Figure Skating As An Adult Beginner

Hey there and welcome to The Adulting Journals! Today we’re on Life, Unfiltered and I’m going to get into my experiences as an adult beginning figure skater.

The first time I ever went skating was my first lesson in 2022. My sister and I were teetering around the lobby with our rental skates like baby giraffes fresh out of the womb, fighting for our lives as we attempted to actually get to the ice rink in one piece. A coach passed by, strutting about in her skates and she smiled at us, saying, “You girls can walk faster than that!” My sister and I glanced at each other, eyes wide with immense regret over having already purchased six lessons to start off.

We waltzed up to the ice rink, intending to feign confidence and skill so as to not humiliate ourselves. My sister managed to slowly inch her way to the rest of our classmates assisted by a walker while I took a tumble just seconds after taking my first step onto the ice. I had to scoot on my bum (which was soaked) to get to class where the coach helped me up because I didn’t know how to stand up with skates yet. Needless to say, I was INSTANTLY humbled.

I will not waste time sugarcoating it: we both wanted to quit the moment we stepped on the ice. But we didn’t!

It took us both several weeks to be able to skate without assistance, and several weeks longer to be able to actually skate with confidence and attempt new skills including one foot glides, two foot spins, and 3-turns. While little kids half our height could fearlessly throw themselves into the air attempting jumps and skating in circles around us, my sister and I clung to the safety of the wall for many of our beginning moves.

As we began to realize we had made a commitment to this new hobby, my sister and I decided to buy skates of our own. We were both sized and ended up buying Jackson Mystiques to carry us through the beginner Learn to Skate program. After the initial pain of breaking in our VERY stiff boots, the new skates helped immensely, having enough ankle support to confidently jump and having sharp blades to spin on even the roughest ice, we both began to quickly improve.

My sister and I used to leave class every Saturday and watch the more advanced skaters warm up in a large group packed with students of various ages and levels doing twirls with ribbons, dancing to music, and practicing exciting footwork. We wanted nothing more than to skate among them.

But now in 2025, my sister and I share the ice with everyone from girls who have been skating since they were 5 to women in their 50s who wanted to pick up a new hobby. I’m currently working on my Lutz and camel spin and my sister is nailing her loop and sit spin, and each weekend we get so excited to try new skills and see each other succeed.

Both of us were nervous to try something new as adults, fearing that we would never be as good as the skaters who started when they were little. But as soon as we let go of that perfectionistic attitude and allowed ourselves to do something not with the goal of flawlessness but just for fun, we were able to accomplish skills we never would have seen ourselves even having the guts to attempt a year earlier. The feeling of trying a new jump is so thrilling and rewarding, even if it ends in a fall, because I know that as long as I keep trying, someday I’ll know the satisfaction of finally landing it.

Let’s try new things,

Alexandra