My skate guards are white. They stand out amongst the teals and oranges on the boards at the arena where I skated a last year. On several occasions we had to make quick exits from the ice because of an overzealous Zamboni driver, so I thought I would play it safe.
In 1990, while I flipped through a figure skating magazine, I found an advertisement for a line of custom figure skating guards, Avant Guards. They offered several cool designs, which included an alligator, bunny and turtle motif. For a while, I considered changing my hot pink guards in for the red Esprit design, which was red with black, white and yellow squished Pac Mans-like objects arranged on them. The Montreal distributor, RLC Skate Designs & Sales, offered eight custom choices. Wow! Just to order one pair would have been rather expensive though, so the idea was kiboshed.
Back then, websites and email addresses were non-existent at the bottom of advertisements. So, I called them today to see if RLC Skate Designs and Sales were still up and running. Nope – they have been taken over by Cozumel Fashions Inc., a manufacturer of brassieres and corsets.
While nobody mass produces pieces of plastic in baby pink with a racer stripes
today, Jerry’s Skating World, based in Markham, Ontario, carries flashing fibre optic skating guards, or Flashies, in a slew of different colours. They also offer the product line Blade Buddies, which are blade covers that look like animals. Don’t you want a pink poodle, bumblebee, tropical fish and otter to keep your blade from rusting?
The colours and styles offered today in simple guards are mind boggling. I remember when a “wide range of colours” meant they offered more than five colours, but less than 10. Now when visiting the local skating boutique to buy an $8 pair of skate guards, it’s like the Sears Catalogue of colours: geranium marble, cloud blue, petal peach gel and orchid glitter. The styles are similar to lipstick descriptions: Gel Gloss, Glitter, Marble and Satin.
Just as no one is too old to skate, no one is too old for pink champagne glitter skate guards. Inner Edge, put a pair of Flashies on hold for me!
Do you have them in white?
Skating Scene 