Personal Essay/Letter to the Editor by AA

I have been a figure skater for a little over a year now. As I started my classes, I noticed how I got frequently cold and experimented with different outfits that might help. I did eventually get some warmer pants designed specifically for figure skaters that helped. They are basically just fleece lined leggings that go down far enough to go over the boots of my skates. They work well because they keep me warm, are flexible enough that I can move in them, and are comfortable to wear over longer periods of time. I also found some long sleeve shirts and zip up sweatshirts that could be warm enough.

These worked well enough for typical practices, but after a little while I signed up to be in an ice show. After I got my costume, a short dress with short sleeves, I started to worry about being cold again. As our practices went on, I realized that not only did I get cold, but if I fell I could get cut or bleed. Right before our dress rehearsal, I tripped during warm ups and got blood right on the knees of my tights. It didn’t stain and I got it out, but the point is that our outfits were pretty, but impractical. I felt bad for some of the younger kids I saw shivering before we went out to perform.
This got me and some of my friends thinking about ways we could improve the problem. One of my friends brought up the interesting point that we could design something similar to a wetsuit for skaters. Wetsuits work by trapping heat and stopping it from escaping by using insulation. When you put on a wetsuit to go swimming, you trap the heat within and it will stay closer to your normal body temperature. If we were to create something similar to this for skaters, they would be able to wear it under performance/competition outfits. We could design them to be in different shades and skin tones, so it would blend in. If they were made with stretchy materials like our practice leggings and shirts, they would be flexible enough to spin and jump in. The extra layer would also provide some protection from the ice when skaters trip or fall.

In conclusion, I plan on trying to find a solution to the problems skaters face with staying warm when I have time outside of school. If anybody else has any ideas on how to help solve this problem, the skating community would be glad to bring them to the table.