Once a winter pastime for socializing and courtship, skating evolved into the wildly popular competitive sport of figure skating, one of the few athletic arenas where female athletes hold a public profile--and earning power--equal to that of men. Renowned sports historian James R. Hines chronicles figure skating's rise from its earliest days through its head-turning debut at the 1908 Olympics and its breakthrough as entertainment in the 1930s. Hines credits figure skating's explosive expansion to an ever-increasing number of women who had become proficient skaters and wanted to compete, not just in singles but with partners as well. Matters reached a turning point when British skater Madge Syers entered the otherwise-male 1902 World Championship held in London and finished second. Called skating's first feminist, Syers led a wave of women who made significant contributions to figure skating and helped turn it into today's star-making showcase at every Winter Olympics. Packed with stories and hard-to-find details, Figure Skating in the Formative Years tells the early history of a sport loved and followed by fans around the world.

Figure skating is the most popular televised sport at the Olympic Winter Games and is the oldest of the winter sports, having first been contested at the Games of the fourth Olympiad in London in 1908. No other sport creates such a perfect balance between athleticism and artistry, and the athletes—many of them household names like Oksana Baiul, Brian Boitano, Nancy Kerrigan, Evan Lysacek, Katarina Witt, and Kristi Yamaguchi—spend years in training to make it look effortless. The Historical Dictionary of Figure Skating relates the history of the sport through a chronology, an introductory essay, an extensive bibliography, appendixes, and over 800 cross-referenced dictionary entries on hundreds of skaters, past and present, but also on skating countries, governing bodies, skating disciplines, technical elements, skating styles, and many other subjects. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the history of figure skating.

From the Original Introduction (1910) In this book the author has endeavored to condense some of the mass of material which he has collected during many years of the study and practice of figure skating in the United States, Canada and the skating centers of Europe. Enthusiastic interest and unusual opportunity for comparing the best styles of skating to be found among many nations, due to extended travel during the skating seasons, and the unbounded hospitality extended to him in all parts of the world where skating is looked upon as sport in the best sense of the word, have caused the author to venture on this little volume, which, on account of its convenient size, can be carried about and easily referred to when the learner is on skates. It is with some slight sense of responsibility, therefore, and as a contribution to national interest in a sport which really originated in America, that he endeavors to here set down his analysis of the new, artistic figure skating destined soon to be the standard all over the world.

The SKATER'S EDGE SOURCEBOOK is a comprehensive resource book & rink directory for the sport of ice skating. The second edition (1998) is 70% bigger than the first & includes: (1) Consumer Article: GUIDE TO FITTING SKATES, SKATE BOOTS, GUIDE TO BLADES, LACING SKATES, CHOOSING A PRO, CHOOSING A SUMMER SCHOOL & more. (2) COMPANIES - 620 companies listed by name, then cross-referenced by services provided {e.g., agents, blades, book sales, clothing, equipment, rink construction & supplies, etc; (3) RINKS - profiles of more than 1100 skating rinks in the U.S. {address, phone number of ice surfaces, whether enclosed, months open, etc.; (4) BOOKS - more than 1200 skating books dating back to 1792; (5) VIDEOS - over 190 skating videos & where to find them. Other sections include associations, boots & blades, champions, fan clubs, federations, training centers, summer skating schools & more. New chapters on adult skaters, hockey, precision & speedskating. The SKATER'S EDGE SOURCEBOOK (1998, 456pp, $39.95, ISBN 0-9643027-1-3) is published by SKATER'S EDGE, an instructional skating magazine with articles & tips by the world's top coaches & pros. The SKATER'S EDGE SOURCEBOOK is available from Koen Book Distributors, Baker & Taylor, or direct from the publisher. Contact SKATER'S EDGE, Box 500, Kensington, MD 20895. Phone/FAX: 301-946-1971, E-MAIL: [email protected]. WEBSITE: www.skatersedgemag.com.