What is defined as a sport is a matter of personal opinion rather than of an actual definition. For me, the sport I do is figure skating, which to me is a true sport. Many people question or even accuse figure skating of not being a sport at all without truly experiencing, or even seeing, the sport in action. I have been participating in the sport for eleven years and counting, and I think it is important for people to understand how demanding the sport is. So before you start telling yourself figure skating is definitely not a sport, please consider reading this article and watching videos of skaters in action.
The aspect of figure skating that I believe people should be educated about the most is the training part of it. Figure skating is not "twirls" like many people truly believe it to be. Figure skating demands hours of training on and off the ice. The average elite figure skater will skate anywhere from 12 to 36 hours a week (rough estimate). An elite skater will work on triple (3 rotations in the air) and quadruple (4 rotations in the air) jumps. These jumps take a lot of constant repetition, technique perfecting, and muscle power. Skaters take falls often when they skate. Unlike some other sports, there is hardly any padding to protect skaters from hard falls other than small butt-pads. Skaters are also at risk of cutting themselves from their skate blades, and crashing into other people on the ice.
An elite athlete will compete with a short and long program. At the highest level (senior) a short program ranges from 2:30 (minutes) to 2:50 (minutes). At senior a long program ranges from 4:00 (minutes) to 4:30 (minutes). In singles skating, men's programs are longer than women's.
An athlete must practice full run-throughs of their programs in order to physically prepare themselves for competitions. These programs can be very exhausting to your body, and require good stamina.
In order to complete complex spin positions and steps, a great amount of flexibility is required. Skaters often stretch after they skate to ensure their muscles do not tighten. Warming up prior to when they skate is also important for skaters to not strain their muscles by immediately causing them to work.
Another thing that makes figure skating such a demanding sport is its cost. According to a New York Times article about 1998 Olympic Champion Tara Lipinski, the cost of her elite training was "approaching $50,000" in one year. There are many aspects that go into the cost of figure skating. The list includes, but is not limited to paying for: skates, skate blade sharpening, ice time, coach(es), costume, off-ice training, etc. The money that is required for figure skaters to become elite athletes is a heavy sum, not far off from other popular sports today.
Figure skating, like any other sport, is tough. There are good days and there are bad days. It is tiring and requires a lot of patience and conditioning like any other sport. It is important to not make conclusions about figure skating without actually looking into it a bit. To me, figure skating is one of the most fun, free, beautiful things to do. Skating is a way to freely express yourself, and at the same time show your physical capabilities. So really, figure skating is much like any other sport.
Thanks for reading,
Brrett
