Ice skating

The exact time and process by which humans first learned to ice skate is not known, though archaeologists believe the activity was widespread. The convenience and efficiency of ice skating to cross large, icy areas is shown in archaeological evidence by the finding of primitive animal bone ice skates in places such as Russia, Scandinavia, Great Britain, Germany and Switzerland.

The first concrete mention of ice skating is found in a book written by a monk in Canterbury: “...if the moors 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...”. The sticks 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. 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 first depiction of ice skating in a work of art was made in the 15th century. The picture of Saint Lidwina, patron saint 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.

In the Netherlands, ice skating was considered proper for all classes of people to participate in, as shown in many pictures by the Old Masters. However, in other places, participation in ice skating was limited to only members of the upper classes. Emperor Rudolf II of the Holy Roman Empire 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 of France brought ice skating to Paris during his reign. Madame de Pompadour, Napoleon I, Napoleon III, and the House of Stuart were royal and upper class fans of ice skating. It is said that Queen Victoria got to know her future husband, Prince Albert, better through a series of ice skating trips.

The next step in the development of ice skating came in 1742, when the first ice skating association was formed in Edinburgh.

The founder of modern figure skating as it is known today was Jackson Haines, an American. He won the first Championships of America held in Troy, New York in 1864. Haines was known as the first skater to incorporate ballet and dance movements into his skating. He was also the first to wear blades that were permanently attached to the boot.

In the beginning of the 20th century, figure skating was lent a more athletic character through the developments of Ulrich Salchow, a Swede. Salchow was considered the greatest figure skater of his day by far, winning the world championships ten times. The salchow jump, still used prominently in figure skating routines today, is named for him, and was considered Salchow's greatest contribution to figure skating. The first Olympics to feature figure skating were held in 1908 in London. Salchow was crowned a champion.

Figure skating reached its peak after the second World War, and experienced a resurgence in popularity. The construction of new ice rinks, built completely for ice skating, allowed much more intensive training, and led to increased performance on the ice. Modern figure skating is divided into four parts: single skating events for both sexes, pair skating, ice dancing, and synchronized skating. Men's solo figure skating has been dominated by U.S., Canadian, and Russian skaters. Ladies' single skating has had a more internationally varied competitive field. Pairs' figure skating, which emphasizes both partners and includes jumps where the female skater is thrown by her male partner, has been won almost exclusively by pairs from the Soviet Union, and later Russia.

Tasks:

I. 1) Form adjectives from the following names of countries:

Russia, Canada, Switzerland, the Netherlands, France, Sweden.

Дата добавления: 2015-08-03