In level 5 figure skating, do you need to wear a helmet?

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• Parent Category: General Figure Skating

This question clearly came from a CanSkate Level 5 skater who is looking to shed their helmet but it's a worthy question.

In general, most skating clubs like their CanSkaters to wear helmets until they graduate up to formal figure skating lessons.

So until you've finished level 6 or 7, you should probably keep the helmet on. For a more detailed discussion, see http://skatersdad.com/when-should-my-kid-stop-wearing-a-helmet.html. In 2011, Skate Canada passed a rule that dictates that all CanSkaters must wear a helmet regardless of age. They also dictate that it must be a hockey helmet and not a skiing or cycling helmet. The good news is that this takes the pressure off of parents to say no to helmet removal. You can now just say "Sorry Kiddo. It's the rule".