Stamina
Enough endurance that the last third of a programme is skated as well as the first.
Not checked yet. The suggestions 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.
A free programme lasts a few minutes, a pattern dance several circuits, a step sequence the length of the rink. The edges and turns in the last third of any of them are skated by a tired body, and tired skaters straighten their knees and lose their edges first.
Ordinary endurance work does the job: anything that keeps a skater working steadily for longer than the programme lasts. Stroking laps on the ice count too, and are the most specific of all.
There is nothing skating-specific about building stamina, so this entry says only why it matters. Plenty of good general advice exists elsewhere, and a skater with a health condition should ask a doctor before starting.
On the ice, this prepares
- Step sequenceA run of turns and steps skated as one element across the ice, to the character of the music.
- Choreographic sequenceAt least two different skating movements, such as spirals or spread eagles, joined by steps and turns and built for the music.
- 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.
Written for the guide from what each element asks of the body. No governing body's material.