Is Ice Dancing A Sport?

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It upsets me when people question if figure skating in general and ice dancing in particular is a real sport. As much as I want to get angry, I think the real problem is miscommunication, i.e. the figure skating community turning up their noses at the assumptions they allow the general public to make. So, here is a short introduction to ice dancing and why it is a sport.

To become a member of the U.S. Olympic Figure Skating Ice Dancing Team, you must join U.S. Figure Skating, which allows you to test and compete in this Olympic qualifying system. In order to compete at the Olympics you have to pass a series of tests to make it to Senior Level - Compulsory Dances, Free Dance Tests, and Moves in the Field (Pre-Preliminary - Senior).

Before you make it to the Olympics, you compete is a series of qualifying competitions which give you the right to compete at the U.S. Nationals. For the 2010 Olympics, the U.S. sent the top three teams, but the number can vary between 1-3 teams depending on the U.S. placement at Worlds.

In the ice dancing competition there are three different dances that make up the total score. The Compulsory Dance is worth 10% of the total score. For me this is the most boring part of the ice dancing competition because everybody is skating the same dance so the event feels like a test session. Each year is a different dance, and this year it is "Tango Romantica". Here is an example.

The next dance is the Original Dance which is themed and worth 40% of the overall score. The theme for this year is ethnic and folk music, so each team must skate a program reflecting this theme.

The last dance is the Free Dance which is worth 50% of the total score and allows skaters the freedom to choose their own theme and music.

Look easy? Only if you've never skated before. Ice dancing uses your entire body and requires skaters to be very flexible and have a very strong core - no beer bellies here. Skating is brutal on the body, and injuries (knee, back, ankle, and even head) are common. Most talented skaters never make it to the Olympics.

I admit ice dancing is the most confusing skating discipline to watch because, as long as no one falls down, it is hard for non-ice dancers to understand why one team is better than the other. And the outfits can be extreme and ridiculous... But not all ice dancers are like that. The teams from the U.S. and Canada are definitely worth watching tonight.