Better Late Than Never

I am the proud owner of a new pair of figure skates. I used to skate competitively in my youth and I really love ice dancing.  About five years ago, I was thrilled to discover that Kelowna had an adult ice dancing club that met once a week. After a good fifteen years with very little skating to speak of, I was keen to start building up my strength and balance so I could join them.  

Kelowna is a big hockey town.  Every sports store you go into has a wall covered from floor to ceiling with all kinds of men's and boys' hockey skates. It seemed if you were looking for ladies' figure skates you were out of luck.  The few stores that carried women's skates had two or three options, mostly moulded plastic or  hard-as-rock vinyl.    There are lots of figure skaters in Kelowna, but those that belong to the Kelowna Figure Skating Club have to drive the 4 plus hours to Vancouver to find a pair.  I would imagine you can order custom made ones through the club, like we used to when I was young.  For someone who plans to skate once or twice a week, the cost was a bit prohibitive.

Two years ago I stumbled upon some fairly pricey skates at Source for Sports. I returned to the store several times over the years, hoping in vain that they might go on sale.  After struggling with a pair of hard plastic size tens for the past three years, this winter I decided that I deserved to have a proper pair of skates.

I marched myself into Source and tried on a pair of Jackson Mystiques, the least expensive of the Don Jackson skates they carried. They didn't have my size so I ordered in a pair, which still turned out to be the wrong size and I ordered in again.  Turns out I'm an 8 1/2 not a 10. The public skating season is just about over and I think I'll be lucky to find a class that fits my schedule before March 18th.  I'm a bit disappointed, but I'm thrilled at thought of being all ready once things start up again in September.  

Here's a picture of me at the age of ten, dressed in my costume for our winter carnival.  I can't remember what the carnival was called...Galaxy On Ice comes to mind.  Every class represented a different country and my group's performance was called: "America, Stars and Stripes"