Walk into any rink at six in the morning and you can tell within a minute who has been skating for years. It is not the skating. It is the clothes. Experienced skaters dress in layers they can add and remove without leaving the ice, and nothing they wear flaps, bunches or hides their line. Here is how to put that outfit together.
The problem you are dressing for
A figure skating practice is not one temperature. You arrive cold, you warm up and start sweating, you stop for a correction and cool down fast, then you run a program and heat up again. Most beginners dress for the coldest moment, overheat within twenty minutes and spend the rest of the session damp and then freezing. The answer is layers that come on and off quickly.
Layer one: a base that moves moisture
Next to the skin, you want a lightweight technical fabric that pulls sweat away rather than holding it. Cotton is the one thing to avoid: it absorbs moisture and keeps it against you, so a cotton t shirt that felt fine in the warm up becomes a cold wet layer twenty minutes later. A half zip like the Melange Half Zip Shirt works well here because you can vent it without taking a layer off. See all our tops.
Layer two: the practice jacket
This is the layer that stays on for most of the session. Brushed quick dry fabric with four way stretch keeps you warm without limiting movement, and thumb holes keep the cuffs down over the wrists. Slim fits show your line to your coach, relaxed fits are more comfortable over a dress. Browse the figure skating jackets to compare cuts.
On the legs: pants that let you bend
Practice pants need to stretch through a deep knee bend and stay put through a jump landing. Warm brushed pants like the Black Warm Skating Pants suit cold rinks, while skaters who train in warmer arenas often prefer a lighter option. Pants with a wider lower leg can be pulled on over the boot between run throughs, which saves unlacing. For off ice classes and conditioning, Laia Capris are the easier choice. See all figure skating pants.
Protection, if you are learning jumps
Any skater working on new jumps falls, and most falls land on the hip or tailbone. Padded shorts worn under practice pants take the sting out of that, which changes how willing a skater is to commit to a new element. Our ES Pro Gear 2.0 Protective Shorts and ES Pro Gear 2.0 Padded Skating Pants use removable pads so you can take them out once an element is secure. See all protective gear.
Hands
Gloves do two jobs in figure skating. They keep hands warm on early ice, and they protect fingers when you catch the blade in a spin or spiral. A bare hand on a freshly sharpened edge is how skaters get cut, so if your skater is working on catch positions, gloves with a grippy palm such as the Spin Grippy Skating Gloves are not optional.
What to leave in the bag
Hoods and drawstrings catch on hands during spins. Long loose sleeves do the same. Jewellery, particularly hoop earrings and long necklaces, is a hazard in a fall. Anything baggy hides the body line your coach is trying to correct. And cotton, as above, works against you all session.
For the person standing at the boards
Coaches and skating parents have the harder job, because they stand still in a cold building for hours. That calls for a proper insulated layer rather than a practice jacket, which is what the Dare Down Jacket and the two in one Challenge Jacket are for.
Putting it together
A workable practice kit is a moisture moving base layer, a brushed stretch jacket, pants you can bend in, padded shorts if you are learning jumps, gloves, and a warm outer layer for the standing around. Build it once and the only thing you have to think about at six in the morning is the skating.