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Some people say that the Dutch were the first skaters. They would skate from town to town to communicate. But steel blades for ice skates were brought in by the American, Edward Bushnell. Jackson Haines, another American, gave skating its grace by putting in dance. Ice skating has been in the Olympics the longest.

Figure Skating, their is basically one piece of equipment need (unless their are props), and that is the ice skates. But the ice skates have may parts that must be perfect in order to try to seek profection. There is the boot, the boot tongue, the blade, the hollow, and the toe pick. The boot is custom made to fit the skater, the are reinforced with heavy, stiff leather insides. The also make the boots have good ankle support. Boot tongues are wide with sponge or rubber padding so they are flexible. The blade, which is one of the most important parts of the skate, have a slight curve. To keep a sharp edge, they are made from time-tempered steel. Blades are sharpened so that they maintain a flat or concave cross section. The hollow is found on the middle of the bottom of the blade. It is a groove, that when is finely ground, can add control and speed. Teeth are trimmed into the toe of the blade, thus fitting the name, the toe pick.

One great ice skater is Oksana Baiul  In. She was born on Wednesday, November 16, 1977. She participated in the Lillehammer 1994  Olympics. Another great figure skater is Shizuka Arakawa. She was born on

Tuesday, December 29, 1981. She competed in the Turin 2006 Olympics.

For the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics the U.S. is sending Rachael Flatt, Tanith Belbin, Meryl Davis, Caydee Denney , Amanda Evora, Keauna McLaughlin , Emily Samuelsom, and Mirai Nagasu.

References "Individual Womens Figure Skating" from Olympics.org http://www.olympic.org/en/content/Sports/All-Sports/Skating/Figure-skating/All-Figure-Skating-Events/IndividualWomen/

"Athletes: United States" from NBC http://www.nbcolympics.com/teamusa/athletes/index.html