How to Lace Up Skating Boots
Learn How to Lace Up Your Ice Skating Boots
Lacing ice skate boots can be tricky. Follow these steps to lace your skates like a pro.
Rental skates often use latches -- like those on roller blades – instead of laces. But anyone serious about learning to skate will eventually rent or buy boots that have laces.
Laces that are too loose increase risk of ankle injury and loss of control on the ice. Laces that are too tight compromise balance and often cut off circulation, causing feet and toes to hurt, tingle, or go numb.
How do you lace up your skating boots just right? That depends on the skating discipline, personal body variances and preferences, and the brand of boot you purchase. Take into consideration these variables when applying these general instructions to tightening the laces up your ice skates.
First, start with a well-fitted boot that is appropriate for your discipline (don’t try to figure skate in hockey skates, for example) and your skill level (you might need a stiffer shank until your ankle strength develops, for instance.)
Next, you need to lace a boot tight enough to support your ankle and keep your foot in place, but it needs to be loose enough for your ankle to engage in an appropriate amount of flexion. Jumps, sit spins, and footwork require the ankle to move frontward and backward, but the force of these movements can cause a weak or unsupported ankle to sprain side-to-side.
Accomplish this delicate balance through trial, error, and practice. Also, as your laces stretch and your boots break in, you’ll be able to tighten less conscientiously because both will have a more elastic quality, allowing flexion or support on demand.
1. Start with your boot laced up just over the foot. Before inserting your foot into the boot, make sure those laces are loose. Pull the tongue up but not so far as to cause the material to collapse in at the toe. Making room for the front portion of your foot before inserting it allows your sock or tights to stay put and not bunch up or pull back. This will help avoid blisters and can even help remedy uneven stroking.
2. Insert your foot until the boot is completely on and your toes are in the right spot. Tuck the tongue back in position, and take out most of the slack in the laces.
3. If your feet are narrow or your toes lay diagonal in size, you’ll probably want to tighten the laces that run across the toes. If your foot is wide or your toes are square, you’ll probably be more comfortable leaving the laces that run across the top of your foot alone. Most skaters take up any extra slack here but don’t pull the first few crossings of laces snug at all. If your boot has a little growing room, however, you can use a hockey lace pick to tighten these hard-to-grasp laces.
4. At the point where the boot crooks to go over the ankle and up the leg, start half-knotting the laces at each level. Loop once and pull tight; wrap around grommets, loop again and pull tight; repeat until you’re nearly at the top row. Unless there’s a personal reason to do otherwise, leave the top row unlaced. Your boot top should feel snug but not tight, and it may loosen and need adjustment after you warm up on the ice. You should be able to put a finger down the inside back of your boot when it’s laced properly. Any more room than that, however, and the boot is either too big for your foot or laced too loosely.
5. After you’ve half-knotted (looped and pulled tight) the last row of laces, double back to the bottom ankle row and the top row that’s laced. You’ll now form an X to take up an extra lace that’s left before securing them with a double knot at the top of the boot. Tuck in your laces. This final touch prevents sloppy presentation and also eliminates that hazard of stumbling over untied boots or catching your toepick in a lace loop while you’re out on the ice.
