Earliest mention of the word "horse" can be found in Gemakh's English-Dutch Dictionary (1648). In international sports word "skates" came from the Russian language skates, runner skates, hunchbacked skates. The front part of the wooden skates was decorated with a horse's head - hence the affectionate name, a diminutive of the word "horse": skates.
History of skates
The first devices for moving on ice, which we know about from archaeological excavations and from literature, were made from animal bones. Such skate bones have been found in the Netherlands, Denmark, Bavaria, Bohemia, Switzerland, England, Norway, Sweden and the Soviet Union. Skates are one of the oldest inventions of mankind. Carved from wood or carved from animal bones and attached to a boot, skates made it possible to quickly move across ice-covered ground. In Siberia they rode on walrus tusks, in China - on bamboo trunks. And the skates found by archaeologists in Kazakhstan near Borovoe Lake were made from the shin bone of a horse. A similar skate is kept in the London Museum - a long, sharpened bone with a slot for a lace. This skate was found in Moorefield in 1839. The British Museum displays bone skates that were used to skate almost two thousand years ago. These skates were found in the last century. And more recently, in 1967, on the banks of the Southern Bug and a dry estuary near Odessa, archaeologists discovered the most ancient skates ever found; these skates belonged to the Cimmerians, a nomadic tribe that lived 3,200 years ago in the Northern Black Sea region. The Chimerians skied on ice skates already during the Bronze Age. These devices were made from the bones of domestic animals. The bone was ground down on one side, and special holes were made at its ends for attaching to shoes. 
The first skates were actually a prototype of skis and did not have pointed ribs. Repulsion had to be done using sticks. But still, movement on the ice-covered surface was much faster and more confident. Similar bone skates existed in ancient times, and archaeologists attribute some of them to the Stone Age. In age, they are superior to the “equipment” of the ancient Dutch and Danes in Scandinavia; skates appeared only in the Viking Age. Bone skates appeared in Russia almost 3 thousand years ago. During excavations in settlements and cities of ancient Rus' - Staraya Ladoga, Novgorod, Pskov - skates were found made from the bones of the front legs of horses. These skates had three holes - two for attaching the skate to the toe of the shoe and one for holding the skate at the heel. In the Netherlands, initially the role of a skate, along with animal bones, was played by a wooden shoe. Then metal runners began to be attached to such shoes.
In England during Shakespeare's time (until the beginning of the 16th century), people still skated on bone skates, not to mention Norway and Iceland, where they were held in high esteem until the end of the 19th century. But already in the 14th century, they learned how to make wooden skates with a metal strip on the sliding surface.
From the 13th to the mid-18th centuries, skates served as a means of transportation for people on frozen rivers, lakes and canals in the northern countries; the skate was made from a wooden base, to which a runner made of bronze or iron was first attached, and later from steel. The first to rivete skates to shoes was the Russian Emperor Peter I, who, while building ships in Holland, became interested in skates. He immediately realized that skates and shoes should form a single whole. Wooden skates with an iron blade For four centuries, the wooden base of the skate, as well as the runner, changed mainly only in their length and shape. The second half of the 19th century is characterized by the rapid development of speed skating throughout the world. In America, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Russia and other countries, skates of new designs are beginning to appear. Ice skating has become a favorite winter pastime, and therefore skating clubs began to open everywhere. In Russia, the first such club was opened in St. Petersburg in 1864 by the world-famous speed skater, the first unofficial world champion, Russian speed skater and figure skater A. Panshin. Simultaneously with the wide spread of skating and running, their improvement also took place. Until 1883, figure skaters and speed skaters skated on all-metal short, heavy skates with a curved blade. Such skates, made by Tula craftsmen, were found during the construction of the Moscow metro.
Norwegian speed skaters A. Paulsen and K. Werner designed tubular racing skates in 1880. Tubular racing skates Front and back metal plates 
The forms were screwed to the sole of the boot with six and four screws, respectively.
In 1892, the Norwegian H. Hagen proposed another innovation - a running skate consisting of a steel tube and a steel runner inserted into it. These skates made it possible to take a colossal step forward in the development of speed running; All the world's speed skaters still use these skates to this day. The appearance of a new model of skates made by the Dutch companies Viking and Raps became a sensation. In 1996-1997 Some Dutch speed skaters began the competitive season on new model skates. Belgian Bart VELDKAMP, winner of the 1997 World Championships in the 10,000 m race, said: “Blindskate is the future of speed skating.”
Gaines' hobby
The prototype of the modern figure skate is D. Gaines's skate. This model has essentially remained unchanged to this day under the name “snow maiden”. The toe of this skate with a thick blade is sharply curved upward and has no teeth, thanks to which it can be skated not only on ice, but also on hard-packed, icy snow. This is where, in all likelihood, the Russian name for this common model came from. Snowflakes are very convenient for initial learning to skate. The absence of teeth on the toe teaches a novice skater to use exclusively the ribs of the skate for movement, while the significant curvature of its runner makes it easier to control the skate and encourages skating in steep arcs.
