Figure+Skating

__Figure Skating, an Olympic Sport since 1924__ A Wiki, by Chanelle and Marjorie 

**__Article Outline

A history of the Sport:__** Its Origin Its Olympic History

**__An explanation of the Sports Techniques:__** How to Perform this Sport Figure Skating in Rouyn-Noranda **__Figure Skating at the 2010 Olympics__** Olympic Schedule

Top Athletes in the Sport Canadian 2010 Olympic Athletes in Figure Skating
 * __Athletes__**

A History of the Sport

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 à Its Origin:  ======

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 The oldest pair of skates were found at the bottom of a lake in Switzerland, and are thought to have come form 3000 B.C. The skates were made from animal bones, and leather straps were used to tie the skates. Before 1500, skates did not have blades, so poles had to be used to propel skaters. In 1865, an American skater named Jackson Haines, invented the two plate all metal blade. He attached the blade directly to his boots. In the 1870's he made toe pick jumps possible by adding picks to the front ends of his blades. In 1914, the first closed toe blade was invented by a blade maker from Minnesota. It was made from only one piece of steel to make the skates lighter. For more information, visit: [] ======

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Though skates have been around for a long time, the actual sport of figure skating has only existed since the 19th century. It got its name for the figures skaters had to make on the ice, for example, figure eights that skaters made. Skaters had to skate a set pattern on the ice and were judged on how close they were to it. Skating to music was made popular by Jackson Haines in the late-1800's. Who-What-Where-When-Why.com says ''The International Skating Union was founded in 1892 and the first European Championships were held in 1891. The first World Championship was held in Russia in 1896. [...] at the time of the first World Championship, only men competed in the events with the first woman, Madge Syers, who entered the championships in 1902. [...] In 1914 an international skating competition was held in Connecticut, formally introducing the sport to the U.S and Canada.'' These websites give much more info in the subject: []  and []  ======

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<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">The first Olympic Figure Skating competition was held in 1908 in the Summer Olympics. Soon enough, Europeans decided to host Winter Olympics, and (cancelled at first because of WWI) figure skating was part of the 1920 Winter Olympics. According to Olympic.org, Figure skating is the oldest sport on the Olympic Winter Games programme. It was contested at the 1908 London Games and again in 1920 in Antwerp. Men’s, women’s, and pairs were the three events contested until 1972. Since 1976, ice dancing has been the fourth event in the programme, proving a great success. For more, go to: [] and []

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<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">At the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics, Canadian figure skater Jeffrey Buttle won a bronze medal, the only one in figure skating for our country that year, in the men's singles. Four years before, Alberta's Jamie Salé and Quebec's David Pelletier won gold medals in the pairs' skating event. In 1998, Canadian Elvis Stojko won a silver medal in men’s singles, just like he had already had in 1994. Other Canadian successes include Lloyd Eisler and Isabelle Brasseur, who won bronze medals in the pairs’ competitions in ’92 and ’96. Since the beginning of the Winter Olympics, 1988 has been Canada’s best year in Olympic figure skating, with Brian Orser and Elizabeth Manley each bringing home a silver medal. We got our information from: <span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">[] <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 10pt;"> ======

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<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';">Figure Skating is a sport practised on an ice rink, where a person wears ice skates, which are similar to shoes with a blade underneath it. Figure Skating is often practised on music, and can be very similar to dancing. Some basic figure skating techniques include sculling, which is skating (forwards or backwards) without lifting your skates. Another important technique is stroking, which helps you advance on the ice by using only one foot to propel you. A good technique for changing direction gracefully is the cross-over, which is only stroking, but by crossing your legs one over the other. There are many different techniques that exist for figure skating, and on that is added figures and jumps, which constitute a very important part of the sport. The most popular figure is the figure eight, which uses cross-over to make circles and skate a figure similar to an eight on the ice. There are many different jumps, too. The most important things to consider in a jump are the take-off and the number of turns. Jumps include the Bunny Hop, which is considered the easiest, the Waltz jump, the loop jump, the Toe Walley, the Lutz, the Salchow, the Flip, the and Axel Jump. To figure skate you need to have figure skates, a proper skating outfit and your hair tied up and out of your face. You also need tights. This applies to girls and boys as well. Go to: <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">[] [] ======



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<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> à Figure Skating in Rou  yn-Noranda: If you are interested in joining a figure skating association in our city, here is the information you need: ======

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à  Here is a link to the lieu of the 2010 figure skating ice rinks:

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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"> <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Here is a list of the best figure skaters of the world, according to about.com: <span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">[] <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Michelle Kwan, an American figure skater, is undoubtedly the most famous skater of our time. She has been looked up to as an idol because of her personality and originality as much as for her skating performances. =====

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Kwan:
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This year, Canadian figure skater Mylène Brodeur will be competing in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Mylene was born in St-Jean-sur-le-Richelieu, Qc. in 1987. She started skating at the age of 5. Two years later, she decided to take private skating lessons, like her older sister Valerie. At ten years old, she entered a professional skating school, where she stayed for seven years. This was an important part of her developement as a pro figure skater. She then moved to Longueil to further her studies, and trained with coaches like Sébastien Britten and Josée Normand. Since 2006, Mylène started skating in couples, with her friend John Mattatall. In 2010, she will be accomplishing her biggest dream of all-time: skating at the Olympics. Brodeur had a difficult career up to now, having suffered many injuries and other problems. Her biggest idol is Michelle Kwan, who she looks up to a lot. Her favourite spin is the flying camel, she lives on a farm with many animals, her favourite movie is Mr. Deeds, and her biggest flaw is being a slow-poke. =====