- Joined
- Jun 21, 2003
Men's skating has NEVER been portrayed as a serious "man's" sport in the US. At least not in the more modern times - it did start out as a gentlemans sport waaaaaaaay back - but the ladies quickly took over (because we're awesome ).
I read that in the nineteenth century public rinks would have separate side rinks for ladies and (especially) courting couples. Ladies were not allowed on the main rink because they would be in danger of getting run over by the young men racing and doing daredevil tricks.
I think one of the problems is that winter outdoor participatory sports have almost disappeared. It's more cozy just to watch on television.
When my Dad was a boy in a small town in North Dakota they had an annual skating-swimming race. After bicycling out to the lake, in the summer they did the "short program" -- they swam across the lake the short way, a half mile.
Then one day in the winter they did the long program -- they skated across the lake the long way, two miles. The overall winner got some kind of prize.
Later, Dad never missed the chance to take the family to see the Ice Capades. He tried to play it off as a special treat for my Mom, but I think he was the one who really liked it.