With figure skating season officially
started this month, you may be looking
to brush up on some of your skating
skills before getting back on the ice.
Whether you’re a seasoned skater or just
starting out in the sport, have you ever
wondered about the history of figure
skating and why it is called that? Let’s
take a look back. Archeologists have
found long deer bones with leather
lacings in Scandinavia dating back as far
as 1100 BC. Skating was originally used
as transportation across frozen Dutch
canals during the winter months. When
some of the English princes were in exile
in Holland, they observed the locals
going about on the frozen ponds and
waterways. Upon returning to England,
they had blades made by the finest sword
makers in the known world, Sheffield
steel.
Ice skating became all the rage in
England when Queen Victoria and
Prince Albert were fitted with a royal
pair of custom skates. Prince Albert
nearly drowned when he crashed through
the ice in a pond on the grounds of
Buckingham Palace!
The term figure skating comes from the
ornate tracings that were made on the ice
surface. Old world stylists such as Gillis
Grafstrom of Sweden spent hours
perfecting and making figure 8’s and
every other design in between. Later,
many of the elements of free skating
such as the jumps and spins were added
during the early 1900’s and named for
the skater who first executed them. For
example the Axel jump is named for
Axel Paulson of Norway. Likewise the
Salchow is named for Eurich Salchow
and so on.
Later school figures became obsolete in
favor of free skating and moves in the
field. Later ballet and artistry were
added which give us the unique form of
figure skating we see today. To get a
firm understanding of free skating
moves, here are a few videos you might
wish to view:
Flipping Over Skating with 2 time
Canadian National Medalist, Dan
Hollander & World Team Coach, Mitch
Moyer. Geared more for children just
starting out, this video offers something
for anyone wishing to get the basics of
ice skating. This video gives you some
really good information that you can
actually put to use. Turns, two foot
spins, stopping and much more are
covered. Coach Moyer walks through
the techniques first which allows you to
get the big picture. For example, the
bunny hop and toe tap glide were very
simply broken down, then shown at full
speed. Hollander is delightfully comical
while bringing home useful skills for ice
skating. It will keep both your child and
you interested and wishing to watch it
over and over again. If skaters can
master the basic elements on this tape,
they will be well on their way with a
good foundation for the future.
Repetition is the key to success!
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Dr. Marie Miczak's
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