Ice skating, in one form or another, has existed for thousands of years. Evidence suggests that as long ago as 1000 B.C. Scandinavians were fashioning crude blades from the shank or rib bones of elk, oxen, and reindeer and strapping them onto boots. A game played on ice between teams has been recorded as early as the second century A.D.In the Netherlands, both men and women skated on the canals during the Middle Ages. Scottish history recounts tales of armies crossing frozen marshes on skates to attack enemy territories. Ice skating became so popular in Scotland that the first skating club was established in Edinburgh in 1742. In 1848, E.W. Bushnell invented the first all-iron ice skate that could be clipped onto a boot.
During the 1800s, the popularity of ice skating skyrocketed. Skating clubs opened in London, Vienna, and New York. Rinks were built in Toronto, Canada, and in Davos, Switzerland. In 1876, the first artificially frozen ice rink, called the Glaciarium, opened in London. During the nineteenth century, the sport of speed skating was introduced and classical dance theory was applied to create the sport of figure skating.
There are three basic types of ice skates: hockey skates, figure skates, and speed skates. Speed skates are designed for optimum swiftness in one direction, with the skater moving right foot over left. The speed skate features a straight blade up to 18 inches (46 cm) long and 0.03-0.06 inch (0.08-0.15 cm) wide. The blade is reinforced with hollow steel tubing. The boot is constructed of very light, thin leather.
Hockey skates are constructed to allow the skater to move both right foot over left and left foot over right. The blade, usually 0.06 inch (0.15 cm) wide, is also reinforced with hollow tubing. The boot is short, measuring 4-5 inches (10-13 cm) from the sole, and reinforced with plastic caps and extra layers of leather at the toe. This protects the skaters' feet from the blades of other skates. The original hockey skate was made of leather with a plasticized sole, a safety tip at the rear, and a hard toe. A ballistic-proof nylon was then introduced that provided even greater protection against cutting. The newest innovation features a plastic molded boot with plastic stanchions and plastic tubing. A heavily padded, removable liner helps to control the fit.
Figure skates are fitted with a 0.125-inch (0.32 cm) steel blade designed for spinning. The blade is hollow on the bottom so that only the outer edges touch the ice. A series of sharp angles at the front of the blade called toe picks facilitate landing from toe jumps. The figure skate has a high boot, measuring 7-8 inches (18-20 cm) from the sole to the top, completely covering the ankle.
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