What You Need...
Skates
Skates are the most important and expensive piece of equipment you will buy, so making the right choice is very important.
For a skater starting out, skates and blades can be purchased as a unit in a department or sporting goods store. When purchasing skates, look for firm ankle supports and boots made of leather. Molded skates should be avoided as they are not flexible in the cold, giving the skater less control. This might lead to injury during a fall.
Once a skater moves beyond CanSkate, a higher quality of boot and blade are needed in order to handle the more technical aspects of the sport. Your coach can provide advice as to the make of skate and blade, price ranges and shops where figure skates are available.
Sharpening
Skates should be sharpened when purchased. A reputable skate sharpener is recommended as blades can be expensive to replace. Some department or sporting store sharpeners may ask if you wish to remove the toe pick. DO NOT REMOVE THIS TOE PICK! It is an important design of figure skate blades used to perform some skills and essential for proper balance.
Skates should be sharpened after 20-30 hours of skating. Your coach may suggest names of reputable sharpeners in your area.
Care of Boots and Blades
Skate guards should be worn when on any surface other than the ice. Dry your blades and sole plates with a cloth or chamois after use. Remove guards for storage between skating sessions. Air out boots and air dry blades when arriving home. When dried, place soft blade covers over the blades before placing your skates in your skate bag.
Clothing
Clothing should provide warmth and allow movement. Layering is a good idea. Jeans are not recommended. Nor are pants that fall below the level of the boot heel or have wide bell bottoms as skaters may catch their blades/toe picks in these types of pants thus resulting in a fall. Little girls in CanSkate may love to wear skating dresses but these may not be practical. If there is no getting around it, wear two layers of tights, wear a turtleneck underneath and a sweater over top. For all levels, warm mittens or gloves are necessary.
Helmets
These are mandatory for CanSkaters up to Stage 4. If you are unsure if your child should wear a helmet, please talk to your coach.
Skating Season
Skating is not just a winter sport. It is divided into four seasons: Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer. The Shallow Lake Skating Club offers a Winter School that begins in October and runs through March. Skaters interested in a Fall or Spring School must register with the OSSC (Owen Sound Skating Club) for their 4 week schools. These schools are extra and are not mandatory. Please speak to your coach for more information.
Fees
As your membership includes all sessions it is recommended all skaters participate in all sessions. Stroking/Skating Technique sessions are included in your membership and are taught by our club coach.
Like any other sport or activity there are always extra costs involved. When you register with the SLSC, your fee includes ice time and coaching fees. There are extra fees for competitions, StarSkate tests, and any lessons had outside of club time.
All accounts must be paid in full prior to attending any test day or competition. If these fees are not paid, the coach/executive has the right to refuse the skater from trying a test or competing until these fees are paid.
Guest Skating
Refers to skating in a session on a day that a skater is not registered on. If a skater wishes to Guest Skate they must contact the Registrar in advance and receive approval. If it is not possible to arrange a Guest Skating session in advance, a skater may try to make arrangements with Kris Dawson on the day that they wish to skate.
There is a fee to guest skate. The fee is $10.00/session skated. All guest skaters must be registered with Skate Canada. Guest skating fees must be paid in full prior to stepping onto the ice.
Missed skating days due to illness or other personal reasons can only be made up by arranging a guest skating time with the Registrar. Guest skating fees will apply.
Changes to the Regular Schedule and Ice Cancellations
Cancellations to regular ice times will be posted on the Club Calendar, bulletin board and on this website. Every effort will be made to give parents enough notice of these cancellations.
In cases of inclement weather, tune into a local radio station and listen for a notice of cancellation. If the ice is cancelled, the President will inform the radio stations and also attempt to inform other Board Members.
If cancelled ice times are to be made up, the make up times will be posted on the club bulletin board and on this website on the Coming Events Page. It is possible that cancelled sessions will not have make up times
Competitions
Recreational competitions are a fun aspect of the CanSkate and StarSkate programs. Our area Fun Competition, Ice Dreams, is open to all levels and is also a great introduction for those who may be interested in entering the Competitive Stream. Numerous other competitive opportunities exist. There are costs associated with competitions. Make sure you are aware of these costs prior to signing up. Speak with your coach if you are interested in competitions.
Test Days
Are very important to skaters in the StarSkate program. During a test day, skaters perform specific maneuvers in front of an evaluator to see if they are eligible to move to the next level.
Test days are usually held three times in the Winter season. Generally, Low and Intermediate tests (up to Senior Bronze) are held at the club. High tests (Junior Silver and above) may require travel to another club in order to try the test. Test day schedules are posted prior to the test day. It is advisable to arrive one hour prior to the test time. Dance tests are usually tried with a partner, however some may be done solo or, an evaluator might request a skater to perform a dance solo. Other tests are skated individually.
Test Fees
There is a test fee of $10.00 for each test challenged. This fee is sent to Skate Canada. There is also an administration fee of $5.00. The administrative fee covers items such as evaluator's mileage, honorariums and test day food. Each skater is given a test envelope by their coach if they will be testing. The fees for the tests are placed in the envelope and are paid to the Test Chair prior to test day. Tests not paid for by the due date will be refused. The test will then be considered a retry but must still be paid for.
Test Results
In order to try a test the skater must meet minimum standard requirements put in place by Skate Canada. Following a test the evaluator completes a test sheet that will indicate whether the skater passed the test or needs to retry the test. The test sheet is given to the skater following the test. A copy is sent to Skate Canada and becomes part of the skater’s record.