Ice skating Coloring Pages

Ancient Ice skating made from animal bones

Ice skating is a fun activity and sport where you glide over the ice on thin blades attached to the bottom of your shoes.
It started a very long time ago.
It is said that the oldest Ice skating used carved bones from animals like horses or cows, tied to feet with leather straps.
Around Finland in Northern Europe, people think bone Ice skating was used as long as 4,000 to 5,000 years ago.
That area has many lakes. It is said that people used it as a tool to travel across frozen lakes in winter much more easily than walking.

Gliding the way you want with metal blades

Before long, metal blades were used instead of bones.
It is said that in the Netherlands around the 13th to 14th centuries, people sharpened the edges of the blades so they could grip the ice tightly.
The blade on today's Ice skating shoes is called a blade. You can see a long, thin blade on the bottom of the shoes in the 1st coloring page, too.
High-top shoes that you lace up tightly help support your ankles so they do not wobble.

Why do you glide on ice?

It is thought that blades glide because there is a very thin, water-like layer on the surface of the ice.
But actually, we still do not know for sure why that layer forms.
There are several ideas. Some think the ice melts when the blade presses on it. Others think it melts from friction heat. Some even think a thin water-like layer is on the ice from the very beginning.
Because the edges of thin blades bite into the ice, you can change direction or stop.

Figure, Speed, and Ice Hockey

There are many types of Ice skating.
Figure skating is a sport where you glide to music and compete on the beauty of jumps and spins.
Speed skating is a race for speed around a 400-meter rink.
Ice hockey is a team sport where you hit a flat disk called a puck with sticks to score in the other team's goal.
Just like skiing over the snow, all of these are Winter Olympic sports.

Ice skating in Japan and Lake Suwa

It is said that Ice skating was first taught in Japan in Sapporo during the Meiji period.
In 1877, an American teacher who came to Sapporo Agricultural College is said to have shown everyone how to glide in Ice skating shoes.
At Lake Suwa in Nagano Prefecture, Ice skating became popular on the frozen lake near the end of the Meiji period.
Leather Ice skating shoes were very expensive. So craftspeople in Shimosuwa made "Geta skates," which had iron blades attached to the bottoms of wooden clogs.
They even held races around Lake Suwa. In winter, trains ran to bring people from far-away towns just to go Ice skating.
The 3rd coloring page shows family and friends gliding on a natural rink on a frozen lake at the foot of snowy mountains.

Smoothly gliding on an outdoor rink

The 2nd coloring page shows children gliding on an outdoor Ice skating rink.
One child is smoothly gliding while spreading both arms out to keep balance.
The other child is holding onto the handrail at the edge of the rink, moving slowly.
When you try Ice skating for the first time, start by holding onto the handrail to get used to how the ice feels.

Leave some white for the ice, and use light blue

Here is a trick: do not color all the ice on the rink or lake too dark.
Leave some white areas while gently adding light blue. That will make it look like slick, shiny ice!
You can leave the lines made by the skate blades white, or trace them with a slightly darker light blue.
If you make the far ice lighter and the close ice a bit darker, you can show how big the lake is in the third coloring page.

Color the blades silver and the boots any color you like

The blades on the first coloring page are metal, so color them gray and leave a few white spots. That will make them look shiny silver!
Figure skates are often white or black, but you can use your favorite colors on your coloring page.
If you color the laces differently from the boots, the crisscross laces and the bow will really stand out.
Light blue snowflakes and red or yellow mittens will make your picture look bright and wintry!

Use warm colors for winter clothes

The children on the second coloring page are wearing winter clothes like knit hats, scarves, down jackets, and mittens.
In the middle of white ice and snow, warm colors like red, orange, and yellow really pop out!
Matching the color of the knit hat and the scarf will make a cute winter outfit.
The third coloring page has many people, so change the clothing colors for each person to make them easy to find.

Use white and shadows for snowy trees and mountains

Just like the Snowman, it is best to leave the snowy parts white.
Only color where you can see tree leaves or mountain rocks. Add a little bit of light blue or light purple for shadows on the snow.
That will make the snow look soft and fluffy!
A light gray or light blue sky makes it look like a snowy winter sky.
Color the cabin brown on the third coloring page and keep the snow on the roof white to make a cozy spot to rest.

The jagged toe is for jumping

On the toe of a figure skate blade, there is a jagged toe pick.
Skaters push this toe pick into the ice when they jump or start a spin.
Speed skating and ice hockey blades do not have these jagged teeth.
If you look at the shoes in the first coloring page, they have small toe picks on the front, so they are figure skates.

"Figure" means a shape

The word figure means a shape or drawing.
In the past, Ice skating had a game where skaters drew exact circles and other set shapes on the ice with their blades.
That event is not in competitions today, and now skaters show off jumps, spins, and steps set to music instead.

Do not go onto frozen lakes or ponds by yourself

Even if frozen lakes and ponds look safe, they can have thin ice that you cannot see.
If the ice breaks and you fall into the water, it is very cold and dangerous for your life.
At Lake Suwa, the ice has been thin in many years, so people say no skate rinks have been built on top of the lake since the late 1980s.
Please never go onto frozen ponds or lakes by yourself.
Enjoy Ice skating with an adult at a proper skate rink.