Model U. Salkova retains all the main features of the Gaines skate, but has a fundamentally new detail - teeth made on the toe of the skate. The appearance of teeth reflected the increased complexity of the execution of figures, the need to demonstrate various stops, jumps, pirouettes on the toe, toe pushes, compasses, stepping from toe to toe, etc. The appearance of a skate with three racks ( model N. Panin) was caused by technical considerations, namely, an increase in the strength of the skate. A modern skate does not contain any new parts, design or operational innovations. Only the shape of the skate, the thickness of the blade and the configuration of the teeth have undergone some changes. The skater's skate is 3-4 millimeters thick and is sharpened so that the side and bottom surfaces of the blade form two sharp edges. The runner of the skate is rounded, and therefore any tilt of the body to the side causes sliding in an arc. 
There are three types of skates used in figure skating:
A. Skates for the compulsory program;
B. Skates for performing a free program in both singles and pairs skating.
C. Skates for sports ice dancing.
A figure skating skate consists of three parts: runner, soles and heels.
Blade The ridge is made of high-quality carbon or alloy, most often chrome-vanadium steel. Hardening, or cementation, is carried out in such a way that the skate runner and the lower part of the side surfaces of the blade have the greatest hardness, while the rest remains “raw”, that is, not so hard. Thanks to this, the skate, despite the high hardness of the working part, retains the necessary elasticity and does not break when jumping. The blade of the skate is welded to two plates called the sole and heel of the skate. The latter have holes through which the skate is attached to the boot with special screws. In recent years, skates with replaceable blades have appeared. The blades may vary depending on the nature of the figures being performed and the condition of the ice.
Configuration is critical runner skate. In the front part the curvature is greatest, in the rear part it is somewhat less, and the flattest part of the runner is the middle one. The curvature of the ridge runner changes smoothly from one part to another, 
so that when the sliding section changes, the trail does not have a break. The height of the skate blade is approximately 40-50 millimeters. This height, on the one hand, provides sufficient stability, and on the other hand, allows you to perform figures with a large inclination of the body without the sole of the boot touching the ice. To ensure the correct location of the center of gravity of the body above the skate, the height of its front part is 2-4 millimeters less than the back. Until the 1950s, figure skaters performed all exercises on one type of skate. Currently, the level of development of figure skating has increased so much that athletes need slightly different skates for different types of skating. Now single skaters use two pairs of skates - one for compulsory figures, others for free skating, and pair skaters use only one for free skating. Each type of skate reflects the specific features of the compulsory program, free skating, and ice dancing. The length of the skate blade depends on its purpose. For compulsory figures it is the largest, for free skating it is usually somewhat less, and the smallest for ice dancing, so that during turns the dancers do not touch each other with their skates.
The ridge runner is machined in such a way that the lower surface is slightly concave, forming a so-called groove, or groove. The presence of a groove makes the ridges of the skate sharper, thereby facilitating the execution of figures at a long speed and with an inclination. The diameter of the groove depends on the type of skate. The deepest is in free skating skates, where high gliding speeds are used, spins and jumps are performed that require strong pressure from the skate on the ice. Modern skates have slightly thinner blades than those used at the beginning of the century. If the blades of the skates of D. Gaines, U. Salkov and N. Panin were up to 6 millimeters thick, then modern skates for compulsory figures and free skating are about 3-4 millimeters, and dance skates are even thinner - 2-3 millimeters. The location and configuration of the teeth are essential. In “school” skates, the lower tooth is sharpened from the sides and therefore has the shape of a sharp wedge. Thanks to this, when sliding backwards, the tooth touching the ice does not cause significant scraping, which is completely unacceptable in compulsory figures. The lower tooth of “school” skates, compared to other types of skates, is slightly moved forward and raised, which allows you to slide on the front of the skate without the tooth touching the ice. 
Skate point. It is better to make the point on a machine in which the sharpening stone rotates along the blade of the skate, since in this case the final grinding of the surface of the runner is greatly simplified. Pedagogical observations and special studies conducted with figure skaters of various sports qualifications made it possible to establish that many skates of domestic brands are poorly suited for performing compulsory figures. Very often, errors in the microgeometry of the figure’s footprint are not the fault of the athlete, but as a result of the lack of a special skate for “school”.
Skates for compulsory exercises must meet the following requirements:
Ensure optimal gliding in large circles in loopless figures and in small circles in a loop.”
Create the possibility of stable sliding on the middle part of the skate runner.
Ensure body stability when performing loop turns.
Make short-term swings of the skate with a large amplitude from its middle back and forth and vice versa when performing triples, brackets, hooks and hooks.
