If one is fortunate enough to live in a part of the country where they
have old-fashioned winters, the possibilities for outdoor sports are
very great and the cold weather may be made the best part of the year
for healthful outdoor exercise. To enjoy winter recreations properly
we must have proper clothing. An ordinary overcoat is very much out of
place, except possibly for sleighing. The regulation costume for
almost any outdoor sport in winter is a warm coat, a heavy sweater,
woollen trousers and stockings, and stout leather shoes. If in
addition we have woollen gloves or mittens and a woollen skating cap
or toque, we shall be enabled to brave the coldest kind of weather,
provided of course that we have warm woollen underwear. Various
modifications in this costume such as high hunting boots, or leggings
and a flannel shirt worn under the sweater are possible. In the far
North, the universal winter footwear is moccasins. We must be careful
not to dress too warmly when we expect to indulge in violent exercise.
Excessive clothing will render us more liable to a sudden check of
perspiration, a consequent closing of the pores and a resulting cold.
Rubber boots or overshoes are very bad if worn constantly. The rubber,
being waterproof, holds in the perspiration and we often find our
stockings damp even when the walking is dry. Rubber boots also make
our feet tender and cause cold feet. Tight shoes are also bad for the
reason that they check circulation. The best footwear for a boy who
lives in the country will be Indian moccasins or shoepacs worn with
several pairs of lumbermen’s woollen stockings. Such footwear would
not do for skating, as they have no soles, but for outdoor tramping in
the snow they are just the thing. No leather is thoroughly waterproof
against snow water, but by frequent greasing with mutton tallow,
neatsfoot oil or vaseline, shoes can be kept soft and practically
waterproof as long as the soles and uppers are in good condition.
[Illustration: A shoepac]
In all winter sports, especially in Canada, the custom is to wear
gaily coloured goods. A mackinaw jacket made from the same material as
a blanket, with very prominent stripes or plaids, is often worn.
Closely woven goods are better than a thicker loose weave as they are
lighter, warmer, and more waterproof.
Chief among winter sports is skating. There is no healthier
recreation, provided that the ice is safe. Even in the coldest weather
with the ice a foot thick or more we must always be sure to be on the
lookout for air-holes or thin places over springs. It is said that ice
an inch thick will hold the weight of a man, but it is better to be
sure than to be sorry, and three or four inches are much safer.
[Illustration: The club skate model]
A few years ago the height of the skater’s art was so called “fancy or
figure” skating, but recently the tendency has been for speed rather
than for grace and the old-fashioned club skates have been replaced by
racing or hockey skates with much longer runners. Fancy skating for
prizes is governed by rules just as any other game or sport. The
contestants do not attempt figures of their own invention but strive
to excel in the so called “compulsory” figures. A fancy skater can
practise from diagrams and directions just as one might practise moves
in a game of chess. In printed directions for fancy skating the
following abbreviations are used for the strokes:
R—right
L—left
F—forward
B—backward
O—outside
I—inside
T—three
LP—loop
B—bracket
RC—rocker
C—counter
Supposing the figure to be executed to be the well known “figure
eight.” It would be described as follows: