Figure Skating in Details for Dummies

Figure skating is an Olympic kind of sport where athletes either alone or in pairs have to move across the ice and show particular elements to the music. Both men and women deal with the given kind of sport. It is believed that figure skating is one of the most beautiful kinds of sports during the Olympic Games. The International Skating Union (ISU) is an international organization governing all the official competitions. Thus, the given article is going to present an explanation of this sport for everyone.

Variations of Figure Skating and Rules

Figure skating rules depend on discipline. According to the International Olympic Committee, there can be the following disciplines:

• Singles (both men and women);
• Pair skating;
• Ice dance.

When it comes to singles, men and women have to deal with both short and free skating. As for short skating that can last up to 2 minutes 40-50 seconds, the athletes have to make 8 compulsory elements (double or triple Axel, triple jump or squad, one combination of jumps, various kinds of spins, and two step sequences) in any order. Should an athlete fail to perform at least one element, he must be penalized.

Free skating lasts twice longer than the free one does. To be more exact, men should perform for 4 minutes and 30 seconds for men and 4 minutes for women. The athletes try to show the most complicated elements to obtain as many points as possible. The rules for pair skating are the same as those for singles, with the only difference being represented by compulsory elements. Thus, the compulsory elements for pair skating include lifts (when a man raises his partner), twist lifts (when a man throws his partner into the air), as well as synchronized jumps and spins.

Despite the fact mentioned above, the ice dances rules are peculiar ones. The athletes should perform compulsory, free, and original dances. All the ice skaters have only one dance including the set of compulsory elements to perform. It is followed by an original dance; all the athletes are given a certain topic, and their task is to present the show on it. They are free to interpret the topic as they want. Finally, free skating can be used to show all their fantasy, talent, skills, and abilities. Here, it is up to ice skaters to choose suits, music, and even movements to show. Considering everything mentioned above it is not a surprise that this very skating program is worth 50% of the final sum of points.

In spite of the skating variations stated previously, there is also synchronized skating when 16-20 skaters are on the ice simultaneously. Their task is to perform as a single unit. Sliding technique and elements of synchronized skating are the same as those in classic figure skating. With this, synchronized skating implies its own peculiar elements including circles, lines, wheels, intersections, and blocks.

Main Elements

Figure skating has 4 basis elements: step sequences, spirals, spins, and jumps. Of course, there are much more elements but the four above are the most important ones.

Step sequences are combinations or pushes and basis skating elements including edges, three turns, changes, bracket turns, Mohawks, rockers, and twizzles that are used by the skaters to move across the ice. Steps unite separate elements in a single performance. Besides, step sequences are compulsory elements. According to the official rules, there are 4 difficulty levels of step sequences.

Spirals are elements when an athlete has one his leg on the ice, and the other one (including the skate and the knee) should be above his thigh level. There are different types of spirals: right and left (depending on a sliding leg); inside or outside (depending on the edge); forward and backward (depending on a sliding direction); side, forward, and backward (depending on the free leg position).

For the judges to rule a spiral legal, a skater must hold the position for at least seven seconds. There are also 4 difficulty levels of the given element.

Spins of different types on one or two skates appeared due to the curve blades. There can be upright spins (for example the layback spin); sit spins (cannonball), and camel spins (flying). During various spins, leg and pose changes allow making a combination of spins.

Jumps can be subdivided into two groups – edge and toe ones. The difference manifests itself in the fact what is used to vault into the air. For an edge jump, athletes use edges of their skates to push off the ice, while toe ones use the toe pick for this purpose.

Nowadays, there are 6 main kinds of jumps:

• Toe loop;
• Salchow;
• Loop;
• Flip;
• Lutz;
• Axel.

Salchow, Loop, and Axel are edge jumps, while Toe loop, Flip, and Lutz are toe ones.

Ice

As a rule, the standard court has dimensions of 30 meters wide and 60 meters ling. The court should be equipped either with plastic or removable boards. The ice should be of high quality and perfectly smooth. This effect can be achieved with the help of special equipment. With this, the error of inequality should not overcome 0.5 cm.

Suit and Equipment

Professional skates must be made of thick leather with a long lacing, and a big tongue. It is very common, that professional ice skaters have the skates made according to their individual order. The blades are made of carbonic steel and consist of two parts. They are curved to provide perfect sliding. Toe picks are present for the skater to make jumps and perform certain elements.

Figure skating suit should be made of light and elastic materials. As a rule, stretch fabrics are the best variant here. A suit design should be in conformity with music and dance.

Judges

The official figure skating competitions are governed by a judging panel including:

Main judge is responsible for an organizational part of the competitions: he invites skaters on the ice; give appropriate signals, and manage time;

Technical specialist with an assistant fix elements and falls.

Technical controller supervises the performance of the technical crew.

9 judges evaluate the skating quality.

Popular Competitions

The Olympic Games are said to be the most prestigious and the most popular figure skating competition in the world. Skaters from various countries are ready to do all their best to get the Olympic gold medal. However, there are also other tournaments:

1. World Championships – an annual figure skating event governed by the International Skating Union.
2. European Championships – an annual event for skaters from European countries.
3. Championships of four continents (Asia, Africa, America, and Australia) – an annual event for skaters outside Europe.
4. Team World Championships – an international team figure skating competitions that are held every two years.

History

Prior to speaking about the development of figure skating itself, it is necessary to describe how the first skates appeared. Archeological findings say that the first skates date back to the Bronze Age. However, they were used to speed up people, rather than deal with figure skating. That is why it is not necessary to tie the findings with the rise of the given kind of sport.

Figure skating appeared in the Netherlands in the 13th-14th centuries. It was the period when the metal skates with two blades. Nevertheless, that figure skating was far from the sport we are witnessing nowadays. The main task was to draw various figures on the ice keeping a good posture.

In 1742, Edinburgh saw the first figure skating club appear. The first list of compulsory elements and the first rules were created the same year. The sport quickly spread from Europe to the USA where it became extremely popular among usual people. In the U.S., new clubs were open, the rules were improved, and the new skate models were developed.

In the middle 19th century, almost all the currently existing compulsory elements were created. The same referred to technical skills. Figure skating obtained the status of an official kind of sport at the first Ice Skaters Congress in 1871. With this, the first official figure skating World Championships was held 11 years later, in 1882.