Sociogenesis of Figure Skating

Figure skating was believed to be invented in 3000 BC in Switzerland when animal bones were put on shoes. The sport began to be developed by an American, Jackson Haines who was born in New York. This began right before the Civil War and he was claimed to be the "champion of america." These competitions were held without any rules of any claim to the title. He decided to go to Europe and then pioneered the sport of figure skating. When the International Skating Union was formed, there were 7 members of the club while there are over 600 members today. Back in the 20's anyone could compete in competitions, while today a member of the ISU must take a test in order to compete. A very historical event in the world of figure skating was in 1961, when the entire US Olympic Figure skating team was killed in a plane crash. Since then, financial assistance has been awarded to those who are in the sport as a Memorial Fund. In 1923, SKATING magazine took off and looked at the life of figure skating. The challenges that the sport faces is the number of participants. Young skaters have a problem dedicating their entire lives to a sport at the risk of being injured. (From the website http://www.usfsa.org/About.)