First early pairs competitors world championships | Golden Skate

First early pairs competitors world championships

Z

Zhenya's Girl

Guest
Were orginally the ladies' boots black like the mens'? When/why did they change to white?
 

Jaana

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Country
Finland
LOL, thanks for the photo!!! Well, it certainly seems that the weather was very cold... Much better conditions for the skaters of today that don´t have to compete in outside rinks anymore.

Marjaana
 

berthes ghost

Final Flight
Joined
Jul 30, 2003
Were orginally the ladies' boots black like the mens'? When/why did they change to white?

Yes they were origionaly black.

The story goes that Sonja Henie started wearing beige boots to be different/ kmore stylish and when all the other ladies started copying her, she started wearing white ones.

So, sometime around 1930 or so.
 

cygnus

Rinkside
Joined
Aug 7, 2003
Remember, though, that all early competitions were outside. I imagine if it still were so that modern costumes would be much bulkier too!
 

berthes ghost

Final Flight
Joined
Jul 30, 2003
I don't know about that.

Peggy won the last world's that was contested outdoors. Although her costumes were much warmer than say, MK's Tosca chiffon, compared to these two she was in a bikini.

Skating around at top speed and pulling off 8 jumps or so in a 4 minute program is very vigorous and the skaters build up a lot of body heat. I doubt that these two did many tricks.
 

Ladskater

~ Figure Skating Is My Passion ~
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
Actually the figures discipline was the toughest to do outdoors because there was often ruts in the ice and the snow had to be cleared.

As Barbara Ann Scott experienced during the Olympics (figure skating held outdoors) in 1947:

1947 was the year when Scott accomplished the unbelievable. She was the first North American to win the European title and the World Championships in the same year. But in 1948, Barbara Ann Scott was unstoppable. Not only did she successfully defend her European and World titles, she went on to win the Olympic gold medal in St. Moritz, Switzerland.

Scott won her gold medal on an outdoor rink, which was uneven and dented by the men's gold medal hockey game between Canada and the Czechs the night before, which Canada won.

Apparently the temperature was just above freezing, and someone had tried to flood the ice. By the time the sun rose, the ice was a slushy mess. But Scott was unruffled. "When you have to skate outside in the elements, you tend not to worry about the small stuff," she said at the time.
 
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