SKATING, a mode of progression on ice with the aid of appliances called skates, attached to the sole of the shoe by straps, clamps or screws. The earliest form of skate that we know is that of the bone "runners" worn by the ,primitive Norsemen. These were bound to the foot with thongs. The Norse sagas speak with pride of the national achievements in skating, and the early development of the art was due principally to the Norsemen, Swedes, Danes, Finns and the Dutch. Whatever its origin in Great Britain, skating was certainly a common sport in England in the 12th century, as is proved by an old translation of Fitz-Stephen's Description of London, published in ii8o, in which the following words occur : "When the great fenne or moore (which watereth the walls of the citie on the North side) is frozen, many young men play on the yce . . . asome tye bones to their feete and under their heeles, and shoving themselves with a little picked staffe do slide as swiftlie as a birde flyeth in the aire or an arrow out of a cross-bow." At what period the use of metal runners was introduced is unknown, but it was possibly not long after the introduction into northern Europe, in the 3rd century, of the art of working in iron. By the time of Charles II. skating had become popular, with the aristocracy as well as with the people, as is proved by entries in the diaries of Pepys and Evelyn.
The modern skate is in the form of a steel blade mounted upon a wood or metal base. In the old-fashioned skate the wooden base was strapped to the boot and kept firm by low spikes or screws that entered the sole. The next step in development was the "club-skate," originally Canadian, a patent appliance adjusted by clamps to fit the sole. There are several varieties of club skates still popular. They have a broad blade with slightly curved edge, and are more suitable for figure-skating than for speed. The best skaters now use skates fixed permanently to special skating-boots.
As in ancient times, skating is most practised by the Scandi navians, Finns, Dutch and British, to whom in modern days have been added the Germans, Swiss, Austrians, Hungarians, French, Belgians, Italians, Japanese, Russians, Canadians and Americans.
All these nations have "control" organizations, the British, founded in 1879, being the National Skating Association. The American, founded in 1884, is similarly styled, and co-operates with the Canadian Amateur Skating Association, founded in 1888. All are subject to the International Skating Union, the central body to which some 23 nations belong. In 1928 the U.S.A. Figure Skating Association transferred its membership of the I.S.U. to the Amateur Skating Union of the U.S.A.