Ice skating is a wonderful winter sport that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. When you are ice skating you need to remember that you will be on ice and that means that you will be cold if not dressed properly. If you go ice skating and you are not dressed the right way you won’t have much fun because you will be shivering in your skates the entire time.

Here is how you should dress when going ice skating:

•    Skates: Ok this one is obvious. You can’t ice skate without sakes. The type of skates you will need will depend on the type of skating you are going to be doing. If you are only planning on casual skating then you can probably just rent the skates from the rink. If however you get into figure skating or hockey, then those types of skates are different all together. Whatever type of skates you do wear, be sure that you wear socks when you ice skate. A good thick wool pair usually does the trick and helps to keep your feet nice and warm and also very well padded, which in turn keeps the blisters away.
•    Pants: When ice skating a big mistake in the pants department are jeans. If you fall on the ice, and you probably will a time or two, then the denim in your jeans will actually absorb the moisture from the ice and that is going to leave you rather chilled. Instead you can get special ice skating pants that are made of a specific material that is designed to repel any moisture away from your skin and thus keep you warm. If you still want to go with the jeans looks, then wear them over top of the ice skating pants.
•    Tops: Here you will want to layer. Go to the rink with a t-shirt first, a long sleeved shirt over that, a sweater over that, and finally a lightweight jacket. When you first get onto the ice you will no doubt be fairly chilly. But as you skate around and your body gets heated up you may want to start shedding some of your clothing. By layering you will be sure that you always have the right amount of clothing up top to help keep you warm.
•    Hats: This is totally optional but if you tend to get cold ears quickly you may want to wear a wool cap. This will allow you to skate around freely without having to worry about your ears freezing off.
•    Gloves or mittens: To keep your hands warm it is a good idea to wear gloves or mittens. Nothing will spoil a day of ice skating faster than frost bitten hands.
•    Accessories: A nice accessory that can easily be added or removed to help keep you warm or cool is a trusty scarf. You may also want to wear some clear glasses as this will help shield your eyes from the cold wind and keep them from getting dried out.

Ice skating is a fantastic time but that fun can be cut drastically short if you are not dressed warm enough.