The Shoe With The Wheel In The Heel - Heeling Is The New Form Of Skating

X Games... trend busting... hanging out and just being cool got a literal "momentum" boost from surprising corners, namely footwear. And this latest fashion moves are not simply about racy colors or mix-and-match materials. No longer merely trend-setting personality-distinguishing fashion statements, casual "sports shoes" are literally building-in new sport possibilities into the heel of the shoe.

What's going on is movement. Like yo-yos and hoola hoops of decades back, the latest and hard-charging fun footwear trend that small kids, and large adults, are catching a ride on is a cross over between ordinary street casual shoes and a piece borrowed from inline skating as well as a piece borrowed from free riding skateboarding.

Placing A Wheel In Your Heel. MTV and Internet-enabled urban and sun urban kids have latched onto the possibility of getting a "free ride" from ordinary shoes. Looking like a sports sneaker, these wheel-in-a-shoe heelies create an entirely new rush of an experience for shoe-wearers. No longer confined to clomping along the sidewalk, the wheeled-shoe set can literally hang-back on their heelies and glide and swerve and figure-8 their way across a car park, or down the supermarket aisle as many kids now do.

The Shoe With The Wheel In The Heel - Heeling Is The New Form Of Skating

When You Don't Want To Cruise While Walking. In every kid or young dude's day there comes a moment when "looking cool" does not include racing along atop an inline wheel imbedded in your shoes. You're headed out to film...or the weather has turned funky and cruising on a pair of heelys just doesn't cut it.

Solution? The leading wheel-in-a-shoe designs offer a simple twist-and-remove design for removing the wheel. All you need is a pair of quarters. Insert the coins in the grooves on either side of the wheel bracket and presto...the wheel pops. Insert the shoe "plug" and bob's-your-uncle you're ready to go wheelessly into the rest of your day.

Looking After Wheel-In-A-Shoe Footwear. Adding mechanical moving parts, and a mid-sole shock-absorbing suspension system is partly about creating a great ride and getting a good landing from heel grabs and other skateboard maneuvers now available in kids shoes. Adding locomotion to footwear is also about safety and maintenance.

Forget about shining your wheel-in-a-shoe footwear. Materials tend to be synthetic suede which are color constant. No, what you need to focus on are the shoe mechanics, namely wheel and bearing maintenance.

Removing Your Wheels. Like inline skating or skateboards, your wheel-in-a-shoe footwear attracts crud, rust and corrosion. Result? Your shoes literally slow down, as rolling resistance increases. Two (2) coins slip into slots designed into the wheel casing, so removing your shoe wheels is simple and straightforward.

Cleaning Wheels And Bearings. Most wheel-in-a-shoe footwear, for kids and adults, is designed based on quality Abec wheel bearings...same ones used in inline skates and skateboards. Cleaning the bearings on a regular basis removes crud and rust, and makes them roll quicker. A 20-minute dip in standard bearing cleaning solution is all that's necessary to remove crud. Next, lubricating bearings is a simple matter of buying a small can of machine oil, like white lithium. A few squirts, rub it in, and your wheels are ready for re-installing.

Adults And Kids Models. Most wheel-in-a-shoe brands offer the full range of kids sizes plus adult sizes to size 12 or size 13, with wide comfy fits.

The Shoe With The Wheel In The Heel - Heeling Is The New Form Of Skating
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Check out the latest high fun and high tech rolling shoes for your kids or yourself. For more info please go to:-

Getting The Top Wheel-In-A-Shoe Models: http://www.wise4living.com/ffeature/heelys.htm

Latest Trends in Footwear: http://www.wise4living.com/shoes/

Author Robin Derry is publisher for http://www.wise4living.com/ a specialty information site that gives solutions to health, household, sport, travel and legal needs.

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What Is the Ice Skating Institute (ISI)?

ISI is for the recreational ice skater that is looking to learn and have fun. Everyone has to start somewhere. Olympic skaters such as Dorothy Hamill, Scott Hamilton, Kristi Yamaguchi, Alisa, Czisny, and more, all participated in the ISI programs when they first started to skate. Ice skating offers both emotional and physical health benefits and is a great way to get in shape while having fun. When you become a member of the ISI, you enter the magical world of skating.

