99-528: Fen skating is a traditional form of ice skating in the Fenland of England. The Fens of East Anglia , with their easily flooded meadows, form an ideal skating terrain. Bone skates have been found in the area dating back to the medieval period. It is not known when the first skating matches were held, but by the early nineteenth century they had become a feature of cold winters in the Fens. The golden age of fen skating
198-500: A Welsh Main, that, if there eight of them, it requires seven heats to decide the contest. The winners of the first four were Messrs. Drake, May, Young, and Gittam; of the two next Messrs. May and Young; aud of the last Mr. Young. To the admirers of the usual circular evolutions, it may seem ridiculous to attribute elegance to the mere runner, but without cause. Great apparent facility, and smoothness of movement, are indispensable to that pre-eminent celerity which alone can ensure success, and
297-609: A course adjoining the River Nene, on Saturday, 26 December 1891. The ice was not in a very good condition, the thaw having commenced the previous night. The winners, with their times, were G. See, 3min 29 sec, 1st; I. See and Boon, 3min 37 sec, equal 2nd ; J. Atkin, 3min 45 sec, 4th. Geord See was defeated by P Ward of Tydd at a match at Peterborough on Thursday 5 January 1893. James Smart did not compete. A skating match took place on Saturday afternoon, 7 January 1893 at Littleport between James Smart, champion, and George See. Smart made
396-551: A farmer's son from Conington , Tom Cross of Ely and the Shelton brothers from Ramsey came to the fore. "Turkey" Smart and "Gutta Percha" See continued to race, but were usually beaten in the early rounds of matches. In 1870 a Welney skater John Wiles beat Porter from Southery for the Championship of England in front of a crowd of about 6,000. The winter of 1874/75 saw Tom Watkinson of Welney acknowledged as champion. In January 1875
495-460: A farmer's son from Willingham . The professionals were labourers who skated for cash prizes; the amateurs were gentlemen who skated a little more slowly for trophies. Fish Smart remained unbeatable in the Fens during the winters of 1879–80 and 1880–81. He suffered one defeat in Lancashire when he skated on Carr Mill Dam against Our Nel's Jack (John Hill) of Billinge , but he had his revenge in
594-515: A field of 32, including former champions Turkey Smart and Tom Watkinson. Fish Smart won, beating Knocker Carter of Welney in the final. His reward was a badge, a sash and a cash prize, given as an annual salary in instalments to encourage the champion to "keep himself temperate". The National Skating Association had also established an amateur championship, which was held for the first time at Welsh Harp , London, in January 1880, and won by Frederick Norman,
693-459: A final at Peterborough. At Littleport N.Brown of Isleham beat ‘Young Gutta Percha See’ of Welney in the final on 24 January 1879. The second championship meeting of the present season was held at Ely on 25 January won by Fish Smart, the ninth this year. On eleven starts he has won nine, one dead heat and one loss. Although speed skating was practised in other parts of the country, fenmen with their unique style, and combination of stamina and speed, were
792-415: A fine specimen of the bold peasantry of England. After beating three Southery men, Butcher, Porter and Larman Register, Turkey Smart met David Green of March in the final. "Smart beat Green easily, and carried off the laurels, and is generally believed to be the best man of the day". Turkey Smart remained the champion for the rest of the decade, his nearest rivals being his brother-in-law "Gutta Percha" See,
891-406: A flat sliding puck, a ball, and a rubber ring. Synchronized skating is a unique artistic team sport derived from figure skating . Figure skating, ice cross downhill , speed skating , and barrel jumping (a discipline of speed skating) are among the sporting disciplines for individuals. Research suggests that the earliest ice skating happened in southern Finland more than 4,000 years ago. This
990-404: A friendly match. The professional match saw James Smart best George See and Isaac See in a time trial. Three days later in the amateur match, James Aveling (March) defeated the amateur champion Wm Loveday of Welney, L. Aveling, S. M. Stanley, W. Racey and H. B. Stanley in the final heat. PETERBOROUGH SKATING ASSOCIATION.—This association offered some valuable prizes for a professional mile race, on
1089-414: A frozen body of water is falling through the ice into the freezing water underneath. Death can result from shock , hypothermia , or drowning . It is often difficult or impossible for the skater to climb out of the water, due to the weight of their ice skates and thick winter clothing, and the ice repeatedly breaking as they struggle to get back onto the surface. Also, if the skater becomes disoriented under
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#17328518804631188-826: A grand skating match took place on Wisbech River, sixteen of the first rate skaters from various places in the neighbourhood, on Friday for 10 sovereigns. FIRST HEATS. Winners. Trower, Upwell beat Eat, of Parson Drove; Cox, of Upwell beat Wright, of Parson Drove; Bartis, of Wisbech beat Pogson, of Wisbech St. Mary; Torry, of Wisbech beat Taylor, of Parsondrove; Burgess, of Outwell beat Cook of Postland; Thomas Youngs, of Northdelph beat Green, of March; May, of Upwell Beat Drake, of Chatteris; John Youngs, of Northdelph beat Egar, of Thorney. SECOND HEATS Trower beat Cox; Torry beat Pogson; Thomas Youngs beat Burgess; John Youngs beat May. Third heats Trower beat Torry; John Youngs beat Thomas Youngs. THIRD HEATS Trower beat Torry; Thomas Youngs beat John Youngs. FINAL HEAT. Mr. John Youngs beat Trower. The prize