Boots. Initially, skates were attached to ordinary boots in one way or another only for the duration of skating. The idea of tightly attaching skates to boots, according to legend, belongs to Peter the Great. In a book published in Dutch in 1848, there is a mention that the Russian emperor, while building ships in Holland, became interested in skates, and the idea came to him that it was more convenient to have skates permanently attached to his boots. As a result of this innovation, shoes attached to skates lost their everyday functions, and gradually boots specially adapted for skating began to appear. Modern figure skating boots are made exactly to fit your feet from thick leather. A characteristic feature is the high tops, designed to prevent the foot from “breaking” when the body bends strongly to the side. The stiffness of boots depends on their purpose. Most 
Hard boots are made for free skating. The boot tops of male athletes performing in pair skating should be especially strong, since when performing lifts the load on the boots exceeds the total weight of the partners. To ensure the required rigidity, the toe and heel are reinforced from the inside with hard leather. The boots, so that they do not lose the ability to fit tightly to the leg and have sufficient strength, are made of two layers of leather, between which there is a layer of canvas.
Due to the significant load when performing jumps, in free skating boots the heel is usually strengthened with a thin tube passed from top to bottom through its center. Boots should also be equipped with a wide tongue, into which a thick (0.5 centimeter) layer of porous rubber or foam rubber is sewn, and the upper part of the lacing - with hooks to make it easier to put on the boots.
Gluing skates to boots. A large number of failures among beginner skaters are caused by improper installation of skates. A sign of this is chronic breaking of the feet, scraping of ice when performing simple arches, as well as curvature of the boot tops. For beginners and young skaters, we can recommend the position of the skate relative to the sole of the boot such that the back of the blade coincides with the middle of the sole of the boot, and the front is shifted inward by approximately half the thickness of the blade. When attaching your skates, keep in mind that for skaters with X-shaped legs, the skates should be moved inward, and for those with O-shaped legs, the skates should be moved outward from their normal position. Master skaters require individual fitting of skates to boots. Most skate models have special mounting holes in the heel and sole that allow some movement of the skate relative to the boot. By successive tests, the position of the skate is determined separately for each leg. And only after that they are finally attached to all sheepskin coats. The skates should be screwed to the sole using copper or other stainless steel screws. It is recommended to pre-pierce the holes with a sharp awl and screw in the screws, lubricating them with soap. The screws must not be allowed to turn: in this case, the fastening may become unstable, and this creates considerable danger for the rider.
Historical facts about ice skating
- The first mention of skates in literature was by the Canterbury monk Stephanius, who in 1174 created the “Chronicle of the Noble City of London.” This is how he described winter fun: “When the large swamp, washing the city rampart at Moorfield from the north, freezes, whole groups of young people go there to play sports on ice. Some, walking as wide as possible, glide quickly. Others, more experienced in playing on ice, tie the shin bones of animals to their legs and, holding sticks with sharp tips in their hands, at times push off from the ice with them and rush as fast as a bird in the air or a spear launched from a ballista...” Beautiful wrote the monk, but, like many journalists, he apparently liked to make things up: is it really possible to run on skates at the speed of a spear? But let’s forgive the ancient recluse’s exaggeration. Let us be grateful to him for his work.
- The British Museum displays bone skates that were used almost two thousand years ago. These skates were found in the last century.
- And in 1967, on the banks of the Southern Bug and a dry estuary near Odessa, archaeologists discovered the most ancient skates ever found. These skates belonged to the Chimerians, a nomadic tribe that lived 3,200 years ago in the Northern Black Sea region. The Chimerians were already skating during the Bronze Age. In age, they are superior to the “equipment” of the ancient Dutch and Danes in Scandinavia; skates appeared only in the Viking Age.
- Over time, both the skates themselves and the method of movement on them improved. Animal bones were replaced with wooden blocks. First, their surface was polished, then metal strips began to be attached to it.
- In the 13th century, skates with an iron runner curved in front and inserted into a wooden block appeared in Holland and Iceland. They were tied to their shoes with belts. And Russian craftsmen carved the curved toe of the skate in the form of a horse’s head, hence the name “skates”.
- Steel skates, tightly screwed to the shoes, were made at the Tula Arms Factory by order of Peter I. And in 1908, the first figure skating champion Nikolai Panin appeared in Russia. He also became the only winner of an Olympic gold medal in pre-revolutionary Russia and a five-time champion of our country in this sport. Since then, we have firmly held the world championship in figure skating, and the Russian school is rightfully considered the strongest.
- The first skating club opened in 1604 in the Scottish city of Edinburgh. In 1763, the athletes of Foggy Albion held the first international friendly meeting with American fast walkers.
- More than three hundred years ago, the English diplomat Carlyle, who visited Moscow, wrote: “The favorite winter pastime of Muscovites is ice skating.” And in the works of A.S. Pushkina, L.N. Tolstoy, A.I. Kuprin mentions this more than once.
Figure skating is called one of the most beautiful, and hockey – the most courageous sports. But few people know when, who and why invented skates, and why they were called that. History provides answers to these questions.
First skates
The invention that later gave rise to skates appeared approximately 3,200 years ago. This date is indicated by skates found on the banks of the river. Southern Bug near Odessa. They belonged to a nomadic people called the Cimmerians. In the British Museum you can also see bone skates made 2000 years ago, which were attached to shoes with leather laces threaded through holes in the blades. Thus, there is all the evidence that skates are a rather ancient invention.
