Figure skating is a flying sport

FIGURE SKATE: THE BEAUTY OF EVERY MOMENT

As far as I can remember as a child, all my friends and acquaintances of acquaintances girls froze in front of the blue screens when these competitions were broadcast on television. Dazzling ice, smart elegant figures on amazing skates - and indescribable beauty of movement, pas, jumps, support ... I love to watch figure skating to this day and, probably, I will not exaggerate if I say that if not every boy, then every girl - exactly! - in my heart I dreamed of a career as a figure skater.

Figure skating rightfully enjoys the fame of one of the most beautiful sports. And yet - one of the most popular and most ancient. However, first things first.

Why is skating figure skating?

You will be surprised, but figure skating is one of the varieties of speed skating, and not at all a dance sport. It is based on the movements of the athlete, which he makes to the music, sliding on one or both legs, changing the direction of movement, spinning, jumping and demonstrating combinations of steps. If there are a couple of skaters, supports of varying complexity are added to this set.

Figure skating began to be called in connection with the obligatory execution of geometric figures, circles, eights, paragraphs, stipulated by the rules, designed to demonstrate the skill of an athlete.

A moment of history

One of the most beautiful winter sports is also perhaps the oldest. Its roots go as far back as the Bronze Age (the end of the 4th - the beginning of the 1st millennium BC)! This opinion is expressed by archaeologists who discovered bone skates, which are made from phalanges of limbs belonging to large animals. As a sport, skating began to develop much later, after the appearance of iron skates in Holland in the 12th century. It was then that the beginnings of a new sports discipline appeared - the participants competed in the ability to draw graceful monograms on an ice mirror, maintaining beautiful poses.

As for Russia, skates came to us in the era of the reign of Peter 1, it was he who brought the first models of skates from Europe and came up with an ingenious way to attach the blades directly to the boots. The date of birth of Russian figure skating as a sport is considered to be 1865, when an ice rink was opened for everyone in the Yusupov Garden on Sadovaya Street. He was the most comfortable in Russia.

As an independent and full-fledged sport, figure skating was formed already in the 19th century, and in 1871 it was officially recognized at the 1st Speed ​​Skating Congress. The first competitions were organized among men, in 1882 in Vienna. By the way, it was figure skating that was the first of the winter sports to be included in the Olympic program - having registered there in 1924, it is invariably included in the list of Olympic disciplines.

Figure skating - officially

Official figure skating competitions have been held since 1986: these are the World Championships, the European Championships, the Four Continents Championships and others. Usually they are organized under the auspices of the International Skating Union (ISU).

Modern figure skaters skate in five disciplines - men's and women's singles, pair skating, sports dancing and group synchronized skating. I note that the latter discipline has not yet become a legitimate part of official competitions, however, for lovers of this direction in figure skating, a separate world championship is held.

A few words about the types of figure skating. So,

• women's and men's single skating

As the name implies, the athlete performs alone on the ice. The skater must demonstrate how well he masters the elements of skating - rotations (tilt, top, camel), jumps (lutz, flip, sheepskin coat, axel, salchow, rittberger), steps (arcs, triples, constrictions, brackets, twists, loops) , spirals (movements when one leg is raised above the level of the thigh). The level of an athlete is assessed by the degree of complexity and the quality of the performance of groups of elements. But the judges also take into account the emotional component of the performance, aesthetics - artistry, plasticity, musicality and the connection of movements with the sounding composition.

Singles competitions traditionally include two stages - a short program and a free program.

• pair figure skating

In this variation, the task becomes more difficult - athletes must not only demonstrate the mastery of the elements, but also create the impression of the unity of each movement.

Skaters show the same jumps, spirals, steps, but there are also special elements that only a pair can perform: lifts, throws, spins, death drops, parallel and joint rotations. The judges evaluate the quality and degree of complexity of the performance, artistry, as well as the synchronization of the work of the skaters in pairs - this is one of the very important criteria.

Greenhouses also skate in short and free programs.

• dance Sport

Sports dancing is a very curious discipline in terms of technical requirements. Unlike pair figure skating, here the joint performance of dance steps in various dance positions (standard and non-standard) comes to the fore. At the same time, partners cannot be separated for a long time. The program does not include throws, jumps, lifts and other distinguishing elements of the previous version of figure skating. I will add that ice dancing was included in the Olympic program only in 1976.

Athletes focus on external attractiveness and, beauty and smoothness of movements, costumes, because sports dances are very spectacular and gather crowds of fans. Dancers compete in two dances - short and free (well, the organizers did not begin to be original).

• synchronized figure skating

Relatively new type of speed skating. Athletes compete in teams, each consisting of 16-20 skaters, and both men and women can skate. ISU distinguishes teams as follows: novices (1 and 2 sports categories, age up to 15 years old), juniors (candidates for master of sports, age 12-18 years old) and seniors (masters of sports, age 14 years and older).

It is interesting that the sliding technique and the execution of individual elements in synchronized figure skating are no different from the classical ones. But there are, of course, their own specifics - skating in a team makes adjustments. The task of the team is to act as a single whole. Therefore, synchronized swimmers have special elements - a line, a circle, a wheel, a block, a crossing. But jumping more than one turn, doing any support, spiraling back is strictly prohibited.

Synchronized skating competitions, as in other types of skating, include a short program and a free program.

The beauty of this sport is that you don't need to know all the rules to have fun. You can talk about figure skating for a long time, but it's better to watch and enjoy!

Taya Warm

The origins of speed skating lie in the distant past, and are rooted in the Bronze Age (end of the 4th - beginning of the 1st millennium BC), this is evidenced by the finds of archaeologists - bone skates made from the phalanxes of the limbs of large animals. Similar finds are found in many European countries, and the most ancient "skates" were found on the banks of the Southern Bug

Invention of skates (prehistoric times)

The origins of speed skating lie in the distant past, and are rooted in bronze age (the end of the 4th - the beginning of the 1st millennium BC), this is evidenced by the finds of archaeologists - bone skates made from the phalanxes of the limbs of large animals. Similar finds are found in many countries. Europe , and the most ancient skates » were discovered on the shore Southern Bug near Odessa. Even such primitive designs gave the traveler or hunter a gain in speed, but they were not yet suitable for figure riding.

Origin (XVI-XIX century)

The birth of figure skating as a sport is associated with the moment when skates began to be made from iron, not bone . According to research, this happened for the first time in Holland, in the XII - XIV century . Initially, figure skating was a competition in the skill to draw various figures on the ice, while maintaining a beautiful pose.