1287-456: A grandstand of local aristocracy, and followed it with a win at Denver, beating Robert Watkinson in the final, but these victories were followed by a first round loss at Welney. W See (Welney) beat T Porter (Southery) in the final. Larman Register had by now acquired some acreage and joined the ranks of race officials; his nephew and namesake was racing, although he never enjoyed quite the same success as his uncle. The following year Stephen Smith,
1386-489: A great concourse of people from all parts of the neighbourhood, it was supposed there were at least 3000 persons upon the ice. The cup was won by a man of the name of Johnson, of Wimblington." On Christmas Eve 1819 the Stamford Mercury published the challenge to skate a two- or four-mile course for any sum between twenty and one hundred pounds by Mr John Staplee of Croyland Bank. On 17 January 1820 Croyland ( Crowland )
1485-457: A little to the improvement of this elegant amusement. From this description and others, it is apparent that the form of skating practiced by club members was indeed an early form of figure skating rather than speed skating . For admission to the club, candidates had to pass a skating test where they performed a complete circle on either foot (e.g., a figure eight ), and then jumped over first one hat, then two and three, placed over each other on
1584-562: A local newspaper reported 'On Wednesday se’nnight a purse of eight guineas was skaited for on Wisbech river, by eight of the principal runners in the neighbourhood, which was won by a young man from Thorney, named Hickling. The number of spectators it is supposed exceeded 3000.' John Peck in his diary records going to Wisbech on Boxing Day 1815 to see a skating match on the River Nene 'between S. Jealous and R. Reynolds; won easily by Jealous'. He reports other matches in February 1816 On 21 February 1816
1683-503: A match for £10 was held on Whittlesey Mere with 16 competitors. Richardson, Ramsey v German, Whittlesey. Needham, March v Bull, Chatteris. Tomblin, Doddington v Reeve, Upwell. W.Williams, Crowland v Brown, Chatteris. Sharman, Holme v Berry, Ramsey. Mitham, Benwick v Cole, Holme. Searle, Wimblington v Tebbutt, Pons Bridge. J.Williams, Crowland v Green, March. The winners of the next heats were Needham, Tomblin, Sherman and Searle. Tomblin best Needham Sharman beat Searle. Tomblin beat Sharman in
1782-489: A match in 1820. Skating.—The manly and graceful exercise skating has seldom been exhibited in greater perfection than Wisbech, on the 10th instant, when eight of the most celebrated runners in England, viz- Messrs. Purrant of Elm, Taylor of Leverington Parson Drove, Wooll and May of Upwell, Drake and Bassett of Chatteris, and Young and Gittam of Nordelph, met to contest the prize of superiority. The competitors in these "Games" run
1881-665: A name for themselves as skaters. They included: John Gittam and John Young of Nordelph ; the Drake brothers of Chatteris ; Perkins and Cave of Sutton ; James May of Upwell ; waterman John Berry of Ramsey ; the Egars of Thorney ; the Staples of Crowland ; and William Needham of March . When it froze, skating matches were held in towns and villages all over the Fens. In these local matches, men (or sometimes women or children) would compete for prizes of money, clothing, or food. "During severe winters it
1980-612: A number of the great and the good of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire met in the Guildhall, Cambridge, to set up the National Skating Association , with the aim of controlling the sport of fen skating. The founding committee consisted of several landowners, a vicar, a fellow of Trinity College , a magistrate, two members of parliament, the mayor of Cambridge , the Lord Lieutenant of Cambridge, journalist James Drake Digby,
2079-572: A prize of eight sovereigns with 16 first-rate skaters. 1. W.Harton, Thorne Fen beat Hickling, Crowland. 2. Grower beat Green, March. 3. German, Whittlesey beat Bavin, March. 4. De Pear, Crowland beat Taylor 5. Farrow, Nordelph beat Jackson, Crowland 6. Redhead, St. Edmunds beat Putrell, St. James'. 7. Plowright, Coates beat Smith, Nordelph. 8. J.Barton, Thorney Fen beat Fovarque, Crowland 9. W.Barton beat Trower 10. German beat De Pear 11. Redhead beat Farrow 12. J.Barton beat Plowright 13. German beat W.Barton 14. Redhead beat J.Barton 15. German beat Redhead in
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#17328518804632178-473: A recreation, a means of transport and spectator sport in The Fens in England for people from all walks of life. Racing was the preserve of workers, most of them agricultural labourers. It is not known when the first skating matches were held, but by the early nineteenth century racing was well established and the results of matches were reported in the press. Skating as a sport developed on the lakes of Scotland and
2277-505: A return match at Welney.Fish Smart's nearest rivals during those two winters were his younger brother Jarman Smart, and Albert Dewsberry. In 1880–81, he successfully defended his title at Crowland, beating Dewsberry in the final. Fish Smart won his third and final championship in January 1887 at Swavesey, beating his cousin Isaac See (the younger son of Gutta Percha See) in the final. In the intervening years there had been some short frosts, but
2376-422: A series of ice skating trips. Albert continued to skate after their marriage and on falling through the ice was once rescued by Victoria and a lady in waiting from a stretch of water in the grounds of Buckingham Palace . Early attempts at the construction of artificial ice rinks were made during the "rink mania" of 1841–44. As the technology for the maintenance of natural ice did not exist, these early rinks used
