At the beginning, people had a lot of problems, especially winter in North hemisphere. Hunting was impossible. But the man is an intelligent animal! He is able to adapt is tools for the situation. That’s how he put a bone on each boot to make moves easier on ice.
In the 17th century, everybody had a pair of « skates » in Holland , but it’s in Scotland that the first Iron’s blade was created in 1592. And the first speed skating club was in Edinburgh First race was organized in Fens, England, in 1763 on 24 kilometres.
19th century...
Off course, the new sport traveled until North America. First championship was held in Holland, 1889. Skaters did 4 distances : 500m, 1 500m, 5 000m and 10 000 m. International Skating Union (ISU) was created in 1892, still in Holland. In Canada, the first race was organized in 1854, in Quebec on St-Lawrence River (Fleuve St-Laurent). Canadian Amateur Speed Skating Association (CASSA) borne in 1887. Long track make part of the Olympic games, since their creation, in 1924.
Speed skating on short track
Speed skating on Short track, with star in group, born in USA in 1905, with the first competition registered in 1909. In the 20’s and the 30’s, crowd went in the Madison Square Garden of New-York to see that exciting show. In this period, the sport was also in Great-Britain, Japan, France, Belgium and Australia.
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We’ll have to wait until 1988 to see Short-Track in the Olympic Games. It was in Calgary, the sport was just in demonstration. It became an official sport in 1992 (Albertville)
Source: Manuel d'entraîneur niveau 1, by the Canadian Amateur Speed Skating Association.
