Figure Skating in the Formative Years

Singles, Pairs, and the Expanding Role of Women

James R Hines

• Publisher: University of Illinois Press
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9780252097041
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Sociology
• Index: Social Sciences

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.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• CHAPTER 1. A Goddess, a Saint, and a Daring Princess
• CHAPTER 2. The Pioneering Years, 1662–1772
• CHAPTER 3. The Defining Years, 1772–1869
• CHAPTER 4. Toward an International Style
• CHAPTER 5. The Rise of International Competition
• CHAPTER 6. Skating between the World Wars
• CHAPTER 7. Show Skating
• CHAPTER 8. What Lies Ahead
• Preface to the Appendixes
• APPENDIX A. Competitors at the World Championships, 1896–1939
• APPENDIX B. Competitors at the European Championships, 1891–1939
• APPENDIX C. Competitors at the North American Championships, 1923–1941
• APPENDIX D. Competitors at the Olympic Winter Games, 1908–1936
• APPENDIX E. Medal Counts by Discipline and Country
• APPENDIX F. Host Cities for the Championships
• APPENDIX G. World Figure Skating Hall of Fame (Pre–World War II Members)
• APPENDIX H. Thumbnail Sketches of World and Olympic Champions
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Illustration Sources and Credits
• Index