hours you spend on the ice.

Clothing, makeup and dresses depend on how much you want to spend.  To keep cost down, you can wear a lot of the clothes you already own for practice and skip buying expensive practice dresses.  Many many skaters, from my area anyway, have gotten away from wearing practice dresses anyway.  We all just wear sweats, yoga pants, leggings and even shorts (with tights) with t-shirts, sweat shirts and fleeces.  But if you really want the practice dresses, they cost typically anywhere from $50 on up.  Once you get into testing, you may want a plain, solid-colored dress as for testing, skaters were much less flashy dresses.  Competition dresses can be as expensive as you want them to be.  Sometimes you can get used ones for pretty cheap, but custom dresses can cost into the thousands.  My secret recently has been eBay.  I used to have all my dresses custom made, costing a minimum of $150 for a simple dress.  Since the lady who made my dresses lives in another state, it was kind of hard to get together with her, and when I needed dresses quickly (spur of the moment performances) eBay was there in a snap!  There are TONS of great, well-made dresses there of every color and design you can think of.  Some used, most new.  If you know your measurements, a lot of the sellers will make the dress to fit you for $130.00.  Not too bad!  

You do need a few pairs of good tights because thick socks cause blisters in skates.  Skaters typically wear a good pair of tights and a thicker pair over them, usually referred to as Mondors, which is the brand name.  A great site to check out, or stores if there are any in your area, is rainbosports.com.  Also don't forget to get yourself a million pairs of those little stretchy gloves....which towards the end of winter, you can find them at Target, 2 for $1.99.

Besides all that fun stuff, you'll need a bag to carry all of your skating loot in....skates, towel to wipe off your blades, gloves, water bottle, CD's for your programs, books/notebooks/rulebooks, guards and any other extras you might need.  Any bag works just fine and there are plenty of skating bags out there (see rainbosports.com) to fit everyone's fancy.  

A special note about guards.....you'll need a pair of soakers and a pair of guards.  Soakers are usually terry cloth soft "covers" you put on over your blades when you are storing your skates in your bag to keep them from scratching the other and everything else in your bag.  You also need a pair of hard plastic guards that you only wear when you have your skates on and you're walking off-ice.  After you're done skating for the day, wipe your skates down and take off any excess moisture.  Put your soakers on and when you get home, take your skates out of your bag, take the soakers off and let the skates dry out.  This prevents stinky skates and mosture buildup within them.  Do not leave your plastic guards on your blades for an extended period of time!  This will cause your blades to rust, which may or may not be repairable by sharpening.....and rusty blades are VERY hard to skate on.

Makeup is also up to you.  I don't really know of anyone who purchased makeup just for skating.  Most of us just wear what we wear on a daily basis, that compliments us best, but just a little more of it so you don't appear "washed out" on the ice.  Even if you watch high level skaters on TV, they don't wear an excessive amount.  The brands you find at your local drugstore work just fine!

Cost for lessons also depends on to what extent you want to go....how many lessons a week you want, how long you schedule your lesson to be.  I'd recommend contacting your local rink and checking into their group lesson program.  If you're in the US, check out this link:

http://www.usfigureskating.org/Programs....

Group lessons are a great way to get started learning your basics and setting your "building blocks" for advancing.  The lessons are well-structured to prepare skaters for all ice sports (speed, figure, hockey) and even offer classes that advance beyond into the specific sports.  The lessons are typically less expensive than private lessons, but are a good stepping stone to get into individual lessons.  Not only do you learn skills in the lessons, but you meet other skaters just like you, make new friends, get involved in your local skating club and get to "test drive" a lot of the instructors that frequent your rink, who you may want to approach later for private lessons.  Also, because I started around your age in the USFSA (usfsa.org) Learn To Skate program, I didn't want to skate with the little kids who were also just starting.  I ended up skating with the adult class, who was learning the same skills and felt that I fit in a little better in that class than I did with the 7-year-olds.  Ask if they have an adult class or an older class that you can skate with if you feel more comfortable.  The price for lessons varies by area and so does the time of the lessons.  For example, in the program I teach, our lessons are in 7-week sessions on Saturdays for 45 minutes.  Lessons are $105 for the 7-week series.

After you've got some good basics under your belt, ask around at your rink for who people recommend as a private coach.  You may have already met some coaches you liked through group lessons, but it never hurts to do some research.  Ask parents and other skaters who they skate with and how they feel about their coach.  Watch the coaches with their skaters and identify which ones have the "better" skaters.  You'll find that while they all may have skaters they coach, just like anything else, some are better than others.  Even if you're taking private lessons, the group lessons are still a great way to supplement them and get more ice time in.  The cost for private lessons also varies by the coach and the coach's experience level.  Private lessons can be anywhere from about $15 a half hour on up.

Ice fees also very by rink.  Public skating sessions are typically cheaper than private freestyles or club ice, but not all rinks allow jumping and spinning on public sessions.  Ice can be anywhere from $3.00 on up to around $15.00 for an hour.

Once you decide you want to take tests to advance in levels, there are also testing fees (varies by club) and you usually have to be a member of a skating club to test.  Membership fees, like everything else, vary by club.  For example, it's $100/year to be an active member of my skating club.

That's all just the tip of the iceburg, but it all adds up quickly.  I did not include compeition fees, transportation, music cutting fees, off-ice training and all those details, but I think you get the picture.  After years of doing it, I think it was all worth it.  :)

Good luck and have fun!

Answer 3

Workout gear - pants-  http://www.gk-elitesportswear.com/CGI-BI...

shirt - whatever

jacket - anything that isn't too heavy but keep you warm

Ice skates - Riedells Yellow-Blue ribbon www.skatebuys.com

Make up - Skaters usually wear darker make up on ice.

Dresses - sites I would recommend = www.skatebuys.com , www.gk-elitesportswear.com , www.skate-mart.com , www.delarbour.com

Lessons - Are usually 20-40 dollars per 30 minutes.