Outwardly, they, of course, bear little resemblance to modern speed skating equipment. And each nation made them from different materials - for example, in Siberia, blades were turned from walrus tusks, in Kazakhstan - from horse bones, in China - from bamboo. The runners were made from wood and attached to shoes. However, no matter what material the blades were made from, their common property was strength and smoothness of the surface.
Skates were needed to move across ice-covered terrain. Therefore, ancient skates were most often found in countries such as Denmark, the Netherlands, England, Sweden, Switzerland, etc.
Primitive skates were more like skis. They did not have pointed ribs, and to glide better on the ice it was necessary to use sticks. Already in later versions they began to make sharp blades that were attached to shoes with belts. And, for example, in the Netherlands, metal runners were attached to wooden shoes.
Types of skates
Skates in a more modern version appeared not just anywhere, but in Russia. And Emperor Peter I laid the foundation for this. While in Holland, he worked there as a carpenter, and in his free time he skated. At some point, he decided to attach a metal blade on a wooden base to the boots, and in this form skates came into use.
Then the changes concerned only the shape and length of the skates, but the design itself remained unchanged, and has survived in the same form to this day. Modern skates for figure skating provide for fastening the blades to the boots with screws, and for hockey and running - with rivets.
Today, several varieties of skates are produced. “Snow Maidens” are distinguished by their stability and are well suited for beginners just getting on the ice. Cross-country skates are a lightweight version with a long blade.
Figure skating skates have teeth at the front and blades with a sharpened groove.
Origin of the word "skates"
The word “skates” has original Russian roots and is a diminutive version of the word “horse”. In the primitive version, skates were perceived by humans as small horses that carry a person. Moreover, in ancient skates they were decorated on the front with the image of a horse’s head, which confirmed this hypothesis.
According to another version, the name comes from the fact that the first runners were usually carved from the bones of animals, most often horses.
A little about skating rinks
To glide beautifully on ice, a good surface is no less important than having the right skates. After all, you can’t skate well on bad ice. Therefore, today a lot of attention is paid to the creation of suitable skating rinks. The craftsmen who do this are called ice makers. When creating a skating rink, you need to have a good knowledge of the properties of water and its behavior under different natural and climatic conditions. In addition, special equipment is required to create a skating rink.
So, to fill an ice treadmill, you need to work on a frosty night, at a very low air temperature. The pouring machine must make at least 800 laps intermittently to ensure good setting of thin layers. In fact, this is a very painstaking work that requires special skill.
Creating a hockey field is different. First, it is filled with snow, then compacted, and then filled with water. When the water hardens, the surface of the ice is polished with a special machine, and it is again filled with hot and then cold water.
Today, the process of creating skating rinks has been simplified thanks to the invention of refrigeration technology. The first artificial skating rink was made in the USA in 1876, using Chelsea refrigerators.
This is how interesting the history of the creation of skates turned out to be.
Skates! For Russia, as well as for the whole of Europe, this word has a special, almost sacred meaning. Rich and poor, young and old, boys and girls enjoy skating with equal pleasure, and every Russian schoolchild knows that “a coward does not play hockey.” But, despite the wild popularity of skates in our country, almost no one knows the history of their appearance.
BONE HUMPS
If you believe archaeologists, then skates are almost the same age as a stone ax! Indeed, archaeological excavations confirm that the runners of ancient skates were made from animal bones in ancient times. At the same time, the number and area of discovery of finds allows us to talk about the craze of the ancient population of Eurasia for ice skating! Bone skates have been found in the Netherlands, Denmark, Bavaria, Switzerland, England, Norway, Sweden and Russia. It’s interesting that sometimes you can tell by the design of the skates in what area they were found. Thus, in Siberia, skates made from walrus tusks were especially popular, in China - from bamboo stems, and in Kazakhstan, even from horse bones. One of the most impressive collections of ancient skates is now on display in the British Museum. Here, for example, you can see skates that were used more than 2,000 years ago!
And the oldest of all the skates discovered by archaeologists were found not far from... Odessa. According to historians, these bone skates belonged to the Cimmerians who inhabited the Northern Black Sea region 3,200 years ago. True, scientists attribute the first use of skates to the Bronze Age and even the Stone Age. And the most amazing thing is that even then the skates had almost the same structure as they do today.
Ancient people took an animal bone, ground it down on one side, and made a hole on the other for attaching shoes. True, practical skates were something between short skis and skates themselves. Their blade was longer than a modern one, but shorter than a ski, and when riding they still had to push off the ice with poles.
RUSSIANS - THE MOST ANCIENT
Today it has been proven that skates appeared in northern Russia much earlier than in Scandinavia. Excavations of the ancient settlements of Staraya Ladoga, Pskov and Veliky Novgorod eloquently testify to the presence of skates among the local population more than 3,000 years ago. But, as often happens, the Russian invention officially came to Russia from the West.
