Why figure skating is a sport

An activity, esp. Is of a competitive in nature from the lowest basic skills level to the senior level. Requires skill and prowess. Requires vigorous bodily exertion. So figure skating meets the criteria of the definitions from all these dictionaries and therefore: Figure skating is a sport! Now the definition of the Olympics was pretty much the same in all the dictionaries I checked: A group of modern international athletic contests held as separate winter and summer competitions every four years in a different city.

In the winter games were moved ahead two years so that the winter and summer games would alternate every two years. A modified revival of the ancient Olympic Games consisting of international athletic contests that are held at separate winter and summer gatherings at four year intervals What will really knock you socks off is the definition of the original ancient Olympic Games.

A Pan-Hellenic festival in ancient Greece consisting of athletic games and contests of choral poetry and dance, first celebrated in b. An ancient Pan-hellenic festival held every fourth year and made up of contests of sports, music, and literature with the victor's prize a crown of wild olive So those of you who think Ice Dancing should not be part of the Olympics are wrong as well.

Major Competition Links. I am not going to mention any names, but there is beautiful ice dance being skated by some top level skaters at the moment that is truly beautiful and graceful. It seems that points can still be awarded for a technically difficult program that is beautiful and elegant. It seems that weaving the grace into a modern, very technical program is possible, but I suspect not easy. There are four types of figure skating, single, pair skating, ice dance and synchro. Can they all be judged as a sport when the disciplines are so different.

The answer is yeas, because they all carry a common theme. They are all judged primarily objectively in a quantifiable way through the Grade of Execution. Here is why. The jumps, the sheer pressure on technical point scoring. You would see this level of requirement with hard and fast rules in any Olympic sport. The athleticism, the sheer level of physical training that that it takes to do a quad jump makes single skating a sport in its own right.

Pair skating is a sport. Just because it has dance in the title, does not make it an art. Yes there is an artistic element to the scoring, but no different to the rest of figure skating. The objective, quantifiable part of the the scoring, the Technical Element Score TES is as hard and fast as all other areas of figure skating. Ice dancers are driven to perform unbelievable lifts, spins, twizzles etc to try to capture these points. Ice dance is a sport.

Synchronized skating, or synchro as it is known comprises many of the elements of single skating, including jumps, spins, twizzles etc, but is done as a synchronized team. The demands on the skaters are similar to any other discipline of figure skating, with the added difficulty of complete synchronization. This means that along with Subjective there is also objective quantifiable points awarded.

The current status of synchro skating not being in the Olympics is more about the logistics of synchro rather than its status as a sport. When an application is made to have an event in the Olympics, three bodies have to accept the application. The country that is hosting the games, the governing body of the sport and the Olympic committee. The applications in the past have been declined due to not having enough room for the athletes to stay in the Olympic village a synchro team is between 8 and 20 people, normally around the higher end of that scale.

There has also been rumors of having enough time and space on ice. The Beijing Winter Olympic Games does look hopeful for synchro, but at the moment it is still unknown. Either way synchronized skating has a world championship, which it deserves.

Synchronized skating is a sport. The scandal was between two teams of pair skaters, the Russians and the Canadians. Without going into the scandal too deeply, there were allegations of corruption. The Russians won the gold, but after an investigation, the Canadians had their silver medals upgraded to gold. As a result of the scandal, the judging system was overhauled and an entirely new system of points allocation was rolled out. Some people will always hold on to the scandal and use it to attempt to prove that figure skating is not a sport as the judging is subjective and prone to corruption.

Figure skating is however, not the only sport to have been involved in foul play scandals over the years. At some point, most sports have.

With the new judging system, points are more quantifiable than ever. There will always be critics when it comes to the artistic part of figure skating, but that goes with the territory whenever sport and art combine.

Figure skating is a sport and the figure skaters are true athletes. It just so happens that it is a sport with artistic elements. That is not the downfall of figure skating, that is the beauty of it. Life is not purely objective, quantifiable. Some is subjective. As long as sport is carried out by humans, there will be a subjective element. Figure skating is unusual as a sport, because the illusion of ease is woven into its fabric. In few other sports does a lifetimes worth of work be required to look so effortless.

