The history of
figure skating
Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympi ...
stretches back to prehistoric times. Primitive
ice skate
Ice skates are metal blades attached underfoot and used to propel the bearer across a sheet of ice while ice skating.
The first ice skates were made from leg bones of horse, ox or deer, and were attached to feet with leather straps. These skates ...
s appear in the archaeological record from about 3000 BC. Edges were added by the Dutch in the 13th and 14th century. International figure skating competitions began appearing in the late 19th century; in 1891, the
European Championships
A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs.
In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...
were inaugurated in
Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
, Germany, and in 1896, the first
World Championship
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...
were held in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
,
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
. At the
1908 Summer Olympics
The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were originally schedu ...
in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, England, figure skating became the first winter sport to be included in the Olympics.
Archaeology and earliest historical documentation
The exact time and process by which humans first learned to
ice skate
Ice skates are metal blades attached underfoot and used to propel the bearer across a sheet of ice while ice skating.
The first ice skates were made from leg bones of horse, ox or deer, and were attached to feet with leather straps. These skates ...
is unknown. Primitive animal bone
ice skate
Ice skates are metal blades attached underfoot and used to propel the bearer across a sheet of ice while ice skating.
The first ice skates were made from leg bones of horse, ox or deer, and were attached to feet with leather straps. These skates ...
s have been found in Scandinavia and Russia, some dating back to about 3000 BC. In the ancient world, ice skating was a form of transportation; as figure skating historian James R. Hines put it, passage over frozen surfaces "was a necessity for survival during harsh winter months".
The ''
Prose Edda
The ''Prose Edda'', also known as the ''Younger Edda'', ''Snorri's Edda'' () or, historically, simply as ''Edda'', is an Old Norse textbook written in Iceland during the early 13th century. The work is often considered to have been to some exten ...
'' () included mentions of ice skating. The earliest clear, written mention of ice skating is found in a book written in the 12th century by
William Fitzstephen
William Fitzstephen (also William fitz Stephen), (died c. 1191) was a cleric and administrator in the service of Thomas Becket. In the 1170s, he wrote a long biography of Thomas Becket – the ''Vita Sancti Thomae'' (Life of St. Thomas).
Fitzste ...
, a
monk
A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...
in
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
. In the work, centered on
Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then as Archbishop of Canterbury fr ...
, he describes a scene taking place below the northern city walls of Canterbury during the winter:
...if the moors in Finsbury and Moorfield freeze over, children from London play. Some of the children have attached bones to their ankles, and carry well-worn sticks. They fly across the ice like birds, or well-fired arrows. Suddenly, two children will run at each other, sticks held high in the air. They then attack each other until one falls down. Often, the children injure their heads or break their arms or legs...
The sticks that Fitzstephen refers to were used for movement, as the primitive bone-made ice skates did not have sharp gliding edges like modern ice skates. Adding edges to ice skates was invented by the Dutch in the 13th or 14th century. According to figure skating historian James R. Hines, the Dutch revolutionized ice skating in the 13th century by sharpening the blades of ice skates, which were made of steel at the time. These ice skates were made of steel, with sharpened edges on the bottom to aid movement. The construction of modern ice skates has remained largely the same. The only other major change in ice skate design came soon after. Around the same time period as steel edges were added to ice skates, another Dutchman, a table maker's
apprentice
Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in ...
, experimented with the height to width ratio of the metal blade of the ice skates, producing a design that remains almost unaltered to this day. The user of the skates no longer needed to use sticks for propulsion, and movement on skates was now freer and more stable.
The first depiction of ice skating in a work of art was made in the 15th century. The picture, of
Saint Lidwina,
patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...
of ice skaters, falling on the ice was the first work of art to feature ice skating as a main theme. Another important aspect of the painting is a man seen in the background, who is skating on one leg. This means that the ice skates the man was wearing must have sharp edges similar to those found on modern ice skates.
Social status of ice skating
In the Netherlands, ice skating was considered proper for all classes of people to participate in, as shown in many pictures by the
s. Skating was used as a means of transportation because the waterways which connected Dutch towns sometimes froze for months on end, hampering the economy.
In other regions, participation in ice skating was limited to only members of the upper classes.
Emperor Rudolf II
Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg), Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–16 ...
of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
enjoyed ice skating so much he had a large ice carnival constructed in his court in 1610 in order to popularize the sport. King
Louis XVI
Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...
of France brought ice skating to Paris during his reign.
