Twisted Metal
PS Magazine, November/September 2009 Just a short time ago, US Figure Skating held their annual Champs Camp. Thirty of the 46 attendee's had their boots and blades analyzed focusing on what possible affect poor equipment could have on their performance. In order to protect the innocent, I will not share any names… those doing the checking, the skaters, or the boot or blade manufacturers. The skate technician at the camp looked for bent blades, blades that were not in vertical alignment with the boot, sharpening which covered radius of hollow and edge level, and the use of orthotics. Interesting enough, 11 of the 30 skaters had some sort of bend in at least one blade. Those who do mount blades know that blades can be twisted or bent during the mounting process. As it was explained to me, it only takes one screw put in at an angle to cause this problem. Skaters can bend their blades while skating. It’s not hard to imagine the amount of pressure put on boots and blades when you see th...