The first figure skating clubs appeared in the 18th century in the British Empire in Edinburgh (1742 G.). There was also developed a list of obligatory figures for the competition, and the first official rules of the competition. Artillery Lieutenant Robert Jones published A Treatise on Skating ( 1772 d.), in which he described all the main figures that were then known .

From Europe figure skating got into USA and Canada where it has been greatly developed. Numerous figure skaters' clubs were created here, new models of skates were developed, and their own school of technology was created. By the middle of the 19th century, almost all modernobligatory figures and the basic techniques for their performance, as evidenced by the book "The Art of Skating" by D. Anderson, president of the city's skating club Glasgow , and the work of X. Vanderwell and T. Maxwell Whitman from London . These books contain descriptions of alleights, triples, hooks and other simple maneuvers figure skating.

At that time, figure skating was performed in a prim "English" style. American Jackson Haynes (in another transcription Heinz; 1840 — 1875 ), a dancer and a skater, combined both and got his own style of skating: riding to music, dance moves and " tops " on ice. The skates, attached to the shoes with straps, could not withstand such loads, then he - one of the first - screwed them tightly to the boots. However, in Puritan America, this style was not adopted, and in the 60s 19th century he went on tour to Europe. The tour went "with a bang"Nikolai Alexandrovich Panin-Kolomenkin wrote:

First championships (late 19th century)

At the 1st Speed ​​Skating Congress in 1871 figure skating has been recognized as a sport.

In 1882 in Vienna The first official figure skating competition in Europe took place. True, initially, as Mishin A.N. notes, “it was a kind of behind-the-scenes competition,” since only a few athletes took part in them.

But the approach to competitions changed after the best figure skaters from all over the world were invited to the competitions in St. Petersburg in 1890, dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the ice rink in the Yusupov Garden. The following arrived in St. Petersburg: US champion L. Rubenstein, German champion F. Kaiser, the best skaters from Sweden, Austria, Finland, England, Holland, Sweden, Norway. The competitions acquired the status of an "unofficial world championship", the winner of these competitions in all types of the program was an honorary member of the "Petersburg Society of Skating Fans"Alexey Pavlovich Lebedev .

The next year in 1891 in Hamburg, held first European Championship in men's single skating (won the German figure skater Oskar Uhlig).

But the demonstration of the international scope and potential of figure skating, shown at the competitions in St. Petersburg, haunted. Therefore, already in 1892 was created International Skating Union (ISU), which was supposed to lead the organization of international competitions.

Four years later, in 1896, in St. Petersburg took place first world championship in figure skating (winner - Gilbert Fuchs, German Empire). In 1903, in honor of the 200th anniversary Petersburg "Petersburg Society of Skating Fans" was granted the right to hold the 8th World Cup (1st place - Swede Ulrich Salchow, 2nd - Nikolai Panin-Kolomenkin ).

It is not known for certain who first provided figure skates with a tooth. Heinz skates had a rounded toe (similar skates were known in the USSR under the name “snow maidens”), Salkhov had a tooth, and Panin’s skates had a sharp stop resembling a compass needle.

The first figure skating competitions were held only amongmale singles , female figure skaters got the opportunity to participate in the world championships only after 10 years. True, in 1901, under public pressure, ISU as an exception, allowed an English woman to participate in men's competitions Madge Sayers.

Development (1900-1960)

Officially the first world championship among female single skaters took place at the end of January 1906 in Davos (Switzerland). Mandatory figures for women and men were similar, but women's free skating immediately attracted the attention of high artistry, plasticity and musicality of movements.

Obviously, pair figure skating appeared immediately after Haines demonstrated how to dance on ice; already in 1897 it was codified as a sport. But officially the first competitions were held only in 1908 in St. Petersburg . German figure skaters Anna Hubler and Heinrich Burger went down in history as the first Olympic champions in pair skating.

The most titled of the pre-war figure skaters is a single skater Sonya Henie (Norway). Brilliantly trained both as a skater and as a dancer, Sonya took women's skating to new heights - her free programs at that time were unattainably complex, more like ballet . No wonder she won ten world championships and three olympiads before turning pro. Of the men, the Austrian achieved the greatest heights Carl Schaefer.

In pair skating, in the 1920s and 30s, there was a struggle between “trickists” and “anti-trickists”. The first at first stood out spectacular, though not difficult to perform, support , which do not require a woman to have a special ability to skate, the second - the well-coordinated ride of both partners. In the end, the “anti-trickists” took the leading place.

Before the war, jumping was considered "aerobatics", not accessible to everyone. Even world-class skaters got by with two or three jumps per program. IN 1948 Dick Button made a revolution by introducing a free program, full of jumps, including a double Axel. Since then, jumping has firmly established itself in the arsenal of figure skaters.

Sports dancing on ice originated in the 1930s in Great Britain, and then spread throughout the world. IN 1952 sports dances were included in the programworld championships and Europe . For the first 10 years, all major international competitions were won by British figure skaters. To the programwinter olympic games ice dancing was included with 1976 .

Heyday (1960-2000)

In 1961 tragedy struck: the entire US teamdied in a plane crash . This ended US dominance in figure skating.

The ice dancing revolution was made by Czech brother and sister Eva Romanova and Pavel Roman . They preferred to dance to boisterous Latin American rhythms; their productions at that time sounded defiant, but they managed to defend their creative views, becoming 4-time world champions ( 1962 — 1965 ).

With the advent of television a paradox arose.Mandatory figures were an extremely boring discipline, television people preferred to showfree program . Often there was a situation: the skater got a huge lead in the compulsory figures (which gave 60% of the points), rolled back a nondescript free program and became the winner, bypassing the “public favorites” (this is known, for example, Beatrice Shuba). In 1968 the first step was taken: the cost of compulsory figures was reduced to 50%. IN 1972 added short program giving 20%. By 1990 compulsory figures, short program and free program were already estimated at 20:30:50. FROM 1991 obligatory figures were abolished completely.

The complexity of the programs increased rapidly: Belousova and Protopopov demonstrated new options todesa ; Rodnina with Ulanov - unusual combinations of jumps. Triples became standard. jumps and ejections. In 1988 to Kurt Browning the first quadruple jump was counted - sheepskin coat.

Almost the entire podium in pair skating was occupied by the USSR and Russia: Belousova - Protopopov, Rodnina - Ulanov / Zaitsev, Valova - Vasiliev, Gordeeva — Grinkov, Berezhnaya - Sikharulidze ... The USSR also had no equal in dancing: couples Pakhomova - Gorshkov, Linichuk —Karponosov and Bestemyanova - Bukin brought the Soviet country many first places.

