So the holiday season is upon us. Where did that come from? In any case, I don't know about you guys, but it's my favorite time of the year. The snow, the lights, the music, the mulled wine, the warm buzz inside. If figure skating ever fit into any atmosphere, this is it. So why not make the most of it, and let a little holiday love into your daily skating routine? Here are some ideas to spice up your festive skating.

This is a subject close to my heart. The last 3 events in which I participated have had professional (to what extent I'm really not sure - could I have done the same job with a tripod and a £2000 camera?) photographers taking staggering amounts of images of each skater. They usually have a stand set up at the event and take orders for prints from the family and friends. Expensive orders. I'm talking the equivalent of $18 for one image.

If you or your kid are looking for a skating partner, I don't need to tell you how hard it is to get one. It's not enough that the person needs to live close enough and have compatible training times. Oh no, then come the physiological constraints. Height, weight, mass, ability, and yes, financial capacity (shock horror!).

Seasoned skating parents have got it down to a fine art, and how best to spend time during your child's practice session is going to be different for each individual. What's common to all of us though is the fairly obvious; cold and humid conditions for hours on end, and a million and one things that need doing at home and/or at work! Heck, I often feel like this and I'm not even a parent. So how can new comers to our sport find a way to make this 'dead time' work for them?

You might feel that as you are no longer a 7 year old, figure skating is not an adventure you're allowed to embark upon. You couldn't be more wrong ! Adult skating has grown so much since it's beginnings, and now the Adult World Championships exist, among many other amazing international events. Whether that's where you want to be, or you're happy to dance a foxtrot or two on a sunday morning, skating is something open to everyone.

Breaking in skates is one of the most painful, and annoying, things a skater has to go through. Although many skaters go through a pair of skates a year (or season...) I know a lot who keep theirs a great deal longer.

We've all been there. Sat in the stands or upright rink-side, the cold rising through our shoes and slowly turning our muscles to stone (or at least that's what it feels like). As a skater (a childless one at that) I'm not in the best position to talk about my skater-parent experiences, but I have spent a lot of years hanging around giant freezers and I'm currently undergoing long hours of mentoring for my coaching diploma. I thus feel qualified enough to share a few of my heat-retention tips with you guys!

Ok, this is going to be a short post. It's more like a list of things to consider during costume conception. It's intended as an aid to designing your costume (whether you'll be making it or not), in the form of a list of styles per element of the costume (piccies included!). 

As discussed in my previous post on colour for costumes, I love drawing my outfit ideas. The lovely IceMom is also a professed sketcher and carries a notebook with her at all times, as she mentions in her great sewing post that you can read here.

Ok I'm gonna start by saying this post is not going to be of interest for guys. I'm sure you all know how to gel your hair, or whatever it is you do on a daily basis. This here post is for the ladies, and skating mums needing inspiration and guidance. 

So, let's get crackin'!

Every skater has to face the ordeal of making up new programmes - whether it be your very first, or your short programme for your 15th season. There are the hours spent listening to music (95% of which you find boring and tedious), but whats next? Making up the programme is undoubtedly the most important part of the process and can take anywhere between 1 hour and several months! With the IJS judging system coaches and choreographers' job just got alot harder. 

Moves in the field, or field moves, are a hugely important part of skating and can make all the difference to a skater. Learning to enjoy and take something away from your moves practice, and being able to apply the principles of good strong clean edges is something all skaters should be at ease with, and is important no matter what discipline you participate in.

{EDIT: New content added to this post, including how to embellish soakers, and ideas on how to use them!}

Soakers are an essential part of any skaters' sports bag, and a really easy little item to whip up with a little stray fabric and 30 mins spare time. Make them as slim or as full as you want, using whatever type of fabric you'd like. Use up odd ends or buy a far-out fabric to make soakers that'll seriously brighten up your bag!

To the sewing machine it is then! *superman arms towards machine*

Here I have compiled a "checklist" of competitive must-haves to help you on your way to your first (or 100th!) skating competition! These are don't-leave-at-home items which will make all the difference to your big day. Pack your things at latest the evening before C-Day as stress can make you jittery and forgetful - failing to prepare is preparing to fail, after all!

I salute you! Making your own skating outfit is a hard task, yes. Especially if you have never done it before. However, it is terribly rewarding when the final garment comes together, and I just cannot describe the sheer pride you will feel when someone compliments your outfit at your competition and woos "ohh, who made that for you?". So let's go my pretties, to the sewing machine!

So your coach thinks you're (or your child is) ready to compete! Congratulations, and welcome to the world of competitive figure skating.

Dressing for practice sessions is mostly a question of practicality, although some skaters also take this opportunity to show off their personal sense of style. I have personally always gone with the comfort aspect of dressing for practice, with an emphasis on safety for muscles in the cold environment.

This may sound like a pretty obvious title but some of you may be wondering how to get into the sport of ice skating. Maybe you want your child to partake in a sport, or maybe you yourself fancy hitting that ice for a quick whiz about. Skating is fun, invigorating, and a long-term source of challenge and fun! For many people its their 'me time' and helps them to escape the daily routine of work, family and other commitments.

Choosing music is an important (maybe even the most important) part of a skaters' season. Whether the skater is an international athlete or a beginner choosing his or her first piece the choice is critical as not only does the music need to fit the skaters' abilities, but also their personality.

The main ground-rule when choosing music is to pick pieces that are skater-appropriate. That is, the score from the musical "Chicago" which tells the tale of a murderess by means of sultry jazz, would not be all too fitting for a 6 year old skater!

Sitting a test, no matter what discipline, often requires a different look than the one you might adopt for competitive participation. Here we will take a look at the main differences between these two situations and talk about what's suitable, and what's not!

Competition usually implies a myriad of clothing rules and we are, for the most part anyway, all pretty excited when it comes to thinking about what coloured rhinestones we could use, and how we could style our hair for the all-important event. To mention but a few important factors in competitive dress; the outfit itself, the tights (glittered, non-glittered, over-the-boot, footed, stirupped, glossy, matte... need I go on?), hairstyles, hair accessories, eye shadow, lipsticks.. the list goes on. But which of these elements cross over into the testing situation, and which most definitely do not?

This blog is an attempt to group together a useful and broad set of articles related to the sport of figure skating, in a "how-to" format.

We are all bombarded with blogs, sites, information, articles and peoples' opinions of varying expertise, but as of yet there is no one-stop-shop for concise no-frills information regarding fundamental matters we all come across at some point while participating in our glittering sport.