Читать книгу Hippodrome Skating Book. Practical Illustrated Lessons in the Art of Figure Skating онлайн

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I am glad to hear that some of the American manufacturers are even making their hockey skates with a curved blade, so that the simple curves can be learned on that type of skate. There are several excellent models of skates now being made in the United States.

The skating shoe should fit very snug around the heel and over the instep, and should be comparatively high, seven or eight inches being my preference. The heel of the shoe should be higher than that of the sporting or tramping or golf shoe now being worn by the American woman.

It is important to get such skates and shoes as will throw the balance of the body forward onto the ball of the foot when one stands on the ice. This can only be done by raising the heel of the foot, partly through the design of the skate and partly through the height of the heel of the shoe. But no such thing as French heels are intended or advocated, of course.

The shoe should lace from close to the toes up and should be a comparatively straight last. A strong, stiff leather lined shoe should be the first choice. Afterward, as the ankles strengthen, a lighter shoe can be worn. I often skate in low shoes, my ankles are so strong, and the only trouble I find with my low shoes is that the heel slips out in the toe spin.