Madame de Pompadour
Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour (, ; 29 December 1721 – 15 April 1764), commonly known as Madame de Pompadour, was a member of the French court. She was the official chief mistress of King Louis XV from 1745 to 1751, and rema ...
,
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
,
Napoleon III
Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...
, and the
House of Stuart
The House of Stuart, originally spelled Stewart, also known as the Stuart dynasty, was a dynasty, royal house of Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and later Kingdom of Great Britain, Great ...
were, among others, royal and upper class fans of ice skating.
1500s to 1800s
In 1572, the Dutch used ice skates during their revolt against Spain in Amsterdam. While the Spanish wore clogs with spikes to travel over the frozen sea during battles, the Dutch fought on bladed skates, which allowed them to defeat their enemy.
In 1713, bladed ice skates were used for the first time in North America. The next step in the development of ice skating came in 1744, when the first ice skating association in the world was formed, the
Edinburgh Skating Club. The first instructional book concerning ice skating was published in London in 1772. The book, written by a British artillery lieutenant,
Robert Jones, describes basic figure skating forms such as circles and figure eights. The book was written solely for men, as women did not normally ice skate in the late 18th century. It was with the publication of this manual that ice skating split into its two main disciplines,
speed skating
Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long-track speed skating, short-track speed skating, and marathon speed skat ...
and figure skating.
In 1813, Jean Garcin published the first book about ice skating in France, entitled ''Le vrai pattineur'' (''The True Skater''). Garcin was the first to place equal importance on skating backward to skating forward, necessary for the quickly increasing figures developed during the 19th century. He also emphasized artistry over athleticism and related skating to ballet. He was a member of the Gilets Rouge (or Red Waistcoats), a French skating fraternity.
In 1830, the London Skating Club was formed; as of 2011, it was the oldest skating club still in existence. The first skating club in North America was founded in St. John, New Brunswick, in 1833. In 1849, the Philadelphia Skating Club was formed; its name was changed to the
Philadelphia Skating Club and Humane Society in 1861. The club was one of the first members of the U.S. Figure Skating Association (now known as
U.S. Figure Skating) and continues to exist today.
By the last 25 years of the 19th century, skating became a rapidly growing and popular sport in Canada, with clubs being founded in many cities and competitions occurring frequently within and between them. In 1888, the Amateur Skating Association, which oversaw figure skating and speed skating in Canada, was formed in
Montreal
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
. Eventually, the name of the Canadian federation was changed to
Skate Canada
Skate Canada (Canadian French: ''Patinage Canada'', lit. "Skating Canada") is the national governing body for figure skating in Canada, recognized by the International Skating Union and the Canadian Olympic Committee. It organizes the annual C ...
in 2000.
George Anderson, who was the second major British writer about figure skating and president of the skating club in Glasgow for many years, wrote ''The Art of Skating'' in 1852, under the pseudonym Cyclos. At the time of the book's publication, it included a section about skating in England and Scotland during the time. A second edition was published in 1868, under Anderson's name but without the historical section, which had taken up half of the previous edition.
Edward F. Gill wrote ''The Skater's Manual'', the first book about skating written in North America, in 1863.
In the winter of 1858–59, a skating pond opened in New York's Central Park, re-igniting interest in the activity.
Sex segregation
Sex segregation, sex separation, sex partition, gender segregation, gender separation, or gender partition is the physical, legal, or cultural separation of people according to their gender or Sex, biological sex at any age. Sex segregation ca ...
at ponds disappeared early on and skating became "one of the only activities that single men and women could do together unchaperoned." Additional skating ponds opened in Brooklyn, Hoboken, Jersey City, and Staten Island as the activity grew in popularity. The
Skating Club of New York was founded in 1863.
Jackson Haines, an American, was the first skater to incorporate ballet and dance movements into his skating, as opposed to focusing on tracing patterns on the ice. He also invented the
sit spin
The sit spin (also known as the Jackson Haines spin) is one of the oldest elements in figure skating
Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included ...
and developed a shorter, curved blade for figure skating that allowed for easier turns. Haines was also the first to wear blades that were permanently attached to the boot. He won the first Championships of America held in
Troy, New York
Troy is a city in and the county seat of Rensselaer County, New York, United States. It is located on the western edge of the county, on the eastern bank of the Hudson River just northeast of the capital city of Albany, New York, Albany. At the ...
in 1864.
