Lace Up: A History of Skates in Canada

Lace Up: A History of Skates in Canada by Jean-Marie Leduc with Sean Graham and Julie Léger was an informative look back at the evolution of skates and the sports that use them. Leduc, the owner of 350 pairs of skates, ironically cannot skate himself:

“I have always loved to watch skating. Because I have problems with my feet, though, I have never been able to skate. I passed along the one pair of skates I had to my cousin because I could not use them.”

Over the years he has acquired a collection that includes pairs from three thousand years ago made from whale bones and buffalo ribs, as well as more contemporary styles and those who were owned by such skaters as Olympic gold medalist Gaétan Boucher. I wonder how he obtained the final pair that is depicted in his book, a pair of blades from the nineteenth century imprinted with “Marsden Brothers Skate Manufacturers. By Special appointment to Her Majesty & The Royal Family, Sheffield.”

Leduc revealed how slight improvements in skate design helped hockey players, speed skaters and figure skaters perform better. Whether it was by making the skates lighter to wear, curving the blade ever so slightly, or filling in the gap between the blade and sole to prevent pucks from flying through, skate manufacturers were constantly trying to improve their product. I never would have thought that skate anatomy could be so interesting.

Sometimes innovations in skate manufacturing ended up as failed experiments. Punching holes into the blades to reduce their weight never caught on and the idea to split the blade into two, in effect giving each skate two blades with four edges, did not produce the results the manufacturers wanted.

Leduc provides good advice to people who want to learn to skate:

“I have always maintained that if you want to learn how to skate, pick up a pair of long blades, even if they are the sort you have to strap onto your boots. They are so much easier to begin on than short blades. Falling down on long blades is not easy to do–not only are they longer but they have a smaller rocker, which makes balance much easier to maintain. On hockey or figure skates, you can fall to the side or forward or backward. On long skates, you can only fall to the side. And if you start with long blades, moving to short blades is easy.”

Lace Up is filled with photos of old skates, famous skates, paintings and drawings depicting skaters as well as photos of skating paraphernalia such as sharpening machines and advertisements. 

Find this book in the Mississauga Library System's on-line catalogue