In women's skating, the "rules of the ball" school Jutta Müller (GDR ), which gave such athletes as Seifert, Pötsch and Witt . In the 1990s, they temporarily regained their positions USA . The United States and Canada held the most championship titles among men: Hamilton, Orser, Boitano, Browning, Stojko . In the post-Soviet years, success came to the coach Alexey Mishin who trained such athletes as Urmanov, Yagudin and Plushenko.

Modernity (2000 - present)

According to the arbitrator S. Bianchetti , the time of such programs as " Chaplin » Berezhnoy -Sikharulidze, unfortunately, has passed.

Figure skating borders on art and therefore, in principle, cannot have any objective indicators of “who is better”. When the strengths of the athletes are close, often the fate of the medal is determined by the subjective decision of one or two judges. In such a situation, conspiracies are not uncommon.One of them was opened on the Winter Olympics 2002 (Salt Lake City). This was the impetus for the emergenceNew Judicial System . The effect was twofold: on the one hand, an end was put to " undercuts » across the entire ice rink; even short runs the athlete tries to turn into a small step sequence . On the other hand, the theatricality has disappeared, the programs of different participants have become more and more similar to each other: athletes prefer to perform not beautiful and unusual figures, but those for which they give more points.

Although the New Grading System has informal records , they do not make much sense: throughout the 2000s, the system was worked out andbalanced .

In men's skating, the first places were taken byEvgeni Plushenko, Stéphane Lambiel and Brian Joubert . At the 2010 Olympics sensationally won by an American Evan Lysacek. In the women's - Irina Slutskaya, Miki Ando, ​​Kim Yong Ah and Mao Asada . In pair skating, a pair received well-deserved victories Totmyanina — Marinin ; also note the Chinese Pang Qing - Tong Jian, Shen Xue —Zhao Hongbo and an international couple Savchenko —Sholkovs. The most titled of the dance couples of recent times - Navka - Kostomarov.

Despite the fact that today most of the sportsprofessionalized , the ISU still retains the amateur status of competitive skating. IN world championship and Olympic Games Professionals are not allowed to enter. IN 2010 Plushenko was disqualified for professionalism.

The situation in the USSR and Russia

Figure skating in Russia has been known since time Peter I . The Russian Tsar brought the first models of skates from Europe. It was Peter I who came up with a new way of fastening skates - directly to the boots, and thus created the "protomodel" of today's equipment for skaters.

In 1838, the first textbook was published in St. for figure skaters - "Winter fun and the art of skating." Its author was G.M. Pauli - teacher gymnastics in military educational institutions of St. Petersburg.

Russian figure skating as a sport originated in 1865 . Then a public skating rink was opened in the Yusupov Garden on Sadovaya Street. This skating rink was the most comfortable in Russia and from the very first days it became a center for the training of figure skaters. On him March 5, 1878 the first competition of Russian figure skaters took place. IN 1881 The Society of Skating Fans consisted of about 30 people. One of the most famous sports and public figures was the Honorary Member of this society Vyacheslav Izmailovich Sreznevsky.

When the revolutionary devastation ended, figure skating began to gain strength again - albeit in isolation from the rest of the world. IN 1924 in the first championship the USSR won by Alexandra Bykovskaya and Yuri Zeldovich , then the pair competitions at the championships were held intermittently, however, the Soviet school received great development after the appearance of two outstanding pairs: Raisa Novozhilova - Boris Gandelsman (won the USSR championship, including in 1937 and 1939) andTatyana Granatkina (Tolmacheva) - Alexander Tolmachev (according to various sources, perhaps in 1937-38, 1941, 1945-52).

In the 1960s years - after a half-century break - Russia reappeared on the world stage. The first to inscribe their names in the annals of historyLudmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov . However, Soviet books prefer to remain silent about their merits - in In 1979 they became " defectors". Irina Rodnina (with two different partners) repeated the achievement Henie , becoming a 10-time world champion and 3-time Olympic champion.

The end of the 20th century was dominated by USSR and Russia in figure skating. In pair skating, Russia was generally out of competition, having received "gold" in all the Olympic Games since 1964 to 2006 However, having a huge advantage over the rest in pairs and dance skating and strong men, the USSR never won a single gold medal in women's skating. Came closest to the coveted title Kira Ivanova (silver at the World Championships, bronze at the Olympic Games). Already in post-Soviet Russia, the women's world championship was won Synchronized figure skating - the newest discipline of figure skating. In its modern form, synchronized skating appeared in the 60s in the USA, although the idea of ​​​​group skating appeared much earlier. For example, in Russia, group skating competitions (pairs, fours, eights) were held back in the mid-20s. last century , but then this type of popularity did not receive. In the United States, this sport began to develop as an entertainment for spectators during the breaks of hockey matches. It turned out that synchronized skating is a very bright and interesting sport.

The first official synchronized figure skating competition took place in 1976 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. IN 1994

History of figure skating

Since ancient times, figure skating has been a popular form of recreation. Rolled usually on frozen rivers, lakes, ponds. In the second half of the 19th century, in such major Russian cities as St. Petersburg, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Saratov, Voronezh, sites began to be fenced off for these purposes and specially flooded. The first such skating rink appeared in St. Petersburg in 1865 The ponds of the Yusupov Garden (now the garden of the Oktyabrsky District) were adapted for it. It was there that the first Russian athletes began to systematically engage in figure skating, united in 1877 Petersburg Society of Ice Skating Fans.

In 1890On the ice of Yusupov Garden, the first unofficial world championship was played, in which the strongest figure skaters from Russia, the USA, Austria, Germany, and Sweden took part. In all sections of skating, A.P. was the strongest. Lebedev. The skating of this outstanding Russian athlete was distinguished by high technique, precision of movements, and amazing grace.

Speeches by A.P. Lebedev, his pedagogical and social activities influenced the formation of the so-called international style of skating. Representatives of the Austrian school, figure skaters from Norway, Sweden, Germany, England and the USA contributed to the development of figure skating as a sport. Organizationally, he took shape in 1892, the International Skating Union (ISU) was created. At the same time, at the ISU Congress, the rules for holding international competitions were approved, and the procedure for drawing the European Championship was determined.

In 1896ISU decided to hold world championships. The right to organize the first competitions at such a high level was granted to the St. Petersburg Society of Skating Fans. The competition took place on the ice of the Yusupov Garden. The bronze medalist of the European Championship German G. Fuchs, "Yusupovites" G. Sanders and N. Poduskov came to the start. G. Fuchs became the winner, G. Sanders and N. Poduskov lost both in the “school” and in free skating. G. Sanders was the first in the performance of spiral figures - a special section of figure skating. His figures were considered the most beautiful and the most complex.

