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[jadewilkinson]

As a figure skater, this is probably one of the best announcements. Also one tip for breaking skates in, put bubble wrap round your ankle, stops blisters and rubbing

[inaf]

Oh man! Can finally relate lol. Nice advice about using wet socks. That's the old school way, and will eventually break (rot) the skates. If you keep doing that, make sure to let them dry fully. Unlace as much as possible and pull tongue out as far as possible ( the skate one, not your own 😛) The modern way is to go to a skate shop and have skates heat molded to fit your feet. Works great. Definitely wear them at home (with guards on, or you can mess up blades, but take them off for storage) Tighten them as tight as possible, and bend your knees down ( like a half squat, knees together) so you get that crease where the ankle naturally bends. I'm not familiar with that TV show in the U.S., but if you're doing actual ice dancing, you won't be doing jumps and spins, so can't really suggest you learn to do an axel for your stunt. Ooooh, if you're badass, a back flip 🤯 Good luck to ya, Nile 🥰
P.S. there's lots of figure skating advice on YouTube 😉

[Madisaurous]

Congrats and good luck! I'm excited to root for you! As a figure skater myself, I'd recommend some bunga pads (i survived off of these) to prevent lace bite and heel blisters. Skating with blisters is unpreventable but getting callouses as quick as possible will help a lot! Keep walking around the house, tying up your skates fully and bending your ankles :)

[gracemcm]

I COULD CRY this is so exciting!!! I remember bombarding the comments requesting a gymnasts try ice skating, so this is gonna be so cool!!! As a skater myself, I can tell you'll do great.

[Katie]

How does Ash almost always style out his fails? 😂

When you say 'that no one's ever done' I'm hoping you mean 'that no celeb on the show has ever done'... but knowing you, you'll push it even further than that.

[elagumdzic]

Yay, massive congratulations! Wishing we can watch the whole thing from the US.

[lutzbutz]

excited to hear this!!! As a former skater I love watching this show and have several friends who have done it as pros. You'll have sooo much fun!!! I know Perri did a backflip already on the show but i'm sure yours would be better, maybe with a twist?

[ilananl]

That's great! I wish i could watch the episodes but i don't live in the uk so i hope you are allowed to put vids of your performances on youtube or make it so non British can see you on this journey!
Have fun and give it your all!

[gracetaylor]

As a figure skater, seeing you walk around on your UNLACED skates terrified me. But I’m so excited to see you skate!!!!

[mabu]

Good luck to you, Nile! BTW, Surya Bonaly already did a split backflip and landed it on one blade in competition at the 1998 Olympics.

[laceym]

Can't wait for January. So looking forward to Dancing on Ice. Love seeing all the boys being so successful!

[stevefigg]

So excited for you!!! I’m a huge ice skating fan. Luke on Ninja, Nile on Ice skating… Awesome!!!

[lindatannock]

Congratulations! As a professional figure skater I highly approve! 😉 Can't wait to see your progress!! ⛸️💖🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[avrilbissell]

This is brilliant news and I can't wait to see you on the show.
As for the position of your fingers and toes, I can still put my fingers down over my palm, bend them backwards over the top of my hand at almost 90 degrees angle (my index finger more than that) and I can stretch my thumb down towards my wrist. My only downside is that I can't press any button just using my fingers, as they bend backwards towards the top of my hand and they can even move side to side way within the base of the joint, so I have to use my knuckles. My party piece though is to bend my fingers only bending the first joint 😅 and I can still do this at the ripe age of 60 (last month)
I loved today's challenge with the base being so unstable. Is this a potential challenge for the future, obviously safety comes 1st so who knows 🤔 😏
keep training
Hugs and stuff x

[HopeWren]

Ahh that’s so exciting! As a former figure skater, the excitement im feeling is insane!! 🙃❤️

I’m not sure if it’s been done before but I’d love to see if you could do an Axel jump! Ambitious but I think you could do it after enough training! ❤

[Faith-Ireland]

Something I learned when putting ice skates on:

1) sit down first of all! 😂
2) loosen your laces ALL the way. Very loose. In order to get a good tight skate.
3) hit your heels back into the boot. Lift your foot up and hit your foot on the back of the ice skate blade. That will make your heels sit all the way back into the boot.
4) don’t tie the laces around your ankle. It can cause injury.

And don’t walk around in your skates with the skate guards on. That’s actually harmful to your blades. They exist so no one’s gets injured by the blade. Not to walk on lol.

[pepperpotty]

Omg, I can't wait! I love Dancing on Ice!

[shadracksimi]

Bro ur perfect for this DONT F*!K IT UP...much love from aotearoa

[mustang]

Congratulations Nile!! Such a huge boost. Can't wait to see it!! I will have to find a way to watch ITV in the US!!

[meiraloraduncan]

You should check out Nastia Lukin’s toes. Most female gymnasts at the elite level have crazy flexible and strong toes after years of practice and training on the beam. This is part of why they can’t stick and stay on the beam even if they mess up a skill or landing. If the show is pairs or ice dancing you need to work on care, upper body, arm and leg strength. Many skaters also take ballet classes which helps them look fluid and graceful as they perform their routine. I would highly recommend watching some videos by the various skaters at the different levels to help learn how they strengthen and protect their feet and ankles plus the proper way of wearing and lacing their skates because it is important that the ankles are tight as it helps protect the ankles and reduces wobbling. You will quickly learn about the different edges of toe pick that makeup the blade and how important they are and how often they need to be sharpened. Skates are similar to a ballet point shoe and each dancer and skater will prepare their shoes/skates to help protect their feet but also how they preform their routine or dance skills. If you had more time to prepare it would have been helpful to have practiced skating with roller skates then inline skates because they use the same muscles and would have helped strengthen the areas of the body needed to ice skate. Plus it would have helped you to get used to skating and the transition to ice skates and skating would have been easier and might have helped prevent pulled muscles and possible injuries. Skating is much harder than it looks . Your years of daily training gave you the ability to make your gymnastics routines and performance of the various skills look easy when as you know they are much harder to do. Muscle memory plays a huge role during each time you compete or practice your routines. Many skaters use Pilates as part of their training to help with their core strength and conditioning. Think of your training and practicing of your skills in the same way that you would before each major competition and being selected for Team GB for Commonwealth games, Nationals, Worlds, and of course the Olympic Games and be mindful of doing stupid things that could affect your ability to perform, compete, or cause serious injury. With all that try to have fun along the journey.