Male Figure Skater Stuff

Female skaters and moms of girls, please ignore.

...OK can we please talk about the stuff for boys/ men?

I read about 'dance belts' and how some male skaters like them. Are they necessary? What age do the boys need them?

Also, a while ago a mom of a boy confided in me about needing special pants during puberty, especially during partner work. My skater doesn't do pairs or dance but he might in the future. I'd like to know what special needs they have so I can prepare.

Are there any special butt pads that work better for boys/men than the ones I see the girls wear? My skater was fine in those for a while but now says they 'rub.' I tried getting Dad to talk to him about this and I tried asking some male coaches but most just say things like, "I never used pads so I don't know." Right now my skater is not wearing pads and that's fine but soon enough he will start working on triples and I think he should wear some pads. I don't want him getting too injured and then getting fearful.

What other things do we need to know for boy skaters to keep them safe and comfy?

VegMom said:

Female skaters and moms of girls, please ignore.

...OK can we please talk about the stuff for boys/ men?

I read about 'dance belts' and how some male skaters like them. Are they necessary? What age do the boys need them?

Also, a while ago a mom of a boy confided in me about needing special pants during puberty, especially during partner work. My skater doesn't do pairs or dance but he might in the future. I'd like to know what special needs they have so I can prepare.

...

What other things do we need to know for boy skaters to keep them safe and comfy?

Click to expand...

Not a skater, but you use dance belts for other physical activities as well, like (obviously) dance.

They have more than one practical function. The first is to provide support, basically like a cup. This is very important at advanced levels to avoid injuries. Seriously. Guys without adequate support and protection have lost testicles before. Maybe that’s less essential in skating, but I doubt it.

The second reason, and why it becomes more important when boys hit a certain age, is to avoid embarrassment— because, when you’re in tighter gear and hitting poses, and you don’t wear a dance belt, people can see *everything.*

So belts are supportive and they hide things you want hidden. Aesthetically, they also don’t break up your lines as badly/awkwardly as wearing another type of support might, and are designed to avoid problems in terms of bands pressing into your skin and chafing or bunching up.

My daughter is also a ballet dancer, so I read a dance forum as well! This article on dance belts was recently posted on that forum, it might be of some help.

https://www.dancemagazine.com/dance-belt-2639655455.html

And here's my recent story about such. My daughter's ballet teacher asked that I get her a "hip alignment belt". I had to struggle VERY HARD when going to the dance store to ask for that specific item, not a "dance belt". So, I go to the store and ask for the hip alignment belt. She has no idea what I'm talking about (not a ballet store per se) and Google's it. What comes up is the item I'm looking for, but also a whole page of models in DANCE BELTS. I'm happy to say my 11 year old was not looking at the screen.

Sorry, no help on the pads, but the few boys we have at our rink wear the same ones the girls do. Mine doesn't, even though I bought her the very expensive ES Pro Gear pants.

http://www.esperformancewear.com/figure-skating/protective-gear

Cohen-esque and Sibelius summed it up pretty well.

I will add that even as a female skater, I'm aware of what the guys have to go through with having male skater friends and also being an ice dancer and partnering for many years: And it is essential for a male skater to have the support and other functionality of a dance belt once he reaches a certain age. I would say Tween age, but you can get them one earlier to get them used to it (or if they are doing dance or pairs sooner than later).

Good luck to your son.

Thanks for asking this question... I have a little boy and was wondering about that too. I have seen at an online dance store a "training belt". Instead of looking like a thong, it basically looks like briefs with the supportive padding in the front. Maybe you can try this at first before moving on to the actual belt. Right now we are just wearing UA Boxerjock underwear and it seems to be ok but my boy just turned 9. He also REFUSES to wear pads at all, so good luck with that. My husband never did sports or dance, so am dreading the day when i have to ask the coach about this....

My now 'young man' wears briefs that are snug or sports boxers/compression shorts to 'hold' everything in compactly -so hard to give explanation and not too explicit
It is important to have support to prevent things from moving around too much and cause groin injuries.

As for protective pads, that is a preference of the skater and coach(es) as well. Some coaches prefer the kids (male or female) not to wear pads so they don't get into bad habits incl falling.
That being said there are quite a number of different companies that make pads specifically for skaters using a variety of materials from gel, memory foam, to high impact absorbing materials.
I've heard of people using cycling shorts or even football/hockey short/pads.

Good luck!