The 1896 World Championship became a kind of incentive for the development of educational work at the skating rink in the Yusupov Garden. It was continued by Panin, relying on the traditions laid down by A.P. Lebedev. Systematic and hard work soon paid off. Panin himself participated in the first Russian figure skating championships and in 1901 replaced the first Russian champion A.N. Panshin, who won this title in 1897-1900 The winner perfectly performed school figures, in free skating he demonstrated high artistic skills and plasticity. His style of skating was in many ways reminiscent of the manner of the “grandfather of Russian figure skaters” A.P. Lebedev. Panin won the title of champion of Russia and in 1902, And in 1903. They talked about him abroad.

In 1903The 200th anniversary of St. Petersburg was celebrated and the committee of the International Skating Union instructed the St. Petersburg Society of Skating Fans to hold the drawing of the next world championship. A school of figure skaters was created at the Yusupov Garden skating rink. A well-known coach V. Seibert was invited from Austria. Under his leadership, N.A. Panin, F.I. Duttin, K.A. Ollo and other Petersburg figure skaters.

The 1903 World Championship brought together a strong line-up of participants. Two-time world champion Swede U. Salkhov, ex-world champion German G. Fuchs, Austrian champion M. Bogach and German champion E. Lassan arrived. From Russia, N.A. Panin. The first place was then taken by U. Salkhov, the second - by N.A. Panin.

Three more times N. Panin was the champion of Russia, repeatedly took high places at the European and world championships. In 1908 he decided to stop performing and devote himself to coaching. And yet he had to go out on the ice. In February, in the competition for the prize of A.N. Panshin on the ice of Yusupov Garden, he entered into combat with the seven-time world champion U. Salkhov. In the overall standings, N. Panin was ahead of the famous figure skater and took first place.

Fate brought them together again in the same year in London at the IV Olympic Games. Due to the fuzzy refereeing of compulsory exercises, N.A. Panin had to give up free skating. In competitions in special figures, he demonstrated amazing skill, impeccably executed all the drawings invented by him on ice and became the first Russian Olympic champion.

After the Olympic Games, N.A. Panin switched to teaching and coaching. Soon, his students also achieved great success: K.A. Ollo won the Russian championship in 1910, 1911, 1912; K.G. Caesar won all the national championships from 1911 to 1915.

Serious success was achieved by "Yusupov" and at the European Championship 1911, which was played out on their ice. K.A. Ollo then took second place. In competitions among women, K.G. Caesar was second, L.P. Popova is third.

Petersburg was one of the centers of formation of the international style of figure skating. The success of original skating A.P. Lebedev, the first Olympic gold medal in Russia by N.A. Panin and the success of a group of skaters who became coaches after the Great October Socialist Revolution were the main milestones in the development of skating at that time.

It is important to note the appearance in 1910 labor N.A. Panin "Figure Skating (International Style)", in which the author summarized the material accumulated by the end of the first decade of the 20th century in the field of figure skating technique and methodology. This work laid the foundation for the theory of figure skating.

The Great October Socialist Revolution determined the further development of figure skating as part of the country's physical culture. In general, figure skating has gone through a difficult path of development, becoming one of the most popular sports.

In the first years after the victory of the Great October Revolution, all work in physical culture and sports was subordinated to the main task of preparing soldiers for the fronts of the civil war. But even in a terrible time, according to N.A. Panin, fans of figure skating found the opportunity to allocate time for classes.

In 1920The first figure skating competitions were organized at the skating rink at the Semyonovsky Plaza hippodrome.

In 1923-1924.demonstration performances of figure skaters took place at the skating rink in Yusupov Garden. They were attended by L.P. Popov K.G. Caesar, A.D. Konopatova, I.I. Epiphany.

In 1926figure skating sections were created in Leningrad and Moscow, new areas for figure skaters appeared. A special role in the development of this sport was played by the school of figure skating - the so-called Seminary of Figure Skating Instructors.

The names of such figure skaters as Yu. Zeldovich, I. Bogoyavlensky, P. Chernyshev, M. Petrova, E. Oborina, A. Bykovskaya, T. Kuznetsova, M. Stankevich, R. and A. Gandelsman were widely known in the pre-war years .

After the Great Patriotic War, sections of the voluntary sports societies Dynamo, Spartak: DSO of trade unions in Moscow, Leningrad and Tallinn began to work actively. A group of specialization in figure skating was organized at the Institute of Physical Culture. P.F. Lesgaft (Leningrad). A talented group of skaters appeared, mastering more and more complex programs, especially in pair skating.
The national champions in these years among women were V. Paduri, Yu. Nikolaeva, N. Kartavenko, T. Likharev, among men I. Mitrushchenkov, V. Zakharov, I. Persiansev, in pair skating - T. Granatkina and A. Tolmachev, M. Granatkia and V. Zakharov, M. Belenkaya and I. Moskvin.

In the 50s.a certain experience of training work has already been accumulated, especially in pair skating. Soviet figure skaters had the opportunity to try their hand at the international arena.

In 1956Soviet skaters first entered the European ice, but the first big success was achieved in Bratislava in 1958- N. and S. Zhuk won the first medals and immediately silver medals! Another Soviet couple - L. Belousova and O. Protopopov demonstrated a lyrical, full of grace program and took 10th place. For the first time participating in the same year the world championship in Paris, N. and S. Zhuk took 8th, and L. Belousova and O. Protopopov 13th place. A good school for Soviet figure skaters was their participation in the VIII Olympic Games in Squaw Valley. in 1960 Our first pair - N. and S. Zhuk took 6th place, L. Belousova and O. Protopopov - 9th.

During these years, among the strongest skaters in the country were: Bogdanova, E. Osipova (Tchaikovskaya), T. Likhareva, T. Nemtsova, T. Bratus (Moskvina), L. Mikhailov, V. Meshkov and A. Vedenin, L. Gerasimova and Y. Kiselev.

The real triumph of the Soviet school of figure skating was the IX Olympic Games, where L. Belousova and O. Protopopov won gold medals, and the young debutants of the Olympics - T. Zhuk and A. Gavrilov took 5th place.

The names of our skaters I. Rodnina and A. Ulanov, and then Zaitsev, T. Moskvina and A. Mishin, T. Zhuk and A. Gorelik, Smirnova and A. Suraykin, T. Karelina and G. Proskurin in pair skating, and Grishkova and V. Ryzhkina, L. Pakhomova and Gorshkova in ice dancing, S. Chetverukhina in single skating are firmly included in the lists of the strongest in the world.

The construction of indoor ice rinks, the extraordinary expansion of the geography of figure skating, the extensive information on television and in the cinema contributed to the great popularity of all kinds of figure skating. Along with the mass character, the skill of figure skaters has now greatly increased. Independence from weather conditions helped to significantly intensify the learning process, to devote more time to creative searches. Modern sound recording, creative contacts between the coach and the choreographer made it possible to improve the musical and choreographic culture of classes, played a major role in the growth of the skill of figure skaters.

