Figure Skating History

While people have been ice skating for centuries, figure skating in its current form originated in the mid-19th century. A Treatise on Skating (1772) by Englishman Robert Jones is the first known account of figure skating. The form of skating originally had a cramped and formal style until American skater Jackson Haines (considered the "father of figure skating") introduced his free and expressive techniques in the mid-1860s. Although popular in Europe, Haine's "International style" did not come to the United States until long after his death.

TheInternational Skating Union was founded in 1892. The first European Championship --for men only--- was held in 1891 and the first World Championship -- for men only -- was held in 1896 and won by Gilbert Fuchs. In 1902, a woman, Madge Syers, entered the 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, when the title was won by Anna Habler & Heinrich Burger. The first Olympic figure skating competitions also took place in 1908.

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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 Grafstram and Karl Schafer.

Skating competitions were again interrupted for several years by World War II. After the war, with many European rinks in ruins, skaters from the United States and Canada began to dominate international competitions and to introduce technical innovations to the sport. Dick Button, 1948 and 1952 Olympic Champion, was the first skater to perform the double axel and triple loop jumps, as well as the flying camel spin.

The first World Championships in ice dancing were not held until 1952. In its first years, ice dance was dominated by British skaters. The first World title holders were Jean Westwood & Lawrence Demmy.

On February 15, 1961, the entire US figure skating team and their coaches were killed in the crash of Sabena Flight 548 in Brussels, Belgium en route to the World Championships in Prague. This tragedy sent the US skating program into a period of rebuilding.

At the same time, the Soviet Union rose to become a dominant power in the sport, especially in the disciplines of pairs skating and ice dancing. At every Winter Olympics from 1964 until the present day, a Soviet or Russian pair duo has won gold, often considered the longest winning streak in modern sports history. (In 2002, Russians Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze shared gold with Canadians Jamie Sal andDavid Pelletier, keeping the streak alive.)

Compulsory figures formerly accounted for up to 60% of the score in singles figure skating, which meant that skaters who could build up a big lead in figures could win competitions even if they were mediocre free skaters. As television coverage of skating events became more important, so did free skating. Beginning in 1968, the ISU began to progressively reduce the weight of figures, and in 1973, the short program was introduced. With these changes, the emphasis in competitive figure skating shifted to increasing athleticism in the free skating. By the time figures were finally eliminated entirely from competition in 1990,Midori Ito had landed the first triple axel by a woman, and Kurt Browning the first quadruple jump by a man.

Television also played a role in removing the restrictive amateur status rules that once governed the sport. In order to retain skaters who might otherwise have given up their eligibility to participate in lucrative professional events, in 1995 the ISU introduced prize money at its major competitions, funded by revenues from selling the TV rights to those events.

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. Many of the best skaters currently come from Russia and the United States which are traditional powers in the sport.