The Glove to End All Gloves

The Skating Glove, by AptaFitted

Gloves are a huge part of skating. HUGE. You don't always see skaters wearing them in televised competitions, or at least you may not be able to tell they're wearing them - with the rise of blade grabbing maneuvers in the last decade, slim, skin-colored gloves have been all the rage to protect precious digits from blade slices. In fact, it can be dangerous not to wear gloves, and most, if not all skaters wear them during practices at all times.

I always felt naked without my gloves on. It's a weird, disconcerting feeling that's irksome enough that it could throw off my concentration during a show or competition, and psyche me out a bit. But when I competed, skaters just didn't wear gloves during performances. It was frowned upon, though I can't recall why. But one of the first things I did when I decided to compete again was purchase a pair of competition gloves, and I've not looked back. At this point in my life, anything that would help to keep me from having an anxiety attack during a competition is worth it, judges be damned.

So when I saw this Kickstarter for the AptaFitted skating glove, I had to look into it. I'm not sure I need as much coverage and structure as it purports to offer, but I think it's a great idea and I'm all for supporting it.