Perimeter stroking

Also called Power stroking, Forward and backward perimeter stroking

Strokes down the sides of the rink and crossovers round each end, a lap forwards and a lap backwards.

Round the rink

Not checked yet. The drill details on this page are a first draft by a non-expert, and no coach has seen them yet. Read them as a starting point and check them with a coach. Corrections are very welcome.

The run Forward strokes down the side · forward crossovers round the end · turn backwards · back strokes and back crossovers for the second lap

The pattern on the ice, one line for the blade on the ice, coloured by edge.

Not drawn in the body frame yet: a whole lap is longer than the body frame plays; the strokes and crossovers are drawn on their own pages.

You stroke the length of the rink, crossover round the end, and keep going, using the whole ice. Part way round you turn backwards, by a two-foot turn at first and later by a three turn or a mohawk, and do the next lap backwards.

It trains power and flow over distance. Each stroke should glide before the next, and the crossovers at the ends should carry the speed round rather than scrub it off. Counting strokes down each side is a plain measure of progress: fewer strokes at the same speed means each push is doing more.

Rinks that run public sessions usually set the direction of travel, so this is a drill for a session where that direction suits it.

This drill trains

Forward strokingThe push itself: one blade drives against its inside edge while the other glides away, first out to the side, then from a T.
Backward strokingThe push off the inside edge, travelling backwards, with the free foot carried in front.
Left forward outside crossoverLFO to RFI: the free foot crosses in front of the skating foot onto the same lobe, still travelling forwards.
Left backward outside crossoverLBO to RBI: the free foot crosses in front of the skating foot onto the same lobe, still travelling backwards.

Built from

Two-foot turnBoth blades on the ice, turning through a half circle from forwards to backwards.

Found in 5 independent sources: coaches' public teaching and published skating-skills tests, taken as base guidance and written for the guide.