For a time, the stiff and rigid British figure skating forms dominated in America, trumping Haines's more artistic way of skating. Haines instead attempted to spread his innovations in ice skating style in Europe, gaining success in such countries as Sweden and Austria. His style was still opposed by both his American colleagues as well as skaters from
Victorian England
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed th ...
, who continued to advocate a stiffer and more restrained style of skating. Haines continued to add new dance elements to his routines, and astounded a crowd in
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
in the winter of 1868. Haines's performance led to the establishment of the Vienna School, which continued to develop Haines's artistic style. Although Haines himself died at the age of 35 in 1875 from the effects of
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
, his influence lived on. His students at the Vienna School established the
International Skating Union
The International Skating Union (ISU) is the international sport governing body, governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. It was founded ...
in 1892, the first international ice skating organization, and one of the oldest sports associations still in existence. It was founded in
Scheveningen
Scheveningen () is one of the eight districts of The Hague, Netherlands, as well as a subdistrict () of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is popular ...
, in the Netherlands, but is now based in
Lausanne
Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...
, Switzerland. The Union created the first codified set of figure skating rules.
The Vienna Skating Club was formed in 1867; according to Hines, it was still in existence in 2011. Figure skating historian Nigel Brown said this about the development of figure skating in the late 1800s: "To the Viennese, skating meant primarily something to see, to the English it was something to do". For writer Ellyn Kestnbaum, not only does this distinction applies to the difference between spectator and participatory sports, it "also points to skating's perennial status as both sport and performing art".
The first time the new sport was called "figure skating" was by H.E. Vandervell and T. Maxwell Witham, in their book ''Figure Skating'', which was published in 1869. The first attempts to make artificial ice occurred during the 1870s in England and the U.S. The first notable indoor
ice rink
An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water or an artificial sheet of ice where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The growth and increasing popularity of ...
was made in 1876, by
John Gamgee, in
Chelsea along the north bank of the
Thames River
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the ...
; it measured 24 by 40 feet. By the end of the 19th century, many major cities in Europe and North America had indoor rinks. In 1879, the first artificial ice rink opened in the U.S., at
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
in New York City. Also in 1879, the Madison Square Garden rink was the venue for the Grand Carnival, which Hines called "large and spectacular" and was one of the carnivals popular in the U.S. and Europe, especially by the Vienna Skating Club, at the time. Carnivals, beginning in the 1870s, provided opportunities for skaters of all skills and levels to present shows for their parents and families, and for the general public.
In 1879, the National Skating Association, the oldest national national federation overseeing the rules of speed skating and figure skating (now known as
British Ice Skating), was formed. It was organized to regulate the rules of speed skating, but figure skaters joined within a year of its forming.
The first international figure skating competition was held in Vienna in 1882; according to Kestnbaum, it established the precedence for future competitions. Sponsored by the Vienna Skating Club, competitors from Vienna came in first and second place, with
Leopold Frey, who was a student of Haines', coming in second place.
Axel Paulsen
Axel Paulsen (18 July 1855 – 9 February 1938) was a Norwegian figure skater and speed skater. He invented the figure skating Axel jump and held the world title in speed skating from 1882 to 1890. In 1976, he was inducted into the World Figure ...
from Norway came in third place. Competitors were judged on 23 compulsory figures, a four-minute
free skating
The free skating segment of figure skating, also called the free skate and the long program, is the second of two segments of competitions, skated after the short program. Its duration, across all disciplines, is four minutes for senior skaters ...
program, and
special figures.
The
International Skating Union
The International Skating Union (ISU) is the international sport governing body, governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. It was founded ...
(ISU), the organization that oversees the sport of figure skating, was founded in 1892, in the Netherlands.
Pim Mulier
Willem Johan Herman Mulier, known as Pim Mulier (10 March 1865 – 12 April 1954) was one of the leading figures in the sporting history of the Netherlands.
He was a co-founder of the oldest Association football, football club still in existence ...
from the Netherlands was the ISU's first president. The ISU adopted the international style of skating instead of the American style and English style. The American style disappeared by
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
; the English style continued into the 21st century. According to Hines, the "English and international styles can be described by the body style employed for their figures". The English style employed a rigid body style in combined skating; the international style included more use of the skater's arms. The American style of skating, which included dancing on the ice and figures that were not tied to special figures, tended to combine the English and international styles. Grapevines, which Hines calls "a uniquely North American innovation", required skaters to keep both feet on the ice for the duration of the figure.
