Olde Tyme Ice Skating

Vol. I, No. 42

Posts over the recent week have focussed on NHL Stanley Cup playoffs, but I wanted to give it a day of rest and think about another more general subject.  Ice skating. 

Here in the US, there are about 1700 indoor rinks where people skate. In the north, uncounted lakes, ponds, rivers and backyard rinks allow skating on natural ice. But skating was not born in North America.  The Aleuts may have mastered snow shoes, but skates came from Europe.

Ice skating originated thousands of years ago. Archaeological evidence suggests that humans living 5000 years ago in present day Finland put together bones and leather straps to create footwear for use on ice. Large expanses of flat lakes made it desirable to cross frozen lakes, rather than walk around them. And in winter, conserving calories is imperative, when game is scarce and food stocks may dwindle.

Artifacts from 9th century London show that horse bones were being used for the same purpose.  When winters in northern England were cold enough, skates made chasing food more efficient (you go faster and spend less energy on skates).  In Scandinavia and the Netherlands, ice skating has been around for 1000 years. In the 13th century, metal-working technology advanced so that metal runners could be formed. The Dutch were using steel edges in the 13th or 14th century.

By the way, the evidence that England was involved in ice skating lends credibility to the idea of global warming.  500 to 1000 years ago, the earth was a cooler place. Between 1300 and 1860, earth scientists recognize the effects of "The Little Ice Age".  Global average temperatures were about 0.5C lower than the earth in 1900.  That may not seem like much, but its consequences included the Irish potato famine, and the demise of Viking colonies in Greenland.

Skating began as a necessity, to travel more efficiently from place to place in the winter.  By the 1600s, skating had become a social activity for the Dutch (what else can be done with frozen canals?).   Competitive racing followed soon after, and the sport of recreational skating was born.  Other games related to ice emerged elsewhere

In Ireland and Scotland, ice and idle time created the conditions for games. In Ireland it was hurling (no skates).  In Scotland it was shinty, a version of field hockey (but no ice involved).  So when Scottish immigrants to Canada arrived, they brought shinty and found a cold, ice-covered land. The sport of shinny, or informal ice hockey, emerged. They may have borrowed ice-playing traditions from the Mi'kmaq, a First Nation aboriginal people in Canada and the northern US.

Modern ice skating was marked by the formation of clubs, starting in Edinburgh in 1742. Later in the 18th century, instruction books were printed illustrating skating techniques with circles and eights. The sport then split into speed skating and figure skating.

Modern figure skating was pioneered in New York by Jackson Haines. The first figure skating championship was held in Troy New York, in 1864. Competing formal British styles dominated, but Haines' more artistic style emerged as the sport we know and love today.

And what about hockey?  Between 1825 and 1875, the modern form of ice hockey emerged in Canada, replete with rules and pucks (replacing balls used before).  By 1925, the NHL was in full swing. 

Recently, the sports of hockey and figure skating have crossed paths in Canada.  Ex-NHL stars Stephane Richer, Tie Domi, Ken Daneyko and Claude Lemieux have appeared in the CBC "Battle of the Blades".  The NHLers paired with ice dancing champions Christine Hough-Sweeney, Shae-Lynn Bourne, Jamie Sale and Marie-France Dubreuil.  The show has been one of the most popular in Canada, drawing weekly audiences of 1.5 to 2.0 million viewers.  That's akin to 18 million Americans watching the same show!  In comparison, American Idol only draws 16 million of us.

So put together ice dancing and NHL stars, and you get one result.

Ice Skating Rules!

P.S. Day of rest over. Three NHL playoff games were scheduled tonight. Washington defeated the Canadiens in Montreal and lead their series 3-1. The Bruins fell behind, but then evened the score against Buffalo, playing in front of the home crowd at TD Garden in Boston.  The game is going to OT.  Buffalo is struggling to avoid a loss, which would put them in the same hole that the Devils and Montreal are in, down 3-1 in the series. Game fours are intense. Nobody wants to have their back against the wall. Vancouver plays in LA later on.  The Kings have a 2-1 series lead.