Speed Skating

The roots of ice skating date back over 1,000 years to the frozen canals and waterways of Scandinavia and the Netherlands when men laced animal bones to their footwear and glided across frozen lakes and rivers. By the 1600’s, traveling on blades between villages had become a useful and enjoyable means of transportation for the Dutch. Surprisingly, credit for the first pair of all-iron skates goes to a Scotsman who invented them in 1592. The iron blade accelerated the spread of speed skating and in 1642 the Skating Club of Edinburgh warmed. In 1763 the world's first organized speed skating race, which covered a distance of slightly more than 24 kilometres, was held on the Fens in England. Eventually, the fledgling sport found its way to North America, where a lighter, sharper and longer all-steel blade was first produced in 1850. In 1889, the Dutch organized the first world championship with skaters covering four distances — 500m, 1,500m, 5,000m and 10,000m. The International Skating Union (ISU) was formed in the Netherlands in 1892. By the end of the century, the sport had attracted a mass following in many parts of the world. From inukshuk.speedskating.ca

• Speed Skating from the ISU latest news, events, rules and records
• Speed Skating overview by Wikipedia

Figure Skating

• Figure Skating Basics What you need to know to get involved, including basic skills
• Skate Music List Figure skating videos and most popular Music.
• Figure Skating Stroking patterns from Carmaice

Ice Dance

• Ice Dancing Overview from Wikipepia
• Ice-dance A collection of ice dancing information, news, photos, events, partner search, technical, athletes websites, useful ice-dance links
• International Skating Union Resources for ice-dancing
• Ice Dance Paterns from Camaice

Professional Ice Skating

• World Professional Figure Skating Championships from Wikepedia - a competition unsanctioned by ISU, designed for TV

Ice Skating Organisational bodies in South Africa

• South Africa Figure Skating Association History, technical information (downloadable pdf files), calendar, results

Ice Skating Organisational bodies in the United Kingdom

• UK National Ice Skating Association (NISA) UK governing body for all disciplines; learn-to-skate programme for skaters of all ages; Figure speed and synchro skating resource for the UK

Ice Skating Venues in the United Kingdom

• Birmingham Ice Skating Project homepage for the Birmingham Ice Skating project; links to UK Ice Rinks and manouvres

Ice Skating Forums in the United Kingdom

• Uk Ice skating Forum

Play/Watch Ice Skating in England

Play/Watch Ice Skating in Scotland

• Dunde Speed Skating Club

About Ice Skating in Canada

• Speed Skating Canada News, calendar, results, National Team, coaching, club development, links to Canadian organisations, ovals, clubs, events.
• Skating in British Columbia Local events and resources. Slam Sports Figure Skating coverage

Ice Skating Organisational bodies in Canada

• Skate Canada The official Web site of Skate Canada, the national association of figure skating in Canada. Find event, technical information, skating and coaching programs, and results. An excellent resource for skaters and fans alike. Links to other Canadian Skating organisations. Bilingual - English and French.
• Speed Skating Canada find a club, records
• Alberta Amateur Speed Skating Association news, clubs, information and skyters
• British Columbia Speed Skating Association

Ice Skating Ezines in Canada

• Figure Skaing Canada fan page - information (links) for the figure skating fan

Ice Skating Organisational bodies in the USA

• Ice Skating Institute - a non-profit trade association that represents all aspects of the ice arena industry. Encourages participation in ice skating as a recreational sport;
• US Figure Skating Association USFSA, news, events, US Team etc and resources for the sport in the USA; search for clubs
• US Speed Skating Members site- beginners introduction to Speed Skating; article short track v long track; hall of fame, contacts, camps, competitions and results, records, athletes
• US Speed Skating Official site...; athlete development, schedules, results, records

Ice Skating News in the USA

• Team USA has a page dedicated to news about their Olympic Figure Skating team

Ice Skating Organisational bodies in Australia

• Ice Skating Australia Competitions, results, state associations, rule books, links, history
• ACT Ice Skating Association Events calendar, competitions, results
• New South Wales Skating Association rinks, clubs for different disciplines, results, calendar, newsletter, links
• Australian Professional Skaters Association "improving the standards of coaching"

Ice Skating Organisational bodies in New Zealand

• Ice Speed Skating New Zealand Speed skating on ice has been practiced in New Zealand since the 1930’s, first on the outdoor ice of the frozen dams and lakes in the South Island. Clubs, skaters, evnts, results
• New Zealand Ice Skating Association learn to skate, links to clubs; indoor ice rinks in Auckland (2), Christchurch, Dunedin, Queenstown and Gore, and a seasonal rink in Alexandra. A new outdoor rink is located in the South Island resort town of Tekapo.

Ice Skating Players in New Zealand

• New Zealand Skaters from Golden Boot

Ice Skating Portals in New Zealand

• Figure Skating resource New Zealand articles and web sites to find figure skating information on topics that interest you.