Recreational Ice Figure Skating/Introduction

Scope
This books covers a wide variety of topics of interest to the active recreational skater and lower level test and competitive figure skaters, from the very basics to more advanced freestyle skills (simple jumps, spins and footwork), as well as advice to select and take care of boots and blades and tips for off-ice training. The contents have been compiled from the advice and experiences of other recreational and competitive skaters of many levels of ability; therefore there is a lot of emphasis on not merely describing the skills and what they should look like, but also the process of learning, what it should feel like, what mistakes you are more likely to make and what tips and exercises a variety of people have found useful to learn them.

Disclaimer
This book is furnished "as is" without express or implied warranty. If you wish to learn figure skating, you will progress much faster if you sign up for a class (offered at many rinks) and have a qualified instructor demonstrate the proper techniques and help correct you if you are doing something wrong. It is a good idea to rely on a good instructor to help you select skates and other equipment.

Acknowledgements
Much of the content of the book appeared originally as a "Frequently Asked Questions" archive posted to the now mostly inactive Usenet newsgroup rec.sport.skating.ice.recreational and is distilled from responses to questions and comments posted to this newsgroup and an old mailing list dedicated to figure skating as a participant sport (skaters-l@udel.edu). Many people contributed to the original FAQ, far too numerous to mention. However, special thanks are due to Karen Bryden, a co-author of the FAQ, and to two very active posters, Janet Swan Hill and the late George Robbins.