Are Balance Blades Good for Learning to Skate?
Balance Blades & Learn-to-Skate Programs
Designed for the Beginning
Every skater starts in the same place.
Before they can glide, turn or stop, they have to stand, move and balance on the ice.
Balance Blades were designed specifically for this stage of learning.
The patented beginner blade helps children:
Stand — front assistance provides traction to help with standing and those first movements.
Move — once they're standing, beginners can start stepping, pushing and moving on the ice.
Balance — a wider, flatter middle provides greater stability while they develop their balance.
Help Prevent Rear Falls — the patented rear feature helps prevent the backward falls that are so common when children first learn to skate.
Build Confidence — when children can stand and move, they can start learning.
Standing comes first. Moving comes next.
Can Balance Blades Be Used in CanSkate and Learn-to-Skate Programs?
Yes.
Balance Blades are beginner skates designed specifically for children learning to skate and can be used in CanSkate and Pre-CanSkate.
Skate Canada's national CanSkate requirements do not require children to wear traditional lace-up skates and do not prohibit Balance Blades.
Balance Blades are also designed for the same beginning stage served by programs such as Snowplow Sam, Learn to Skate USA, parent-and-tot, preschool skating and other learn-to-skate programs.
Whatever program introduces your child to the ice, the fundamentals begin in the same place:
Stand. Move. Balance. Learn to skate.
That's exactly what Balance Blades were designed to help beginners do.
Do Balance Blades Cause Bad Skating Habits?
No.
Balance Blades help children learn to skate.
Your child still has to balance their own body, bend their knees, move their feet, push and glide.
The patented blade doesn't do those things for them.
Instead, it gives beginners additional assistance during the stage when skating is most difficult: the beginning.
As their balance and skills develop, they rely less on that assistance and more on their own skating ability.
Balance Blades don't replace learning.
They help beginners start learning.
Will My Child Have to Relearn How to Skate?
No. They're skating from day one.
There is a Balance Blades way to learn to skate.
At the beginning, children can use the front assistance to help them stand and get moving.
The wider, flatter middle helps them balance.
The rear feature helps prevent rear falls.
Then something important happens:
Their skating improves.
They become more balanced.
They move more confidently.
They develop their stride.
They rely less on the assistance.
The blade can then transition with them through progressive sharpening.
The Balance Blades way is a way of learning to skate — not a different way of skating that later has to be unlearned.
Do Balance Blades Interfere With Learning to Skate?
No. They were specifically designed for learning to skate.
Each section of the patented blade has a job.
FRONT
Helps Them Stand & Move
The front assistive indentations provide traction when deliberately engaged, helping a beginner stand and initiate movement.
MIDDLE
Helps Them Balance & Glide
The wider, flatter middle provides greater stability while the child learns to balance, move and glide.
REAR
Helps Prevent Rear Falls
The rear indentations are designed to engage during a rearward slip and help prevent the child from falling backward.
During skating, the child is still balancing and moving independently.
Balance Blades don't skate for your child.
Your child learns to skate on Balance Blades.
The Balance Blades Way
From First Steps to Independent Skating
1. Stand
Standing comes first.
The front assistance gives a beginner traction when they need it to help them stand and begin moving.
2. Move
Once they're standing, they begin stepping, pushing and moving across the ice.
3. Balance
The wider, flatter middle provides greater stability as they develop balance and begin gliding.
4. Build Their Skills
As balance and confidence improve, children begin developing their own stride and skating ability.
The rear feature continues to help prevent rear falls.
5. Progress the Blade
Once the child is confidently skating, transitional sharpening progressively reduces the assistance as their skills develop.
6. Skate Independently
The assistance fades.
Their skating ability remains.
They were learning to skate all along.
How Do Balance Blades Help Without Holding My Child Up?
Your child is still doing the skating.
Balance Blades don't physically support your child's body. Your child stands, balances, moves their feet, pushes and develops their own stride.
The patented blade simply provides targeted assistance during the earliest stages of learning — helping them stand, get moving, balance and help prevent rear falls.
As their skating develops, the assistance can be progressively reduced.
Their balance develops. Their confidence grows. Their skating becomes independent.
See the Difference
Same Child. Same Ice. Different Skates.
Watch the difference when a beginner gets a skate designed specifically for the challenges they face when learning.
Don't just tell them they can skate.
Give them the opportunity to feel it.
Why Confidence Comes First
A child who can't stand can't start skating.
A child who's repeatedly falling backward may become frustrated and afraid to move.
And without movement, it's difficult to begin developing skating skills.
Balance Blades address those first challenges directly.
Help them stand.
Help them move.
Help them balance.
Help prevent rear falls.
Then let their ability grow.
Confidence starts with staying on their feet.
Designed for Beginners
Traditional skate blades weren't designed specifically around the challenges of a first-time skater.
Balance Blades were.
The patented Balance Blades design was created specifically to help beginning skaters with the challenges of standing, initial movement, balance and rear falls.
Not by replacing skating.
By helping children get started.
Recommendations vs. Evidence
Skating coaches and individual learn-to-skate programs may have their own preferences about the type of skates beginners should wear.
A recommendation or coaching preference is not the same as evidence about Balance Blades.
Claims about how Balance Blades affect a child's skating should be based on evidence specific to Balance Blades—not assumptions based on other adjustable skates, skating aids or traditional equipment preferences.
There is no published scientific evidence establishing that Balance Blades cause bad skating habits or require children to relearn how to skate.
Straight Answers for Parents
Are Balance Blades good for learning to skate?
Yes. That's what they were designed for.
Balance Blades provide targeted assistance during the beginning stages while the child develops their own balance, movement and skating ability.
Can Balance Blades be used in CanSkate?
Yes. Skate Canada's national CanSkate requirements do not prohibit Balance Blades or require children to wear traditional lace-up skates.
Do Balance Blades cause bad skating habits?
No. Children still balance, bend, move, push and glide for themselves while learning to skate.
Claims that Balance Blades cause bad skating habits have not been established by published scientific evidence.
Will my child have to relearn how to skate?
No. Your child is learning to skate from day one.
Balance Blades provide a learn-to-skate progression in which assistance can be reduced as skating ability develops.
Claims that children must relearn balance or skating after using Balance Blades have not been established by published scientific evidence.
Do Balance Blades interfere with normal skating?
No. The patented assistive features are designed to help during specific beginner situations while the child learns to balance and move independently.
Are Balance Blades just for backyard or public skating?
No. Balance Blades are beginner skates designed for children learning to skate.
They can be used while learning with family, at public skating, and in learn-to-skate environments, subject to the rules of the particular facility or program.
What About Adjustable Skates?
Balance Blades adjustable skates are designed specifically for growing beginner skaters.
Adjustability allows the boot to grow with your child while the patented Balance Blades features continue to help with standing, getting moving, balance and rear falls.
Balance Blades adjustable skates:
- Adjust to fit growing feet
- Can last up to four skating seasons
- Provide excellent ankle support
- Offer a comfortable, secure fit
- Save families from buying new skates every season
- Make learning to skate more affordable
- Include an insole sizing guide to help parents choose the proper fit
Adjustable doesn't mean compromising on learning, comfort or support. It means a beginner skate designed to grow with your child.
For the best fit, use the Balance Blades Insole Sizing Guide to measure your child's foot and adjust the skate to their current size.
Start With a Skate Designed for the Beginning
Your child doesn't need to already know how to skate to use Balance Blades.
That's the point.
Balance Blades were created for those first steps.
Stand sooner.
Get moving sooner.
Help prevent rear falls.
Build confidence.
Learn to skate.