When you become a member of the ISI you become a part of the largest recreational ice skating organization in the world. You then have the opportunity to participate in their successful learn-to-skate programs that are for every age and every ability. You even have the opportunity to earn achievement patches when you test your new ice skating skills in their ISI testing programs. Your membership will allow you to compete in the many local, district, and national competitions and shows that they host. In addition, to all those things, you will also receive excess accident insurance with your paid membership which is a nice thing to have. So lace up your skates and hit the ice and learn how to ice skate in their "weSKATE" program.

The ISI offers a recreational learn-to-skate program they call "weSKATE". Their learn-to-skate programs have been around for many years and have proven successful. Their "weSKATE" program is for all ages and ability levels and you can find skaters from the ages of 2 up to 92 participating in the programs. The program is broken down into levels that let you learn skills, test those skills, and move on to the next level. The levels of their program are "Tot 1-4, Pre-Alpha, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Freestyle 1-10, Open Freestyle (Bronze/Silver/Gold/Platinum), Couple 1-10, Pair 1-10, Dance 1-10, Free Dance 1-10, International Dances, Figure 1-10, Special Skater 1-10, Hockey Skating 1-5, and Hockey Skills 1-5." As you can see, there are not only many different levels but also different disciplines of ice skating to learn including Ice Dance and Hockey. So now that you are having fun learning and testing your new ice skating skills, perhaps you're starting to get the competitive itch or maybe you are ready to show off what you have learned to your friends and family.

What Is the Ice Skating Institute (ISI)?

Being a part of the ISI you are eligible to participate in the many ISI sanctioned local and district competitions as well as 6 national competitions each year. They even offer collegiate skating. At each competition each skater will be placed in an event group based on age and ability levels. It is not so much about being competitive and winning as it is about meeting fellow skaters, making new life long friends, seeing new places, being part of a team, and having fun all at the same time. When you participate in an ISI competition you not only have an opportunity to earn medals or awards as an individual but you earn points as a member of your ISI team.

The Ice Skating Institute offers something for every ice skater. Whether your interest is figure skating, ice dance, or hockey you can learn new skills, earn achievement patches, and compete as an individual and part of a team. While learning how to skate you are exercising both your mind and body, staying fit and healthy, seeing new places and meeting new friends, but most of all-having fun!

What Is the Ice Skating Institute (ISI)?
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Hockey Skating Drills

The most important aspect of hockey except scoring, is skating. Knowing hockey skating drills is very important for anyone who might want to try out the game of hockey. Here are some hockey skating drills that you can use to better the technique of your skaters.

Power start drill

This hockey skating drill will teach skaters how to have fast powerful starts. The drill is to have a player pull another to the red line. Player 2 holds player 1 by the jersey. Player 1 takes 5-6 strides or until he reaches the red line to come to a gliding stop. Each player that is being pulled should do this 5-6 times before switching places.

Hockey Skating Drills

4-minute skating drill

First, you must divide all players in groups of 3 players each. Each player will skate from the blue line to the middle red line and back again twice with full speed. The next players repeat what player 1 did, and this goes on for 4 minutes.

4 stop drill

Players form a line at one end of the rink. Player 1 takes off clockwise and skates to each of the four face- off marks, power stops, looks up and waves at the coach. After all four marks are hit, player one skates back in line behind the rest as player 2 takes off and so on. The drill is repeated 4-5 time without stopping.

Piranha pivot

Starting at one end of the rink, Player 1 skates full speed to the blue line, then pivots and skates backwards to the second blue line, pivots again and skates to the other red line and goes behind the net, pivots again, skates backwards until the second blue line, pivots again to reach the end of the rink where he started.

Russian circles

Players skate in a single file around the 5 face-off circles with a puck.

Skate figure 8

You must place four cones on the back face-off dots. Players must skate in a figure 8 pattern around the goal outside the cones. Once they pass the goal, they must sprint, pass the cones and skate to the other end.

Snow cone drill

Players are divided into two groups and are put in opposing corners. A cone is put at the blue line. Both teams must skate to the blue line with a hard stop, pivot and skate backwards to the starting point.