2475-418: A skating match was held at Crowland for a prize of £15 in the presence of thousands of spectators. Watkinson of Welney beat G.Dunham also of Welney in the final.<ref "Stamford Mercury" . Retrieved 5 October 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive . </ref> There was then an interval of mild winters, before the next generation of Smarts and Sees emerged as top skaters. The winter of 1878–79
2574-453: A subscription purse (free prize) was given by the Gentlemen of Wisbech , to be skated for on the river near the town, which was won by Joseph Peck, of Parson Drove, beating H. Green, of March, and six others. The novelty of seeing two young ladies, Miss S. Ulyat and Miss Peck, from Parson Drove, skating on the slippery element, attracted a universal notice. The Cambridge Chronicle reported on
2673-459: A substitute consisting of a mixture of hog's lard and various salts. An item in the 8 May 1844 issue of Littell's 'Living Age' headed the ' Glaciarium ' reported that "This establishment, which has been removed to Grafton Street East' Tottenham Court Road , was opened on Monday afternoon. The area of artificial ice is extremely convenient for such as may be desirous of engaging in the graceful and manly pastime of skating." Skating became popular as
2772-502: A variety of winter sports which generally require an enclosed area, but are also used by skaters who need ice tracks and trails for distance skating and speed skating . Man-made ice surfaces include ice rinks , ice hockey rinks , bandy fields , ice tracks required for the sport of ice cross downhill , and arenas . Various formal sports involving ice skating have emerged since the 19th century. Ice hockey , bandy , rinkball , and ringette are team sports played with, respectively,
2871-422: A week. A course of 660 yards was measured out on the ice, and a barrel with a flag on it placed at either end. The course was divided down the middle with more barrels, sods of earth or piles of snow. The skaters were drawn in pairs, and started one either side of the barrel, skate down the course, round the barrel and back again, with each skater keeping to their own side of the ice. For a one-and-a-half-mile race,
2970-435: A £5 prize and 2-mile heats saw 18-year-old Charles Staplee (Crowland Bank) beat Mr. Young (Nordolph). In the other heat, Mr. Gettam beat John Staplee (Crowland Bank) and Gettam beat Charles Staplee in the final. Girdham, the poor fenman who skated the mile seven seconds under the three minutes on Thursday the 4th January 1821, below Ely, unfortunately lost his life that night on his way home, by skating with great velocity against
3069-590: Is a civil parish near Downham Market in the English county of Norfolk . The parish covers an area of 16.57 km (6.40 sq mi) and had a population of 375 in 151 households at the 2001 census , increasing to 405 at the 2011 Census. In 1930 a new civil parish of Nordelph was created in Downham Rural District , taking land mostly out of the Marshland RD parishes of Upwell and Outwell . For
Fen skating - Misplaced Pages Continue
3168-428: Is known today was Jackson Haines , an American. He was the first skater to incorporate ballet and dance movements into his skating, as opposed to focusing on tracing patterns on the ice. Haines also invented the sit spin and developed a shorter, curved blade for figure skating that allowed for easier turns. He was also the first to wear blades that were permanently attached to the boot. The International Skating Union
3267-453: Is no uncommon thing to see joints of meat hung outside the village pub, to be skated for on the morrow". The winners of local matches were invited to take part in the grand or championship matches in which skaters from across the Fens would compete for cash prizes in front of crowds of thousands. The championship matches took the form of a Welsh main or "last man standing" contest. The competitors, 16 or sometimes 32, were paired off in heats and
3366-541: The Edinburgh Skating Club , formed in the 1740s; some claim the club was established as early as 1642. An early contemporary reference to the club appeared in the second edition (1783) of the Encyclopædia Britannica : The metropolis of Scotland has produced more instances of elegant skaters than perhaps any country whatever: and the institution of a skating club about 40 years ago has contributed not
3465-627: The House of Stuart were, among others, royal and upper-class fans of ice skating. The next skating club to be established was in London and was not founded until 1830. Members wore a silver skate hanging from their buttonhole and met on The Serpentine, Hyde Park on 27 December 1830. By the mid-19th century, ice skating was a popular pastime among the British upper and middle classes. Queen Victoria became acquainted with her future husband, Prince Albert , through
3564-643: The Qing dynasty . Ancient ice skates made of animal bones, were found at the bronze age Gaotai Ruins in north west China , and are estimated to be likely 3,500 years old. Archeologists say these ancient skates are "clear evidence for communication between China and Europe " in the Bronze Age era , as they are very similar to bone skates unearthed in Europe. In England "the London boys" had improvised butcher's bones as skates since
