1 Week Break for LTS
Usually we take a 2 week break in between Learn to Skate Semesters. The upcoming Learn to Skate semester starts the week of April 19th and we will only be taking one week off between semesters. We did this so that we could start our Summer Skating program the beginning of June. The last week of classes now end the last full week of May. You can register for classes either at the rink or online through our website here.
A lot of people think that since our Learn to Skate program is run through US Figure Skating that people interested in hockey can’t participate and that is not the case at all. Learn to Skate lays the foundation and groundwork for skating whether you plan to do figure skating or hockey. Kids that go through a LTS program prior to going into hockey or figure skating go into their sports as stronger skaters then children and adults who do not. They learn how to skate both forwards, backwards, turns, cross overs and more which benefits both skating sports.
US Figure Skating also has a program designed for skaters interested in hockey from within the Learn to Skate Program. Skaters take basic Skills classes up through Basic 1 before enrolling in Hockey Learn to Skate classes. The curriculum for hockey is broken into 4 separate classes that will prepare them for local youth hockey and adult hockey. To learn more about the hockey Learn to Skate contact us
Sharpenings
If you are a local skater and are in Western Colorado we have partnered with the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce “Blue Band Wagon” program. Come in to our Pro Shop or rink wearing your blue band or pick one up here at the rink and you get a discount on blade sharpening. The blue band discount is $5.00 on all sharpening’s for both hockey and figure skates.
A lot of skaters just starting out with skating don’t really know what ROH ( Radius of Hollow) is, how it affects the blade or even what radius they should have ground into their blades. So I will try to explain things.
In between the outside and inside edges on a blade you have what is known as the hollow. The hollow is measured in fractions of the inch in terms of diameter. The tighter the diameter the more bite the blade has with the ice. See diagram below.
What radius to use depends on the skater and what they feel most comfortable with since it’s their skates. The ROH the faster the blades become on the ice. Skaters tend to start out with a low hollow and as their skills progress so does the depth of their hollow. Stopping quickly is easiest with a lower hollow but the trade off is skaters can not get the edges to bite into the ice on sharp turns
The deeper the hollow the sharper the turns skaters can do on the ice. The draw back is that with deeper hollows the skates are slower because the edges are biting more into the ice. See below comparison
“Shallow Hollow”
“Deep Hollow”
In most cases whether you skate in hockey or figure skating 1/2” ROH is more then enough especially for kids weighting under 60 LBS. Some light weight skaters can get away with deeper hollows because they don’t have a lot of weight pressing into the ice. From here most skaters move on to a 5/8” when figure skaters start learning jumps and recreational skating. Some coaches like skaters to stay here and some allow them to test the water on a deeper ROH and see what they like most and what feels most comfortable to them. Hockey players tend to stay in the 1/2” to 5/8” ROH because they need the ability to stop quickly and change directions and having a hollow deeper then this will offer to much bite or grip with the ice and be ineffective.
A lot of this depends on the skater and what they like. Here is a rough chart to help you understand ROH and skaters weight.
Very Light Skaters
3/8” - 1/2”
Average
5/8”
Heavy
3/4”
Hockey Goalie
1” - 1 1/4”
From a figure skaters stand point I was a little bit different with my ROH. For more then 20 years I have skated on 1/4” hollow which is known as “death valley” which is as deep as most sharpening machines will go. That’s just where I felt comfortable. My coaches however called my skates death traps and told me I was suicidal for having such a deep hollow. Most of the time the only skaters that have a hollow that deep are ice dancers because they need the deep tight edges. That’s one thing I liked about my death valley ROH. I knew I could count on my edges and that I could pull deeper edges then most. I also learned early on that if I was slightly off axis on a jump most of the time I could pull it off because of my deep ROH. The downside was that I could not stop quickly at all. With a ROH that deep hockey stops and quick snow plow stops aren’t possible. So in the end you have to weigh the options and what the individual skaters like best.
