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

_______________________________ 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

_____________________________ 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

___________________________ 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