3663-409: The viscous frictional heating, a macroscopic layer of melt ice is in-between the ice and the skate. With this they fully explained the low friction with nothing else but macroscopic physics, whereby the frictional heat generated between skate and ice melts a layer of ice. This is a self-stabilizing mechanism of skating. If by fluctuation the friction gets high, the layer grows in thickness and lowers
3762-446: The "victorious racer" on this occasion, manifested a grace and elegance fully commensurate with his extraordinary strength and agility. The course, which is a mile out back again and to be run twice over, making 2 miles in the whole, had been measured out and prepared below the town; it was observed, that the former mile was, for the most part, performed in 3 minutes; the latter in 3 minutes and 10 seconds. The elevated mounds, which confine
3861-532: The 'St Ledger day on the ice'. A brass band of music from Chatteris was placed on the bridge, and played the most lively tunes: at the starting of a race, 'Cheer boys, cheer', and at the winning, 'See the conquering hero comes'. The number of persons present was stated at from five to eight thousand, and some said ten thousand. Punctually at the time appointed, half-past one, the racing commenced. The bold Fen-men soon appeared, whose iron frames, lion sinews, elasticity of action and body, astonished all beholders. They were
3960-569: The 12th century. Skating on metal skates seems to have arrived in England at the same time as the garden canal , with the English Restoration in 1660, after the king and court returned from an exile largely spent in the Netherlands. In London the ornamental "canal" in St James's Park was the main centre until the 19th century. Both Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn , the two leading diarists of
4059-517: The 13th century or earlier, in the fens metal skates were in use by the seventeenth century; before this people had attached sharpened animal bones to their feet to travel on ice. William Fitzstephen described skating on the Thames in the 12th century. Diarists Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn both recorded seeing skating on the canal in St. James's Park in London during the winter of 1662. Pepys wrote "...over to
Fen skating - Misplaced Pages Continue
4158-453: The 18th century. Some - a pair in the Museum of Cambridge , for example were made entirely of iron. In the Fens skates were called pattens, fen runners, or Whittlesey runners. The footstock was made of beechwood . A screw at the back was screwed into the heel of the boot, and three small spikes at the front kept the skate steady. There were holes in the footstock for leather straps to fasten it to
4257-436: The 3100 m and 1 mile in friendly matches, and Tebbutt won an amateur race. The following year, 1887, James Smart and George See returned to Holland, with Smart winning an international race over 2 miles at Amsterdam . Championship Skating Match January 1877. About 2,000 persons yesterday attended the championship skating match at Grantchester, near Cambridge, when eighteen competed in a three-mile race, with six turns. The track
4356-509: The Lynn girl – a good race". By the 1890s the women had at least acquired names; the Hunts County Guardian reported in February 1892 that Mrs. Winters of Welney had beaten 13-year-old Miss Dewsbury of Little Thetford in the final of a half-mile match at Littleport. As well as competing in matches, the top skaters issued challenges via the press. James Egar, aged 24 who died on 8 May 1823,
4455-528: The National Skating Association had not managed to arrange a meeting. They had taken Fish Smart to Holland for an international race in January 1885, but he was beaten in the first round by Benedict Kingma; two amateurs, Charles Goodman Tebbutt and S. Burlingham fared little better. A trip to Holland two years later was more successful. George See (Gutta Percha See's eldest son) and James Smart (Fish Smart's youngest brother) set up world records for
4554-495: The Park, when, though the ice was broken, he would go slide upon his skates, which I did not like; but he slides very well." In 1711 Jonathan Swift still thinks the sport might be unfamiliar to his "Stella" , writing to her: "Delicate walking weather; and the Canal and Rosamund's Pond full of the rabble and with skates, if you know what that is ." The first organised skating club was
4653-479: The Parke (where I first in my life, it being great frost, did see people sliding with their skeats which is a very pretty art)...". As a recreation, means of transport and spectator sport, skating in the Fens was popular with people from all walks of life. Racing was the preserve of workers, most of them agricultural labourers. It is not known when the first skating matches were held, but by the early nineteenth-century racing
4752-550: The Registers, Butchers and Porters of Southery, David Green of March, and fellow Welney men Wiles and Watkinson. But by the winter of 1860/61 he was no longer invincible; "Gutta Percha" See shared the laurels with him that year. Several mild winters followed and when skating resumed in January 1867 younger skaters were threatening the champions. Turkey Smart won the Kimbolton Stakes on the flooded Huntingdon Racecourse in front of
4851-508: The acknowledged masters. Lancashire sent three of their top skaters, G. Willcocks and the Boydells, to the Swavesey match in January 1879. All three were defeated in the first two rounds, with veteran Turkey Smart beating G. Willcocks by 200 yards in the first round. Afterwards one of the Lancashire skaters said: "We are the best men in our parts, but we run. These fenmen flee". On 1 February 1879,
