What skating equipment is required for young people

[SeimeiOrigin]

Hi all.

After my talk about Yuzu My niece and nephew want to try figure skating but my brother is clueless about what is involved. Could you please help?

Bro wants to know what the costs would be for a 7 yo boy and girl and he has two delicate questions to ask:

 

First I imagine that beginners would really only need skates, ice time and maybe a coach....am I missing anything?  

 

As to the delicate questions:

 

Does figure skating require the boy to wear male athletic support? If so, where does one get that piece of equipment? I would imagine it would not be an issue at 7 years but later if he is good enough to jump then perhaps nephew may need support then? How do we find out what is required?

 

Also, neice is concerned with showing off a certain lady part area that she has been told should not be shown off. What can be done about improving one's confidence in that space? And, in this day and age is there a way to skate without having to do this? (I feel like this might be a barrier to trying the sport if not handled correctly)

 

Any help would be appreciated. 

Thanks

 

[SitTwizzle]

1 hour ago, SeimeiOrigin said:

Hi all.

(...)

 

Also, neice is concerned with showing off a certain lady part area that she has been told should not be shown off. What can be done about improving one's confidence in that space? And, in this day and age is there a way to skate without having to do this? (I feel like this might be a barrier to trying the sport if not handled correctly)

 

(...)

 

First of all, modesty is something quite individual (and age-related too, sometime a person doesn't want such part of his/her body to be seen during some time then it passes) and should never be forced.

Then, there is also an argument, and against this argument is the fact that in figure skating (honestly, personally I don't know how gymnasts, either artistic or rhythmic, can manage it) thights are very thick and opaque, to the point that one can't see the plasters under them unless they are quite thick themselves (then the colour is invisible). And dresses usually cover much more than it seems at first sight.

(And I believe it is from this same idea of modesty that Men are not supposed to skate in thights, as we could see with PPOS which were not thights but not far from it.)

 

EDIT : fixing typos.

[SeimeiOrigin]

30 minutes ago, SitTwizzle said:

 Men are not supposed to skate in thighs, as we could see with PPOS which were not thighs but not far from it.)

What is a "thigh" in this context? Is that like a stocking or pantyhose or a tights?

[SitTwizzle]

8 minutes ago, SeimeiOrigin said:

What is a "thigh" in this context? Is that like a stocking or pantyhose or a tights?

Sorry it was thights! I often mix the two words. 

I will fix it in the message.

[rockstaryuzu]

On 4/22/2021 at 5:25 AM, SeimeiOrigin said:

First I imagine that beginners would really only need skates, ice time and maybe a coach....am I missing anything?  

helmet. I don't know what the requirements will be at your local ice rink, but here in Canada, helmets are now required during child figure skating lessons to protect against concussion should the child take a fall. 

 

No idea about whether boys need special support when starting out. I would think not. 

 

As for the little girl, in my experience most figure skating clubs have some kind of recommended dress code, but take a look at the practice videos of Ladies' singles. Lots of them wearing dark leggings, or lightweight shorts over their tights, so it shouldn't be an issue for your niece to be more covered up. Beginner skaters will rarely be in the kinds of positions that challenge modesty anyways.