Ice skating lessons as adult

[Stealthynamechange]

Hi all
I was thinking of trying these as always wanted to skate. Does anyone have any experience of adult classes they can share with me?

I dream of doing this. Not brave enough though.

Go for it!!! Recommend private lessons and lots and lots of practice. Where are you based?

And buying your own skates!!!

Thanks @dorotheadiamond im in staffs moorlands, looking at uttoxeter rink.

Not a rink I know, sorry! Looking at their website they seem to do small group lessons if you don't want to go straight to a private lesson.

Otherwise I'd probably suggest go an watch the group classes if you can and see which coach appeals to you then go and have a chat and book a trial lesson.

And buy your own skates. You REALLY won't learn in hire skates!

Thanks @dorotheadiamond really good tips, I'm going to see if I can get a trial lesson. Can I ask why you recomend getting my own skates?

Because hire skates are usually knackered with blades as sharp as a banana! You don’t need to spend too much - you should be able to get a perfectly good starter pair for £50 or so - it will be worth it! Try these guys - they are really helpful

www.everglides.co.uk/page-99.html

@dorotheadiamond good point thank you! I will take a look :-)

Take one or two trial lessons, if you enjoy it then look at getting your own skates (I also firmly believe that hire skates can be rubbish)

I have a trial lesson booked for next week - very exciting!

Fantastic - enjoy!

Other advice…thick socks DO NOT stop blisters!!! Although you might want them if you have hire skates try to make sure they are as smooth as possible! And thick but not oversized/baggy - it’s extra fabric that rubs.

Wear gloves as you will be putting your hands on the ice (you need to learn how to get up even if you get down intentionally) - waterproof is best.

On a similar subject leggings much better than jeans when wet.

I did it for about a year before I conceived my DS! Was AMAZING!

I had just started weekly lessons before Covid. It was harder than I expected, and I fell over A LOT! I found I was really hurting myself and carrying injuries well into the following days... maybe I'm just too old (39!).

Thank you all so much for the tips & support
@dorotheadiamond i hadn't thought about gloves! Will get on that!

@firstbornunicorn thats really great to hear :-)

@NotPennysBoat I'm 40 so I hope not too old! Good to know to expect it to hurt! What were the classes like? Im not really sure what to expect.

So if you were doing absolute beginner classes the first level is walking (think Charlie Chaplin/penguin) across the rink, getting down on the i e so that you can learn to stand up, small 2 footed glide, crouch down.

www.iceskating.org.uk/learn-to-skate

If you’re doing a private lesson you’ll go faster and in a different order but it will be quite similar.

When you are walking on the ice really try to turn your toes out as that’s what leads to the glide…if you try to walk like you do normally you don’t learn. Do you ski at all?

I have done this as an adult. Just over a decade ago and it was great fun.

They split the group into two categories, one, never skated before or a side clinger or two can "skate" which meant you could move on the ice and do a lap.

They taught us how to move on the ice, how to stop. I will admit at times it was terrifying, the whole backwards skating bit and a little jump but that was near the end of the course. Totally agree with try the hire skates whilst you do your first 2 lessons then invest in a pair of your own skates if you like it as the hire skates are completely rubbish. Enjoy!

Hope you enjoy it, it is such fun! I took lessons with my DH for about 2 years before I had my DD, haven’t yet managed to get back to it as the early morning starts were too tricky with a baby in tow, but looking forward to it when the kids are a bit bigger.

We started off in mixed age groups with adults and children, and then progressed on to having additional private lessons as well. Definitely get your own skates, the blue boots of doom from the rink are a very mixed bag and make it much harder. Thin gloves are a good idea too, and leggings or something you can easily move in and will dry off quickly if/when you fall over.

To start with they will get you comfortable moving (in all directions) and stopping on the ice safely. After that, you’ll learn different ways to move faster (which you need to do for lots of other skills), to turn, to use one foot and skate using the different edges of a blade. Skate UK has a series of levels you can work through (like swimming badges). I had just started giving ice dance a try when I stopped lessons, which was really fun alongside things like jumps.

Thank you all so much, I'm really looking forward to this now!!

Blue boots of doom made me laugh 🤣 if i enjoy it this week i'll get my own ⛸❄⛸

Hi everyone
I just wanted to update - the class was great fun, lovely small friendly ice rink. I'm definitely going to continue :-) thanks for all the tips & encouragement!