Skate Fitting

• Skates should be as closely fitting to your feet as possible, to limit movement of the foot on the bed of the skate - it should "fit like a glove"
• You should aim to have the boot interior length no more than 1 cm (1.5cm for children, to allow a little growing room) longer than your foot.
• The sides of your feet should be held by the sides of the interior of the boot, but shouldn't be squashed.

• If the skates are not laced yet, do not lace them. If they are, loosen the laces on the skate completely, so that you can easily slide your foot into the skate.
• Sit in a chair that allows your leg to bend at a right angle at the knee.
• Push your foot to the front of the skate so that the tips of your big toes touch the end, but are not pressed against the end.
• If you cannot do this because the heel is at the back and your toes are pressing on the front, the boots are too small (length).
• If you cannot do this because the width doesn't allow you to move your foot all the way in, the boots are too small (width).
• Shuffle yourself forward so that your knee is over your toes.
• Using your finger or the non-pointed end of a pen/pencil, assess how much space you have between the back of your heel and the back of your boot.
• If you can get the finger/pen/pencil down there, there should be minimal ability to wiggle the finger/pen/pencil back and forth. If you can, the space is likely larger than 1cm and would potentially be too large.
• If you cannot get the finger/pen/pencil down there, this is a good fit for length.

• If the boots are not laced, you will need to lace them at this point.
• Bring your heel to the back of the boot - this is the normal position of your heel when skating. If on the new boots you are struggling to get your heel into the 'pocket' at the back, the shop may allow you to kick back on the heel - but ask first!
• Tighten and tie the laces to a comfortable level.
• Identify if there are any pressure points anywhere around your foot. Do this while sitting - then stand in the boots. Feet spread out when standing, so this will test whether the boots would be ok while skating.
• Well fitting skates should hold your foot - it should "fit like a glove".
• If the boot feels generally tight on the width, it may required larger width boots. Other minor pressure points may be relieved with heat moulding or punching.

Some boots are designed to allow heat moulding for a perfect fit. This process will relieve any small areas of pressure felt on your feet while skating, particularly around the ankles and toes.

Heat moulding cannot typically resolve skates being too large.

Where you have specific issues with your feet, punching may be required on a specific area. This process is used where heat moulding alone isn't likely to completely solve the issue, or where heat moulding isn't an option.