According to figure skating historian James R. Hines, jumping in figure skating is "relatively recent". Jumps were viewed as "acrobatic tricks, not as a part of a skater's art" and "had no place" in the skating practices in England during the 19th century, although skaters experimented with jumps from the ice during the last 25 years of the 1800s. Hops, or jumps without rotations, were done for safety reasons, to avoid obstacles, such as hats, barrels, and tree logs, on natural ice. In 1881 Spuren Auf Dem Eise ("Tracing on the Ice"), "a monumental publication describing the state of skating in Vienna", briefly mentioned jumps, describing three jumps in two pages. Jumping on skates was a part of the athletic side of free skating, and was considered inappropriate for female skaters.
According to figure skating historian James R. Hines, jumping in figure skating is "relatively recent". Jumps were viewed as "acrobatic tricks, not as a part of a skater's art" and "had no place" in the skating practices in England during the 19th century although skaters experimented with jumps from the ice during the last 25 years of the 1800s. Hops, or jumps without rotations, were done for safety reasons, to avoid obstacles, such as hats, barrels, and tree logs on natural ice. In 1881 Spuren Auf Dem Eise ("Tracing on the Ice"), "a monumental publication describing the state of skating in Vienna", briefly mentioned jumps, describing three jumps in two pages. Jumping on skates was a part of the athletic side of free skating, and was considered inappropriate for female skaters.