Whockey Talk

Whockey Talk Blog

  • A “pond”ering Question:

    By Jane Daley

    Who Invented the Ice Skate?

    Cow bones must have been a crude and clunky way to skate. It’s hard to believe that the original ice skates were made of animal bones and date back to before 1800 BCE. The users of these bony Bauers weren’t out on the pond trying to beat each other to the puck. The utilization of ice skates was based on the need to travel through difficult terrain. Little did these early inventors know that their invention would evolve into a multitude of international sports competitions, bringing smiles and laughter to children as they took their first steps onto the ice.

    While there is mixed evidence and information on the exact date of the origin of ice skates, and it is unknown who made the very first pair, it is clear that it was a long time ago. There is evidence that the earliest skates date back to 1800 BCE in Scandinavia (Mayer). Based on drawings and literature from the Middle Ages, researchers learned that the first skates were made of bone and were utilized to make it easier to travel on icy surfaces. Sticks were used to help propel and steer on the skates. Interestingly, because the bones contain fat, it helped to reduce friction and allowed easier gliding (Mayer).

    The design of ice skates underwent significant transformation in response to shifting functional demands and technological advancements. As Mayer explains, early skates lacked sharp edges and had flat, slippery bottoms, which limited their effectiveness for speed and movement. After 1200 AD, skate design evolved to include wood and steel, with leather straps on top to fasten it to the foot (Riedell). By 1572, the first metal skates were made (Hagen History Center). Straps continued to be used to anchor the skates to the foot. Skaters were gliding even better as the transformation of skates continued. Skating as a sport began in the 13th and 14th centuries, pushing forward the need for further advancements in design. In the 15th century, the style of the metal blade changed to have a curve on the end. From the 18th to 20th centuries, the blade continued to evolve as the purposes for ice skates expanded.

    Today, ice skates are used for much more than traversing across icy terrain. New terrain has been discovered in the form of figure skating, speed skating, and ice hockey. For these uses, the type of blade and boot has been adapted to assist with support and performance (TheSportsReviewer.com). One of the biggest improvements in ice skates is the “modern blade,” which is thought to have “revolutionized the sport of ice skating” (TheSportsReviewer.com, sec. Advancements in Ice Skate Technology). Today, a high-quality steel blade is used, and the design of the blade has become curved, which assists in control of the skate edges for better turns and maneuverability on the ice. Blades can also be profiled today, sharpened at a certain angle, to accommodate a skater’s preference. That preference extends to the ice hockey boot as well, customizing it to fit a person’s foot and ankle perfectly. The ice skaters of yesteryear would have been amazed!

    It’s amazing to think that what started off as people sliding across the ice on cow bones has turned into the speed of hockey players, the spins of figure skaters, and the laughter of kids learning to skate for the first time. From survival to sport, ice skates have literally carried people through centuries of change. The next time you see a metal blade carve a graceful line across the ice, please remember that it all started with a simple idea to move a little easier across the frozen world.

    Works Cited

    Bellis, Mary. History of Ice Skates. http://www.theinventors.org/library/inventors/bliceskates.htm.

    Hagen History Center. “Did You Know the First Ice Skates Were Made of Bones?” Hagen

    History Center, www.hagenhistory.org/blog/did-you-know-the-first-ice-skates-were-

    made-of-bones.

    Mayer, Johanna. “The History of Ice Skates.” Science Friday, 14 Mar. 2018,

    http://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/history-ice-skates.

    Riedell. “When Were Ice Skates Invented & Who Invented Them?” Riedell Ice, 7 June

    2023, ice-blog.riedellskates.com/when-were-ice-skates-invented-who-invented-them.

    TheEvolutionOfTheSkate. http://www.skatingaheadofthecurve.com/TheEvolutionOfTheSkate.html.

    TheSportsReviewer.com. “The History of Ice Skating: From Ancient Times to Modern Sport |

    TheSportsReviewer.com.” TheSportsReviewer.com, 17 Feb. 2024,

    thesportsreviewer.com/the-history-of-ice-skating-from-ancient-times-to-modern-sport.

  • Please Just Watch Me Play

    By Jane Daley

    The sun was just rising, and I could see my breath as I dashed into the rink with my bag. The damp smell permeated the air. Familiar and gross, but comforting. Another early Saturday morning with the team. But this team was different. This team was special. I was 2 or 3 years younger than everyone else, and the coach let me skate and shoot as much as I wanted. My heart filled with excitement and my blood pulsed through my veins as I stepped onto the ice. Here we go!

    “Girls can’t possibly play hockey as well as boys. I mean, really, what do you expect?”

    “There is no way girls can skate that fast. There is no way they can handle a puck like that. Look at his stance?”

    “Girls don’t skate that way. Look at his hair, it’s short.  That’s a boy. They are definitely cheating.”

    “This is bull. Let’s find out. Who should we get to take a picture?”

    “Lou will do it, he’s pissed. OK good, we’ll report them.”

