Figure Skating
Figure Skating is an individual or paired freestyle sport where competitors attempt to preform a routine on ice skates with extreme agility and poise. First preformed at the Winter Olympic games in 1908, figure skating is primarily a winter sport since it must be done either indoors or outdoors in very cold settings. Figure skating relies on ice skates, which are compromised of a boot attached to a slightly curved metal blade or skate with a toe pick at the front. Today, most figure skating competitions are preformed by individuals, duos, or teams and typically involve synchronization to music.
Figure Skaters are based on a point system. There are two types of marks a skater can receive: a technical and a program component score. Adding both scores result in the total composite score and whichever skater has the highest score wins.
Ice skating can burn, on average, 630 calories an hour. Doing laps on an ice rink can help burn 387 – 663 calories depending on the intensity level and weight. Not only does ice skating help burn calories quickly, but it also helps with balance, coordination and muscle strength in your legs and glutes.
There are multiple ways of stopping when ice skating: snowplow stops, t-stops, and front t-stops. The most common way to stop is the snowplow stop: start by moving the flat portion of the blade and scratching the ice for a snowplow stop. Then put out one foot, click the flat part and bend the knees.
