Figure skating originated as a form of transportation across icy rivers but became an Olympic sport in 1908. Jackson Haines invented the modern style of figure skating, combining dance and skating. There are rules in competitions regarding costumes, jumps, and moves. Famous skaters featured include Patrick Chan, Katarina Witt, Torvill and Dean. The article provides profiles of skaters, descriptions of jumps and spins, and quick facts such as the 1994 attack on Nancy Kerrigan by associates of Tonya Harding.

1. Figure Skating
By Kristin Amato

2.  History
 Rules
 Famous Skaters
 Moves
 Quick facts
 Video
 Quiz
Topics

3. Ice skating dates back to prehistoric times. At
first it was a form of transport, mainly across
icy rivers, but then in 1908 it changed into an
Olympic event in the London Olympics. Jackson
Haines, an American, invented the modern
way of figure skating. He put together dance
and skating and made figure skating.
History

4. There are many rules in figure skating- Here are a few:
1. You can not do back flips
2. You can not repeat a triple or quadruple jump
twice unless in a sequence or combination
3. Women have to wear skirts and tights- Usually they
can wear any fancy dress but one time Katarina
Witt wore a very short dress and the judges
thought it was too revealing.
Rules

5. Solo skaters:
Patrick Chan
Canadian- 17 First place awards (2003-
2011) and 1 First place Junior award.
Katarina Witt
East German- 24 First place awards (1980-
1988) A judge on Dancing on Ice.
Couple Skaters:
Torvill and Dean
British- 23 Amateur First place awards and
10 Professional First place awards (1975-
1996) They started Dancing on Ice.
Famous Skaters Profile’s

6. Jumps, Spins and Lifts (for partners) are required in
competitions.
Here are a few moves:
Waltz jump- A 180 degrees turn, jump
Split- When you enter with a loop or flip and then split your
legs
Axel Jump- The only move which begins with skating
forwards. Axel Paulsen performed it first
Toe loop jump- a jump which begins with the toe on the back
edge
Moves

7.  Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan were amateur figure
skaters from 1985-1994. They were both in the 1994 U.S.
Figure Skating Championship, to choose who would be on
the Olympic team, when Tonya’s husband attacked Nancy
with a hard object. The attack made Nancy withdraw from
the championship and later in the competition, Tonya
won by performing a triple axel jump.
 Hot countries like Australia and Brazil have skating teams
 The next Olympic games are in Ukraine. Watch out for
Patrick Chan, Miki Ando and Kim Yu-Na
Quick Facts

8. Video

9. Here’s some time to earn sweets!
1. When did Ice Skating become an Olympic
Event and Where?
2. Who invented the modern way of skating?
3. Can you name one famous skater?
4. What do you do when you ‘split’?
5. Who attacked who in 1994?
Quiz

10. Happy Figure
Skating!!!