The dots

Separate the players to make two groups and put them on opposite sides. At the same time, make them skate to the dots in a zig zag manner so that they will cross each others path. They will make a full stop at each dot until they reach the other end of the rink.

Chasing the wind

The players will line up side by side on the blue line. When the coach blows the whistle, they will skate the second blue line and stop. The coach will blow his whistle again and the players will skate to the red line in the middle. The coach will blow the whistle again and the players will skate to the blue line where they started. This is good for cardio, starting, and stopping. As minutes pass, the coach will make the players go faster by decreasing the stop time at each line.

The hockey skating drills found above are good for beginners and more advanced player. Coaches and players must always remember that you cannot reach the net to score if you do not first know how to skate.

Hockey Skating Drills
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Matt Fortin has been coaching hockey for over 22 years. You can access his tried and true hockey drills and practice plans on his website:

Best Hockey Drills

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Figure Skating Jumps

Jumps are part of the routine of advanced ice skaters. These are evaluated by the take off and the number of rotations made in the air. There are two familiar types of figure skating jumps, and these are toe jumps and edge jumps. Edge jumps originate from the edge of the blade, while the toe jumps originate from the toe picks, and are actually edge jumps assisted by the toes of the opposite foot.

There are two edges for ice skate blades; the inside and the outside edge. Before you take off to do a jump, you will need to decide first whether you will use the right or the left foot, going forward or backward, and using the inside or the outside edge. Thus, one jump may be described as right forward inside, left forward outside, depending on how you plan to jump.

The correct positioning of the body prior to a jump has to be maintained, because any mistake in positioning makes a big difference with the jump, and the consequent landing. There is a greater chance for a fall or for a mistake while doing the jump when the starting position is not right.

Figure Skating Jumps

There are various jumps that can be done in figure skating. The first is the Bunny Hop Jump, which is the easiest to do because it is performed without rotating. To do this jump on the right foot, weight is first placed on the right foot, with the right arm to the side and the left arm in front of the skater. The skater then takes off using the left foot and finally lands on the right skate toe pick and the left foot.

The next jump is called Waltz Jump, and is one of the first jumps usually learned by beginning figure skaters. It takes off with a forward outside edge. The skater then does a half revolution jump, and lands on the opposite back outside edge. It is started by doing backward crossovers for impetus, stepping on the left foot, bending then extending both legs for the jump, lifting off from the left toe pick, doing a half revolution, and landing on the right back outside edge.

There is also a jump called Loop Jump, starting with a right back outside edge, doing one revolution, and ending also with a right back outside edge, in contrast with Waltz Jump, which lands on the opposite foot and does only a half revolution. While in the air, the arms are into the chest and the legs crossed in the Loop Jump. You can do a half loop, double, triple, or quadruple loop jumps, depending on your skills as a figure skater.

There are many other figure skating jumps available, such as the Toe Loop Jump, which is essentially a loop jump but with the assistance of the left toe to leap into the air, and the Walley Jump, which takes off from the right back inside edge, features one revolution in a counterclockwise manner, and lands on a right back outside edge of the same foot. Other jumps in figure skating include Toe Walley, Lutz, Salchow, Flip, and Axel Jump. Each of these jumps has the potential to injure, because jumps are intrinsically dangerous to perform. It is a figure skating technique that needs to be perfected and be taught by a professional figure skater. The skater is also required to wear protective gear when in training so as to avoid injury as much as possible.

Figure Skating Jumps
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Drew Mers is an advertising consultant to City Ice Pavilion, a rooftop ice skating rink in Long Island City, Queens, New York.

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Ice Skating Dresses - What to Wear When You Go Skating

When we talk about to ice skating, most skaters are normally novices who are out to have fun whilst skating out on the ice. You will find that most novice skaters will wear most types of clothing as long as it's warm and comfortable during their skating sessions. However, when it comes to professional or competitive skating then specific types of ice Skating Dresses are worn depending on the occasion or contest style.

Generally the more professional skater will have consulted with skating experts to ensure that the right type and style of outfit is chosen for a particular competition; as well as finding the best type of ice skating dresses to wear during their daily training sessions and practices.

