figure skating IS a sport

Recently, Dr. Stogner stood up in assembly and gave, what I assume to be, an insightful lecture. I, however, was too distracted by his opening statements to pay close attention to the words of wisdom coming from this man who is, on most occasions, interesting and entertaining to listen to.

He began his lecture by sarcastically stating that a major argument that causes problems the relationship he and his wife is over figure skating and whether or not it should be considered a sport.

Many people who know me know how much I love skating, and what a big part of my life was devoted to the sport. (Yes, I said sport, because that is what it is!) For ten years I spent countless hours on the ice, traveling to competitions, preparing for shows, and effortlessly spending my parents money on dresses, coaches, travel and ice time. I was the epitome of the phrase “rink rat.”

Needless to say, it is frustrating, and almost offensive to me when people try to tell me that the one sport I was at least somewhat decent at is not, in fact, a sport.

Dictionary.com defines “figure skating” as “a competitive SPORT in which the skater is required to execute school figures and to perform one or more original programs of difficult jumps, spins, etc., to a musical setting” – keyword: sport.
Not enough evidence for you? Wikipedia.com, ESPN.com and the official site of the Winter Olympic Games (vancouver2010.com), all include and define figure skating as a sport.

These sources, however, are not enough for some of my friends, so I will continue. Hundreds of definitions are given for the word “sport.” These include, but are not limited to:

1.) diversion; recreation; pleasant pastime.
2.) physical activity engaged in for pleasure.
3.) an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc. (As a side note, if hunting and fishing are considered a sport, then you better believe figure skating is a sport!)

Need I break these up for you and explain? Let’s start with a “diversion.” The time commitment required to excel in figure skating is much like any other sport. After all, “practice makes perfect.” Growing up, many birthday parties and school dances were passed up for a chance to compete in an out-of-state competition, or to participate in ice shows at our local arena. Often times, practices lasted hours at a time, beginning before the sun was up, or lasting well into the evening. Unbeknownst to my parents, homework was not always a priority, and was pushed off until walking into class the day it was due. However, skating remained my “pleasant pastime” and a “physical activity [I] engaged in for pleasure.”

As previously stated, much time and money was spent on competing in various figure skating competitions in and out of state. The “competitive nature” of the sport was the major motivation for continuing with the sport for so many years. While weeks at a time were spent preparing a program that was over in a matter of two to four minutes, the mix of nervous butterflies and adrenaline rush were enough to keep me excited for the next competition that I had to prepare for.

One friend of mine continues to explain to me that figure skating is not a sport due to the fact that records are not kept. However, this is an untrue statement – records are just kept differently. Unlike football in which you can confidently state wins versus loses, figure skating keeps records of placement in four major competitions: the Grand Prix, Nationals, Worlds and, of course, the Olympics. Each placement determines the skater’s overall rank among other skaters who skate at the same level.

Finally, figure skating is “an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess.” In figure skating, the skater learns to balance on two thin blades, each measuring only 4mm wide. However, the blade is “hollow ground”, meaning there is a groove on the bottom of the blade, creating two distinct edges, and the majority of the sport is spent on one edge of one blade. Anyone who has seen The Cutting Edge knows the toe pick is another factor in determining whether the skater will keep his or her feet on the ice, or if the majority of time will be spent sprawled out in cold and unappealing positions – the result of a face plant.

While balancing on this tiny edge and avoiding the negative use of a toe pick, the skater must perform jumps, spins and footwork, and at the same time stay on beat with and act out the emotions in the music, all the while keeping a cheesy grin plastered on his or her face anywhere up to four minutes.

While these are already quite difficult tasks to juggle, add in anywhere from one to 19 other skaters on the ice at the same time (for pairs skating, ice dancing, and synchronized skating), and now you’ve got the whole circus act. Now, not only must the skater do jumps, spins and footwork balanced on a miniscule edge while avoiding a disastrous fall from a trip on the toe pick to the beat of the music while keeping a smile on his or her sweaty, nervous and exhausted face, but he or she must also stay perfectly aligned with and at the same speed as one or more other skaters, each trying to accomplish these daunting tasks simultaneously, often times while being lifted in the air, obviously requiring great power and strength.

And thus, my point is made. While I anticipate the rebuttal of many who have already attempted to sway my opinion in the opposite direction, I will stand firm in my beliefs – figure skating is a sport.