The first
World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...
was held in
1896
Events
January
* January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end as Jameson surrenders to the Boers.
* January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state.
* January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports Wilhelm Röntgen's dis ...
, in
St. Petersburg, Russia. Only male skaters competed. The
Cambridge Skating Club was founded in 1898. In 2011, it was one of the only outdoor natural skating facilities still in existence and was a member of
U.S. Figure Skating. As Hines reports, it depended upon weather patterns; as of 2011, the club was able to provide about 30 days of skating per winter.
Theresa Weld,
Nathaniel Niles,
Sherwin Badger,
Roger Turner,
Maribel Vinson,
Joan Tozzer, and
Bernard Fox trained there in the years before
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
Early 20th century
In the beginning of the 20th century, figure skating was lent a more athletic character through the developments of
Ulrich Salchow
Karl Emil Julius Ulrich Salchow (7 August 1877 – 19 April 1949) was a Danish-born Swedish figure skater, who dominated the sport in the first decade of the 20th century.
Salchow won the World Figure Skating Championships ten times, fr ...
, a Swede. Salchow was considered the greatest figure skater of his day by far, winning the world championships ten times. The crowning achievement of his career, however, was his development of ice skates with slightly serrated blades, giving enough traction on the ice to launch long jumps. The
salchow jump
The Salchow jump is an edge jump in figure skating. It was named after its inventor, Ulrich Salchow, in 1909. The Salchow is accomplished with a takeoff from the back inside edge of one foot and a landing on the back outside edge of the opposite ...
, still used prominently in figure skating routines today, is named for him, and was considered Salchow's greatest contribution to figure skating.
The number of carnivals increased dramatically by the early 20th century, due to increase in numbers of skating clubs, the development of artificial ice, and the increase of availability of covered and indoor ice rinks. Their heyday occurred between World War I and World War II.
Figure skating's Olympic debut came at the
1908 Summer Olympics
The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were originally schedu ...
—it was the first winter sport introduced to the Olympics. The competition included
men's singles, ladies' singles,
pairs, and
special figures.
The largest public ice rink in the world, the Sportpalast in Berlin, opened in the 1910s. The rink had an area of 2,400 m
2 (25,800 ft
2), with dimensions of 60 m by 40 m (197 ft by 131 ft). The new rink increased both the public interest in figure skating as well as the number of people who practiced the sport. Many new figure skaters came from Germany, among them
Werner Rittberger
Werner Rittberger (born 13 July 1891 in Potsdam; died 12 August 1975 in Krefeld) was a German figure skater. Rittberger invented the loop jump in 1910. German (and most other European) figure skaters call this jump the “Rittberger”.
Rittber ...
and
Charlotta Oelschägel. Rittberger invented another jump, at first named eponymously, but eventually changed to the name it is known by today, the
loop jump
The loop jump is an edge jump in the sport of figure skating. The skater executes it by taking off from the back outside edge of the skating foot, turning one or more rotations in the air, and landing on the back outside edge of the same foot. ...
. Oelschlägel won a championship in the United States at the age of 17, and had a professional career spanning ten years.

No major international championships were held from 1915 to 1921 due to World War I and the post-war recovery. In 1922, the World and European Championships were renewed and in 1924 figure skating was part of the first
Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held i ...
, held in
Chamonix
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (; ; (no longer in use)), more commonly known simply as Chamonix (), is a communes of France, commune in the departments of France, department in the regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It was the site of the f ...
, France. Norway's
Sonja Henie
Sonja Henie (8 April 1912 – 12 October 1969) was a Norway, Norwegian figure skating, figure skater and film star. She was a three-time List of Olympic medalists in figure skating, Olympic champion (Figure skating at the 1928 Winter Olympics, ...
and Austria's
Karl Schäfer dominated the sport during the inter-war period. Henie, a ten-time world champion, brought a new style to figure skating in both athletic practice and dress. Previously, female figure skaters had skated in bulky clothing and long skirts. Henie broke with tradition by wearing a short knee-length skirt during her routines. In addition, her fluid and unlabored movements and overall elegance were considered to be a major advancement for figure skating.
In 1924, the U.S. Figure Skating Association sponsored the first of annual association-wide carnivals held for three years in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia. By that time, carnivals often featured professional and elite skaters. By the 1930s, carnivals began to dwindle in number and influence due to the formation of professional traveling ice shows, although a few have survived into the 21st century, including in Dallas, Texas, and by the
Skating Club of Boston, which produced a carnival called Ice Chips, the oldest carnival in existence and presented annually since 1912.
