SKATE TRAINER
An apparatus for improving ice skating technique comprises a body formed of at least one block having first and second sides and first and second elastic loops operably connected to and formed adjacent to each of the first and second sides of the body. Each loop is sized to receive the knee of a user therein so as to locate the body therebetween. The elastic loops may be formed of a continuous member passed through a bore in a plurality of bodies
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to skate training in general and in particular to an apparatus for training a person to have proper skating technique.
2. Description of Related Art
Skating is an integral part of hockey, ringette and other ice sports. Accordingly, proper skating technique is not only important for the performance and enjoyment of such sports, but it also increases the safety of playing such sports by improving the player's ability to maneuver and avoid impacts.
One aspect of skating technique that is difficulty, especially for younger players, is to keep their feet and therefore also their knees slightly apart to provide a wider base for the player. Such a position is desirable to improve the stability of the player on their skates. In particular, many new players may have a tendency to keep their knees stiff with little bend. Such players will also often keep their feet close together in a position similar to standing.
For such players, it is difficult for them to learn to keep their feet further apart to provide a more stable base. Conventionally, one method for teaching such a player to keep their feet further apart has been to continuously remind such players to keep their feet wider apart. Such reminders and prompting, however has limited effectiveness as the player is unable to see or feel how their feet should be in the desired position.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccording to a first embodiment of the present invention there is disclosed an apparatus for improving ice skating technique comprising a body formed of at least one body having first and second sides and first and second elastic loops operably connected to and formed adjacent to each of the first and second sides of the body. Each loops is sized to receive the knee of a user therein so as to locate the body therebetween.
The at least one block may comprise a plurality of bodies. The first and second loops may be formed of a continuous member. The continuous member may be passed through a bore in the at least one block. The continuous member may include a closure for selectably opening and closing the continuous loop. The closure may be selected from the group consisting of a knot, a clasp or a connector.
Each of the at least one block may include two bores for passing the continuous member therethrough. The loops may include adjusting members for adjusting the size of the loop. The adjusting members may comprise cord locks.
The at least one block may be padded. The at least one block may be formed of expanded foam. The at least one block may be substantially disk shaped. The blocks may have a thickness between 0.5 and 2 inches.
Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the following description of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures.
In drawings which illustrate embodiments of the invention wherein similar characters of reference denote corresponding parts in each view,
Referring to
Each body 14 extends between first and second sides, 20 and 22 and an outer peripheral edge 24. As illustrated, the body 12 is formed of a plurality of blocks 14 stacked together such that the first side 20 of a one block 14 is located proximate to a second side 22 of a second block 14. The first and second sides 20 and 22 of the blocks 14 may be substantially parallel to each other so as to assist stacking and may be substantially flat. Each body 14 has a thickness between the first and second sides 20 and 22 selected to permit a user to adjust the overall width of the body 12 by removing or introducing additional blocks 14 into the apparatus as will be more fully be described below. In particular, each body may have a thickness between 0.5 and 2 inches (12 and 51 mm) although it will be appreciated that other thicknesses may be useful as well.
The peripheral edge 24 of each block may have any shape as desired by a user, such as, by way of non-limiting example, round, square, rectangular, triangular, oval octagonal or irregular. The block 14 will also be selected to have a size adequate to provide an adequate brace between the knees of the user, such as, by way of non-limiting example, a diameter of between 2 and 8 inches for a circular shaped block 14 as illustrated in
The blocks 14 may be formed of any suitable padded material, such as, by way of non-limiting example, foam rubbers, expanded foam, including ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), polyurethane, or other materials having padded layers therearound, including foam rubbers, expanded foam, cotton, fabric or the like. As illustrated, the blocks 14 may also include one or more bores 26 extending therethrough between the first and second sides 20 and 22. The bores 26 are sized to pass an elongate flexible member 30 therethrough as will be more fully described below, such as, by way of non-limiting example, having a diameter of between 1/16 and ¼ inches (2 and 6 mm).
The elongate member 30 may comprise any flexible elastic elongate tensile member. As illustrated, the elongate member 30 may be formed of a length of elasticized cord, string, rope, rubber tubing or the like. The elongate member 30 may have a suitable cross section as desired by the user, such as, by way of non-limiting example, circular, oval or rectangular. It will also be appreciated that other elastic flexible members may be utilized. The elongate member 30 extend through the bores 26 of the blocks so as to connect them together into the body 12 as illustrated.
The elongate member 30 may be connected to itself by a knot 32 or other similar fastener to form a continuous loop. Examples of such fasteners may include, by are not limited to buckles, clasps or the like. The elongate member includes first and second adjusting clips, 34 and 36, respectively located to each end of the body through which the elongate member is passed twice to form first and second loops, 38 and 40, respectively adjacent to the ends of the body 12.
With reference to
In operation, a user may open the continuous loop of the elongate member 30 by untying knot 32 or otherwise undoing the connection therebetween. Thereafter, the second adjusting clip 36 may be removed from the elongate member and one or more blocks 14 removed or added thereto as illustrated in
While specific embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated, such embodiments should be considered illustrative of the invention only and not as limiting the invention as construed in accordance with the accompanying claims.
Claims
1. An apparatus for improving ice skating technique comprising:
- a body formed of at least one block having first and second sides; and
- first and second elastic loops operably connected to and formed adjacent to each of said first and second sides of said body, each of said loops being sized to receive the knee of a user therein so as to locate said body therebetween.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said at least one block comprises a plurality of blocks.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said first and second loops are formed of a continuous member.
4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said continuous member is passed through a bore in said at least one block.
5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said continuous member include a closure for selectably opening and closing the continuous loop.
6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said closure is selected from the group consisting of a knot, a clasp or a connector.
7. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein each of said at least one block includes two bores for passing said continuous member therethrough.
8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said loops include adjusting members for adjusting the size of said loop.
9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said adjusting members comprise cord locks.
10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said at least one blocks are padded.
11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said at least one blocks are formed of expanded foam.
12. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said at least one blocks are substantially disk shaped.
13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein said blocks have a thickness between 0.5 and 2 inches.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 4, 2014
Publication Date: Sep 11, 2014
Applicant: BPRO SPORTS INC. (Calgary)
Inventors: Borys Protsenko (Calgary), Konstantin Dyskin (Calgary)
Application Number: 14/196,208
International Classification: A63B 69/00 (20060101);