Chief among winter sports is skating.  There is no healthier recreation, provided that the ice is safe.  Even in the coldest weather with the ice a foot thick or more we must always be sure to be on the lookout for air-holes or thin places over springs.  It is said that ice an inch thick will hold the weight of a man, but it is better to be sure than to be sorry, and three or four inches are much safer.

[Illustration:  The club skate model]

A few years ago the height of the skater’s art was so called “fancy or figure” skating, but recently the tendency has been for speed rather than for grace and the old-fashioned club skates have been replaced by racing or hockey skates with much longer runners.  Fancy skating for prizes is governed by rules just as any other game or sport.  The contestants do not attempt figures of their own invention but strive to excel in the so-called “compulsory” figures.  A fancy skater can practise from diagrams and directions just as one might practise moves in a game of chess.  In printed directions for fancy skating the following abbreviations are used for the strokes: 

    R—­right
    L—­left
    F—­forward
    B—­backward
    O—­outside
    I—­inside

    T—­three
    LP—­loop
    B—­bracket
    RC—­rocker
    C—­counter

Supposing the figure to be executed to be the well-known “figure eight.”  It would be described as follows: 

R-F-O L-F-O.  R-F-I L-F-I.  R-B-O L-B-O.  R-B-I L-B-I.

By referring to the above table the skater can easily determine just what strokes are necessary to produce the figure properly.

Racing skates should be attached to shoes of special design either by screws or rivets.  The most important thing is to have the blades carefully ground by an expert.  They should be keen enough to cut a hair.  To become a fast skater, practise if possible with an expert.  Have him skate ahead of you and measure your stroke with his.  By keeping your hands clasped behind your back your balance will not only be greatly improved but your endurance will be doubled.  The sprinting stroke is a direct glide ahead with the foot straight.  A trained skater can go very long distances with very little fatigue but one must carefully measure his speed to the distance to be travelled.  When you can cover a measured mile in three and one-half minutes you may consider yourself in the class of fast skaters.

[Illustration:  A hockey skate]

Hockey skates are somewhat shorter than racing skates although built on the same general lines, the standard length being from nine and one-half to eleven and one-half inches.  Hockey is one of the best winter games either outdoors or in a rink.  The game of shinney or “bandy” as it is called in England has been modified in this country by substituting a flat piece of rubber weighing a pound called a “puck” for the india rubber lacrosse ball, which weighs but four ounces.  The best hockey sticks are made of Canadian rock elm.