Why is Figure Skating Called "Figure Skating?"

Question: Why is Figure Skating Called "Figure Skating?"

Answer:

Years ago, beautiful designs were skated on clean ice in the shape of a figure eight.

These complex designs were called figures and that is why Figure Skating is called FIGURE Skating.

All figure skaters practiced figures for hours each day and before doing jumps and spins, every competitor in figure skating first had to compete in a figure event. Figure events were eliminated from official competitions in the 1990s.