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How should you dress for professional / amateur Ice Skating Contests?

Ice Skating Dresses - What to Wear When You Go Skating

1) When it comes to your ice skating outfits; you must consult with a dressmaker before purchasing your competitions clothing. Your dressmaker can tailor-make, cut, color and textile to your own specifications and tailor-make your dresses and outfits to best fit your needs for both practice and competition.

2) You have to ensure that you don't spend your hard earned money on cheap ice skating tights, always ensure that you buy 'ONLY' top quality tights for your practice skating sessions and competitions. High quality tights ensure that you always stay warm and they won't tear if you slip or fall during a training session or routine.

3) Always have more than one or two training outfits. Preferably have four to five sets including Ice Skating Dresses and Quality legging. For male skaters ensure that you have substantial stocks of fitted tops and leggings to wear.

4) You must ensure that your competition blades have been re-sharpened prior to the event or competition. This will ensure that during the competition you reduce the amount of friction generated during your manoeuvres and also ensure that you move faster and with a lot more precision during your routine.

5) When you are not skating and off the ice you must cover your skating blades with either a cover or a blade guard, this will protect your blades. These are available from a number of sources and comes in various guises including plain design to extremely decorative ranges.

How should you dress when you go casual Ice Skating?

1) Don't make the mistake of wearing bulky and thick clothing, you will overhead after a short period on the ice. The secret to staying warm is to wear thin layers of clothing, so as you skate you will gradually warm up even though it may feel a rather chilly when you first start off on the ice.

2) Ensure that your are wearing long trousers and long sleeves to cushion against any minor fails but also to ensure that your stay warm during your skate.

3) It's always a good choice to also take a pair of gloves with you as you would if you went out during the winter months. This protects your hands when skating and stops the dreaded icy fingers.

4) Ensure that if you have long hair that you tie it back. You hair could get could up in some one skates if you fall or simply obstruct your view as you skate. You could also wear a hat which will also help to keep your head nice and cosy as well as help to keep your hair out of your face.

5) If you taking young children skating you should dress them with extra padding style clothes and possibly even elbow pads and a protective helmet.

6) if you do not like wearing a woolly hat for you fun skating session then it may be worth considering taking some ear muffs along with you to keep you ears nice and warm as you skate. You can find these in a variety of jazzy colours and pattern and you will find a pair to suit your personality. If I can then you can also.

So whether your skating for fun or skating for competition you need to organise you clothing before you skate but as always make sure you have fun.

Ice Skating Dresses - What to Wear When You Go Skating

Susan Hawks is a semi professional ice skating enthusiast and trainer who gives advice on Ice Skating Dresses for competition and sports presentations and shows.

If you enjoy my article and would like other fun ice skating related information please come along to my Ice Skating Dresses blog.

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Figure Skating Clothing

What you wear on ice depends on your purpose for getting on ice. Will you be joining a competition or taking a figure skating test? Are you there just for recreational figure skating? How many hours do you expect to spend on practice?

When you are on practice, your comfort and safety top the list of priorities in selecting clothing. Your garments should neither be too loose nor too tight, but just right to give you the freedom to move. Too loose is dangerous, because it forms loops that can get dragged on ice or by others, leading to possible harm. When it is too tight, on the other hand, there is no room for your movements, so you effectively limit your motion.

Figure Skating

During practice, you should also make sure that your clothing is able to keep you warm. You might want to try a layered approach, meaning, prefer many thin ones rather than one piece of thick clothing, because the former permits adjustment to the cold. Rather than the sparkly tights used in competitions, try on jogging pants or sweat suits for practice, because these are way more comfortable. If available, nylon windsuits are also nice choices, because they are lightweight, they can keep you warm, are loose enough to allow movement, and they tend to keep water away from your skin. To further keep you warm, always wear hand gloves and socks in practice. These are ideal for the cold, and gloves also assist you when you get up the ice in the event of a fall.