The first literary mention of skates belongs to a Canterbury monk. In 1174, in the Chronicle of the Noble City of London, he wrote:
“When the large swamp that borders the city rampart at Moorfield to the north freezes over, whole groups of young people go there to play ice sports. Some, walking as wide as possible, glide quickly. Others, more experienced in playing on ice, tie the shin bones of animals to their legs and, holding sticks with sharp tips in their hands, from time to time push off from the ice with them and rush as fast as a bird in the air or a spear launched from a ballista... »
Bone blades attached to wooden boots were used for a long time along with iron runners. In some places, bone skates could be found until the end of the 19th century! Norway and Iceland have proven to be particularly stubborn on this issue.
Although in the north of Russia skates have been used for centuries, the first official speed skater of our country was Peter I. Returning from Holland, he ordered ceremonial skating to be organized and even invented skates where the blade would not be separated from the boot, as was the case before. Since then, the shape of the blade and the material of the boot have changed many times, but the essence of the skates has remained the same.
In the second half of the 19th century, speed skating unexpectedly became one of the most popular sports in the world, especially in Canada, Norway, Sweden and Russia - countries where winter lasts almost six months. Literally all segments of the population, from aristocrats to the urban poor, took to skating. In our country, the first skating club was opened in St. Petersburg in 1864. The skates themselves, with all-metal curved blades, were manufactured in the arms capital of Russia - Tula.
The first organization of speed skaters in Russia had an unusual and fun name - “The Rusty Horse Society.” However, the humor was only in the name. Only a member of the society who was a hereditary aristocrat who provided serious recommendations from members of the “Rusty Horse” could get into the skating rink. Newspapers of those years even wrote: “The best families of high-ranking officials boldly sent their children to the Society’s skating rink.”
TEXTBOOK IN VERSE
Of course, such an ancient and popular sport could not do without a set of rules. The first such book was published in England in 1772. Today it is priceless - only three copies have survived. In addition to the rules of behavior at the skating rink, the tome contains practical recommendations for beginning speed skaters and figure skaters. The next skating textbook was published in Germany and became famous only for the fact that it was written in poetry. And in 1823, English artillery lieutenant Robert Jones wrote a book about skating, the title of which consisted of 24 words: “The art of skating, based on certain principles, drawn from long experience, by which these noble, healthy and enjoyable exercises have been brought to an art.” "
CLASSICS ON ICE
Many references to skating can be found in the classics of Russian literature - Pushkin, Tolstoy, Kuprin. In Europe, Wolfgang Goethe himself is considered to be the main singer of speed skating. The great poet, talking with his fellow writers, more than once compared the graceful rhymes of his poems with the pirouettes of figure skating. Walter Scott, the unsurpassed author of medieval novels, was so fascinated by ice skating that he initiated the first figure skating competitions. Even the famous mathematician Sofya Kovalevskaya, a professor at the Royal University in Stockholm, was seen every day at the skating rink in winter! And ladies owe the appearance of short, flirty skirts among figure skaters to Princess Mary of England. The lady got tired of picking up her dress while skating and cut it off at the knee.
MASTER OF TUMPLERS
Figure skating itself appeared thanks to the American Jackson Haynes. He became the first man to win the American Championship in 1864. But he became famous not for his record, but for the fact that he was the first to include dance and ballet movements in his performance. Later, at performances in Vienna, the audience gave Haynes a standing ovation, sincerely wondering how it was possible to do such somersaults on the ice. Haynes himself died at age 35 from tuberculosis, but a figure skating school was established in Vienna, which continued to develop his style of ice dancing. On its basis, the International Skating Union was born, which still exists today.
ACCOUNTANT AND SKATES
Among the domestic speed skaters of past centuries, it is worth highlighting Nikolai Aleksandrovich Panin-Kolomenkin. The fact is that university professors at the beginning of the 20th century for some reason did not favor sports in general and skating in particular. In this regard, economics student Kolomenkin visited the skating rink and competitions under the pseudonym Panin. When the young man grew up, he was hired as an inspector for the Tsarskoye Selo district, but in order not to spoil relations with his superiors, he continued to skate under a pseudonym. Nikolai Kolomenkin was most amused when his patrons discussed articles in newspapers about the outstanding successes of the five-time Russian figure skating champion Nikolai Panin, without even knowing who he really was. The incognito was revealed after Nicholas won the 1908 Olympic Games. As a result, Nikolai was forced to leave sports for a career as a financier.
The earliest mention of the word “horse” can be found in the “English-Dutch Dictionary” of GEMAHA (1648). The word “skates” came to international sports from the Russian language skates, runner skates, and humpback skates. The front part of the wooden skates was decorated with a horse's head - hence the affectionate name, a diminutive of the word "horse": skates.
The first devices for moving on ice, which we know about from archaeological excavations and from literature, were made from animal bones. Such skate bones have been found in the Netherlands, Denmark, Bavaria, Bohemia, Switzerland, England, Norway, Sweden and the Soviet Union. Skates are one of the oldest inventions of mankind. Carved from wood or carved from animal bones and attached to a boot, skates made it possible to quickly move across ice-covered ground.
