History

The Amateur Skating Association of Canada was formed in 1887 and by 1914 a separate organization for figure skating had been established. This was known as the Figure Skating Department of the Amateur Skating Association of Canada and the initial members were Ottawa 's Minto Club and the Earl Grey Club in Montreal. The first official annual figure skating championships of Canada were held in the same year under the new organization.

Louis Rubenstein was the first president, a position he held until 1930. The department became known as the Canadian Figure Skating Association (CFSA) in 1939 and in 1947 the CFSA joined the International Skating Union and dropped its membership in the Amateur Skating Association of Canada. In 2000 the organization changed its name to Skate Canada.

In 1947 the CFSA national office was set up in Ottawa by Charles H. Cumming, the Association's Secretary-Treasurer. The office was run on a volunteer basis until 1958 when Cumming became the first full-time employee of the CFSA.

CFSA Milestones

1887

Amateur Skating Association of Canada for speed and figure skating formed by Louis Rubenstein of Montreal

1912

First artificial ice rink built in Vancouver

1914

First official Canadian Figure Skating Championships held in Montreal

The Figure Skating Department of the Amateur Skating Association of Canada formed to promote skating in Canada

1928

First year Canadians participate at a World Championships

1932

For the first time Canada hosts the World Figure Skating Championships in Montreal

1939

The Department renamed the Canadian Figure Skating Association

1947

The CFSA joins the International Skating Union and establishes a national office in Ottawa

Barbara Ann Scott wins European title and earns Canada its first-ever World Championship crown

1948

Barbara Ann Scott wins Senior Canadian, European, World and Olympic titles, becoming the first North American to win all three in the same year, the first Canadian figure skater to win an Olympic gold medal and the first to win back-to-back World titles

Suzanne Morrow and Wallace Distelmeyer perform first death spiral at international competition in its present day low position at the World Championships in Davos, Switzerland

1958

Charles H. Cumming hired as the CFSA's first full-time employee

1960

Canada hosts the World Championships in Vancouver

1962

Donald Jackson performs first triple Lutz in competition at the World Championships in Prague Czechoslovakia

1963

First CFSA logo developed

1965

Petra Burka performs first triple Salchow in competition at the World Championships in Springs, USA

1972

Canada hosts the World Championships in Calgary

1973

Skate Canada introduced as a major international event first location Calgary

1978

Canada hosts the World Championships in Ottawa

Vern Taylor performs first triple Axel in competition at the World Championships in Ottawa, Ontario

1981

For the first time Canada hosts the World Junior Championships in London

National Team concept conceived

1984

Canada hosts the World Championships in Ottawa

1985

The CFSA reconfirms its mandate to promote recreational and elite skating

1986

The CFSA adopts a new logo to reflect its continuing commitment to excellence

1987

Canada hosts the World Junior Championships in Kitchener

1988

Kurt Browning performs first quad toe-loop in competition at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary

Tracy Wilson and Robert McCall become Canada 's first ice dancers to medal at an Olympic Winter Games in Calgary, Alberta (bronze medal)

1990

The last figures are skated in international competition at the 1990 World Championships in Halifax (last man David Liu, TPE; last lady Zelijka Cizmesija, YUG)

The Canadian Figure Skating Hall of Fame is established and the first members inducted in a ceremony at the CFSA's annual meeting in Edmonton

The CFSA implements framework for Skating Unlimited new pre-school and adult recreational programs

1991

The Junior National Team is created

Elvis Stojko performs first quadruple combination jump (quad-toe/double toe) in competition at the World Championships in Munich, Germany

1992

Canada hosts the World Junior Championships in Hull, Quebec

1995

Canada hosts its first-ever ISU-sanctioned international precision skating event, Precision Canada International in Toronto

1996

Canada hosts the World Figure Skating Championships in Edmonton

1997

Canada hosts ISU Champions Series Final in Hamilton

Elvis Stojko performs first quadruple toe/triple toe loop combination in free program of the ISU Champions Series Final

Canada hosts 1998 World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Saint John, New Brunswick

Skate Canada Milestones

2000

Canadian Figure Skating Association changes its name to Skate Canada

First ever ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships held in Minneapolis, USA

2001

Canada hosts the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Vancouver and introduces SKATEFEST a cultural festival celebrating skating

2003

Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz win the first World Gold Ice Dance Medal for North America at the World Championships in Washington, DC.

2003

Skate Canada hosts the ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships in Ottawa.