Figure skating followed closely, as an elegant refinement of skating sport, with the purpose of gracefully executing spins and designs on ice. In the beginning speed skating was the common man's sport and figure skating the aristocrats. Hockey and bandy came along in recent years, as a way of adding speed to games and team competitions. Speed skating on ice today Modern speed skating sport maintains the ancient purpose of going as fast as possible on ice. On a 111m track, inside a typical hockey rink, speed skaters must lean into the corners at a 65 degree angle to maintain speeds up to 30 miles per hour.
Skaters can go much faster today, than even a few years ago.
Just as the invention of steel blades and firm attachment of blade and boot changed skating technique in the 19th century, refrigerated ice and indoor facilities have changed speed skating methods in the 20th century. Ice makers were dependent upon the whims of nature for the quality of the ice surface. Now, with controlled conditions of an indoor refrigerated track, ice makers are learning to produce a nearly perfect ice surface. There was a dramatic increase in skating speed in the 50's as skaters learned to use strength and power in the skating stroke. Further increases in speed occurred in the 60's and 70's as speed skating-specific training methods developed and refrigerated tracks were constructed.