Before you step onto the ice, either with keen fearlessness or with nervous trepidation, check out these quick tips for ice skating beginners to save potential embarrassment.

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Before you step onto the ice, either with keen fearlessness or with nervous trepidation, check out these quick tips for ice skating beginners to save potential embarrassment.

• Don’t look down — It’s amazing how many people starting out in skating spend all their time looking at their feet rather than in the direction they are going. Instead, keep your head up and look in front of you so at least you can see who or what you are about to collide with!
• Get some good skates — If you’re stepping out for the first time, then hire skates available at most centres will be fine. But if you get the skating bug and decide to take it up, buy a decent pair of skates that will last and most importantly, fit well and provide good support.
• Tie skates the correct way — The right skates for you will not be the correct ones if they are tied incorrectly. Make sure your skates are not too tight or your feet will likely go numb, while having your skates too loose will not provide the proper support for your ankles.
• Warm up slowly — Given that skating takes place generally in a cold arena, then your muscles are initially going to be cold. Prior to skating, it’s not really wise to just throw your leg over a barrier and start stretching. Stretching in a cold environment can lead to muscle tears, so wrap up well (but not as to restrict your movement) and start with some bend and work up to stretching.
• Get some lessons — If you really want to master the basics, then taking some lessons is an absolute must. Take a few group lessons which are available at most rinks and for a variety of ages. Also take a friend along, as learning with someone will help you relax on the ice.
• Don’t lean backwards — Leaning back will likely send you flying on your backside or worse. The best advice is to keep your knees bent and your weight forward. Hold your arms out in front of you and open them wide to help you stay balanced.
• There’s no stopping you! — Naturally, one of the basics you’ll need to know is how to stop. To stop, bend your knees, turn the toes of each foot inwards, point your heels out, and push out on your heels. This will slow you down and bring you to a stop, rather than barreling into an unfortunate stranger.
• Skate in the correct direction — While initially the direction you are skating may not be of your choosing, there is usually a directional rule to follow on the ice, either clockwise or vice-versa. Don’t try skating the wrong way round the ice rink as you’ll end up hurting others and quite possibly yourself.
• Make use of temporary rinks — If you are not fortunate enough to have a skating rink near you, then make the most of temporary ice rinks if one pops up near you. Christmas is a particularly good time to try to visit a temporary ice rink in some major cities, so go along, you’ll have a good time, whatever your skating experience.
• Don’t take it too seriously — When you fall down (and be sure you will), have a laugh about it and get right back up on your skates again. Don’t take yourself or your skating too seriously, after all, even the best end up on their backs from time to time. It’s even funnier if you do it in style!

So there you have it, some useful ice skating tips to get you started. Remember that proper instruction is important, especially if you are wanting to make the step up to more advanced skating used in figure skating, ice hockey or speed skating. But if you are skating purely for fun or even skating for fitness then make sure you actually have fun on the ice, and if the worst comes to the worst, make sure you have a good friend to take down with you.

Backyard Ice Rink (Countryman Press, 2015) by Joe Proulx guides you through every step of building your own backyard ice skating rink. From the simplest wooden frame to elaborate tall-board rinks, from measuring the slope in your yard to constructing your frame using parts found at your local hardware store, Proulx makes the project easy to tackle. This section explains how to teach your kids to ice skate.

For young kids, stepping onto the ice for the first time can be terrifying — especially in a group setting. When you take a child to a skating class, you’re asking them to strap on all sorts of unfamiliar gear, then to leave their parents and join an unfamiliar coach underneath the blazing halogen lights and surrounded by boards and glass. It’s overwhelming for sure, and not just for the young kids.

A backyard rink provides a retreat from all of that. With a rink in your backyard, learning to skate becomes a self-paced exercise, one that can take place whenever it suits you. You can turn the music up or down, you can skate under the sun or the stars, and you can see to it that your little Gretzky is as comfortable as possible while he or she tries to master a very difficult skill.

Of course, teaching them at home requires something the organized learn-to-skates have in droves: a little expertise. It’s OK, we’re here to help! How you teach your child to skate is a personal decision, but here are a few tips that will help you even if you can’t skate yourself:

Congratulations! You just taught a kid how to skate.

More from Backyard Ice Rink:

• How to Build a PVC Skating Aid
• How to Build an Ice Rink Bench

Excerpted from Backyard Ice Rink by Joe Proulx. Reprinted with permission from Countryman Press.

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Once you’ve mastered the basics of ice skating, you’re ready to try something more challenging like spinning. Perfecting the spin is essential for any figure skater, but learning how to do it will take time and patience. The best way is to begin by perfecting a two-foot spin, then progressing to a one-foot spin. Here’s how to get started.

How to Spin on Two Skates

Spinning is an advanced figure-skating technique and definitely not for the beginner. You should already be able to skate forwards and backward and know how to stop. Before you start, you’ll want to make sure you’ve taken the time to warm up. If this is your first time practicing, start with a two-foot spin. If you’re right-handed, you’ll spin toward the left; if you’re a lefty, you’ll spin to the right.

1. Begin in the pivot position. Your arms should be extended at your sides.
2. Push off. Plant the teeth of your left skate into the ice and push off with your right.
3. Pull in. Bring your arms in, crossing them across your chest as you pull your right leg in and begin the spin.
4. Spin for a few rotations. The tighter you pull into the spin, the quicker you will rotate. Go slowly at first.
5. Exit the spin. As you slow down, gently pull out of the rotation by shifting your weight to your right leg. This will allow you to pivot out of the spin, glide backward, and stop.