Austrian men dominated the sport between World War I and II; collectively, Schäfer,
Willy Böckl
Willy Böckl (27 January 1893 – 22 April 1975) was an Austrian figure skater. He won the World Figure Skating Championships four times and captured two silver medals at the Winter Olympics, and he also won six European Championship titles. Afte ...
, and
Fritz Kachler won 14 out of 18 World championships during those years. In the period from 1929 to 1936, Schäfer won the European title eight times and the World title seven times.
Herma Szabo won the World Championships in the women's discipline five times, between 1922 and 1926. During Henie's years of domination, beginning in 1927,
Fritzi Burger,
Melitta Brunner,
Hilde Holovsky, and
Liselotte Landbeck won 11 of the 20 silver and bronze medals contested at Worlds during that time. Burger earned the silver medal during two Winter Olympics. Austrian pairs teams won 20 medals at Worlds during this time, including gold medals by
Helene Engelmann and
Alfred Berger
Alfred Berger (25 August 1894 – 11 June 1966) was an Austrian pair skater. With his skating partner, Helene Engelmann, he became the 1924 Olympic champion and a two-time world champion ( 1922, 1924).
Results
with Helene Engelmann
Navig ...
in 1922 and 1924, Szabo and
Ludwig Wrede in 1925 and 1927, and
Lily Scholtz and
Otto Kaiser in 1929.
Although the Russian Empire hosted the first World Championships and
Nikolai Panin won gold in
special figures at the 1908 Olympics, its successor state, the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
, was largely absent from international figure skating competitions for several decades.
Post-World War II to present day
Not held from 1940 due to World War II, the European and World Championships returned in 1946. The construction of new ice rinks, built solely for ice skating, allowed much more intensive training and improved performance on the ice. This led to other changes in the sport, such as a heavier emphasis on the free skate, a move which disenchanted some spectators.
In 1952,
ice dancing
Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. A ...
was added to the World Championships. It appeared at the
1968 Winter Olympics
The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 18 February 1968 in Grenoble, France. Thirty-seven countries participated.
The 1968 Winter Games marked the first time ...
as a demonstration sport and was added as a medal sport at the
1976 Olympics.
Because of the years of war, Europe fell behind North America in terms of figure skating dominance. Many of the new top competitors came from the United States and Canada, bringing with them a style that emphasized speed, endurance, and dynamic movements. They included Americans
Richard Button (who was the first skater to complete both the double
Axel jump
The Axel jump or Axel Paulsen jump, named after its inventor, Norwegian figure skater Axel Paulsen, is an edge jump performed in figure skating. It is the sport's oldest and most difficult jump, and the only basic jump in competition with a for ...
and a
loop jump
The loop jump is an edge jump in the sport of figure skating. The skater executes it by taking off from the back outside edge of the skating foot, turning one or more rotations in the air, and landing on the back outside edge of the same foot. ...
with three rotations),
Hayes Alan Jenkins,
David Jenkins,
Tenley Albright, and
Carol Heiss
Carol Elizabeth Heiss Jenkins (born January 20, 1940) is an American former figure skater and actress. Competing in ladies' singles, she became the Figure skating at the 1960 Winter Olympics – Women's singles, 1960 Olympic champion, the Figure ...
; and Canadians
Barbara Ann Scott and
Donald Jackson. In 1961, the crash of
Sabena Flight 548 claimed the lives of the entire United States figure skating team and their coaches. The event sharply reduced American strength in the sport for a period but by the late 1960s the country began a resurgence led by
Peggy Fleming
Peggy Gale Fleming (born July 27, 1948) is a retired American figure skater. She is the 1968 Winter Olympic Champion in the ladies' singles, being the only American gold medalist at these Games, and a three-time World Champion (1966–1968) in ...
.
The
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
began appearing on the international scene in the late 1950s. Winning gold at the
1964 Winter Olympics
The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Innsbruck 1964 (), were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Innsbruck, Austria, from January 29 to February 9, 1964. The city was a ...
,
Ludmila Belousova
Ludmila Yevgenyevna Belousova (; 22 November 1935 – 26 September 2017) was a Soviet and Russian pair skater who represented the Soviet Union. With her partner and husband Oleg Protopopov, she was a two-time Olympic champion (1964, 1968) a ...