Figure Skating Clothing

If, however, you are joining a competition, your clothing should be different. It needs to be a little bit more special, because it is one way by which you can capture the audiences and the judges attention. Your comfort gets ranked lower in your priorities. The U.S. Figure Skating Association has set standards for clothing during competitions, and these are the following: 1) modest, dignified clothing, which is appropriate for the competition, 2) full-length trousers for men, 3) clothing with a neckline and sleeves for men, 4) skirts or pants for women that cover the entire hips, 5) prohibition of wearing unitards and bare midriffs, 5) avoidance of excessive decoration like beads and sequins, and if they are used, care should be ensured such that they do not fall off. It does not really matter where you want your figure skating clothing made.

What is more important is that these standards are well understood and followed, to avoid disqualifications and any other untoward event. In selecting the fabric, you might want those which are stretchable, to allow you more room for movement, without tearing your clothing out. Finally, always remember that you are being judged by what you do on ice, rather than what you wear. Thus you can always keep it simple, neat, modest, tidy, and appropriate for your age and what you are going to do.

What you wear is dictated by what you do on the ice. First make certain that it is appropriate for the event, and then take into consideration your comfort while performing.

Figure Skating Clothing

Drew Mers is an advertising consultant to City Ice Pavilion, a rooftop ice skating rink in Long Island City, Queens, New York.

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Skating and Cooking in One Show

US skating champ Brian Boitano embarks on a new career as he hosts a fortchcoming cooking show entitled "What Would Brian Boitano Make?". Boitano shares that opening a restaurant is his lifelong dream. But because of his touring and skating competition schedule would not permit him to do so, hosting a cooking show is the closest thing to his dream so far.

Boitano rose to worldwide recognition when he won the men's figure skating title during the Winter Olympics held in Calgary back in 1988. But before achieving his status in the skating world, he first impressed the nation with a four-time US National Championship trophy. And in 1994, he came in 6th place in the overall ranking. After that, his schedule went to mainly skating and competitions.

Figure Skating

Being in front of the camera and not competing is not a new experience for Boitano. His first screen debut as an actor took him playing the role of Don Jose in the movie Carmen on Ice. This new challenge for him proved to be very successful because he won an Emmy for his portrayal. Next to this were cameo appearances in the films Blades of Glory and Ice Princess.

Skating and Cooking in One Show

And this year, he embarks on another highlight in his career - the "What Would Brian Boitano Make?' cooking show. He is faced with several criticisms. This is because he chose to be a chef as opposed to the usual athlete's project as food, kitchen and gadgets spokespeople. And to some critics that says he does not have formal training in a cooking school, Boitano quips that he will use that disadvantage to relate more to people who watch television. He also said that his training with cooking is merely a trial and error style. However, he expressed that he has the energy and the willingness to explore this field.

According to him, his cooking show will feature a humorous format that combines cooking with lifestyle. His guests include an all-girl roller derby team, his handyman's supper club and others which are definitely to watch out for.

Aside from the new concept, the show also promises good cooking and superb menus. In line with this, a cooking show will not be complete without a little help from electronic appliances like the Bosch universal mixer. Incidentally, a Bosch mixer sale is available at present and that may be something you would like to take advantage of.

Skating and Cooking in One Show

For Tricia, the home is the best place to be.

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Health Benefits of Ice Skating

Whether you are a professional ice skater, a toddler, a retiree, a student, or a housewife, you can get health benefits from ice skating.

Being in itself an aerobic exercise just like walking, running, and swimming, it offers positive effects for your cardiovascular health. An advantage over running is that it is not as hard on your joints, as it is a low-impact exercise, unless you do jumps while ice skating. It makes heart muscles healthy, providing significant protection from coronary artery diseases and subsequent heart attacks. It also aids in weight loss, as one gets to burn 250 to 810 calories per hour with recreational ice skating, according to the U.S. Figure Skating Association webpage. Meanwhile, competitive skating uses up more calories, at 450 to 1,080 per hour of skating. Just to illustrate, a 68-kg man skating continuously for an hour burns as much calories as when he is running five miles in an hour.

Figure Skating

As with other sports activities, ice skating also improves ones endurance. Endurance builds when one maintains a constant, steady pace, over a longer period of time. It is important though that at the start, it is all right to settle for short distances, but over time, these have to be increased gradually so that endurance increases as well.