A special role in this process belongs to the trainers S. Zhuk, E. Chaikovskaya, I. Moskvin and others.

Figure skating- speed skating Olympic sport, the main idea of ​​which is to move an athlete or a pair of athletes on ice on skates and perform special elements to the music. Figure skating is practiced by both men and women.

The history of the emergence and development of figure skating

Before talking about the emergence of figure skating, we should mention the appearance of the first skates. Archaeological finds indicate that the prototypes of skates were already in the Bronze Age (35/33 - 13/11 centuries BC), but such skates were not suitable for figure skating, their purpose was only to speed up their owner.

Figure skating originated in Holland in the 12th-14th century. It became possible to engage in it after the creation of iron skates with two ribs. But it was not the figure skating that we are used to. Athletes drew various figures on the ice, while maintaining a beautiful pose.

In 1742, the first figure skating club appeared in Edinburgh, at the same time the first list of mandatory figures and the first rules were invented. From Europe, figure skating quickly spread to the United States, where it was greatly developed. New figure skaters' clubs began to open, the rules were improved, and new models of skates were developed.

By the middle of the 19th century, almost all of the existing compulsory figures were formed, as well as techniques for their implementation. At the first Congress of Skating in 1871, figure skating was recognized as a sport, and 11 years later, the first official figure skating championship was held.

In 1890, in honor of the 25th anniversary of the ice rink in the Yusupov Garden, all the stars of figure skating gathered in St. Petersburg, and the resulting competitions had the status of an “unofficial world championship”. The demonstrated international scope made it possible already in 1896 to hold the first official world championship in figure skating in St. Petersburg.

Figure skating rules

The rules depend on the type of figure skating: individual women's, individual men's, pair figure skating, as well as pair dancing on ice.

In individual skating, men and women are required to skate two programs - short and free. For a short program, which can last up to 2 minutes 40-50 seconds, skaters are required to submit 8 compulsory elements (double or triple Axel, triple or quadruple jump, one combination of jumps, several different types of spins and two step sequences) in any order. For the absence of one of the elements, a fine follows.

The free program is almost twice as long as the short program, it takes 4 and a half minutes for men and 4 minutes for women. Skaters strive to include the most difficult elements (for which you can get more points) in their program.

In pairs figure skating, the rules are very similar to individual ones, the difference is only in the mandatory elements. So, obligatory elements for couples are lifts (the partner lifts the partner), jumps with ejection (when the partner throws the partner), as well as synchronized jumps and rotation.

But the program of dancers is somewhat different. They must perform compulsory, free and original dances. The obligatory dance for all skaters is given the same one, with a set of obligatory elements. This is followed by an original dance in which all participants are given a certain theme for variations, and they must interpret it as they see fit. Well, dancers can show all their imagination, talent and skill in a free program. Here, the skaters themselves choose the music, costumes, and movements, which is why they give the most points for it - 50%.

There is also synchronized skating, in which from 16 to 20 skaters simultaneously compete for one team. The purpose of the discipline is the performance of the team as a whole. Technique, sliding, elements in synchronized skating are fully consistent with classical figure skating. Synchronized skating has its own special obligatory elements, such as: circle, line, wheel, intersections, blocks.

Jumps in figure skating are divided into two groups - edge and toe (tooth), depending on which part of the skate the push occurs. Now skaters perform 6 types of jumps - sheepskin coat, salchow, rittberger, flip, lutz and axel.

ice field

As a rule, this is a standard platform with dimensions: 30 x 60 meters. Has plastic or movable sides. On the ice field there should be very high-quality clean and even ice, this is achieved by special equipment, the irregularity error should not exceed 0.50 cm.

Clothes and equipment for figure skating

Professional figure skating skates are made of thick durable leather, have long lacing and a large tongue. For professional skaters, skates are made individually. The blades are made of carbon steel and consist of two parts. Concave beard for good gliding on ice. The nose part with teeth, for the execution of jerks and some elements of the program.

A figure skating suit should be made of light and elastic materials, as a rule, these are stretch fabrics. The skater's costume reflects the performance style of the program and the music.

Refereeing

• The chief referee is responsible for the organizational component of the competition: he calls the skaters on the ice, gives signals to the radio center, monitors the timing.
• A technician with an assistant fixes elements, falls.
• Technical Controller - supervises the work of the technical team.
• 9 judges - evaluate the quality of performance.

Popular figure skating competitions

The highest award in figure skating is the gold medal at the Winter Olympics. In addition to the Olympic Games, there are a number of very large figure skating championships:

• The World Championships (WCH) is an annual figure skating competition organized by the International Skating Union (ISU).
• The European Championship is an annual figure skating competition among figure skaters from European countries.
• The Four Continents Championship (Asia, Africa, America and Australia) is an annual figure skating competition, an analogue of the European Championship for non-European countries.
• The World Team Championship is an international team competition in figure skating, held every two years.

2016-06-30

We tried to cover the topic as fully as possible, so this information can be safely used in the preparation of messages, reports on physical education and abstracts on the topic "Figure Skating".

Figure skating is a type of speed skating, which is based on the movements of an athlete on ice to music, on one or both legs, with changes in the direction of sliding, rotation, jumps, combinations of steps and figure patterns in single skating, and lifts in pair skating.

Figure skating, in contrast to free recreational skating, got its name due to the fact that the rules of the figure skating competition provide for the performance of obligatory geometric figures on ice - circles, paragraphs, eights, where the art of skating is demonstrated.

History of figure skating

The origins of speed skating lie in the distant past, and are rooted in the Bronze Age (end of the 4th - beginning of the 1st millennium BC), this is evidenced by the finds of archaeologists - bone skates made from the phalanxes of the limbs of large animals. However, the birth of figure skating as a sport is associated with the moment when skates began to be made from iron, not bone. According to research, this happened for the first time in Holland, in the XII-XIV century. Initially, figure skating was a competition in the skill to draw various figures on the ice, while maintaining a beautiful pose.

Figure skating in Russia has been known since the time of Peter I. The Russian Tsar brought the first samples of skates from Europe. It was Peter I who came up with a new way of attaching skates - directly to the boots, and thus created the "protomodel" of today's figure skaters' equipment.

Figure skating as a separate sport was formed in the 60s of the 19th century and in 1871 it was recognized at the I Skating Congress. The first competition took place in Vienna in 1882 among male figure skaters.

