The Roller Skate: Low Boot or High Boot

Types of Skate Boots: Recreational skate boots can come in two types. With quarter-neck boots, you should have strong ankles and not need ankle support. This boot allows the skater to lean more into a deep edge on their wheels without feeling restricted. High-neck boots give the skater better ankle support but have some restrictions on free movement to lean into a deep edge.

What Does It Mean to Roller Skate?

• To skate is to produce a gliding motion of movement that propels one’s self forward on skates.
• On a pair of roller skates, there are 4 sets of edges: (2) inside edges and (2) outside edges. When we talk about the wheel, we are just talking about the side of the wheel. While skating, your skates are either on a flat surface, where the skate is rolling straight, or on an edge, where the skate is rolling to the left or to the right.
• For women who want black boots over white boots, the main reason is that activity marks don’t show up as badly on black boots as they do on white boots. Whatever women’s size you wear, go down one boot size when you purchase black boots.

How to Balance and Move on Skates

To get and maintain body balance, the skater must maintain the ‘proper carriage position’. A) Skates side by side in a parallel position no more than 5 inches apart. B) Knees are always slightly bent. C) Back comfortably straight with your hands at your side. 2) (Skate Movement): The skater must hit an edge to propel the movement of the skates. (Two-footed Exercises) Leg lifts (right and left): raise the feet slightly off the floor, one at a time, and hold for 3 seconds. Do it 10 times, lifting each leg up 5 times. Now do the same movement of lifting each leg one at a time, but this time as you pick each foot up, step to the left and then to the right. Do not step straight ahead, or you won’t move forward."