How to choose skis according to the child's height and weight?

If there are sports fans in the family, the question of whether the child needs to purchase sports equipment usually does not arise. The kid, one way or another, will be put on skis. And here the main thing is not to harm, not to discourage interest and not to provoke injury. The correct choice of skis at this stage is a responsible event, the consequences of which can hardly be overestimated.

The inventory that was left from the elders "for growth" may not be suitable. Skis, bindings to them, ski poles, etc. will have to be selected based on the height, weight and degree of preparedness of the child. And given that children are growing rapidly, you need to be ready to completely replace them for the next ski season. It can be difficult to choose skis according to the child's height without special training. If they did not fit, that is, they turned out to be shorter or, even worse, longer than required, this will in no way cause positive emotions for young skiers. It will be very difficult to persuade a child to go skiing next time.

According to a long-standing army tradition, skis must be selected so long that so that, stretching up your hand, you can, without getting up on tiptoe, reach the end of the upright equipment.

However, do not despair, the table developed by specialists helps to choose the right length of children's skis, knowing the growth of the child.

As you can see from the above table, when the skier reaches a height of 1 meter, the equipment is selected based on the height of + 20 cm, a slightly longer length is acceptable, but not more than 30 cm... So, skis for an athlete who has grown to about 140 cm should have a length of at least 160 cm.Of course, when choosing skis, you will have to take into account that a young athlete will almost never have exactly the same height as shown in the table. For example, when measuring height, it turned out that the skier had grown to 116 or 128 cm. What to do? Wait until his growth is aligned with the indicators of the table? This is how winter can end.

In such a rather ordinary situation, experts advise choosing shells, the size of which is somewhat larger. In the first case, with a height of 116 cm, you need to buy skis for a height of 120 cm, that is, a length of 140 cm.And in the second, with a height of 128 cm, respectively, for a height of 130 cm, which according to the table will be 150 cm. more so that your athlete will naturally come closer and closer to the ideal match between his height and the length of the skis.

It is especially important to take into account the weight of a small skier with his small stature, less than 80 cm. As you can see from the above table, in this case the sports equipment can be shorter than 1 meter. It is the weight that becomes the decisive factor in determining the length of the skis in such a situation. It is clear that the less the skier's weight, the shorter the equipment can be. For very young children 2-3 years old, mini-skis are suitable, the length of which rarely exceeds 50 cm.Of course, you will not be able to fully master the elements of skiing with such equipment, but it is possible to develop initial skills.

One of the advantages of mini skis is universal mountallowing you to put them on any shoe. The child does not have to change shoes when he has already skated and wants to do something else. Mini skis 50-70 cm long are a great option if the child weighs no more than 20 kg. If his weight approaches this mark or slightly exceeds it, you need to switch to skis 90 cm long.If a young skier weighs 20-40 kg, you will have to proceed from a ski length of 1 m.When weighing more than 40 kg, growth usually becomes decisive , and should be selected according to the growth table.

When choosing skis, skiing experience should also be taken into account.... If your athlete does not feel quite confident, and his height was approximately halfway between the two height categories, it is still better to take equipment of a smaller size. If the child is riding confidently, you can buy longer equipment. If skiing will take place mainly in physical education lessons, it is better to take shells with a shorter length, that is, with an increase, for example, at 143 cm, choose a ski length of 160 cm.

The problem of ski length can also arise for more advanced users involved in specialized sports sections. For example, to master the skating course, a child will need shorter skis than cross-country skis. On average, it is believed that such equipment should be 10 cm shorter than cross-country skis selected for the height.