Compulsory figures were formerly a segment of figure skating, from which
the sport derives its name. Requiring skaters to trace precise circles
while completing difficult turns and edges, these exercises made up
60 percent of the total score at most competitions around the world
until 1947. The simple figure-eight shape was executed by connecting two
circles; other figures included the three turn, the counter turn, the
rocker turn, the bracket turn, and the loop. Compulsory figures steadily
declined in importance, and in 1990 the International Skating Union
voted to discontinue them as a part of competitions. Although few
skaters continue to practice them, some skaters and coaches continue to
use them to develop alignment, core strength, body control, and
discipline. Since 2015, the World Figure Sport Society has conducted
festivals and competitions of compulsory figures, endorsed by the Ice
Skating Institute.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compulsory_figures>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1777:
American Revolutionary War: Sixteen-year-old Sybil Ludington
(statue pictured) rode forty miles (64 km) through the night to warn
militiamen under her father Henry's command that British troops were
planning to invade Danbury, Connecticut.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sybil_Ludington>
1970:
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) came into
being when the WIPO Convention entered into force.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Intellectual_Property_Organization>
2007:
Controversy surrounding the relocation of the Bronze Soldier of
Tallinn, a Soviet Red Army World War II memorial in Tallinn, Estonia,
erupted into mass protests and riots.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronze_Night>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
prozymite:
(Roman Catholicism, historical, derogatory) One who administers the
Eucharist with leavened bread, in particular a member of the Eastern
Orthodox Church.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/prozymite>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our
intelligence by means of our language.
--Ludwig Wittgenstein
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ludwig_Wittgenstein>