The executive director of the Professional Skaters Association (PSA) provides proven technique instruction for more than 100 skills, presenting them progressively from beginning to advanced levels of expertise. 170 photos.

Figure skating, which is the world's most popular winter Olympic sport, is the subject of this volume. Though figure skaters are often known for their theatrical and artistic performances, author Jennifer MacKay outlines for readers the complex physical and biomechanical properties at work in this beautiful and demanding sport. From the development of the indoor ice rink, to the application of Newton's laws of motion, to the psychological challenges faced by many skaters, MacKay explores how these athletes achieve amazing physical accomplishments and perfect their art.

Figure skating is the most popular televised sport at the Olympic Winter Games and is the oldest of the winter sports, having first been contested at the Games of the fourth Olympiad in London in 1908. No other sport creates such a perfect balance between athleticism and artistry, and the athletes—many of them household names like Oksana Baiul, Brian Boitano, Nancy Kerrigan, Evan Lysacek, Katarina Witt, and Kristi Yamaguchi—spend years in training to make it look effortless. The Historical Dictionary of Figure Skating relates the history of the sport through a chronology, an introductory essay, an extensive bibliography, appendixes, and over 800 cross-referenced dictionary entries on hundreds of skaters, past and present, but also on skating countries, governing bodies, skating disciplines, technical elements, skating styles, and many other subjects. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the history of figure skating.

Now there's a masterfully written guide that shows beginning and recreational skaters the fundamental skills of ice skating. In Ice Skating: Steps to Success, Karin K "nzle-Watson--nine-time Swiss National Champion, former Professional World Champion, and one of skating's best instructors--shares with readers the steps that she and many of her students learned on their way to becoming elite competitive skaters. Most instruction books available on ice skating tend to focus on advanced jumps or spins, assuming the reader will learn the basics through professional instruction. Ice Skating: Steps to Success, however, covers fundamental skills in a way that's easy to understand and apply. Part of the highly popular Steps to Success Series, this book includes 11 steps (chapters) that progress from basic to intermediate skills. It features over 300 illustrations that make it possible to learn proper form and technique. Readers will learn how to: - attain the posture and control required for basic skills; - use standard methods of gaining forward and backward speed; - execute four different methods of stopping; - fall properly and get up easily; - change direction without loss of control; and - control the skate edges in order to prepare for advanced maneuvers, including jumps, spins, and footwork. With Ice Skating: Steps to Success, beginning and recreational skaters will develop a solid foundation of skills to help them gain confidence in their abilities and enjoy the sport more.

Figure skating has always had an important home in Lake Placid. Early on, the Sno Birds popularized this summer retreat, and Melville and Godfrey Dewey won the campaign for the 1932 Winter Olympics. The Skating Club of Lake Placid was formed, and after 1932, famous skaters trained here with legendary coach Gus Lussi. When Lake Placid again hosted the Olympics in 1980, skating dominated, with state-of-the-art facilities that have continued to be used by stars like Dorothy Hamill and Sarah Hughes, and helped give rise to Scott Hamilton's Stars on Ice. For more than one hundred years, the Lake Placid community has worked together to support figure skating and skaters in this quiet Adirondack village. Local expert Christie Sausa tells this exciting story.