Writing, singing, and listening to music. These three activities have been my hobbies, ever since I can remember. Within the last few years, I have adopted another hobby: watching figure skating. Ice shows and figure skating competitions; I am an avid fan of watching both.
Here are seven reasons I love watching figure skating in my leisure time:
1) The elements of sports and arts are combined in figure skating.
Although figure skating is considered as one of the sports from the Olympics, it is also a type of art that the figure skaters skate as part of their performances. The figure skaters, especially the renowned ones, do not solely compete in the competitions. They also cherish making each move and expression during the ice shows, as a way to convey the viewers a story.
Photo by Kirk Iai
2) The attires that the athletes wear during the shows and competitions are magnificent.
On the important days, instead of the regular sportswear, many of the figure skaters wear clothing with vivid colors and sparkles. Each color and sparkle on the attires are so beautiful and significant, as these help the figure skaters emphasize their personality and the story that they aspire to convey. There are figure skating clothing that does not involve sparkles, but even its impactful colors and design bring so much significance, as these tell the viewers who they are and the message they share on the ice.
3) The music from each performance is relaxing.
As a music lover, I relish listening to all kinds of songs, especially classical music. I love classics because its soft melodies are relaxing, and it refreshes myself, whenever I need to complete various tasks. Numerous songs incorporated in the figure skating performances involve classical music. That means, watching figure skating in the arena, or on the television (I usually watch it on the latter one) is a great way for me to take a little break. Although some of the songs chosen for the performances are not classical, I feel comfortable watching those because the ways that the figure skaters move match perfectly to the music.
Photo by Manfred Richter
4) The well-trained figure skaters can successfully jump and spin with their skating shoes.
Once learning how to simply skate on the ice, jumping and rotating on the ice may seem to be facile to accomplish. However, in reality, it is very difficult to jump and rotate, especially with the thin blades that are attached to skating shoes. Even the athletes, who are now professionals, needed to spend several years of effort before they mastered some of the special techniques. Salchow jump, axel jump, flying camel spin, layback spin, flying camel spin. The efficient use of the time that the performers spent on the ice helped them be able to make those moves successfully, and thus I totally respect their efforts.
5) Figure skating involves multiculturalism.
Just like any kind of sports and arts, figure skating is also a universal language. When it comes to international competitions and ice shows, figure skaters, who come from many different backgrounds, do not speak the same language. Although they might not understand the others’ languages, they can still build their sportsmanship and companionship with each other throughout watching each other figure skating. Thorough communications can be produced throughout figure skating, which helps this kind of sport and art be a part of multiculturalism.
6) Each performance further teaches the fans the importance of diligence, perseverance, and teamwork.
As I stated previously, it is necessary for the athletes to be strenuous, in order for them to master the techniques for the jumps and spins. Even if they are unable to succeed in any kind of jumps and/or spins within the time that they hope to accomplish it by, that does not at all mean that they can give up on mastering it. By continuing to practice it, they will be able to attain their goals. Moreover, it is not only the athletes themselves, but their relationships with their supporters, including their coaches, choreographers, etc. are important. The supporters are the ones who can directly continue to give the advice to figure skaters, which help make improvements to their performances.
The figure skaters’ performances convey how they cherish the values to diligence, perseverance, and teamwork. This, in turn, helps the viewers further recognize how it is important for all of us to always support others (people we know and don’t know), and never give up on working hard towards any of our goals.
Photo by Plush Design Studio
7) The well-trained figure skaters have a high level of time management skills.
The figure skaters spend quality time on the ice, and while they are off the ice, they engage themselves in education. Professional or not, they attend schools in some kinds of ways: regular schools (held several days a week, and attending as much they can), schools for athletes (attending only once a week with loads of assignments), online schools, and so on. Despite the tough training on the ice, they make sure to complete their homework from schools and spend quality time on studying. Furthermore, they also keep themselves busy with other activities, including ballet and pantomime, which can help them make move further elegant moves in figure skating.
The renowned figure skaters are given interviews, commercial offers, etc. from worldwide, which means they need to save time to complete those important tasks as well. Regardless of the amount of work they need to complete, they still make sure to try their very best in figure skating.
No matter how the performers can be hectic, they do not complain about their exhaustion; instead, they continue to focus on all kinds of tasks. They teach the viewers the importance of time management: everyone can manage to engage themselves in multiple activities and works, as long as he/she never forgets to concentrate on each of those.
By watching numbers of performers make moves on the ice, I have learned the virtues of figure skating, which has given me various inspirations throughout my college life so far. By the way, I have never taken any figure skating lessons before, but I am looking forward to starting it someday as a form of recreation!