4950-482: The canals of the Netherlands . In the 13th and 14th centuries wood was substituted for bone in skate blades, and in 1572 the first iron skates were manufactured. When the waters froze, skating matches were held in towns and villages all over the Fens. In these local matches men (or sometimes women or children) would compete for prizes of money, clothing, or food. The winners of local matches were invited to take part in
5049-516: The day, saw it on the "new canal" there on 1 December 1662, the first time Pepys had ever seen it ("a very pretty art"). Then it was "performed before their Majesties and others, by diverse gentlemen and others, with scheets after the manner of the Hollanders". Two weeks later, on 15 December 1662, Pepys accompanied the Duke of York, later King James II , on a skating outing: "To the Duke, and followed him in
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#17328518804635148-411: The fastest men was the straight mile with a flying start. In 1821 a Newmarket man made a wager of 100 guineas that a skater could cover a mile in three minutes. John Gittam of Nordelph won him his wager at Prickwillow with 7 seconds to spare. A generation later Turkey Smart was backed to skate a mile in two-and-a-half minutes, but failed by 2 seconds. The oldest known Fen skates are thought to be from
5247-478: The final. A match took place on Wisbech Canal on 8 February 1841 for a prize of three sovereigns over a two-mile course. Bobbins beat Scrafield, Harwood beat Goodson, Gray beat Scott. Langham beat Key. Masson beat Lynn, Clare beat Etherington, Sutton beat Desborough, and Kimmons beat See. Harwood then beat Bobbins, Langham beat Gray, Clare beat Massour, and Sutton beat Kimmons. Harwood then beat Langhara and Clare having defeated Button, Harwood and Clare contended for
5346-409: The final. An immense crowd of not less than 4,000 was entertained by a band from Wisbech. An excellent female skater was also an additional and rather novel attraction to the visitors. On 14 February 1838, a match took place at March, when sixteen of the most celebrated skaters were selected. On account of the experience derived from the several matches which have taken place in the neighbourhood during
5445-687: The first national ice skating body in the world. The founding committee consisted of several landowners, a vicar, a fellow of Trinity College , a magistrate, two members of parliament, the mayor of Cambridge , the Lord Lieutenant of Cambridge, journalist James Drake Digby, the president of Cambridge University Skating Club, and Neville Goodman, a graduate of Peterhouse, Cambridge (and son of Potto Brown 's milling partner, Joseph Goodman). The newly formed Association held their first one-and-a-half-mile British professional championship at Thorney in December 1879. The first instructional book concerning ice skating
5544-481: The foot. The metal blades were slightly higher at the back than the front. In the 1890s fen skaters started to race in Norwegian-style skates. The Wisbech & Fenland Museum exhibits include a wide range of skates including early examples made from bone (found on Welney Marsh), pattens and Norwegian-style skates, as well as other fenland sports and past times. ( https://www.wisbechmuseum.org.uk ) In February 1814
5643-480: The friction, and if it gets low, the layer decreases in thickness and increases the friction. The friction generated in the sheared layer of water between skate and ice grows as √V with V the velocity of the skater, such that for low velocities the friction is also low. Whatever the origin of the water layer, skating is more destructive than simply gliding. A skater leaves a visible trail behind on virgin ice and skating rinks have to be regularly resurfaced to improve
5742-400: The grand or championship matches, in which skaters from across the Fens would compete for cash prizes in front of crowds of thousands. The championship matches took the form of a Welsh main or "last man standing" contest ( single-elimination tournament ). The competitors, 16 or sometimes 32, were paired off in heats and the winner of each heat went through to the next round. A course of 660 yards
5841-433: The ice and the blade. This explanation, called " pressure melting ", originated in the 19th century. (See Regelation .) Pressure melting could not account for skating on ice temperatures lower than −3.5 °C, whereas skaters often skate on lower-temperature ice. In the 20th century, an alternative explanation, called " friction melting", proposed by Lozowski, Szilder, Le Berre, Pomeau , and others showed that because of
5940-523: The ice was far from being good, on account of the quantity of water on the course and the heavy snow storm at the time of racing. After a series of mild winters in the 1840s, skating was dominated for a few years by men from the Norfolk village of Southery , with Larman Register acknowledged as champion. Register's reign as champion came to an end in December 1854 when he was dramatically beaten on Welney washes by Welney man Turkey Smart. The winter of 1854/55
6039-511: The ice. On the Continent , participation in ice skating was limited to members of the upper classes. Emperor Rudolf II of the Holy Roman Empire enjoyed ice skating so much, he had a large ice carnival constructed in his court in order to popularise the sport. King Louis XVI of France brought ice skating to Paris during his reign. Madame de Pompadour , Napoleon I , Napoleon III , and
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#17328518804636138-419: The ice. At about −157 °C (−250 °F) the slippery layer is one molecule thick; as the temperature increases the slippery layer becomes thicker. It had long been believed that ice is slippery because the pressure of an object in contact with it causes a thin layer to melt. The hypothesis was that the blade of an ice skate, exerting pressure on the ice, melts a thin layer, providing lubrication between
