Ice skating is thought to have started 1,200 years ago in Sweden by the Vikings. Polished oxen or reindeer bones were ground down to form a flat sliding surface and they were then tied to the feet. This wasn’t very efficient, so they used long sticks to push themselves along and to keep themselves upright. Originally skates were used for transportation over frozen lakes and rivers and later just for fun. It was most common to skate in places like Scandinavia where there are cold, long winters.

First Ice Skates, a modern interpretation

The credit for creating a pair of all-iron skates goes to a Scotsman who invented them in 1592. In the 1600s, travelling on blades between villages was a useful and popular means of transport for the Dutch. The Skating Club of Edinburgh was formed in 1642, and is believed to be the first. In the Netherlands during the 17^th century, it was popular to race on the canals using wooden skates with iron blades. When the youngest son of Charles I was exiled to the Netherlands he loved the sport and on his return to England this new sport was introduced to the British aristocracy

Central Park New York 1862

By the 18^th century ice skating was known to the world as a sport and the world's first organized speed skating race was held in the year 1763 on the Fens in England. The sport was later introduced in North America, and a lighter, sharper, all-steel blade was produced in 1850. The founder of modern figure skating as it is known today was Jackson Haines, an American. He won the first Championships of America held in Troy, New York in 1864. Haines was known as the first skater to incorporate ballet and dance movements into his skating, as opposed to focusing on tracing patterns on the ice. Haines also invented the sit spin and developed a shorter, curved blade for figure skating that allowed for easier turns. He was also the first to wear blades that were permanently attached to the boot. The Dutch organized the first world championship in 1889, where the skaters covered four distances 500m, 1500m, 5000m and 10000m, The Dutch developed a longer bladed skate.

Jackson Haines

Figure skating is a sporting event, in which individuals, mixed couples and groups perform spins, jumps and other moves on the ice to music. There are many international competitions for figure skating including the World championships and it is also an official event in the Winter Olympics. Figure skating is referred to as “Artistic skating” in many other languages.

Early 1900s

The 1928 Olympic competitions were competed outdoors. The International Skating Union was founded in 1892. The first European Championship was held in 1891, and the first World Championship was held in 1896 and won by Gilbert Fuchs. Only men competed in these events. In 1902, a woman, Madge Syers, entered the World competition for the first time, finishing second. The ISU quickly banned women from competing against men, but established a separate competition for "ladies" in 1906. Pair skating was introduced at the 1908 World Championships, where the title was won by Anna Hübler & Heinrich Burger. The first Olympic figure skating competitions also took place in 1908.

On March 20, 1914 an international figure skating championship was held in New Haven, Connecticut which was the ancestor of both the United States and Canadian National Championships. However, international competitions in figure skating were interrupted by World War I.

In the 1920s and 1930s, figure skating was dominated by Sonja Henie, who turned competitive success into a lucrative professional career as a movie star and touring skater. Henie also set the fashion for female skaters to wear short skirts and white boots. The top male skaters of this period included Gillis Grafström and Karl Schäfer.

Sonja Henie, a three-time Olympic champion in single skating.

Present Day

Figure skating is a very popular part of the Winter Olympic Games, in which the elegance of both the competitors and their movements attract many spectators. Not surprisingly, the best skaters show many of the same physical and psychological attributes as gymnasts. Like ice hockey, figure skating is most popular in regions where natural ice is present. Dominant countries of the last 50 years have been Russia and the former Soviet Union, the United States, Canada, Germany and Japan. The sport is currently experiencing a surge in popularity in Asia, particularly in South Korea, China and Japan, as well as in the Nordic countries such as Norway, Finland, and Sweden.