Ice skating is one the most ancient sports in the world. It probably originated as a means of transport to cover long distances over naturally frozen surfaces such as lakes, sliding with skates made from animal bone and later of metal.
In time, the Dutch made iceskating a game and later a sport; the first rules of speed ice skating were made in Holland.
Some years later the sport became popular all over Europe. The English were the first to set the rules for figure skating on ice. Years have gone by and the development of excercises on blades seem to be advancing rapidly.
Most of the jumps and spins carried out in free figure skating are named after their creators.
The first famous skater was SONJA HENIE of Norway who in the 1930s won three olympic championships and fifty years later KATARINA WITT of Germany won two.
Many shows have been made since 1930 : SONJA HENIE ICE REVIEW, ICE FOLLIES, ICE CAPADES, VIENA ICE REVIEW, ICE AROUND THE WORLD. However, the most famous and still in vogue are DISNEY ON ICE and HOLIDAY ON ICE; the latter has remained on stage for over 50 years and has been entered in the Guinness Book of Records as the most visited show in history.
Today ice skating fans are uncountable in all of its three branches: Figure skating, Speed and Ice hockey and even more simply skate for the fun of it.

Skating is a sport that helps toward the development of human beings because it includes STRENGTH, SKILL and GRACE, three characteristics which are rarely brought together in other sports.