6237-416: The intervals between the heats, to the great satisfaction of an immense concourse of spectators, who lined the banks of the river on each side; and as a number of men with ropes were engaged to prevent individuals skating on the course during the time of the races, every person had a distinct view of the competitors for same. In January 1826 a skating competition took place near Parson Drove , Isle of Ely for
6336-423: The match at Mepal, on a brilliantly fine day, had thinned the towns of Cambridge , Ely , St Ives , Chatteris and March of their population. The clergy and 'squires', gentry and tradesmen – hale ploughboys and rosy milkmaids – ladies parties in carriages, gigs and carts, made their way to the bank near the bridge, and took their respective positions, where the view was excellent, and all that could be wished, for
6435-911: The men. On 31st another prize, of ten sovereigns, was skated for at Chatteris, which was won by Young, who beat Cave, Gittam, May and Bradford with apparent ease. On 14 January 1823 a match for a prize of ten sovereigns took place on the Forty-foot river near Chatteris. First heats Varlo of Benwick beat Drake of Chatteris; Green of March beat Burgess of Whittlesea; Bradford of Farcott beat Middlewitch of Newmarket; Young of Nordelph beat Cave of Sutton; Gittam of Nordelph beat Angood of Chatteris; May of Upwell beat Berry of Ramsey; Richardson of Glassom beat Minett of Manea. Second Heats Green beat Varlo; Bradford beat Terrey; Young beat Gittam; May beat Richardson. Third heats Bradford beat Green; May beat Richardson. Final Young beat Bradford. Little betting took place although there were said to be more than 6,000 present. On 24 January
6534-470: The next few years. He won the Dutch 1-mile championship in 1890–91 before successfully defending his British title. Two years later he did not compete in the British professional championship after falling out with the National Skating Association (George See won that year), but he regained his title in 1894–95. Several mild winters followed and when the championship was next held, at Littleport in February 1900, it
6633-402: The president of Cambridge University Skating Club, and Neville Goodman, a graduate of Peterhouse, Cambridge (and son of Potto Brown 's milling partner, Joseph Goodman). The next two winters, 1879–80 and 1880–81, were good skating winters. The newly formed National Skating Association held their first one-and-a-half-mile British professional championship at Thorney in December 1879. There was
6732-413: The principal runners (matched as follows) Young and Magnis, May and Cave, Bradford and Hicklin, and Berry and Drake, skated for a prize of ten guineas. Young, May, Bradford and Drake were the four winning men, and ran in the following order for the prize: May beat Young, Bradford beat Drake, May beat Bradford ; the last race was so strongly contested that there was scarcely half a-yard difference between
6831-404: The prize, which was won by Harwood. In the last heat, between Clare. of Wisbech, and Harwood, of Well, there was some good running, and Clare for the first mile was ahead the whole way, but Harwood was too tough in the wind for Clare, as he came in at the same speed with which he started, but for a mile course there is little doubt Clare being the fastest. The first mile was run in three minutes, and
6930-610: The purposes of local government, Nordelph falls within the district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk . The Church of England parish church , Holy Trinity, is of brick in the Early English style, and was erected in 1865 as a chapel of ease to the parish church of Upwell . A new ecclesiastical parish was formed in 1909 from the parishes of Upwell, Downham West , Denver , Stow Bardolph and Outwell. The Reverend Edwin Emmanuel Bradford (1860–1944), Uranian poet and novelist,
7029-402: The river either side, gave all the advantages of an ancient theatre to the immense concourse of spectators from every part of the country; and, as the several competitors were men of the highest renown, a degree of interest and generous emulation was excited by this harmless sport, never exceeded by that of the ruinous race-course, or the sanguinary bull-fight. On Monday 30th ? 1822 eight of
7128-505: The same since then, although differing greatly in the details, particularly in the method of binding and the shape and construction of the steel blades. In the Netherlands , ice skating was considered proper for all classes of people, as shown in many pictures from Dutch Golden Age painters . Ice skating was also practiced in China during the Song dynasty , and became popular among the ruling family of
7227-697: The season, the conductors of the course were enabled to match their men with the greatest propriety. The following is the order of the racing. First Course. Ridlington of Cowbit beat Sharman of Holme. Tomlin of Doddington beat Clare of Wisbech. Tuck of Nordelph beat Scotney of Cowbit. Ramsey beat Mitcham of Benwick. Needham of March beat Barton of Guyhirn. Bullimore of Whittlesey beat Setchell of Wimblington. Allen of Pinchbeck beat Turner of Upwell. Ward of March beat Hawley of Holme. Second Course. Tomlin beat Ridlington. Needham beat Bullimore. Berry beat Tuck. Ward beat Allen. Third Course. Tomlinson beat Berry. Neednam beat Ward. Fourth Course. —Tomlin beat Needham. Great confidence
