Ice skating

Ice skating is travelling on ice with skates, narrow blade-like devices moulded into special boots (or, more primitively, without boots, tied to regular footwear). It is mainly done for recreation and as a sport.

It is possible on canals and lakes, etc. after it has been freezing for some time, and at indoor and outdoor skating tracks and areas with artificial cooling.

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In some countries with a temperate climate, e.g. the Netherlands, frozen canals and lakes are fairly rare, but skating is popular where these are encountered.

A number of sports are based on the principle of ice skating:

• figure skating
• ice hockey
• short track speed skating
• speed skating
• synchronized skating