How to become a competitive FIGURE SKATER with ZERO experience | ULTIMATE BEGINNERS GUIDE ⛸️
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- Ever had a dream of becoming a figure skating? Well today is the day YOU, yes you reading this right now, will turn this dream into a reality.
Because today I’m providing you with the ULTIMATE guide on how to become a competitive figure skater with 0 experience at all. Why say "one day" when you can make today "day 1"?
NEW VIDEOS EVERY SATURDAY @9:30 ET - excited to ramp-up soon to be “in-season” so stay tuned for A LOT more skating content to come as we ramp up in the coming weeks and months!
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Day 1 Beginner Skater Guide:
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Beginner- Intermediate Skater ULTIMATE GUIDE:
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Jackson Ultima Mystique + Mark II Blades
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✩ L I L B I T A B O U T M E ✩
Based currently in NYC | 25
Figure Skater by Early Morning, Consultant by Day, Content Creator by Night
Just another gal in nyc trying to navigate the madness of being 20 something
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Thank you I’m 17 and starting I used to do gymnastics and dance but wanted to try something new :)
Amazing! You should definitely give skating a go! Having a background in dance and gymnastics will definitely be a huge win!
Same but I still do gymnastics and dance I’m 12
I just signed up for adult high beginner at the orlando competition. Nervous because 8 months ago I couldn’t skate backwards, but both of my coaches think I can do it.
Crazy to think in 8 months I have my salchow, loop, toe loop and waltz down. My spins need work but I have 4 months to practice those.
Oh, and I’m a 30 year old male. So never too old.
Also, I can agree with the super expensive boots. I went from jackson freestyles to john wilson gold seal blades/jackson boots.
Talk about a massive upgrade, have a friend who was a pro skater(disney on ice, cruise shows and went to the national stage) and it’s his last pair of skates. I couldn’t go back but It’s different and i’m having to relearn alot.
Seeing you learn from scratch and get a gold medal in an advanced level after 5 years of training is amazing! Yeah, all the terms and tracks definitely confused me when I first learned about them in college, but I didn’t know there was a separate track for 50+. It’s been a year now since I’ve come back to skating after 4 years and I’ve already passed up to ISI Beta and have only one element left to go before I can pass ISI Gamma. I can’t wait to get to Freestyle 1 next year. Over the weekend, I competed in my first figure skating competition in 5 years and won 1st place in my solo event!
thank you so much for your videos! I’m 28 and started LTS 1 last month and have already advanced the LTS 4! It’s the favorite part of my day and I’ve fallen in love with it and wouldn’t have ever tired it without you’re encouragement! I’ve been thinking about trying to compete but on the fence and I think I may try to start training and go for it!!!❤🎉
So glad to hear about your journey! 100% if you want to compete you should! It's challenging but really rewarding. It is totally up to you and whatever you feel like is best for your journey!
I am from Central Asia and had no ice-rink where I resided. Now I live in Japan and started ice skating 3 years ago and only practice it in winters at the seasonal ice rink. This month I have bought my first ice skates. Yesterday was my first time I tried them on, and you are absolutely right. So much better than rental ones. I feel more control over my moves. I want to take my skills to figure skating. I started following you both on Instagram and TH-cam, looking forward to being inspired by you, Cathy.
The first time I got on the ice was in August at age 29 in an LTS group lesson and I literally could not stay upright for more than three steps. I went home and cried. A month and a half into lessons I slipped off my heel during a slalom and broke my wrist, had to stay off the ice for longer than I'd been skating, and felt like I lost all my progress.
