off ice spinning tool?

TerpsichoreFS · Jun 26, 2017

So in this video about You Young :
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0zXZdJZNvw8

At 2:13 she uses some sort of pad to help her spinning training. Does anyone know what it's called/what it is?

karne · Jun 26, 2017

It's called a spinner, it looks like the plastic version. They're available on most skating websites.

sk8momto1 · Jun 26, 2017

Yes, it's just called a spinner. My daughter has one that looks like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Metal-Spinner-Ice-Skate-Training/dp/B004FXFGV6

TerpsichoreFS · Jun 27, 2017

Thanks!

Vanshilar · Jun 27, 2017

At the risk of being pedantic, what You Young used is actually a turnboard:

https://www.discountdance.com/dancewear/style_TB1.html

(I'm just grabbing the first relevant google hit here, you should look around for other sites if you want to buy one.)

A spinner has a lower base which is fixed to the ground, and an upper plate which spins above that base at a fixed point. So the spinning axis is fixed -- it doesn't travel.

In contrast, a turnboard is simply a board where the bottom has low friction (while the top has traction so that your foot doesn't slip). So you have to use it on the right kind of floor and you may travel in your spin (which is both good and bad).

bevybean · Jun 27, 2017

Vanshilar said:
At the risk of being pedantic, what You Young used is actually a turnboard:

https://www.discountdance.com/dancewear/style_TB1.html

(I'm just grabbing the first relevant google hit here, you should look around for other sites if you want to buy one.)

A spinner has a lower base which is fixed to the ground, and an upper plate which spins above that base at a fixed point. So the spinning axis is fixed -- it doesn't travel.

In contrast, a turnboard is simply a board where the bottom has low friction (while the top has traction so that your foot doesn't slip). So you have to use it on the right kind of floor and you may travel in your spin (which is both good and bad).

Anyone have thoughts about which one is better? My daughter needs to do some off-ice work for spins, so I'd love some opinions from people who have used them.

jf12 · Jun 27, 2017

Most coaches recommend the plastic one because the rocker simulates the rocker on th blade.

Ic3Rabbit · Jun 27, 2017

Spinner definitely.

tstop4me · Jun 27, 2017

Vanshilar said:
At the risk of being pedantic, what You Young used is actually a turnboard:

https://www.discountdance.com/dancewear/style_TB1.html

(I'm just grabbing the first relevant google hit here, you should look around for other sites if you want to buy one.)

A spinner has a lower base which is fixed to the ground, and an upper plate which spins above that base at a fixed point. So the spinning axis is fixed -- it doesn't travel.

In contrast, a turnboard is simply a board where the bottom has low friction (while the top has traction so that your foot doesn't slip). So you have to use it on the right kind of floor and you may travel in your spin (which is both good and bad).

Not sure of your distinction in terminology. Figure skating sites list two classes of spinners: turntable-based and shaped-block-based. For example, here's EDEA's spinner (a shaped block): http://ice.edeaskates.com/en/ice-skates/spinner/. "Turnboard" seems to be more common terminology for a practice tool for dancers (such as ballet), although some are listed for ice skaters as well. However, turnboards listed primarily for dancers appear to be of a different design than shaped-block spinners for ice skaters. This is not surprising, since ice skaters can spin much faster than dancers. So I would look at units specifically marketed as spinners designed for ice skaters.

tstop4me · Jun 27, 2017

bevybean said:
Anyone have thoughts about which one is better? My daughter needs to do some off-ice work for spins, so I'd love some opinions from people who have used them.

I can't give you a comparison of turntable-based spinners with shaped-block-based spinners because personally I have used only a turntable-based spinner. But I have seen little girls practice with shaped-block-based spinners at the rink lobby, and I was really impressed at what they were doing.

I looked at three different brands of turntable-based spinners. The problem is that the turntable bearings were all low grade (like the el-cheapo Lazy Susan bearings at Home Depot). I settled on the Jerry's World model because of the otherwise good design (especially the rubber clad aluminum plate base and top); and because it was used in a university study (so I figured it shouldn't be too bad; maybe I was just being too picky). I used it for a while, and couldn't quite get the hang of it. An advanced skater at my rink was considering a spinner, and I lent her mine. She tried it half a dozen times and the bearings seized (when I get around to it, I'll replace the turntable with a heavier duty one). Other skaters I've talked to since (and other reviews on the net) have complained about poor quality bearings also. So be careful.

bevybean · Jun 28, 2017

Ic3Rabbit said:
Spinner definitely.

Okay, given tstop4me's post, do you mean turntable or shaped-block?

jf12 · Jun 28, 2017

The ones I see most at the rink are these:

https://sharperedgeskates.com/products/jerrys-plastic-spinner

http://ice.edeaskates.com/en/ice-skates/spinner/

I tried one like the dance turntable linked by vanshilar once and I felt that when I stepped on it, the curve of the spinner deformed too much and it wasn't under the ball of my foot. Maybe I'm too heavy for it though

. I've never seen or tried one of the metal ball bearings ones.

MiraiFan · Jun 28, 2017

I have the one by Holy Salchow and it's pretty good--I use it mostly for backspins.

gkelly · Jun 28, 2017

jf12 said:
I tried one like the dance turntable linked by vanshilar once and I felt that when I stepped on it, the curve of the spinner deformed too much and it wasn't under the ball of my foot. Maybe I'm too heavy for it though . I've never seen or tried one of the metal ball bearings ones.

A device designed for practice of floor dance pirouettes in dance shoes or bare feet would not be useful for practicing skating spins, and vice versa. The weight placement over the foot is different.

I think vanshilar is incorrect about exactly what the skater in the video was using -- even if the devices look similar, they wouldn't feel the same.

Vanshilar · Jun 28, 2017

gkelly said:
A device designed for practice of floor dance pirouettes in dance shoes or bare feet would not be useful for practicing skating spins, and vice versa. The weight placement over the foot is different.

I'm not sure to what extent they're different -- one of the other skaters at my rink uses something very close to what I linked (a rectangular, curved but flat plastic piece), as recommended by her coach, rather than the kind with a thicker middle. Most of the skaters at my rink use a turntable-type spinner, though, such as these:

https://www.amazon.com/Metal-Spinner-Ice-Skate-Training/dp/B004FXFGV6
https://www.northerniceanddance.com/spinner-gold-medal-spinner-p-924.html

It might just be a matter of terminology, whether you want to called them a different kind of spinner, a turnboard, a twist board, "the plastic kind", etc. My point is just that there are two different types of off-ice tools to help with spinning, regardless of whatever you call it. You Young pretty clearly uses the non-turntable type in the video. I can't really tell if it's the flat rectangular type or the type with a thicker middle.

off ice spinning tool?

TerpsichoreFS

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karne

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