Figure skating is a sport, it is an art. It is the best of human nature played out on ice. And many more insights that will not only help you to understand figure skating scores, but may help you achieve better scores yourself in competition, as you know what the judges are looking for. To read the full article click here. Skating fundementals. May 4, Is figure skating a sport or an art form — the definition Figure skating is a sport that requires such a level of skill it is mastered with artistry.

The definition of a sport — Dictionary definition So here is the dictionary definition of what a sport is — an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment. Well figure skating seems to fit that definition. The definition of an art form — Dictionary definition So here is the dictionary definition of an art form — a conventionally established form of artistic composition, such as the novel, sonata, or sonnet.

Or Any activity regarded as a medium of imaginative or creative self-expression. Is figure skating a sport? Scoring — figure skating as a sport The scoring of figuring skating is both quantifiable and subjective. Scoring by judges The fact that an event has to be judged, causes for some people, a reason to doubt whether an activity is a sport.

What if all the judged sports were removed. Is figure skating a sport — yes it is scored objectively with the Technical Element Score TES This should keep the objective scoring sports fans happy. Figure skating is also judged subjectively for its artistic merit in the Program Component Score PCS This is the part of the scoring that takes into account the artistic element of figure skating.

Skating skills and transitions The skating skills and transitions are reasonably objective in terms of the way that they judged. Performance, composition and interpretation The performance is judged on the unison, the style that the program is skated in, the way that the skater carries them self. Figure skating is a sport that requires absolute athleticism and years of training Figure skating is hard, make no mistake. Is figure skating a sport in terms of the fitness of its athletes?

Fitness Figure skaters are athletes. Strength Then there is strength. Nutrition Carbohydrates, protein, macro nutrients, vitamins, hydration. Mental conditioning The loss of performance under pressure can be felt by any athlete. History of Ice Skating People probably skated on ice in the Scandinavian countries before the Christian era.

The first skates are believed to have been sharp splinters of animal bone fitted to the bottoms of boots to ease travel over ice. Some drawings and references in literature to ice skating date from the Middle Ages. The modern word skate is derived from the Dutch word schaats, meaning "leg bone" or "shank bone.

Skating as a sport developed on the lakes of Scotland and the canals of the Netherlands. In the 13th and 14th centuries wood was substituted for bone in skate blades, and in the first iron skates were manufactured. The iron blades reduced the friction of forward motion, and their resistance to lateral slipping enabled skaters to push themselves ahead.

Instructional books were published, and the first skate club was founded in Edinburgh in The metal-bladed skates were soon introduced in North America by Scottish immigrants.

Ice skating did not develop as an organized competitive sport until the introduction of steel skate blades permanently attached to leather boots. The earlier iron blades dulled quickly, and street shoes, to which they were tied with straps, lacked ankle support. Using the steel skates, a U. Ice speed skating, which had developed in the Netherlands in the 17th century, was given a boost by the innovations in skate construction. Figure skating became an Olympic event in Speed skating for men was part of the Olympic Games, but it was not until that women's speed skating was placed on the Olympic agenda.

Skate Design The figure-skate blade differs from the ice-hockey or speed-skate blade because it is slightly concave, or "hollow ground. The forward part of the blade, the toe-rake, is saw-toothed and is used for jumps and spins on the toes. The figure-skate boots, which are traditionally black for men and white for women, are made of sturdy leather and have stiffening supports at the heel and under the arch.

They are tightly laced up over the ankle to help prevent the foot from rolling from one side or the other. Speed skates have a considerably longer blade and a single, thin edge. The toe of the blade is smooth and turned up. The boot is made of lighter leather than the figure-skate boot and is lower, coming just to the top of the ankles. Beginning with the —97 season of international competition an innovation called the clap skate made its appearance in speed skating.

In this skate, the blade is not attached to the back of boot but is spring-hinged at the front. This makes a clapping noise when used for skating, hence the name. Clap skates require a change in technique for the speed skater, who now must push off with the front of the foot rather than the heel.

The advantage of these skates is that the skater maintains contact with the ice longer, producing faster times. By the time of the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, clap skates were the norm, and world records tumbled, sometimes several times in a single race.