Human beings like to work and to play on a daily basis. In fact, it is believed that many people live for the weekend. This is because on weekends people can and often do relax and enjoy many activities with their friends and family. What activities we enjoy might depend on the season of the year. In the spring we might enjoy kite flying, going to baseball games, gardening, and picnicking in the park. In addition, some people like to look for butterflies in the springtime. In the summer we might enjoy swimming at the beach or at a swimming pool. In addition, summertime is the perfect time for barbecuing hamburgers, hot dogs, and even lamb. Plus, in the summer we might make ice cream and pie to take to a holiday party. In addition, in order to beat the heat, we could go to the movie theater. In the fall we might watch the leaves change color and take a trip to a pumpkin patch or two in order to create homemade pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving. In the winter it is time to build snowmen, sled, and ice skate at a rink, or a pond, or at Rockefeller Center in New York City. There are a few types of skating that people of all ages can and do enjoy. There is roller skating, speed skating, skateboarding, and ice skating. Many people love to ice skate because ice skating can be done indoors and outdoors. In addition, ice skating is a beautiful sport because it combines both the athleticism of a sport and the gracefulness of a ballet recital. Let’s take a closer look at the world of ice skating.

In order to ice skate people need ice skates and an ice skating rink. Ice skating can just be a fun activity that people enjoy in the wintertime with their friends and family. It can also be an activity that both professional and amateur athletes enjoy as a livelihood. Learning to ice skate takes a long time. It also takes a long to time to ice skate well enough to ice skate competitively. Ice skating is also called figure skating. A figure skating competition is a judged sports activity in figure skating. In fact, the United States Figure Skating Association holds national championships in five skill divisions; from highest to lowest the divisions are: senior, junior, novice, intermediate, and juvenile. There are also four different kinds of skaters at a figure skating competition. There are single skaters, pair skaters, and ice dance skaters. The single skaters’ competition is broken down into a women’s competition and a men’s competition. Scott Hamilton, Evan Lysachek, Kurt Browning, and Michelle Kwan are examples of single skaters. Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto are an American ice dancing team. Plus, John Baldwin Jr. and Rena Inowe are pair skaters. Ice skating can be seen September through April on television. Ice skating has become very popular since 1994 because of the attack on Nancy Kerrigan in Detroit Michigan at the National Championships. She was attacked by a man with a baton. It was alleged that Tonya Harding, Kerrigan’s ice skating rival had something to do with the attack. She denied having any knowledge of the planned attack on Nancy Kerrigan. Harding was later convicted on obstructing justice during the investigation into the attack. Despite this incident, people still love to ice skate for fun and relaxation.