In 1908 and 1920 figure skating competitions were held at the Summer Olympics. It should be noted that figure skating is the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic program. Since 1924, figure skating has been a regular feature of the Winter Olympics.

From 1986 to the present, official international figure skating competitions, such as the World Championship, the European Championship, the Four Continents Championship and others, are held under the auspices of the International Skating Union (ISU, from the English International Skating Union, ISU).

There are 5 disciplines in figure skating: men's single skating, women's single skating, pair figure skating, sports dancing and group synchronized skating. Group synchronized skating is not yet included in the program of official competitions; a separate world championship in synchronized skating is being held for this type of figure skating.

Types of figure skating

Men's and women's single figure skating

A figure skater in single skating must demonstrate mastery of all groups of elements - steps, spirals, rotations, jumps. The higher the quality and complexity of the elements performed, the higher the level of the athlete. Important criteria are also: the connection of the athlete's movements with music, plasticity, aesthetics and artistry.
Competitions in single skating are held in 2 stages: the first stage is a short program, the second stage is a free program.

Pair skating

The task of athletes in pair skating is to demonstrate mastery of the elements in such a way as to create the impression of unity of action.
In pair skating, along with the traditional elements (steps, spirals, jumps), there are elements that are performed only in this type of figure skating: these are lifts, twists, throws, todes, joint and parallel rotations. An important criterion for paired athletes is the synchronism of the elements.
In pair skating, as well as in singles, competitions are held in two stages - short and free programs.

Dance Sport

In sports ice dancing, from a technical point of view, the main attention is paid to the joint performance of dance steps in standard and non-standard dance positions, and long-term separation of partners is not allowed. Unlike pair figure skating, there are no jumps, throws, and other distinctive elements of pair figure skating in sports dances.
In sports dancing, an important component of success is the smoothness of movements and the attractive appearance of the couple, so much attention is paid to musical accompaniment and careful selection of costumes for each competition program. Thanks to this, sports dancing is one of the most spectacular areas in figure skating.
The modern program of official competitions includes 2 dances: short dance and free dance.

Synchronized figure skating

The synchronized skating team consists of 16 to 20 skaters. The team may include women and men. According to the rules of the ISU (ISU), teams are divided into the following age groups: Novices (corresponding to the first and second sports categories) - up to 15 years; juniors (candidates for master of sports) - 12-18 years old; seniors (masters of sports) - 14 years and older.
Neither technique, nor gliding, nor the execution of individual elements in synchronized skating differ from classical figure skating. But there is a certain specificity of skating in the team, which makes its own adjustments to the performance of the elements. The goal is the performance of the team as a whole.
Synchronized skating has its own special obligatory elements, such as: circle, line, wheel, intersections, blocks. Forbidden moves: any lifts, jumps of more than 1 turn, crossings involving backward spirals, etc.
Synchronized skating competitions consist of a short program and a free program.

Physiological features of this sport

Figure skating combines high dynamic and static power, gravitational and coordination loads, thereby exerting a developing and training effect on all the main physiological systems and functions of the body, increasing its physical performance and resistance to stress.

Skaters are distinguished by a slender figure, harmoniously developed muscles, and beautiful posture. Thanks to the many exercises that require the spine, its flexibility and mobility increase, and in children with posture defects, deformity correction is achieved.

The influence of skaters' exercises on vestibular stability, the development of a finely differentiated sense of balance, and the decrease in susceptibility to angular accelerations that cause dizziness and disorientation in space are exceptional.

History of figure skating

Figure skating - skating sport, refers to difficult coordination sports. The main idea is to move an athlete or a pair of skaters on ice with changes in the direction of sliding and performing additional elements to the music. Figure skating as a separate sport was formed in the 60s of the 19th century. and in 1871 it was recognized at the I Congress of Skating. The first competition took place in Vienna in 1882 among male figure skaters. In 1908 and 1920 figure skating competitions were held at the Summer Olympics. It should be noted that figure skating is the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic program. Since 1924, figure skating has been a regular feature of the Winter Olympics.
From 1986 to the present, official international figure skating competitions, such as the World Championships, the European Championships, the Four Continents Championships and others, are held under the auspices of the International Skating Union.

History of figure skating
The invention of skates
The origins of speed skating go back to the Bronze Age (the end of the 4th - the beginning of the 1st millennium BC), this is evidenced by the finds of archaeologists - bone skates made from the phalanxes of the limbs of large animals. Similar finds are found in many European countries, and the most ancient "skates" were found on the banks of the Southern Bug near Odessa. Even such primitive designs gave the traveler or hunter a gain in speed, but they were not yet suitable for figure riding.

