Figure skating elements

A.

Arabesque (English Arabesque ) - In the arabesque, the upper body is stretched upwards. It can be performed forwards and backwards. The free leg is stretched.

Attitude (engl. Attitude ) - The attitude is similar to the Arabic, except that the knee of the free leg is bent as in the Himmelspirouette .

Lunge (also fencers ., Eng lung ) - This lunge is the running leg bent and the free leg backwards straight out, the ice grinds over the ice. The upper body is in the upright position.

Boom (Engl. Cantilever ) - another variation of Spread Eagle . You run very low in your knee and bend backwards.

Axel - the leap that is easiest to spot but the most difficult to perform. The axel is the only jump that is made forwards from the outer edge of the left foot. The landing then takes place backwards on the outer edge of the right foot. The triple axel contains 3½ turns. The first woman to jump the triple axel was the Japanese Midori Itō . The Japanese Mao Asada was the first woman to have two triple axels in the same program in an ISU competition.

B.

Besti Squat - another variant of the Spread Eagle , named after Natalia Bestemianova . The knees are bent so that the Spread Eagle is square .

Biellmann pirouette - is a variant of the standing pirouette that requires great flexibility. It was named after the Swiss figure skater Denise Biellmann . You start with the upright pirouette, stretch back over your shoulder, grasp the runner of your free foot and stretch towards the ceiling (the body remains upright). Usually only women perform the Biellmann pirouette, one of the few men who do it is Yevgeny Pljuschtschenko .

Bracket - see counter three .

Butterfly - popular entrance in pirouettes, in which you jump from the left tip of the prong. In the flight phase, the upper body and trunk are horizontal to the ice. The legs are also brought into a horizontal position with the help of a scissor-like movement. The landing takes place on the right tip of the spike, which enables various pirouettes afterwards. Entering a pirouette is not absolutely necessary.

Button - A simple jumping element rarely performed these days, in which the legs are raised horizontally in the air and the tips of the toes are touched by the hands.

C.

Candlestick spiral - see Charlotte Spiral

Cantilever - see cantilever

Carry - see Carried Lift

Catch Spiral - With this spiral, the foot, the runner or the knee of the free leg is held during the spiral. The leg can be stretched out or bent.

Charlotte Spiral - This spiral is only shown by a few runners (e.g. Sasha Cohen ). She is also known as candlesticks (Engl. Candlestick spiral ).

Choctaw - a step in which there is a change of foot, direction and edge. I.e. for example, one starts walking forward on the outside edge of the right foot and ends backwards on the inside edge of the left foot. Often the Choctaw is performed in the sequence of steps.

Counter - see counter turn

D.

Dreier (English three-turns ) - is a one-foot turn. Change of running direction from forward to backward (over the tip of the skate) and from backward to forward (over the heel) with edge change. For example, one starts forward on the outside edge of the left foot and ends backwards on the inside edge of the left foot.

Double threesome - is a one-foot turn ( threesome ), the threesome is performed twice in a row with the same foot.

Dreersprung (English walz jump or three-jump ) - is the simplest of all jumps, it only takes half a turn and is therefore also called a cadet jump .

E.

Jumped sit spin ( flying sit spin ) - is a "hybrid" between a jump and a pirouette. In order to be able to perform a jump-in sit pirouette, one must start forward on the outer edge of the left foot with the free leg away from the ice and pull it behind you. This position is not that different from the normal entry position. However, at this point you swing your free leg forward quickly, jump off the ice, and start spinning. Even while you are in the air, you take the sitting position (left leg bent, right leg stretched forward). You land on your left foot and take the usual pirouette position. Another version of the jump-in sit-up pirouette involves changing feet in the air: after taking the sitting position in the air, you stretch your left leg forward and at the same time bend your right leg, on which you finally land. Alternatively, you can do a jump-in sit pirouette over a butterfly, then you land on your right foot.

Euler - a leap in connection. After running up, jump off the outer edge of your right foot. The landing is then, after one turn, backwards on the inner edge of the left foot.

F.

Aviator - see spiral

Flip - it is a so-called typed jump , which has the same take-off and landing edge as the Salchow jump. You start backwards on the inside edge of the left foot (the right foot briefly taps into the ice) and land backwards on the outside edge of the right foot.

flying sit spin - see jumped seat pirouette

G

Against three (engl. Bracket ) - changing the running direction on one leg from forward to reverse (on the ice-peak) or from reverse to forward (on the heel) with edge changes and against the rotation of the inlet and outlet sheet.

Against turning (engl. Counter ) - a rotating step, changing the direction in which on one leg is mandatory FIG run without edges changes, against the direction of rotation of the inlet sheet earlier than grouped on the 3 circles

Typed jump - is a jump in which the free leg briefly taps into the ice and thus helps with the jump.

Worn uplift (Engl. Carry ) - easy carrying without rotation, the partner is not above the head of the partner.

Thrown jumps - jumps, where the pair skating supports a partner when jumping through the other partner with both hands and is thus pushed far (eg .: throw Axel, throw Lutz, throw Salchow, throw toe loop.)

H

Uplift (Engl. Lift ) is an activity in which the partner raises his partner into the air. A distinction is made between pair skating, ice dancing and carried lifts.

