| Ice events like figure skating and speed skating are | | | | Painters such as Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Poussin, |
| some of the most-discussed and watched events in | | | | Rembrandt, and Goya all painted pictures of men and |
| the Olympic Games, time after time. Much of the | | | | women enjoying public ice skating. While ice events |
| appeal of this graceful winter sport must come from | | | | were popular among the nobility, the sport was not |
| the fact that so many people love it and engage in | | | | confined to the classes. Everyone, from peasants to |
| public skating every year, waiting for those numbing | | | | dukes, duchesses, queens and kings loved ice skating, |
| mornings with excitement and anticipation, because it | | | | and this was especially true in the Netherlands. |
| means the local lake will be open as a winter | | | | James II was one of the first to bring ice events to |
| wonderland. The love of ice skating covers all social | | | | England, from the Netherlands. James II's reign was |
| strata, though, and there are many famous faces | | | | from 1633 to 1701 - so the sport has had quite a |
| that hold the sport in the highest esteem. Here we | | | | time to develop in the Western world. He was |
| look at some of ice skating's most well-known | | | | famous for his attempts to create religious freedom |
| proponents. | | | | for his subjects, a luxury we take for granted |
| Queen Victoria was Britain's longest serving monarch | | | | nowadays. He also brought the sport of ice skating |
| to date, being in power for over 63 years. She was | | | | to France, where his friend, Louis XIV, helped |
| also the first Empress of India - although this hot | | | | popularize it. Following in Louis XIV's tradition were |
| country, with temperatures covering tropical, desert | | | | several other French monarchs or political figures, |
| and arid, but little in the way of fresh or chilly, offers | | | | including Napoleon I, Napoleon II, and Madame du |
| little opportunity for ice events! The Victorian era is | | | | Pompadour. |
| famous in Britain as the height of the Industrial | | | | Of course, there are many people that have risen to |
| revolution, and showed great progress in social, | | | | prominence because of the beautiful, free and |
| economic and technological areas. During Victoria's | | | | graceful ice events. One of the sport's most famous |
| reign the British Empire expanded to become the | | | | women, and the first woman to land a triple axel in a |
| globe's foremost power. It is said that Queen Victoria | | | | major international competition, was Midori Ito. This |
| got to know her husband, Prince Albert through a | | | | Japanese woman started skating when she was 5, |
| series of ice skating trips, although these monarchs | | | | and developed her jumping abilities to the point |
| would have no doubt enjoyed their skating in the | | | | where she was nicknamed 'The Tsunami Girl', and |
| great outdoors, rather than at ice rinks, as we would. | | | | 'The Japanese Jumping Bean' affectionately by the |
| The importance of public ice skating in the centuries | | | | judges. She won several large competitions several |
| prior to ours is evidenced in a beautiful, and very | | | | years before finishing high school, and helped bring ice |
| artistic way, in many paintings by the Old Masters. | | | | events to Asia. |