Origin(XVI-XIX century). The birth of figure skating as a sport is associated with the moment when skates began to be made from iron, not bone. According to research, this happened for the first time in Holland, in the XII-XIV century. Initially, figure skating was a competition in the skill to draw various figures on the ice, while maintaining a beautiful pose. The first figure skating clubs appeared in the 18th century in the British Empire in Edinburgh. There was also developed a list of obligatory figures for the competition, and the first official rules of the competition. Artillery lieutenant Robert Jones published A Treatise on Skating, in which he described all the main figures that were then known.
From Europe, figure skating came to the USA and Canada, where it was greatly developed. Numerous figure skaters' clubs were created here, new models of skates were developed, and their own school of technology was created. By the middle of the 19th century, almost all modern compulsory figures and the main techniques for their performance were already known in figure skating, as evidenced by the books “The Art of Skating” by D. Anderson. At that time, figure skating was performed in a prim "English" style. American Jackson Haynes, a dancer and skater, combined both and got his own style of skating: riding to the music, dance moves and "tops" on the ice. The skates, attached to the shoes with straps, could not withstand such loads, then he - one of the first - screwed them tightly to the boots. However, this style was not accepted in puritanical America, and in the 60s of the XIX century he went on tour to Europe.
First championships(late 19th century). At the I Congress of Skating in 1871, figure skating was recognized as a sport. In 1882, the first official figure skating competition in Europe took place in Vienna. True, initially, as Mishin A.N. notes, “it was a kind of behind-the-scenes competition,” since only a few athletes took part in them. But the approach to competitions changed after the best figure skaters from all over the world were invited to the competitions in St. Petersburg in 1890, dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the ice rink in the Yusupov Garden. The following arrived in St. Petersburg: US champion L. Rubenstein, German champion F. Kaiser, the best skaters from Sweden, Austria, Finland, England, Holland, Sweden, Norway. The competitions acquired the status of an "unofficial world championship", the winner of these competitions in all types of the program was Alexei Pavlovich Lebedev, an honorary member of the St. Petersburg Society of Skating Fans. The following year, in 1891, in Hamburg, the first European Championship in men's single skating took place. But the demonstration of the international scope and potential of figure skating, shown at the competitions in St. Petersburg, haunted. Therefore, already in 1892, the International Skating Union was created, which was supposed to lead the organization of international competitions.
Four years later, in 1896, the first world figure skating championship was held in St. Petersburg (the winner was Gilbert Fuchs, German Empire). In 1903, in honor of the 200th anniversary of St. Petersburg, the "Petersburg Society of Skating Fans" was granted the right to host the 8th World Championship (1st place - Swede Ulrich Salkhov, 2nd - Nikolai Panin-Kolomenkin). The first figure skating competitions were held only among single men, women figure skaters got the opportunity to participate in the world championships only 10 years later. True, in 1901, under pressure from the public, the ISU, as an exception, allowed a woman, an Englishwoman, Madge Sayers, to participate in men's competitions.
Development(1900-1960). Officially, the first World Women's Singles Championship was held at the end of January 1906 in Davos (Switzerland). Compulsory figures for women and men were similar, but women's free skating immediately attracted attention with high artistry, plasticity and musicality of movements. Pair skating came about immediately after Haynes demonstrated how to dance on ice; already in 1897 it was codified as a sport. But officially the first competitions took place only in 1908 in St. Petersburg. German figure skaters Anna Hübler and Heinrich Burger went down in history as the first Olympic champions in pair skating. The most titled of the pre-war figure skaters is the single skater Sonya Henie (Norway). Brilliantly trained as both a skater and a dancer, Sonya took women's skating to new heights - her free programs at that time were unattainably complex, more like ballet. No wonder she won ten world championships and three olympiads before turning pro. Of the men, the Austrian Karl Schaefer achieved the highest heights. In pair skating in the 1920s and 30s, there was a struggle between “trickists” and “anti-trickists”. The first ones at first were distinguished by spectacular, though not difficult to perform, lifts that did not require a woman to have special ability to skate, the second ones - by the well-coordinated ride of both partners. In the end, the “anti-trickists” took the leading place. Before the war, jumping was considered "aerobatics", not accessible to everyone. Even world-class skaters got by with two or three jumps per program. In 1948, Dick Button revolutionized the sport by introducing a jump-intensive free skate including the double Axel. Since then, jumping has firmly established itself in the arsenal of figure skaters. Sports dancing on ice originated in the 1930s in Great Britain, and then spread throughout the world. In 1952, sports dances were included in the program of the World and European Championships. For the first 10 years, all major international competitions were won by British figure skaters. Ice dancing has been included in the program of the Winter Olympic Games since 1976.
heyday(1960-2000). In 1961, tragedy struck: the entire US team died in a plane crash. This ended US dominance in figure skating. The revolution in ice dancing was made by the Czech brother and sister Eva Romanova and Pavel Roman. They preferred to dance to boisterous Latin American rhythms; their productions at that time sounded defiant, but they managed to defend their creative views, becoming 4-time world champions (1962-1965). With the advent of television, a paradox arose: compulsory figures were an extremely boring discipline, television people preferred to show a free program. Often there was a situation: the skater got a huge lead in the compulsory figures (which gave 60% of the points), rolled back a nondescript free program and became the winner, bypassing the “public favorites”. In 1968, the first step took place: the cost of compulsory figures was reduced to 50%. In 1972, a short program was added, giving 20%. By 1990, the compulsory figures, the short program and the free program were already estimated at 20:30:50. Since 1991, obligatory figures have been completely abolished. The complexity of the programs increased rapidly: Belousova and Protopopov demonstrated new variants of the death spiral; Rodnina with Ulanov - unusual combinations of jumps. Triple jumps and ejections became the standard technique. In 1988, Kurt Browning was credited with the first quadruple jump - a sheepskin coat. Almost the entire podium in pair skating was occupied by the USSR and Russia: Belousova-Protopopov, Rodnina-Ulanov/Zaitsev, Valova-Vasilyev, Gordeeva-Grinkov, Berezhnaya-Sikharulidze... The USSR also had no equal in dancing: the pairs Pakhomov-Gorshkov, Linichuk— Karponosov and Bestemyanova-Bukin brought many first places to the Soviet country.
In women's skating, the school of Jutta Müller "ruled the ball", which gave such athletes as Seifert, Petch and Witt. In the 1990s, the United States regained its positions for a while. Most of the championship titles among men were held by the USA and Canada: Hamilton, Orser, Boitano, Browning, Stojko. In the post-Soviet years, success came to coach Alexei Mishin, who trained such athletes as Urmanov, Yagudin and Plushenko.
Modernity(present tense). According to the arbiter S. Bianchetti, the time of such programs as "Chaplin" by Berezhnaya-Sikharulidze, unfortunately, has passed. Figure skating borders on art and therefore, in principle, cannot have any objective indicators of “who is better”. When the strengths of the athletes are close, often the fate of the medal is determined by the subjective decision of one or two judges. In such a situation, conspiracies are not uncommon. One of them was revealed at the 2002 Winter Olympics. This was the impetus for the emergence of the New Judging System. The effect turned out to be twofold: on the one hand, an end was put to "cutting" through the entire rink; even short runs the athlete tries to turn into a small path of steps. On the other hand, the theatricality has disappeared, the programs of different participants have become more and more similar to each other: athletes prefer to perform not beautiful and unusual figures, but those for which they give more points. Although there are unofficial records in the New Grading System, they do not make much sense: throughout the 2000s, the system was worked out and balanced. In men's skating, the first places were occupied by Evgeni Plushenko, Stephane Lambiel and Brian Joubert. At the 2010 Olympics, American Evan Lysacek won sensationally. In the women's - Irina Slutskaya, Miki Ando, ​​Kim Yong Ah and Mao Asada. In pair skating, a pair of Totmyanina-Marinin received well-deserved victories; we can also note the Chinese Pang Qing-Tong Jian, Shen Xue-Zhao Hongbo and the international couple Savchenko-Szolkowy. The most titled of the dance couples of recent times is Navka-Kostomarov. Despite the fact that today most of the sports have become professional, the ISU still retains the amateur status of competitive skating. Professionals are not allowed to enter the World Championships and the Olympic Games. In 2010, Plushenko was disqualified for professionalism.
History of the World Figure Skating Championships
The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition organized by the International Skating Union (ISU). The first official world championship in figure skating took place in 1896 in St. Petersburg. Four figure skaters from three countries took part in it: Gilbert Fuchs from Munich, Austrian Gustav Hugel and two Russian figure skaters from St. Petersburg - Georgy Sanders and Nikolai Poduskov. Gilbert Fuchs won the gold medal and the title of the first world champion in figure skating. Only men took part in the first world championship. In 1897, at the ISU Congress, which took place in Stockholm, the rules for holding competitions in figure skating were adopted. According to the first rules, figure skating competitions consisted of single skating (men only), pair skating (two men or two women or one man and one woman) and group skating. The composition of the group was identical to pair skating. Single skating consisted of two parts: compulsory figures and free skating. Skaters had to perform six compulsory figures (each of them on the right and on the left foot) in accordance with the competition program. In pair and group skating, the skaters performed only the free program.
In the period 1896-1914. some championships were held on natural ice. Sometimes the organizers were forced to cancel them due to weather conditions, as there was no ice. Therefore, it became necessary to start holding championships on a natural, but closed skating rink, or on artificial ice. In 1898, the World Figure Skating Championship was held for the first time at an indoor skating rink in London, which was called "Hengler's Circus", and later - "Palladium". Hennig Grenadier (Sweden) won this championship. After the first World Championship, which was attended by Russian figure skaters Sanders and Poduskov, six years have passed when the figure skaters from Russia returned to the world stage again. In 1903, Nikolai Panin-Kolomenkin competed in the World Championship in St. Petersburg and took 2nd place. Then, in 1909, Theodor Datlin participated in the World Championships in Stockholm, he was the last of the five skaters who competed. In 1913, Ivan Malinin in Vienna showed the fourth result, and in 1914 Sergei Vandervliet, like Datlin, took the last, 13th place.
Then a long break followed, and only in 1958, after a long break, the USSR figure skaters began to participate in the world championships. Three figure skaters at once: Lev Mikhailov, Valentin Zakharov and Igor Persiantsev performed in 1958 in Paris and took 17th, 20th and 21st respectively. In 1975, the Soviet figure skater Sergei Volkov won the world championship for the first time, defeating Vladimir Kovalev, who took 2nd place and received a silver medal.
The title of the most titled domestic figure skater belongs to Alexei Yagudin, a four-time world champion. His rival for many years, Evgeni Plushenko, has so far held three world titles. In the very early years of the World Championships, women were not allowed to compete, although local competitions, in which both women and couples participated, began to be held in the 1870s. One of the reasons for the non-participation of women was the clothing, which did not allow the complex movements of the free program to be performed. In addition, the rules for single skating at that time limited the participation of women in the championships. Only men were allowed to participate. In 1905, the ISU Congress, after strong lobbying from the National Association of England, approved a separate World Championship for women, but even after that the World Championship did not receive full recognition and was called the ISU Championship, without the word "world", which referred only to the men's championships. This situation continued until 1924.
The first women's championship took place in 1906 in Davos. The winner was Maggie Sayers (Great Britain). In 1914, for the first time, Xenia Caesar took part in the championship from Russia, taking 7th place out of nine. Historical materials indicate that women representing the USSR appeared at the World Championships only in 1962. Tatyana Nemtsova became the first Soviet figure skater to be entrusted with the right to compete at the 1962 World Championships in Prague, where she placed 20th. The first Soviet world championship medalist was Elena Vodorezova, who won bronze in 1983. In the next two years, Anna Kondrashova and Kira Ivanova won silver medals. The real breakthrough came in the second half of the 1990s. with the advent of Irina Slutskaya and Maria Butyrskaya. Butyrskaya in 1999 became the first Russian world champion in history, and Slutskaya bears the title of the most titled Russian figure skater. Irina has two golds, three silvers and one bronze at the world championships. In 1952, ice dancing was included in the world championship. The first domestic world champions in ice dancing were Lyudmila Pakhomova and Alexander Gorshkov, who won gold in 1970. It is this duet that is the most titled in the history of ice dancing: six gold medals at world championships. The victorious pace of Pakhomova and Gorshkov was continued by Natalya Bestemyanova and Andrey Bukin, as well as Oksana Grischuk and Evgeny Platov. In 1965, Soviet athletes Lyudmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov became champions in pair skating. Subsequently, Belousova and Protopopov won three more champion titles, and in 1969 Irina Rodnina picked up the baton, who, first with Alexei Ulanov, and then with Alexander Zaitsev, became the best figure skater in the world 10 times.
The world championships in figure skating were not held during the first (1915-1921) and second (1940-1946) world wars. In 1961, the World Championship was canceled due to a plane crash near Brussels. On the plane, which flew from New York to the capital of Belgium, was the US figure skating team. All athletes died, and because of the tragedy, it was decided to cancel the competition, which was supposed to be held in Prague.