In Siberia they rode on walrus tusks, in China - on bamboo trunks. And the skates found by archaeologists in Kazakhstan near Borovoe Lake were made from the shin bone of a horse. A similar skate is kept in the London Museum - a long, sharpened bone with a slot for a lace. This skate was found in Moorefield in 1839. The British Museum displays bone skates that were used to skate almost two thousand years ago. These skates were found in the last century. And more recently, in 1967, on the banks of the Southern Bug and a dry estuary near Odessa, archaeologists discovered the most ancient skates ever found; these skates belonged to the Cimmerians, a nomadic tribe that lived 3,200 years ago in the Northern Black Sea region. The Chimerians were already skating during the Bronze Age. These devices were made from the bones of domestic animals. The bone was ground down on one side, and special holes were made at the ends for attaching to shoes
The first skates were actually a prototype of skis and did not have pointed ribs. Repulsion had to be done using sticks. But still, movement on the ice-covered surface was much faster and more confident. Similar bone skates existed in ancient times, and archaeologists attribute some of them to the Stone Age. In age, they are superior to the “equipment” of the ancient Dutch and Danes in Scandinavia; skates appeared only in the Viking Age. Bone skates appeared in Russia almost 3 thousand years ago. During excavations in settlements and cities of ancient Rus' - Staraya Ladoga, Novgorod, Pskov - skates were found made from the bones of the front legs of horses. These skates had three holes - two for attaching the skate to the toe of the shoe and one for holding the skate at the heel. In the Netherlands, initially the role of a skate, along with animal bones, was played by a wooden shoe. Then metal runners began to be attached to such shoes.
In England during Shakespeare's time (until the beginning of the 16th century), people still skated on bone skates, not to mention Norway and Iceland, where they were held in high esteem until the end of the 19th century. But already in the 14th century, they learned how to make wooden skates with a metal strip on the sliding surface.
From the 13th to the mid-18th centuries, skates served as a means of transportation for people on frozen rivers, lakes and canals in the northern countries; the skate was made from a wooden base, to which a runner made of bronze or iron was first attached, and later from steel. The first to rivete skates to shoes was the Russian Emperor PETER I, who, while building ships in Holland, became interested in skates. He immediately realized that skates and shoes should form a single whole. Over the past four centuries, the wooden base of the ridge, as well as the runner, have changed mainly only in their length and shape.
The second half of the 19th century is characterized by the rapid development of speed skating throughout the world. In America, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Russia and other countries, skates of new designs are beginning to appear.
So, in Philadelphia (America) around 1850, all-metal steel skates were made. They were attached to the leg using straps. Then, in the second half of the 19th century, the oval plate on the heel of the skate was replaced with additional fastening brackets. And yet, until the 90s of the 19th century, wooden skates with a metal runner of Dutch and English production continued to be very popular. The next notable improvement was the invention of the Halifax skate, which
The simplicity of the design was superior to all other types of skates used previously. This skate has gained great popularity among speed skaters in many countries around the world.
Ice skating has become a favorite winter pastime, and therefore skating clubs began to open everywhere. In Russia, the first such club was opened in St. Petersburg in 1864 by the world-famous speed skater, the first unofficial world champion, Russian speed skater and figure skater A. Panshin. Simultaneously with the wide spread of skating and running, their improvement also took place.
Until 1883, figure skaters and speed skaters skated on all-metal short, heavy skates with a curved blade. Such skates, made by Tula craftsmen, were found during the construction of the Moscow metro.
Norwegian speed skaters A. PAULSEN and K. WERNER designed tubular racing skates in 1880. The front and rear metal platforms were screwed to the sole of the boot with six and four screws, respectively. This was a revolution in speed skating. A great contribution to the development of the shape of the skates was made by the Russian speed walker, an employee of the Nikolaev Railway, Alexander PANSHIN. In 1887, he made elongated skates based on his own model - all-metal, long skates with a narrow blade and a slightly curved toe - the prototype of today's running skates. For many decades, the model of tubular running skates has not undergone fundamental changes.
In 1892, the Norwegian H. Hagen proposed another innovation - a running skate consisting of a steel tube and a steel runner inserted into it. These skates made it possible to take a colossal step forward in the development of speed running; All the world's speed skaters still use these skates to this day.
The appearance of a new model of skates made by the Dutch companies Viking and Raps became a sensation. In 1996-1997 Some Dutch speed skaters began the competitive season on new model skates. Belgian Bart VELDKAMP, winner of the 1997 World Championships in the 10,000 m race, said: “Blindskate is the future of speed skating.”
First time I mentioned skating in literature, the Canterbury monk Stephanius, who in 1174 created the Chronicle of the Noble City of London. This is how he described winter fun: “When the large swamp, washing the city rampart at Moorfield from the north, freezes, whole groups of young people go there to play sports on ice. Some, walking as wide as possible, glide quickly. Others, more experienced in playing on ice, tie the shin bones of animals to their legs and, holding sticks with sharp tips in their hands, at times push off from the ice with them and rush as fast as a bird in the air or a spear launched from a ballista...” Beautiful wrote the monk, but, like many journalists, he apparently liked to make things up: is it really possible to run on skates at the speed of a spear? But let’s forgive the ancient recluse’s exaggeration. Let us be grateful to him for his work.