Anyway now I'm working on one foot glides and stroking on a circle. I'm finally going fast enough that stopping is even a thing I need to know how to do. Also I wear wrist guards that make me feel like a power ranger. :)
That's amazing! So glad you hear that you are feeling better and back on track! Best of luck on your journey and keep us updated!
ahhh thank you!! i'm sixteen and i've always been intrested in figure skating!! i keep looking at my local skating school but i keep getting intimidated by girls my age doing axels and really complicated stuff :/ being able to hear that you started and competed in college gives me a ton of hope as to skating in college :)
I just wanna say how much I love your community and positivity it really keeps me motivated
Daw thank you for the kind note! I'm so glad our community here has been helpful and keep going! You got this!
hello there :) Brazilian 23 y/o girl speaking from Sweden, I have been binge watching your videos this whole week, since I was 11 years old I have been wanting to do ice skating classes, never had the chance because where I come from its not easily available at all. now that I am independent and will make my own money, I moved to Sweden and I am checking for classes in the city, I am really excited and really happy that finally there are so many figure skater youtubers now, if you have been on youtube looking for figure skating as long as I have (since 2013/14) you know we could find NOTHING but olympic cuts. thanks for being so transparent and clear about everything and you made me so excited to start my journey!
Anything is possible if you train hard for five years. That's why I'm a professional sleeper.
Thank you for this! I’m 35, with arthritis and asthma, but I’m hoping to start ice skating to get my body in shape and get healthy.
*equipment*
1. get real beginner skates - rental skates aren't made for long-term practicing and blades are often dull
2. do not buy advanced skates immediately - more expensive does not = better
3. consider getting crash pads or knee pads - if you have weak joints its no problem
*coaching and lessons*
1. try skating for yourself before your first lesson - work independently to make skating with your coach more productive
2. invest in private lessons - group lessons may not provide the same return on your investment
3. find a coach for YOU - your coach should value your goals as importantly as you do!!
a. know your learning style
b. frequency of lessons is advised 1x a week as a beginner and perhaps a team of coaches as you progress
c. fancy titles and accolades DOES NOT equal to a good coach... make friends at the rink for recommendations
*building mind body awareness*
1. film yourself when you practice - not recognizing mistakes leads to bad habits
*focus on fundamentals*
1. LASER focus on your skating skills in the first year of training... perfect your crossovers instead of learning jumps
a. learn things right the first time (this is really important, when it comes to choreography mistakes will show)
*testing*
1. in the U.S., you must take pass the skating skills test first then pass its free skate equivalent in order to compete
a. memberships... must be a USFA member part of a USFA recognized club to compete or individual member
*how to put together a program (choreographed routine to music)*
1. what is required? what will put you in the best position when you compete?
a. as you get more advanced, it is highly recommended to work with a choreographer
*registering and finding competitions*
1. look for smaller, local competitions starting out (even local exhibitions/shows are good practice)
*scoring criteria*
1. depending on the event and competition you sing up for, you may have to skate IJS (International Judging System) or 6.0
a. IJS is more objective... Total Technical Element Score (TES) = Base Value + Grade of Execution (GOE)
Total Score = TES + Component Score
b. 6.0 is more subjective, comparing you to competitors
*practice* you have to be committed to practice if you want to do this competitively, more than 1x/week
1. practice how you want to compete - hard work > skill and commitment earns you respect
2. practice frequency → she did 6x/week as a beginner now 4-5x/week for recovery and off ice conditioning
*off ice training*
1. strength - skating skills require an immense amount of strength that MUST be trained for off ice
2. cardio - figure skating is CRAZY cardio and training your heart is necessary
3. flexibility - insanely important to avoid injury
4. mental training - important to train your mind to operate at a high level
5. lifestyle - habits... sleep and diet is so important like macro-nutrients and protein for high performance
*finances*
1. budgeting video on her channel! it can be expensive
*tip*
- ask: why do I want to do this? is this something I am truly doing for myself? you have to truly enjoy it. understand the commitment and sacrifices that involves e.g., social or financial
- never be discouraged to not start
tysm for the vid! im 20 and just started skating 5 months ago, im now in ISI delta level about to take the exam next week & hopefully get into freestyle.
