What Do Figure Skaters Want for Christmas/Holiday Gifts?

From reader J:

I was wondering if you’re going to do another post of Christmas presents for figure skaters. I’m only a beginner skater working on crossovers and two-foot spins, so I was wondering if you could also include a guide to what levels of skaters certain things are suitable for. Because sometimes it seems like a lot of the training tools are more for advanced skaters working on Axels/doubles like Ice Girl.

Hi, reader J.

You know, the training tools that Ice Girl has aren’t just for advanced skaters. Many are items that I bought when she was just starting out.

Spinner or spin trainer. This thing is a load of fun. I’ve taken it a couple times to our club’s figure skating booth and let the general public take a spin on it. Buy the kind with grippy material on both sides of the spinner, so you can use it on hardwood or tile floors. It’s an item I bought for Ice Girl when she was still in Basic Skills group lessons and it helped her get used to the feel of spinning and not be so dizzy. She also used it when she went off to figure skating camp, so it’s a tool that figure skating coaches might use in off-ice training, too. You can read my spin trainer review on the old Ice Mom blog.

Maxiflex. This torture device is really good for increasing a figure skater’s flexiblity. Flexibility is important and the sooner a figure skater starts working on it, the better. You certainly don’t want to wait until you’re a higher level skater to make your spiral better or do some sort of leg-lift spinney thing. You can read my Maxiflex post on the old Ice Mom blog.

Ankle buzzer. Ice Girl bought a pair of these for $65 over the summer. That’s kind of pricey for the item you get, but the concept is a good one: the ankle buzzer (really a squeaker) makes a sound when the skater has her feet crossed during a jump. It’s a really useful tool because it gives a figure skater instant feedback, even when the coach isn’t around to tell her that her feet need to cross. Ice Girl likes it, but doesn’t use it often.

Champion cords. These are worth the price you pay for them. They’ll set you back $21 each or $42 for a pair. Both Ice Coach and I have written about Shelia Thelen’s cords and I know that Ice Coach likes them a lot for both beginner and advanced skaters. Here are our Champion Cord posts:

Ask the Expert: Champion Cords Inventor Sheila Thelen

Champion Cords for Figure Skaters

Using Champion Cords with Spins and Jumps

My caution about the cords: they’re easy to lose. To put a skater’s name or initials on the cords, a coach at our club attaches some fabric medical tape to one end of the cords and leaves a small amount sticking out, like a little flag. She writes her skaters’ names or initials on the flag so finders can return lost cords to their owners.

Bosu ball. The bosu ball isn’t really a ball; it’s a half circle. It’s not really made for figure skating, but Ice Girl and Ice Coach use it to reinforce skating skills. As you know, I’m just a mom, not a coach or skater, so I’m not an expert in how they use this tool to help Ice Girl, but I have seen them use it for off-ice jumps (ball part up) and balancing exercises (flat side up). I’ve also seen Ice Girl do some challenging sit ups on the round side, too. Ice Girl’s bosu ball set me back $100 last year, but it doesn’t wear out and it’s mighty fun to use. Ice Girl also has a balance board and a wobble board that she uses for off-ice training.

Chloe Noel-type figure skating pants. Ice Girl loves these pants and I’ll probably buy another pair for her for Christmas. The pants fit well and look cool (the pants leg falls below the ankle and gives the skater a longer leg line). Ice Girl likes that they’re not as tight as UnderArmour pants. She can put her Chloe Noel pants on, slip on flip-flops, ride to the rink, and put on her socks in the rink lobby. With her other athletic tights/pants, she has to put on socks first and then put on the pants. It sounds like a pretty trivial thing, but it’s tough to wear socks and flip-flops, so it’s a big deal to Ice Girl. I’m not as fond of the matching Chloe Noel jackets. They’re not very warm and Ice Girl never wears hers.

MDS Rhinestone zipper Polartec fleece skating jacket. I can’t sew this jacket with the rhinestone zipper for $35, but that’s what TideWaterIce.com sells it for. These run small, but they’re great for competitions. In fact, one of these will be under our tree at Christmas.

Nothing skating-related. That’s my directive from Ice Girl for the holiday. She doesn’t want her whole life to revolve around figure skating. That’s healthy. She will receive the Chloe Noel pants, the rhinestone zipper jacket, new warm-up pants from our figure skating club, and plaid pajama pants that read skater on one leg.

To see all three holiday polls, visit the holiday polls page.

What will you be giving your figure skater for the holidays? Figure skaters, what’s the best skating-related gift you’ve received? What do you hope you’ll find under your tree? Please share in the comments.

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Thank you, reader J, for your excellent question! I encourage readers to send in questions to me. The ginormous questions I’ll forward on to the Advisory Board. I just received one that will run on December 3, but I have tons of Fridays in December yet to fill with your questions and the Advisory Board’s answers. Don’t be shy. Drop me a line: IceMom.Diane@gmail.com

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Tomorrow’s topic: gifts for figure skating coaches

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Photo credits:
Christmas from the present’s perspective: kevindooley / Kevin Dooley on Flickr.com Creative Commons
Math lesson: goldberg / joe goldberg on Flickr.com Creative Commons
Presents!: Tuftronic10000 / Richard Child on Flickr.com Creative Commons
Holiday displays [menorah]: CCAC North Library on Flickr.com Creative Commons
Christmas present from my mom: karen H. nickname.{ pooh} on Flickr.com Creative Commons
Holiday displays [dreidel]: CCAC North Library on Flickr.com Creative Commons