Exhibited in the British Museum bone skates, which were ridden almost two thousand years ago. These skates were found in the last century.
And in 1967, on the banks of the Southern Bug and a dry estuary near Odessa, archaeologists discovered the oldest skates ever found. These skates belonged to the Chimerians, a nomadic tribe that lived 3,200 years ago in the Northern Black Sea region. The Chimerians were already skating during the Bronze Age. In age, they are superior to the “equipment” of the ancient Dutch and Danes in Scandinavia; skates appeared only in the Viking Age.
Skates were known to the peoples of the northern countries back in the 12th century. Back then they were made from bone. They served as a means of transportation. Even in ancient times, people used pieces of wood and animal bones to quickly move across ice and snow. This is confirmed by the first ancient skates found during excavations on the shores of Lakes Ladoga and Lake Peipsi.
Over time, both the skates themselves and the method of movement on them improved. Animal bones were replaced with wooden blocks. First, their surface was polished, then metal strips began to be attached to it.
In the 13th century, skates with an iron runner curved in front appeared in Holland and Iceland. inserted into a wooden block. They were tied to their shoes with belts. And Russian craftsmen carved the curved toe of the skate in the form of a horse’s head, hence the name “skates”.
From the 14th century until the end of the 17th century, skates were made of wood with metal runners and attached to the sole of the shoe with ropes and belts. And at the very beginning of the 18th century, the first steel skates. Metal skates began to be made at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries. And in the early 80s of the 19th century, Norwegian speed skaters K. Varnep and A. Paulsen designed racing skates.
Steel skates, tightly screwed to shoes, were made at the Tula Arms Factory by order of Peter I.
And in 1908, the first figure skating champion Nikolai Panin appeared in Russia. He also became the only winner of an Olympic gold medal in pre-revolutionary Russia and a five-time champion of our country in this sport. Since then, we have firmly held the world championship in figure skating, and the Russian school is rightfully considered the strongest.
First skating club opened - this is known for sure - in 1604 in the Scottish city of Edinburgh.
In 1763, the athletes of Foggy Albion held the first international friendly meeting with American fast walkers.
The very first edition of the skating rules also published in England in 1772. It turns out that a hundred and fifty years ago certain principles of skating already existed.
This book was innovative. On one of the pages it is mentioned that for the first time, skates were riveted to boots by the Russian Emperor Peter the Great, who, while building ships in the Dutch forest port of Zaandam (now called Zaandam), became interested in speed skating in his “free time from work.”
A clarification is necessary here: skates have long been known to the Russian people, who were very fond of this useful pastime.
More than three hundred years ago, the English diplomat Carlyle, who visited Moscow, wrote: “The favorite winter pastime of Muscovites is ice skating.” And in the works of A.S. Pushkina, L.N. Tolstoy, A.I. Kuprin mentions this more than once.
Yes, skates lost popularity, for almost a hundred years there was no word about them in Russia, as they say... And only in the twenties of the 19th century the brilliant Pushkin (he was the first in the propaganda of skates!) sang a short song for them, but to this day unsurpassed anthem in "Autumn":
How fun it is to put sharp iron on your feet,
Slide along the mirror of standing, flat rivers...
In the twenties and thirties of the 19th century, skates were revived in Russia and even became fashionable.
The first skating rink “on land” was filled in 1842 in England Londoner Henry Kirke; Until that time, athletes used the ice of natural reservoirs...
Skates for children learning to master the art of gliding appeared in 1900 and had two runners...
From time immemorial, people have valued beauty, grace, and elegance. In our modern, progressive world, it is impossible to imagine a person who would not know what figure skating is. Some people call it a sport, others an art, but ice skating became possible thanks to the appearance of “skates” in the world, and in our homeland, to those who brought skates to Russia.
Man has always been able to adapt, to adapt to living conditions and habitat. It is not surprising that many scientists find it impossible to determine the exact year and place where ice skating shoes were first invented and used. It is also difficult to say who invented skates. In the ancient world, climate conditions were harsh, people often had to settle where it was cold. To survive, they hunted, fished, and got food. It was probably then that someone resourceful came up with the idea that it was better to slide on ice rather than wade.
Objects identified as the first prototypes of skates are found by archaeologists all over the world. These are the Netherlands, China, England, Switzerland, Bavaria, Kazakhstan, Siberia, and Scandinavian countries. It was very difficult for people in ancient times to overcome such huge distances, therefore, people at different times could come up with shoes for walking on ice.
Some scientific minds claim that the first skates were made from animal bones. This can only be considered partly true. Not everyone had the opportunity to use such material as a workpiece. Some carved skates from wood, mostly from fir trees, some used bamboo as a base, even walrus tusks were used. Holes were made at the base of the workpiece into which a leather cord was threaded. They used the device to attach it to his leg.
Interesting to know! The earliest historically documented mention of winter ice boots in literature can be found in the English-Dutch Dictionary of 1648.