7326-501: The second son of Mr. Egar, of Thorney Fen; was one of the three brothers whose proficiency in skating led them to give a challenge to all England. Brothers Larman and Robert Register announced in the Cambridge Chronicle in 1853 that they could be backed to skate any two skaters in England for £20. And three years later Larman Register had teamed up with his vanquisher Turkey Smart to issue a similar challenge. Another challenge for
7425-696: The second turn, See leading slightly the end of the first turn, but they were level at the last turn, and twenty yards from home Smart made a spurt, and won by twenty yards. Smart 5 min. 3.5 secs., Lee one second longer. Ice skating Ice skating is the self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates . People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting . Ice skating may be performed on naturally frozen bodies of water, such as ponds, lakes, canals, and rivers, and on human-made ice surfaces both indoors and outdoors. Natural ice surfaces used by skaters can accommodate
7524-474: The skate steady. There were holes in the footstock for leather straps to fasten it to the foot. The metal blades were slightly higher at the back than the front. In the 1890s, fen skaters started to race in Norwegian style skates. On Saturday 1 February 1879, a number of professional ice skaters from Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire met in the Guildhall, Cambridge, to set up the National Skating Association ,
7623-416: The skater. While serious injury is rare, a number of short track speed skaters have been paralysed after a heavy fall when they collided with the boarding. A fall can be fatal if a helmet is not worn to protect against severe head injury . Accidents are rare but there is a risk of injury from collisions, particularly during hockey games or in pair skating . A significant danger when skating outdoors on
7722-521: The skaters completed two rounds of the course, with three barrel turns. If there were 16 competitors the winner and runner-up would have skated a total of 6 miles. There were also matches for women although they did not attract quite the same attention or prize money as the men's matches. The Cambridge Chronicle , after a long account of a match at Ely in February 1855 in which Turkey Smart beat Larman Register to win £7, told readers merely that "the white-bonneted Mepal girl won 10 shillings easily, and beat
7821-402: The skating conditions. It means that the deformation caused by the skate is plastic rather than elastic. The skate ploughs through the ice in particular due to the sharp edges. Thus another component has to be added to the friction: the "ploughing friction". The calculated frictions are of the same order as the measured frictions in real skating in a rink. The ploughing friction decreases with
7920-401: The trunk of a willow tree, not far distant from his own house at Upwell, on the river Cam. In January 1821 Staplee the younger beat May of Wisbech in a two-mile challenge at Crowland Wash for five Guineas a side. In 1823 a Wisbech coach is shown in the background of a Chatteris skating match illustration by George Cruikshank. The cold winters of the 1820s and 1830s saw a number of fenmen make
8019-401: The use of skates that could be screwed to the heels of boots (rather than tied to the boot) was the accomplished figure skater 'Captain' Robert Jones in his 1772 book A Treatise on Skating . Skates based on his designs were soon in manufacture in London. In February 1810 a newspaper reported "On Monday, se'nnight, a silver cup was skaited for upon the rivet at Wisbech, which drew, together
8118-409: The velocity V , since the pressure in the water layer increases with V and lifts the skate ( aquaplaning ). As a result the sum of the water-layer friction and the ploughing friction only increases slightly with V , making skating at high speeds (>90 km/h) possible. A person's ability to ice skate depends on the roughness of the ice, the design of the ice skate, and the skill and experience of
8217-598: The water, they might not be able to find the hole in the ice through which they have fallen. Although this can prove fatal, it is also possible for the rapid cooling to produce a condition in which a person can be revived up to hours after falling into the water. Experts have warned not to ice skate alone, and also warned parents not to leave children unattended on a frozen body of water. A number of recreational and sporting activities take place on ice: The following sports and games are also played on ice, but players are not required to wear ice skates. Nordelph Nordelph
8316-419: The winner of each heat went through to the next round. The farmers and gentry who organised the matches would raise a subscription for prize money. £10 was a typical purse in the mid-nineteenth century, with about half going to the winner and the rest divided amongst the other runners according to how far they had got in the contest. This was at a time when agricultural labourers typically earned about 11 shillings
8415-422: Was a cold one; during December and January, 21-year-old George "Fish" Smart, a nephew of "Gutta Percha" See and "Turkey" Smart's wife, notched up victories at Welney , Mepal , Ely , Bluntisham , Upwell , Wormegay , Huntingdon , Peterborough , Swavesey and Thorney . At Spalding there was a dead heat in the final between Fish Smart and Tom Watkinson and there was a defeat by Albert Dewsberry of Coveney in
8514-411: Was decided by fifteen most ably contested heats, over an excellent course of fine ice, in length about half a mile; twice round for a heat, making a distance of nearly two miles. The winner Thomas Youngs is allowed to be the fastest and most elegant skater in England. Much credit is due to the gentlemen who had the management of the sports — a band of music was provided, which played many excellent tunes in