Kinds
In figure skating, it is customary to distinguish 5 main areas:
women's single skating
men's single skating
pair figure skating
group synchronized skating
dance Sport
Women's and men's single skating. An athlete in single skating demonstrates mastery of the basic elements - steps, rotations, spirals, jumps. The level of a skater is determined by the quantity, quality and complexity of the elements performed. An important indicator in evaluating an athlete is also a sense of rhythm, plasticity, grace and artistry. Competitions are carried out in two stages. The first stage is a short compulsory program, the second - an arbitrary one.
Pair skating. In this type of skating, special elements are added to the main components, such as lifts, ejections, spins, death drops, parallel and joint rotations. In pair skating, the ability of partners to perform all movements synchronously and with high quality comes to the fore in order to show the unity of actions. As in single skating, the competition for pairs takes place in two stages.
Synchronized figure skating. This sport is the youngest among the areas of figure skating. The team can consist of both women and men. Typically, the team consists of 16 to 20 people. The technique for performing the elements is the same as for single skating. The group must perform several mandatory elements synchronously and beautifully, such as a line, a circle, intersections, a wheel, blocks. Jumps of more than one turn, lifts, spirals and crossings are prohibited.
Dance Sport. The main emphasis in this direction of figure skating falls on dance movements. Here, there are practically no emissions and jumps, prolonged separation of partners is not allowed. In this type of figure skating, it is important to choose the right skater costumes, music, and come up with an attractive image for the couple. Sports dancing on ice is one of the most spectacular and beautiful areas. Modern competitions provide for the performance by a couple of a short compulsory dance, as well as a free dance.
Features of figure skating. Figure skating is a difficult and traumatic sport. To achieve professional goals, you should start exercising at the age of 4-5 years. However, in each individual case there are deviations from the norm.
Even if you learned to ride at a mature age, you also have a chance to compete. There are non-qualifying championships for those who, for whatever reason, cannot participate in the qualification. But even if you are not interested in competitions, in any case, figure skating can become a favorite hobby that brings joy and health. After all, this sport gives not only speed of reaction, grace and posture, but also a lot of positive emotions.

The main idea of ​​figure skating is to move an athlete or a pair of skaters on ice with changes in the direction of sliding and performing additional elements to the music.