My first time on ice skates was in the first grade. My brownie troop took a group lesson. My brother was out mascot and he learned to skate by racing around the rink as fast as he could, so he didn't fall down. The rest of us lined up out in the middle of the ice and did our best to move slowly.
I rollerskated when I was a little older, but the sidewalks were always so uneven that there were many spills. I wasn't very good at stopping, so I usually fell onto some neighbor's lawn as my method of stopping.
Shortly after I moved to South Lake Tahoe, an indoor ice skating rink was built. I had heard stories of outdoor ice skating rinks being built in the past and failing. So I did all I could to keep it going by being the first person to sign up for lessons. I soon found out that ice skaters had much more narrow feet than I had. My first lessons were very painful, until I was able to get a pair of skates that were custom fit. Now it doesn't hurt my feet anymore to go ice skating. I am able to skate backwards, forwards and even on one foot. That is about the extent of my bravery on the ice, but I still enjoy skating.
This is the skating rink where I took my lessons as an adult.
Page last updated 02/04/07