Frozen in Time. Nikki Nichols

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      Maribel Vinson performs in the Olympics.

      While other skaters in that 1924 Olympics were wearing skirts that touched their ankles, Sonja was dressed as a little girl was expected to dress—in a pleated white skirt that stopped just above the knees. She was the picture of innocence. In addition to deciding she would win her next Olympics, she had also decided never to wear a full-length skirt while skating. With her shorter, children’s skirts, she discovered she had more freedom of movement. She also decided she liked the white skating boots much better than the black boots that were customary for skaters of both genders. Already, Sonja was a trailblazer and a trendsetter.

      Figure skating was not always about the grace and athleticism that Sonja and Maribel espoused. In fact, skating was not conceived as a sport at all; it was designed to be a mode of transportation. The early fishermen and hunters of northern Europe strapped animal bones, antlers, and wood onto their feet to glide across frozen lakes, a practice dating back to 300 A.D. In 1572, skates found their way onto the battlefield. Spain occupied the Netherlands, but the Dutch began their revolt when Spanish rulers would not tolerate the Reformation’s spread into Holland. In the Battle of Ijsselmeer, the Dutch surprised the more powerful Spaniards by skating the frozen canals for combat. When the Spaniards attempted to use skates in the next round of battle, they fell all over themselves. Spain eventually lost the war. One could say then that skating played a role, albeit small, in the spread of Protestantism in Europe.

      As the centuries progressed and modes of transportation became more sophisticated, skating evolved into a recreational pastime. Iron replaced animal bones as the blade of choice in the mid-1500s. In 1850, steel blades came along, but they had to be strapped onto normal boots. The next design was a slight improvement, with the blades attached to a wooden plate, which was then strapped to boots. Neither design allowed for much maneuverability or balance.

      A revolutionary American changed that. Jackson Haines created a prototype of what we now recognize as modern skates—with the blades actually screwed into the boots. The toe pick (the teeth of the blade) came courtesy of English ironworker Henry Boswell in 1883.

      Haines’s legacy goes far beyond equipment. He is credited with merging artistry and skating. Up to that point, figures were the only skill performed on the ice. Haines was trained in ballet and saw great potential to merge dance and skating.

      Before the creation of the United States Figure Skating Association, Haines won the Championships of America is 1863 and 1864. He wore what at the time was considered a “fancy” costume, and even performed the first-ever “sit spin,” a spin performed by hovering as near to the ice as possible with one leg extended in front of the body.

      Haines’s flamboyance was not well received in war-ravaged America. Considered an oddity of sorts, he sailed to Europe, where he delighted audiences. He was particularly popular in Austria, where the Strauss family of composers wrote waltzes for him. Thomas Edison’s phonograph wasn’t invented until 1877, so Haines hired musicians to play at the side of the rink. It is believed Haines is the first to have skated to music.

      Legend suggests Haines died in Finland in 1875 after catching pneumonia on a sled trip from St. Petersburg, Russia, to Stockholm, Sweden. Scholars, however, insist he died a much less glamorous death—caused by tuberculosis.

      The first World Figure СКАЧАТЬ