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Sharpenings
If you are a local skater and are in Western Colorado we have partnered with the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce “Blue Band Wagon” program. Come in to our Pro Shop or rink wearing your blue band or pick one up here at the rink and you get a discount on blade sharpening. The blue band discount is $5.00 on all sharpening’s for both hockey and figure skates.
A lot of skaters just starting out with skating don’t really know what ROH ( Radius of Hollow) is, how it affects the blade or even what radius they should have ground into their blades. So I will try to explain things.
In between the outside and inside edges on a blade you have what is known as the hollow. The hollow is measured in fractions of the inch in terms of diameter. The tighter the diameter the more bite the blade has with the ice. See diagram below.
What radius to use depends on the skater and what they feel most comfortable with since it’s their skates. The ROH the faster the blades become on the ice. Skaters tend to start out with a low hollow and as their skills progress so does the depth of their hollow. Stopping quickly is easiest with a lower hollow but the trade off is skaters can not get the edges to bite into the ice on sharp turns
The deeper the hollow the sharper the turns skaters can do on the ice. The draw back is that with deeper hollows the skates are slower because the edges are biting more into the ice. See below comparison
“Shallow Hollow”
“Deep Hollow”
In most cases whether you skate in hockey or figure skating 1/2” ROH is more then enough especially for kids weighting under 60 LBS. Some light weight skaters can get away with deeper hollows because they don’t have a lot of weight pressing into the ice. From here most skaters move on to a 5/8” when figure skaters start learning jumps and recreational skating. Some coaches like skaters to stay here and some allow them to test the water on a deeper ROH and see what they like most and what feels most comfortable to them. Hockey players tend to stay in the 1/2” to 5/8” ROH because they need the ability to stop quickly and change directions and having a hollow deeper then this will offer to much bite or grip with the ice and be ineffective.
A lot of this depends on the skater and what they like. Here is a rough chart to help you understand ROH and skaters weight.
Very Light Skaters
3/8” - 1/2”
Average
5/8”
Heavy
3/4”
Hockey Goalie
1” - 1 1/4”
From a figure skaters stand point I was a little bit different with my ROH. For more then 20 years I have skated on 1/4” hollow which is known as “death valley” which is as deep as most sharpening machines will go. That’s just where I felt comfortable. My coaches however called my skates death traps and told me I was suicidal for having such a deep hollow. Most of the time the only skaters that have a hollow that deep are ice dancers because they need the deep tight edges. That’s one thing I liked about my death valley ROH. I knew I could count on my edges and that I could pull deeper edges then most. I also learned early on that if I was slightly off axis on a jump most of the time I could pull it off because of my deep ROH. The downside was that I could not stop quickly at all. With a ROH that deep hockey stops and quick snow plow stops aren’t possible. So in the end you have to weigh the options and what the individual skaters like best.
Finally Getting the Office Set Up
It seems as we always have a lot going on here at the rink. We are finally getting the front office set up the way we want it. One of our laptops got sick so that had to be sent off for repairs so we had to do a bit of rearranging here in the office.
We are still reaching out to local businesses for our Marketing Partners Program. So if you have a business and are looking for a unique way to advertise or know of someone who does let us know. We are trying to grow the size of our rink by June so local youth hockey and Mesa State Hockey can utilize our facility.
We also want to thank Helen Kett for her donation of two pairs of skates through our Green Skate Initiative. The program takes used skates and uses them for skaters who need skates the most.... skaters just starting out. When skates get to broken down for continued use for competitive skaters, skaters can donate their boots and blades to OES. These skates are perfect for skaters just starting out in our LTS program. If you would like more info on the program call us here at the rink at 970.812.4109
New semester of LTS is just around the corner
I can’t believe we are already going into our last week of Learn to Skate for the Spring I semester. Our next semester kicks off the week of April 19th and will run through the week of May 28th. We will be offering classes on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 6PM and 7PM and on Saturday mornings at 10AM and 11AM.
April is going to be a busy month here at OES. We have several new things in the works. So stay tuned in and see what we have up our sleeve’s this month.