Figure Skating
History of Figure Skating
Origin of Figure Skating
- Skates were first a means of transportation on frozen ponds and lakes. The oldest form of skate (a length of bone attached to sandals with thongs) dates back to 20000 B.C. when warriors and hunters crafted makeshift skates out of reindeer antlers or elk bones.
- The Dutch were some of the early pioneers and, as far back as the 13th century, maintained communication by skating from village to village along frozen rivers and canals.
- Skating spread across the channel to England and soon the first clubs and artificial rinks started springing up across the country. Before long, the sport had spread across Europe and had reached North America. Several kings of England, Marie ANTOINETTE, NAPOLEON I, the great German poet GOETHE and NAPOLEON III all purportedly loved to take to the ice.
- The first iron skates were used in the mid-1200s.
- By the 16th century, skaters were transporting goods across frozen waterways.
- Over time, skaters began to perform figures they designed, but it was not until the late 1800s that figure skating really began to develop and spread to Canada and the United States.
- In 1850, Edward BUSHNELL (USA) revolutionized skating technology when he introduced steel-bladed skates. This allowed the creation of complex maneuvers and turns on the ice,
- American Jackson HAINES, a ballet master who lived in Vienna in the 1860s, is considered the founder of modern Figure Skating; He introduced the elements of ballet, dance and music, and further developed skates that allowed athletes to perform spins and jumps.
- His lack of popularity in North America prompted him to travel to Europe, where he was an immediate success.
- The first international competition was held in Vienna, Austria, in 1882 and was won by Leopold FREY.
- With the emergence of international competitions – in both Figure Skating and Speed Skating – as well as the formation of skating clubs and national associations, the need to establish international standards to govern these sports became more and more apparent. In 1892, the Dutch association took the lead in calling for a meeting of representatives of all countries interested in international ice skating competitions. As a result, the International Skating Union (ISU) was founded. It is the oldest governing international winter sport federation.
- The 15 delegates present at the time, all from Europe, began to establish firm rules, laying down the foundations for international competition in both disciplines. With the addition of Canada as a member in 1894, the ISU expanded its horizons to become a more international governing body.
- The first World Championship for Men Figure Skating was organized in 1896 in St, Petersburg, Russia, and featured just four skaters.
- The first ISU Championships with Ladies Figure Skating was held in 1906 in Davos, Switzerland. It became the World Championships in 1924.
- Pairs had its first ISU championship in 1908. That too, became a World Championship in 1924.
- Ice Dance had to wait until 1952 to be included in the World Figure Skating Championships.
Figure Skating today
- There are 81 affiliated members (based in 66 countries) In the ISU, which comprises Figure Skating, Synchronized Skating, Speed Skating and Short Track Speed Skating;
- The ISU has jurisdiction over a Wide range of Figure Skating competitions, including the World Figure Skating Championships, the World Junior Figure Skating Championships, the European Figure Skating Championships, the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, the Grand Prix and Junior Grand Prix Series, the World Synchronized Skating Championships, the World Team Trophy, and other international and open international competitions.
- The Grand Prix of Figure Skating series and final began in 1995-96.
- The first World Synchronized Skating Championships was held in Minneapolis, USA, in 2000.
- Originally, the Compulsory Figures, which entailed tracing diagrams on the ice, is an official and important competition category in Single Skating until World War II. Compulsory Dance and Original Dance were also competed in the Ice Dance category and was replaced by Short Dance now.
- e first a means of transportation on frozen ponds and lakes. The oldest form of skate (a length of bone attached to sandals with thongs) dates back to 20000 B.C. when warriors and hunters crafted makeshift skates out of reindeer antlers or elk bones.
- The Dutch were some of the early pioneers and, as far back as the 13th century, maintained communication by skating from village to village along frozen rivers and canals.
- Skating spread across the channel to England and soon the first clubs and artificial rinks started springing up across the country. Before long, the sport had spread across Europe and had reached North America. Several kings of England, Marie ANTOINETTE, NAPOLEON I, the great German poet GOETHE and NAPOLEON III all purportedly loved to take to the ice.
- The first iron skates were used in the mid-1200s.
- By the 16th century, skaters were transporting goods across frozen waterways.
- Over time, skaters began to perform figures they designed, but it was not until the late 1800s that figure skating really began to develop and spread to Canada and the United States.
- In 1850, Edward BUSHNELL (USA) revolutionized skating technology when he introduced steel-bladed skates. This allowed the creation of complex maneuvers and turns on the ice,
- American Jackson HAINES, a ballet master who lived in Vienna in the 1860s, is considered the founder of modern Figure Skating; He introduced the elements of ballet, dance and music, and further developed skates that allowed athletes to perform spins and jumps.
- His lack of popularity in North America prompted him to travel to Europe, where he was an immediate success.
- The first international competition was held in Vienna, Austria, in 1882 and was won by Leopold FREY.
- With the emergence of international competitions – in both Figure Skating and Speed Skating – as well as the formation of skating clubs and national associations, the need to establish international standards to govern these sports became more and more apparent. In 1892, the Dutch association took the lead in calling for a meeting of representatives of all countries interested in international ice skating competitions. As a result, the International Skating Union (ISU) was founded. It is the oldest governing international winter sport federation.
- The 15 delegates present at the time, all from Europe, began to establish firm rules, laying down the foundations for international competition in both disciplines. With the addition of Canada as a member in 1894, the ISU expanded its horizons to become a more international governing body.
- The first World Championship for Men Figure Skating was organized in 1896 in St, Petersburg, Russia, and featured just four skaters.
- The first ISU Championships with Ladies Figure Skating was held in 1906 in Davos, Switzerland. It became the World Championships in 1924.
- Pairs had its first ISU championship in 1908. That too, became a World Championship in 1924.
- Ice Dance had to wait until 1952 to be included in the World Figure Skating Championships.
Figure Skating at the Olympic Winter Games
- Figure Skating is the oldest winter sport on the Olympic Winter Games program, Because competitions could be staged indoors, Figure Skating was added to the Olympic program for the 1908 Summer Games in London. Both Men and Women competed on the ice rink at Prince’s Skating Club. Categories Included Individual Men, Individual Ladies, Mixed Pairs and Men’s Special Figures.
- Men, Ladies and Pairs were also on the program at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium, but there was no Figure Skating at the Games in Stockholm In 1912 due to the lack of an indoor ice rink.
- Although Figure Skating was included in 1920 Olympic Games, It only became an official Olympic Winter Games sport at the inaugural Olympic Winter Games in Chamonlx, France, in 1924.
- Ice Dance was finally included at the Innsbruck 1976 Olympic Winter Games, after a 25-year campaign, due to the strong efforts of then-ISU President Jacques FAVART of France.
- In an effort to curb a growing trend of ever-younger champions, the ISU set a minimum age limit of 14 in the early 1980s. It tightened restrictions for the Olympics again in 1996, requiring skaters to reach the age of 15 by July 1 of the previous year. It came into effect for the Nagano 1998 Olympic Winter Games.
- The Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic Winter Games proved a turning point for the sport’s scoring system, following a judging scandal. The Games were thrown into controversy when it was alleged a French judge was pressured to give the Russian Pair Yelena BEREZHNAYA and Anton SIKHARUUDZE the victory even though it was widely perceived the Canadians Jamie SALE and David PELLETIER had delivered a superior performance. A new judging system was introduced in 2003 at Grand Prix events and was adopted the following year. At the 2010 games, there will be a panel of nine judges, of whom seven are selected by a secret random draw to form the result. The highest and lowest score in each element or program component part will be thrown out and the average will be taken from the remainder (trimmed mean) to form the final value of the element/program component part.