8613-409: Was done to save energy during winter journeys. True skating emerged when a steel blade with sharpened edges was used. Skates now cut into the ice instead of gliding on top of it. The Dutch added edges to ice skates in the 13th or 14th century. These ice skates were made of steel, with sharpened edges on the bottom to aid movement. The fundamental construction of modern ice skates has stayed largely
8712-441: Was exceptionally cold and a month's frost from the end of January saw Turkey Smart triumphant in twelve matches, skating to easy victories at Outwell , Welney, Benwick , Mepal , March, Deeping , Ely , Peterborough and the 'Grand Skating Match' for a ten Guineas prize at Wisbech . There was one defeat, at Salter's Lode . His winnings came to a total of £54 15 shillings and a leg of mutton. The Cambridge Chronicle described how
8811-409: Was felt by the friends of Ridlington, but Needham again gallantly proved to them their error. During the season, Needham has run 21 matches, and won 18. Two of his conquerors he has since beaten, the third he has not had an opportunity of again trying, Tomlinson was declared to be the swiftest of any on the course: the progress he has made since the commencement of the season is most surprising. In 1841
8910-600: Was founded in 1892 as the first international ice skating organisation in Scheveningen , in the Netherlands. The Union created the first codified set of figure skating rules and governed international competition in speed and figure skating. The first Championship, known as the Championship of the Internationale Eislauf-Vereinigung, was held in Saint Petersburg in 1896. The event had four competitors and
9009-490: Was hard, but some large cracks made the course dangerous, and there were several falls. James Smart, ten miles champion, did the fastest course—namely, 9 min. 52 2-5 sec. He was beaten in the fourth round by Fish Smart, the champion, by half a yard ; but in the final heat Fish Smart broke a skate, and Carter, of Welney, won first honours. James Smart took the British professional title from his older brother Fish Smart at Lingay Fen in January 1889 and dominated fen skating for
9108-408: Was measured out on the ice, and a barrel with a flag on it placed at either end. For a one-and-a-half-mile race the skaters completed two rounds of the course, with three barrel turns. In the Fens, skates were called pattens , fen runners, or Whittlesey runners. The footstock was made of beechwood . A screw at the back was screwed into the heel of the boot, and three small spikes at the front kept
9207-483: Was published in London in 1772. The book titled The Art of Figure Skating , written by a British artillery lieutenant, Robert Jones, describes basic figure skating forms such as circles and figure eights. The book was written solely for men, as women did not normally ice skate in the late 18th century. It was with the publication of this manual that ice skating split into its two main disciplines, speed skating and figure skating. The founder of modern figure skating as it
9306-476: Was set up in Cambridge in 1879 and took the top few fen skaters to the Netherlands, where they had a brief moment of international glory with James Smart becoming Britain's only ever world champion speed skater . The twentieth century saw a decline in the popularity of fen skating. While it is not known when and how metal-bladed skates were introduced into Britain from the continent, where they had been in use since
9405-477: Was the second half of the nineteenth century, when thousands of people turned out to watch such legendary skaters as Larman Register, William "Turkey" Smart , (William) "Gutta Percha" See, and brothers George 'Fish' Smart (1858-1909) and James Smart (1865-1928). Members of the Bury Fen Bandy Club published rules of the game in 1882, and introduced it into other countries. The National Skating Association
9504-430: Was vicar of Nordelph from 1909 to 1944. In 1912, there were also Wesleyan Methodist and United Methodist chapels. In 1830 it was reported that the rector of Upwell, near Wisbech, in order to furnish to the inhabitants of Nordelph, four miles distant from the parish church, an opportunity of attending the sacred place, had engaged a packet for £l2 per annum, to convey them regularly every Sunday morning. Those who know
9603-554: Was well established and the results of matches were reported in the press. In January 1763 on the river at Wisbech, Hare of Thorney raced against a Danish sailor, the first day for 20 guineas and the second for 50 Guineas, the Dane winning both races. Also in January John Lamb and George Fawn skated between Wisbech and Whittlesey, around 25 km (15 miles) for Ten Guineas a side. Lamb came home first in 46 minutes. An early advocate of
9702-402: Was won by Gilbert Fuchs . A skate can glide over ice because there is a layer of ice molecules on the surface that are not as tightly bound as the molecules of the mass of ice beneath. These molecules are in a semiliquid state, providing lubrication. The molecules in this "quasi-fluid" or "water-like" layer are less mobile than liquid water, but are much more mobile than the molecules deeper in
9801-431: Was won by Fred Ward of Tydd Fen. That year, for the first time, the amateur championship was won in a faster time than the professional championship. In January 1891 for G 'Fish' Smart the N.S.A. arranged a flying start mile which he completed in 3 mins. A Grand Skating Match was held on 21 January 1891 on the River Nene at Wisbech, the two veterans ‘Turkey Smart (aged 61) and George ‘Gutta Percha’ See (aged 59) took part in
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