At the moment, the most ancient skates are bone devices found in 1967 in the vicinity of the northern part of the Black Sea coast. Scientists estimate that they are about 3,200 years old. It is assumed that they were made by Cimmerian tribes to glide comfortably on frozen rivers. The shape of the bone did not allow for greater speed and maneuverability. We had to use additional poles. However, even then this was significant progress in human life. Previously, antiquity seekers had found ancient shoes that were estimated to be more than 2,000 years old. The antique, contained in one of the British museums, was found in 1839.
It has been established that from the 13th to the mid-18th centuries, ice shoes were used only as a means of quickly moving along frozen rivers, lakes, and canals. In addition to the wood and bone from which the first skates were made, strips of bronze and iron began to be used in products to improve the design.
Skate inventors
It is impossible to determine exactly who had the brilliant idea to make ice shoes. But the names of the people who worked on their improvement are known. These were not only scientists and designers, but also those who simply loved to slide on ice.
Interesting! The front of the skates was often decorated with a figure in the shape of a horse's head. Because of this, the device received its affectionate name - “Skates”.
Innovations in the creation of ice shoes began in Europe at the beginning of the 14th century, when craftsmen began to insert iron plates into wooden skates, and later they were replaced with steel tubes. It didn't take long before the first all-metal devices began to appear in Holland. Ancient alloy skates were short, heavy, and had a curved toe.
Due to the impractical design, it was inconvenient to attach the shoes to the foot. The sole did not fit tightly to the sidewall, the straps slipped off. Here the genius of the Russian Tsar Perth I came to the rescue. There is an opinion that, while in Holland on state affairs and being carried away by ice skating, the ruler thought that it would be nice to combine the blade with the shoes into a single whole.
Although people have been interested in ice skating for a long time, it gained great popularity closer to the middle of the 19th century. The popularity of this hobby led to the emergence of various disciplines in sports related to skating and skiing. This gave impetus to the rapid development of sports shoe design; new models began to be manufactured and produced by well-known companies.
The ancient tubular skates were first invented by Norwegian fast walkers. The blades were screwed to the shoes with four and six screws. Russian speed skater A. Panshin experimented with the shape of racing skates. In 1887, he achieved considerable success by starting to create elongated models with a thin blade curved at the end. For many decades, the original structure remained practical and did not change.
Interesting! You don't have to be an engineer to create a new skate model. Any boy could sharpen the blade of a skate from the front and back, obtaining the so-called “Canadians”, suitable for both beautiful gliding and high-speed racing.
Currently, athletes use a skate model made of a steel tube with a runner inserted into it. The development was carried out by the Norwegian H. Gagen. He achieved success in 1892, making his name in the history of winter sports. 1996 introduced the world to new versions of ice shoes. This happened at competitions of various levels, when Dutch and Belgian athletes had a successful start to the season. The development was carried out by Viking and Raps, and the new model was called Slepskate.
Ice skating has become so popular that a completely new type of shoe has appeared - a plastic, roller skate. There was no need to invent something completely new. Its principle was to replace the metal blade with wheels. This made it possible to skate not only on ice. This entertainment is especially popular among children and teenagers.
Gaines' hobby
Dr. Gaines is the man who came up with and implemented the idea of \u200b\u200bSnow Maiden skates. In the 60s of the 19th century, he decided to make “snow maidens”, which had a wide blade and a curved toe without teeth. Their absence allows you to slide even on hard, packed snow. This equipment is suitable for teaching beginners, with which they learn to skate using the ribs of the skate. Further changes in the model were not fundamental, but they introduced some innovations. So, the Swedish figure skater U. Salkov came up with the idea of adding teeth to the toe. The innovation made it possible to perform more complex figures, jumps, stops, pirouettes on the toes, compasses, steps, pushes. N. Panin helped strengthen the strength of the model. He added a stand, now there are three of them.
There were no more significant changes in the Snow Maidens. The length and thickness of the blade varied depending on the application. For example, for ice dancing, the shortest length is provided so that partners do not injure each other. The blades of their skates are 2-3 mm thick; for comparison, their predecessors were 5-6 mm thick. The height is 40-50 mm. The runner is rounded so that when the body is tilted, it slides in an arc.
Who brought skates to Russia
Peter I brought the fashion for ice skating to Rus'. He really liked this kind of entertainment. The Tsar even ordered the production of skates to begin in Tula when he returned home. But after his death, the popularity of skates declined. It is believed that the very first skating club in Russia was founded in 1864 by A. Panshin. The speedster and skater opened it in St. Petersburg.
Interesting! More than 300 years ago, the English diplomat Carlyle visited Moscow. Later he wrote: “The favorite winter pastime of Muscovites is ice skating.”
In February 1890, the St. Petersburg Yusupov skating rink celebrated its 25th anniversary. On this occasion, they decided to organize a grandiose ice competition. Athletes from America and Europe were specially invited to participate. The scale of the event and the stellar lineup of participants give the right to call these competitions the first unofficial world championship. The success of this competition accelerated the holding of world-class competitions. This event also served as an impetus for the creation of the International Skating Union 2 years later.
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