History of figure skates

Everyone loves to skate. Skating will bring us vigor, cheer us up, temper the body and help maintain good physical shape. Have you ever wondered how they appeared? Today we will delve into the history of the emergence of skates and look at their evolution from the moment of their appearance to the present day. Skates are one of the oldest inventions of mankind, extremely popular in the modern world. They take a noticeable part both in the world of professional sports and in the daily life of millions of fans of active pastime in the fresh frosty air.





It is believed that the first lucky owners of skates were the Cimmerians - nomadic tribes who lived 3200 years ago in the Northern Black Sea region. They tied animal bones to their legs. Many other peoples, including our ancestors, did the same for many, many centuries.



Since the 13th century, skates have served as a means of transportation on frozen rivers, lakes and canals in the Nordic countries. Even then, in Holland, they began to make skates, consisting of a wooden base, into which metal strips were inserted. Such skates were attached to shoes with straps. (In the photo: skates of that time in a modern version.)



In the works of the Dutch painter Hendrik Avercamp, painted in the early 1600s, you can clearly see how people not only move on skates on the ice, but also play a kind of game with sticks in their hands. This is how Holland was seen by Peter I during his famous trip to Europe, from which, among other innovations, he brought skates to Russia, imbued with the folk Dutch fun.



And this is how the modern Dutch skate and play hockey on the frozen canals of Amsterdam, continuing the traditions of their distant ancestors. As if 400 years have not passed since then!



Peter the Great would not have been a great reformer if he had simply borrowed a European invention. It is believed that it was he who made the first breakthrough in the evolution of skates, having invented nailing skates to shoes.

By the way, the word "skates" itself originated, as you might guess, from the word horse. And this is explained by the fact that Russian craftsmen often carved figures of horses on the long curved noses that the first skates possessed.



After Peter the Great, skates were forgotten in Russia for almost a hundred years. Interest in them returned when everything English was in fashion, and skates at that time became very popular in the UK. (View in the Regent’s Park, London, 1838)



By the way, this is how they ride in modern London.



The first ever World Speed Skating Championships were held in January 1889 in Amsterdam, and the champion there was... Russian speed skater Alexander Panshin (pictured). It is believed that it was he who invented running skates - he removed the interfering curl, lengthened the blade so that the speed was higher, and suggested using a tube into which the blade was soldered. Such skates for running remained for many years to come.



And a month later, in February 1889, the first Russian skating championship was held in Moscow on Petrovka. Of course, not without the participation of Panshin.



Only in the 90s of the XX century, the structure of running skates was radically changed. Fundamentally new running skates with a "detachable" heel appeared, which athletes nicknamed "flip-flops". They were first used at the Olympic Games in Nagano.



The evolution of figure skates was no less exciting. The first figure skating club appeared in Edinburgh back in 1742. But the first to combine dancing and skating was the American Jackson Haynes - he was the first to skate in theatrical costumes and to music. And it happened in the middle of the 19th century. Haynes is called the "father of figure skating".



In 1871, figure skating was officially recognized as a sport, and in 1908, figure skating became the first winter sport to be included in the program of the Summer Olympics in London. (Pictured: British figure skaters at the London Olympics, 1908)



In the 40s, a new type of figure skating was formed - ice dancing. They were included in the Olympics only in 1976. And the figure skaters of the USSR - Lyudmila Pakhomova and Alexander Gorshkov - became the first Olympic champions in this discipline.



As for the skates themselves, at the beginning of the 20th century, the boots of figure skates became much shorter and acquired rivets. The heel, on the contrary, grew, and the blade had teeth. They were proposed by Swedish figure skater Ulrich Salchow, the first Olympic figure skating champion at the London Games in 1908 (pictured).



The next time skates changed only in the 50s, with the development of ice dancing. The blades of the "dancers" are much shorter so as not to touch each other, and the boots are much softer.

Ice hockey in our country officially appeared only in 1946, almost 60 years later than in many other countries. But "Russian hockey" was called bandy. Ice hockey is an invention of the Canadians, its rules were first formulated in Montreal in 1879. Hockey skates were then similar to running skates, but evolution did not bypass them.



In the late 50s, hockey players called their skates "spotykachki". They were more like curly ones because of the almost right angle of the blade. They were replaced by "eiders", characterized by a shortened blade. In the 60s, skates became harder, more stable and more maneuverable. At the tip of the blade, already made in the form of a tube, a plastic fuse appeared. And in the early 70s, hockey skates acquired an almost modern look. However, due to the height of the skate, there was a gap between the blade and the boot, into which the puck sometimes flew through.

New modern technologies have focused on comfort that provides the best results - they allow the skates to take the individual shape of the athlete's leg, undergoing a special heat treatment. This process is called thermoforming.



In addition to professional sports, skating as a way of spending leisure time is gaining more and more popularity every year around the world and in our country. Skating rinks are opening everywhere, bringing together those who like to have fun and spend time in the fresh air. (In the photo: Muscovites skating in the park)



Source: belorys-kh.livejournal.com