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History
Traveling by ice is quite common in countries with long winters such as in Scandinavia . It is however from the Netherlands that speed skating and the use of metal blades was born. Canal racing is a favorite here, which is the father of what later became speed skating. It is thanks to the British Royal family's fleeing to Holland in the 1650 that ice skating began to spread. After they returned home to England it is recorded that they had a skating display held. Later, the races inspired by the Dutch engineers overseeing the draining of the Cambridgeshire fen and the Great Frost Fair increased interest in ice activities. The Edinburgh Skating Club was formed in 1742. It is the world's first organization for ice skating. Some members of the club visited Canada and sparked of interest there, where it later spread over North America . |
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Written records have been found that trace ice skating or literally traveling on ice to go as far back as 50 BC. On the other hand, the oldest skates date to 3000 BC was found in a lake in Switzerland . While the exact date that ice skating began cannot be determined as of yet, it is believed to have been started in Sweden by the Vikings. Instead of utilizing metal blades as we do today, runners then were made of oxen or reindeer bone. Later, in about the 14 th century, wooden skates with metal blades were crafted and used, primarily in the Netherlands .