but seeing ur video i will def practice my basics alot even once in freestyle, and im thinking of taking a yoga/pilates class for strength & flexibility. wish i could take ballet but the adult classes are all adult women here and i dont wanna inconvenience them as a young adult male 😬
just subscribed and will def binge watch ur vids now! skating brought me out of a dark place at 20 yo too and im so excited to see my progress from here 👐
That's awesome! So happy and glad to hear that you've started your skating journey! 100% recommend pilates, yoga and focuses on basics. And I wouldn't let that hold you back from going to ballet! Trust me I've also attended classes where there's only 1 or few men but I never saw it as an inconvenience! As long as you are there for the right reasons, nobody is going to judge you (:
This was pretty helpful! I'm a freshman in college and I'm beginning to work my way towards being an excellent competitive figure skater by the end of undergraduate school. It is nice knowing that someone with a similar background (immigrant family / working ton of jobs) can achieve these goals :)
Thank you so much I'm 17 and I have a foot disability that I've let keep me down for my whole life but I'm starting skating next month to improve my physical condition. once again thank you.
Thank you so much for this 💗💕🎀🫶🏻
Please do some tips for motion sickness or someone who gets really dizzy while doing it 🫨🙏🏻
Just fyi, concerto in music is pronounced "con-cherr-toe" (cherr as in cherry, but without the y).
Do you have any reccomendations for off ice physical training like gym routines i could do on my own?
can a 17 year old with no skating experience prior learn and try to make it competitively? ive recently been really inspired by a show i watched (yuri on ice 😭) and i really want to try and learn how to skate and take it seriously, i see 15 year olds winning medals and i dont know if its to late for me, please help!
Honestly you should probably go intermediate as soon as you're ready to learn any jumps at all... learning side toe hops and bunny hops was the death of my Jackson Elles.
I am so sad, in my country there are like no private coaches, only group lessons and they are always full at the start of the season. They said i have to be a minimum of 3 years on the waitlist.....😢
I'm 16 and honestly I would really love to ice skate but my body is a bit too stiff (it's always been) and almost a month ago when I went to the ice rink with my friend I fell down and broke my arm (the bone was/still is??? broken, but like in the inside of it, basically the surface isn't damaged but there's breakage inside) I mean it's been years since I've last skated but still, it made me feel a bit down. Also I don't really think that there are many ice rinks opened whole year 'round in my country nor the city I live near, at least I haven't heard of them
This is a good overview for beginners, although just on the skates thing I wouldn't recommend mystiques to adult beginners - they're too soft. And concerto is very much an advanced boot (for triples and quads) not intermediate - chorus is a good intermediate boot if your foot fits edea! Anyone who is considering starting skating, please please go and get fitted professionally for skates (even as a beginner) and take lessons rather than teaching yourself! Another random thing I've learned since moving to the US is how the standard of judging for virtual tests differs in different regions. Some of the ones I've seen people post on TH-cam would never pass on the West Coast! They're also just as strict on adults as standard track. Anyway, just something to be aware of depending on where you live :)
Do agree on that point! The standards across the US may vary depending on what club you test with!
hi people watching this video or Cathy i have a problem and i hope you can help 🤞
Today i had my first private lesson and my coach is some russian guy who cant speak english properly but hes really sweet and i really wanna do competition ( i am just starting level 3 uk ) I didnt really talk much but i feel like in future i wil have a hard time communicating? idk if im like just overthinking it so im gonna take a few more lessons I have another coach in mind just in case it doesnt work out but if i have to switch coaches and he will just see me around the rink like his ex student with his co worker would he feel sad?? 😭😭 IDK IF IM OVERTHINKING IT BUT LIKE I THINK IT WILL WORK OUT BUT LIKE BRO IDK SOMEONE HELP IM GENUINELY GOING INSANE
edit: I really want to do competitive figure skating ( literally the only reason i started skating ) but like idk how to talk to him and tell him but like i mean its only my first lesson so ill probably take a couple more and see
update for anyone interested: i asked one of my teachers about the switching coaches thing and she said i should stay and see becaus ei might get used to his accent and understand what hes saying like how parents understand their little kids accent but not like other little kids yk? and im gonna send him a message about competitive figure skting so wish me luck 🤞🙏
Ballet training has a mirror but it is impossible to learn ballet without a teacher. Also ballet is an art, not a sport. It is truly athletic but that doesn't make it a sport.