    All of this chatter behind the scenes. But all I was doing was putting one foot in front of the other on the ice. Oblivious to the rising anger in the stands and the plan for strangers to try and reveal what they thought was a team pimping out a boy hockey player as a girl.

    “Jane, get your stuff and get out of the rink quickly!”

    “Why? Is everything ok? What happened?” I was scared, why wasn’t anyone talking to me? I had a great game. Isn’t this supposed to be a time to celebrate?

    I hurried to get changed. My friends were laughing and dancing their Tik Tok dances. I had cooled down, but started to feel beads of sweat on my forehead. I knew something wasn’t right. My mom’s face looked serious as she waited outside the locker room. Did I do something wrong? She grabbed my hand and led me down the long, damp hallway in a deliberate gait. I stumbled to keep up with her. She stopped and turned to me, “Jane we are going to go right to the car and I’ll explain when we get there.”

    A man. About six feet tall. Holding a phone to take pictures. Pictures of me. It’s true. They thought I was a boy. The parents on the other team didn’t believe a girl could play hockey that well. They wanted to expose a drama that didn’t exist. They thought taking a picture of me would prove I was a boy and cement their misguided perception.

    Mr. and Mrs. Daley, do you have a minute?” my coach asked.

    “Ya, sure, absolutely,” my mom quickly responded.

    “Well I wasn’t going to say anything, but this has sort of been happening all season and I didn’t want to draw you into it. But after almost every game, the coach of the opposing teams calls to ask us how we got a waiver.”

    “A waiver for what?” my dad asked.

    “To have a boy play on the team,” coach answered.

    Why couldn’t they just have been happy to see me play?

  • The Lamoureux Sisters Dared to Make History

    By Jane Daley

    Dare to Make History, Chasing a Dream and Fighting for Equity

    By: Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson and Monique Lamoureux-Morando

                   Dare to Make History is a memoir and inspirational autobiography that empowers young women to chase their dreams. The Lamoureux sisters are three-time Olympic ice hockey medalists from the 2010, 2014 and 2018 winter Olympics. In the book, they detail their path from growing up in Grand Forks, North Dakota to reaching one of the highest goals in women’s ice hockey by winning a gold medal in the Olympics. That path has not been easy for them, or other women, fighting for equality in the ice hockey world. The book recognizes their climb to the top of success in women’s ice hockey, and sends a message of empowerment, hope and a look to the future for women’s ice hockey.

                   The book is structured as an intimate conversation with each of the sisters. It is an active discussion, where each sister delivers their message and interpretation on the events or topic at hand. This structure keeps the book lively and the reader can see that although they are twins, they have different perspectives and experiences to share. In creating this structure, they allowed the reader to have a “private” conversation with each sister. The book vividly carries the reader in a journey through time, as we skate alongside the Lamoureux sisters’ competitive climb to the top of women’s ice hockey.

                   Dare to Make History is not just a look back at the sisters’ path to success, but a chronicle of the history that many young girls and women faced, and continue to face, in ice hockey. From the beginning of their careers as mites on the ice, the sisters experienced discrimination from others as the only girls on the team. Onlookers doubted they could play with boys, and it was up to them to prove them wrong. This anecdote was one of many in the book that provides inspiration and hope as the twins learn of the challenges early on in life.

                  This early fight for equality as a child was a foreshadowing of what was to come.  As the sisters got older, they fought that fight on the big stage.  They engaged USA Hockey in a battle for equality starting 2015 to expand marketing, programming and opportunities for girls and women in hockey. They supported other nations (Sweden) in their quest for equality in 2019. They helped to achieve a maternity policy for women hockey players, and were the first two women to take advantage of this policy. The sisters joined together with other female hockey leaders to create the Professional Women’s Hockey Player Association (PWHPA) in 2019. The PWHPA committed to not play that year in an effort to spread the hope for equality by playing 6 games in the US and Canada and raise awareness of women’s ice hockey. These are a few examples of the obstacles they faced and overcame. This book provides an emotional and inspiring view of those events.

    Dare to Make History is a must read for every young girl playing hockey. It is literally a recipe for success, grit and determination. The lessons learned in this book are real. And the structure of the book makes this an easy read, even for a younger reader. The book leaves the reader with a strong message, that chasing your dream of success and equality isn’t just for you, but it’s for the next generation to come and it’s well worth it.

  • A break from the Ice

    By Jane Daley

    I sit still upon the boat
    To hear the ocean in the breeze
    To feel the salt upon my skin
    To see the sun setting on the horizon
    To think about nothing
    To steal the day from the chaos
    To put this memory in my bank
    I am now at peace

  • First Steps

    By Jane Daley

    Like a diamond cutting a piece of glass
    My first steps are clean and precise
    The wind in my ears is numbing
    The pain in my legs is growing
    My heart is beating fast
    I feel the cool breath in and out, in and out
    Steady now as I catch my breath
    The warmup is over and the work begins
    The horn blows and my feet ignite on the ice
    My thinking stops
    My body responds