Health Benefits of Ice Skating

Ice skating also improves muscle tone. When ice skating, the quadriceps and hamstrings are the leg muscles which do the most work, but many other muscles in the body work in concert with these leg muscles. The abdominal and back muscles also need to contract and relax in order to maintain an upright posture and balance.

Mental fitness is also enhanced with ice skating, as it exercises ones mental control during the act. One needs to be very alert and aware during skating. It is a de-stressor and a form of relaxation for many individuals who use it as a means to break free from the stresses of life and work. The fresh air and sunshine in outdoor ice skating, as well as the company of family and friends, greatly help in unwinding from a long week of work and problems. Self confidence is definitely improved as well. The challenge of establishing full body control and balance brings pride when one is able to overcome these.

It is very nice to see that adults are becoming more aware of their health, and that many have turned to ice skating to become physically fit. Gone are the days when only children were interested in moving and gliding on ice.

Health Benefits of Ice Skating

Drew Mers is a marketing consultant to City Ice Pavilion in World Ice Arena.

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Figure Skating Dresses - What, or What Not, to Wear

Nothing brings out the little girl in us females more than the thought of a new figure skating dress. Yet, at the same time, nothing can scream more "bling-overkill" than a skating dress. There was a whole lot of girly girl squealing happening in my neck of the woods recently. I just picked up my new dress for my 2011-2012 interpretive program! In this article, I'll present (and we can share) some thoughts on figure skating attire as it pertains to adult figure skating. I don't want to start by sounding sexist or discriminating, but by-and-large this really is a girl-issue. Skating guys seem happy to be in any kind of combination of black pants and a basic shirt, so long as they can move in it. This attitude seems to reflect the male approach to clothing in general, or maybe, it's just the particular males that I live with. Guys can also recycle figure skating costumes for greater lengths of time, providing they don't grow. For example, most keep pants from year to year, but will have a new shirt made, if need be.

Costuming is probably the number one subject that my non-skating friends comment on, as well as frequent topic of conversation on skating internet forums. In general, the dresses/outfits I'm seeing at world and grand-prix events are a lot more conservative than 10-15 years ago. Of course, ice dance is always notorious for over the top excess, but again, even the ice dancers seem to be opting for more conservative designs- a sign of the economic times perhaps?

Figure Skating

As adult figure skaters, I feel that we have a few unique issues when it comes to finding appropriate attire. The most obvious is size and shape. We come in a lot more of them: apples, pears, sticks and triangles, just to name a few. I have found that "off the rack" dresses seem to be made using the proportions of younger, less curvy, bodies. Often, the skirts end up being way too short. Or worse, badly placed in a way that accentuates your wider features. Sometimes, the styles are just plain wrong, for anyone over the age of 10. Frilly and sparkly is cute on a 7-year old, not so much on a 47-year-old. If one is well-endowed on top, then halter-style or spaghetti straps present important structural deficiencies.

Figure Skating Dresses - What, or What Not, to Wear

Many times, adults are reluctant to wear something skimpy due to feeling really uncomfortable and exposed. This goes beyond just feeling uncomfortable or embarrassed over the weight you may have put on over the past few years. It is a question of practicality too. In many northern climates, the air temperature in the area is chilly, if not down-right cold. The temperature of the rink where I train was 4° Celsius (39° F) this morning. I've taken skating tests there when it has been that cold and even the judge told us to go ahead and put on as warm a sweater as we could find. All those cute little backless and sleeveless dresses were buried in layers of fleece and wool that day!

When it comes to skating attire, what works (or doesn't) for you? Send me a picture of you in your favorite outfit and I will post it on my blog for all of us to enjoy. And a special shout out to you gentlemen: we want to see you too!

Next: My new dress (with photo!) and more advice about what to wear on the when you are a lady of (as the French would say) "a certain age".

Figure Skating Dresses - What, or What Not, to Wear

If you are an adult participating in figure skating at any level... recreational, competitive or would like to figure skate and want to know more, come and join us at International Adult Figure Skating. There is a new blog entry every Tuesday as well as interesting videos and links to products and services of interest to adult figure skaters. Check out my special offer on how to prepare for a skating competition.

http://internationaladulticeskaters.com/

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