/
Oleg Protopopov began a forty-year Soviet/Russian gold medal streak in pair skating—the longest in Olympic sports history, running from 1964 to 2006. Canadian men were on the podium at the World's Championships every year between 1982 and 1997 except for one year, 1996.
1973 was the last year in which solid gold medals were awarded in figure skating. Once worth 60% of the score in single skating,
compulsory figures
Compulsory figures or school figures were formerly a segment of figure skating, and gave the sport its name. They are the "circular patterns which skaters trace on the ice to demonstrate skill in placing clean turns evenly on round circles". For ...
steadily decreased in value to 20% and were eliminated from international competition after the 1989–90 season.
Skaters were able to achieve greater speed with improvements in blade sharpening and water purification (affecting ice quality). According to S. Schonmetzler, average distances traveled during a singles' long program were 1100 metres for men and 970 metres for women in 1980, growing to 1320 m and 1150 m respectively by the
1986 World Championships. In 1992, women performed an element on average every 10.4 seconds and men every 12.8 seconds.
Figure skaters were once subject to restrictive
amateur
An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...
status rules. In May 1990, the International Skating Union voted to allow skaters who were intending to skate professionally to return to ISU competition if they obtained their national association's permission. In June 1992, skaters who had already lost their eligibility were given an opportunity to apply for reinstatement in order to compete at the 1994 Winter Olympics. The
Champions Series was introduced in 1995 and retitled the Grand Prix series in 1998. The
Four Continents Figure Skating Championships
The Four Continents Figure Skating Championships are an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU). Medals are awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. The ISU e ...
were held for the first time in 1999 in
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...
, Canada.
Following the
2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 (; Gosiute dialect, Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; ; Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), were an international wi ...
, and the
2002 Winter Olympics figure skating scandal, the classic
6.0 system of judging was retired, and the
ISU Judging System
The ISU Judging System or the International Judging System (IJS), occasionally referred to as the Code of Points (COP) system, is the scoring system that has been used since 2004 to judge the figure skating disciplines of single skating, men's an ...
(IJS), or New Judging System(NJS), was put in place. The
2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics (), officially the XX Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February in Turin, Italy. This marked the second time Italy had hosted the Winter O ...
in
Torino
Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
, Italy was the first Olympics to be judged using this protocol. Overall, the
ISU Judging System
The ISU Judging System or the International Judging System (IJS), occasionally referred to as the Code of Points (COP) system, is the scoring system that has been used since 2004 to judge the figure skating disciplines of single skating, men's an ...
has resulted in major shifts in program design, and technical scoring, and perpetual searching to "game the system" with each iteration of rule updates.
In 2009, the first team event was founded in
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
, Japan, (
World Team Trophy). After the 2009–10 season, the ice dancing competition was reduced from three segments to two by combining the compulsory and original dances into the
short dance. The team event made its Olympic debut at the
2014 Winter Olympics
The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (), were an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Opening ro ...
in
Sochi
Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...
, Russia. Beginning in the 2014–15 season, all disciplines are allowed to use music with lyrics or words, previously restricted to ice dancing.
The competitive figure skating season runs from August until the date of the
World Figure Skating Championships
The World Figure Skating Championships are an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU). The first World Championships were held in 1896 in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and they have been held e ...
, typically held in March. Competitions may include various pre-novice levels, novice, junior, and senior events. Since the 1980s,
four skating
Four skating is a figure skating and artistic roller skating discipline. Fours teams consist of two women and two men. The sport is similar to pair skating, with elements including overhead lifts, twist lifts, death spirals, and throw jumps, as wel ...
has disappeared while
synchronized skating
Synchronized skating, often called synchro, is an ice skating sport where between 8 and 20 skaters perform together as a team. They move as a flowing unit at high speed over the ice, while performing elements and footwork.
This complex sport orig ...
and solo ice dance have grown in popularity. The first World Synchronized Skating Championships were held in 2000. In September 2014, the International Skating Union sent the
IOC
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based in L ...
a formal proposal for the inclusion of synchronized skating in the Winter Olympics.
References
Works cited
*
*
*
External links
Skate Guard – figure skating history blog* Teal, Sherry (2025
History of Ice SkatingVirginia Department of Historic Resources
{{DEFAULTSORT:History Of Figure Skating
Figure skating
Figure skating
Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympi ...