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Previous Issues > January 2008 > Come Out & Play > Ice Skating
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 Come Out & Play
Ice Skating
January is National Skating Month! Ice skating is one of the most popular winter sports! In some places, where it is cold enough, people ice skate year round and outside! In many places though, ice skating is only done inside in an ice rink where the conditions can be controlled. Everyone can enjoy health benefits from ice skating. It helps strengthen muscles, increase flexibility and is a good cardiovascular exercise to get your heart pumping!
According to U.S. Figure Skating, learning to skate is actually pretty easy and fun! It requires practice and determination, and you can't be afraid of falling down. The movement of ice skating is similar to roller skating. You push off with one skate and glide with the other. You need to have balance and glide yourself forward on the ice. Excellent ice-skating skills are important for other sports, such as ice hockey, figure skating and speed skating.
In ice skating, you need to wear ice skates, which have a steel blade attached to a boot that comes up over the ankles to give your ankles support and keep them from turning. Because figure skating, speed skating and ice hockey are all very different sports, they require different equipment. The ice skates used for each sport are a little bit different. For instance, figure skates are made so that the skater can perform acrobatic moves. The blades are longer and have toe rakes or toe picks at the front of the blade. These saw-like teeth bite into the ice and help the skater perform certain jumps and spins. Other than skates, no other equipment is necessary for ice skating (except for warm clothing and gloves or mittens!). Protective head gear (a helmet) is recommended for children under age 6 and for beginning skaters.
Learning to ice skate requires good safety habits. Outside, the biggest danger is skating on ice that is too thin. You risk falling through the ice into the freezing water
below. When skating outside, its important to skate only in areas that are approved skating areas, and never skate on natural ice alone. When skating indoors at an ice rink, the biggest danger is usually crashing into other skaters. Always make sure you know the rules of the rink before you hit the ice.
If you really like ice skating, you might want to take lessons and learn how to do other types of ice skating, such as figure skating, ice dancing and speed skating, or maybe even join a team sport such as ice hockey. One day you could even be in the Olympics! Both figure skating and speed skating became official Olympic events in 1924. Ice dancing became an official Olympic event in 1976.
The History of Ice Skating
Archeological evidence suggests that people were ice skating as early as 50 B.C. The earliest remains of skates were found in Roman ruins in London and showed that ancient people made shoes from leather and blades from bone. Ice skating was used as a means of transportation across frozen lakes, rivers and canals in areas with long winters. Skating as a sport was first developed in the Netherlands. In the 1500s, metal blades began to be attached to shoes with screws. These skates were used by the Dutch to win an important battle in 1572. Dutch soldiers were able to move quickly and outmaneuver Spanish troops attacking the city of Amsterdam. Ice skating became popular in the United States in the 1800s.
Tips from U.S. Figure Skating to Get YOU Skating!
Follow these simple tips to get the most out of your skating lessons:
1. Listen attentively. Try the skill, try it again, ask a question if you don't understand and try it again.
2. Be a courteous skater, watch where you are going and always skate in control.
3. Be prepared for your lesson with the correct-fitting skates, warm attire and gloves or mittens.
4. Be on time! Arrive at least 15 minutes before class time.
5. Relax, smile and have fun!
Sources: U.S. Figure Skating, usfigureskating.org; Turner, Stephen C., Ice-Skating, The New Book of Knowledge; Greiff, James M., Ice skating, Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia.
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