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The history of ice skating can be traced back to the ancient deer antlers and bones fashioned by Norse hunting tribes as the first primative ice skates

By the 1700's, the Dutch had innovated double metal blades to glide around frozen lakes and canals, or as a means of travel and commercial transport.

It was also the Dutch who are given credit for creating the first graceful skating maneuver known as the Dutch Roll. The French added even more style with the invention of spins and pirouettes.

The sport got its official start with the formation of the the International Skating Union in 1892 and later received Olympic sanction at the 1924 Games in Chamonix, France featuring men's and ladies' singles and pair skating. Ice dancing was later added at the 1976 Games in Innsbruck.

Today, figure skating and ice dancing are two of the top draws at the Winter Olympic Games, with fans around the world avidly following their favorite stars...

More about Olympic figure skating around the Web:

Figure Skating - Vancouver 2010 - Brief overview including details on singles, pairs and ice dancing competitions, the complete schedule & venue guide, ticket information, photo gallery.

International Olympic Committee - Figure Skating - Overview of the figure skating competitions, list of events, Olympic records, athlete profiles, picture gallery.

Figure Skating- Wikipedia - The online encyclopedia featuring descriptions of related equipment, disciplines, jumps & spins, steps & turns, competition format, scoring, plus a brief history and profiles of notable skaters.

United States Olympic Committee - Figure Skating - The latest headline news, photos, team bios, tips on how to get started in figure skating, FAQ.

U.S. Figure Skating - Headline news from the official Team USA site featuring pictures, skater profiles, events and results, TV schedule.

Slam! Sports - Figure Skating - Figure skating coverage from around the world with feature stories, headline news, pictures, schedules.

also see in Sports -> Ice Skating | Emily Hughes

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