Abbotsford’s Lisa Elmore is returning to the Rockies later this month to compete at the 2019 World Figure and Fancy Skating Championships and Festival.
The event, which occurs in Vail, Colo. from Sept. 26 to 29, features skaters competing in the art of tracing figures onto the ice. Also known as compulsory figure skating, the style of skating once accounted for up to 60 per cent of the score in singles figure skating competitions.
It meant that skaters could build up a big lead in that portion of the competition, and not worry about the free skate.
More television coverage of the sport led to more importance being placed on the free skate, and by 1968 the International Skating Union began to reduce the worth of figures and introduced the short program in 1973. The sport of figure skating shifted to more of a focus on athleticism, and figures were worth only 20 per cent by 1989 before they were removed the next year.
Since its removal from international competitions in 1990, compulsory figure skating has mostly disappeared from ice rinks around the world. But in recent years, the sport has made a bit of a comeback, and 2019 marks the fifth anniversary of the World Figure and Fancy Skating Championships and Festival.
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Elmore competed at the 2018 edition of the event, and said 2019 brings with it some changes to the format.
“They have made it a lot more challenging this year as eight out of the 15 figures this year are brand new and they have pulled a couple of figures out of the skating archives for us to compete,” she said.
The event opens with practices, workshops, festival competitions and exams for aspiring skaters, followed by the opening ceremonies of the event.
Competitions include men’s, women’s, junior and team. For more details on the event, visit worldfigurechampionship.com.