Skate Sharpening Tips & Care of Skates

Skate Fitting

• Proper fitting skates will ensure your child has the best chance for success. Skates should provide firm ankle support.
• Skates should be snug fitting and worn with tight, thin socks or tights. Heavy wool socks are not recommended.
• Checking the fit:
  • Tie skates snugly. Stand with the weight over both skates, bend the knees but do not lift the heels.
  • The space at the back of the heel should be no more than a pencil or finger width.
  • There should be no creases in the boot.

Care of Skates

• Dry blades with a soft cloth immediately after use.
• Do not store skates in hard plastic skate guards. Blades should either be uncovered, or covered with a soft fabric skate blade cover.
• ALWAYS wear skate guards (the hard plastic type) when not on an ice surface or the special rubber floor within the arena. 

Skate Sharpening

• Skates should be sharpened when purchased and after approximately every 10 hours of skating. Sharpen skates more often if they have been used on outdoor ice.
• Take care to ensure the bottom toe pick is NOT removed by the sharpener. It is part of the design of figure skates and it is used for performance of some skills and is essential to proper balance.
• Figure skates should be sharpened by shops that are specifically trained to sharpen figure skates. The shape of a figure skate blade is vastly different to a hockey skate blade. This is especially important as the skater advances through our programs. 
• We recommend getting figure skates sharpened at Professional Skate on 42 Avenue SE or The Skate Lab on MacLeod Trail.