Sky pirouette - see Layback Spin

Hydroblading - Hydroblading refers to sliding on the lowest possible edge position while at the same time the body is stretched in a very flat position, almost parallel to the ice. It became famous in the 90s when Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz used this technique for ice dancing developed by Uschi Keszler and made it their trademark. The technique requires extensive training, as high demands are made on balance. Hydroblading has also been adopted by individual runners.

I.

Ina Bauer - An Ina Bauer is similar to a Spread Eagle . The runners are offset in parallel and draw two parallel lines. The rear runner is always on the inside edge. The total movement can be an arc or a straight line. This element was named after the German figure skater Ina Bauer

K

Edge jump - is a jump that is jumped off the skate edge.

Candlesticks (Engl. Candlestick spiral ) - see Charlotte spiral

L.

Lasso lift - (Eng. Lasso lift ) see lift

Layback spin - is a very attractive variant of the standing pirouette . You cross your arms in front of your body, lean back and look at the ceiling as you turn. The multitude of possible arm, back and leg positions is only limited by the artistic creativity of the athlete.

Lift - see lift

Loop - see Rittberger

Lung - see Lunge

Lutz - a so-called typed jump. You jump backwards from the outer edge of the left foot (with the right point in the ice), turn several times around your own axis and land backwards on the outer edge of the right foot. Lutz jumping with his arm outstretched over his head is a particular difficulty.

M.

Mohawk - a step that involves changing feet and direction, but not changing edges. I.e. for example, one starts walking backwards on the outside edge of the right foot and ends forwards on the outside edge of the left foot. A Mohawk can sometimes be seen before the flip jump or a splay jump (one starts forward on the inside edge of the left foot, ends backwards on the inside edge of the right foot), more often before the Axel or Salchow jump (one starts backwards on the outside edge of the right foot, ends forward on the outside edge of the left foot).

P

Pirouettes (English spins ) - come from ballet , but have become an integral part of figure skating . Simply put, it's about a twist on one leg. There are a variety of possible pirouettes, but all fall into the following three categories - standing, sitting and scales pirouettes. All pirouettes can be performed forwards or backwards. This has nothing to do with the direction of rotation, but with the foot on which it is carried out. For an "ordinary" figure skater (who turns left), the forward spin is performed on the left foot and the backward spin is performed on the right foot.

Pair skating pirouettes (engl. Pair spins ) - pirouettes that are carried out in some position. They can either be side-by-side , i.e. H. each partner can be run individually or in “pair pirouettes” in which the partners touch each other during a pirouette. They can be carried out in all standard positions, although the positions are slightly changed.

Pirouette combination (English spin combination ) - just like jumps, pirouettes can also be performed in combinations. A pirouette combo is a series of pirouettes in which you change position or foot, or both.

R.

Rittberger (also known as "Loop" ) - is a leap forward. You slide backwards, first with both feet on the ice, the left leg is crossed in front of the right leg, then you shift your weight to the outer edge of the right foot and jump off (with crossed legs). The landing then takes place backwards on the outer edge of the right foot. This jump was named after the multiple German Vice World Champion Werner Rittberger .

Rocker - see turn

Russian Spreizsprung (Engl. Russian split ) - is a variant of Spreizsprunges . The jump and landing are the same as the split jump, but the air position is different. The legs are straddled into a "V-position" and the hands stretch to the side to touch the tip of the skate.

S.

Salchow - it is a so-called edge jump , it was named after its inventor, the Swedish figure skater Ulrich Salchow . He is bounced backwards from the inside edge of the left foot and landed backwards on the outside edge of the right foot.

Scratch Spin - a variant of the standing pirouette. At the beginning of this pirouette you stand upright with your free leg stretched out to the side. Then the free leg is stretched more and more towards the body until it crosses the supporting leg. At the same time, the arms are also drawn to the body or brought together above the head. A high speed of rotation is achieved due to the significant reduction in the radius of rotation. This pirouette is the final pirouette in many programs.

Side-by-Side - elements that are carried out individually next to each other in pairs. It can be jumps, pirouettes or step sequences that are carried out synchronously by both partners. Pirouettes should be turned at the same speed, in the same direction and at the same time, the jumps should be jumped and landed at the same time, have the same number of turns and a similar height and landing position.

Sitzpirouette (engl. Sit spin ) - in which the skaters Grundsitzpirouette "squatting" on one leg, the free leg is stretched out straight forward.

Special figures - This is the so-called "decorative" ice skating - the figure skater created any figures on the ice according to his own ideas. This type of ice skating survived until the First World War and was also part of the figure skating competitions.

Spirale (English spiral , in German also Flieger ) - you slide on one foot, with the free leg stretched backwards. In a good spiral, the free leg is stretched out at least at hip height. In contrast to arabesques, the upper body of the spirals is inclined more forward. Spirals can be run forwards or backwards.

Spread eagle (also moon ) - is a sliding movement that is walked on two feet, on the inner edge or outer edge, with the foot position giving an approx. 180 degree angle. Edge changes are also possible.

Spreizsprung (. Engl split ) - is a connection jump. You run backwards on the inside edge of your left foot, tap briefly into the ice with your right foot and jump into the air with half a turn of your body, then you spread or straddle your legs and land forward on your left foot. See also Russian splay jump

Hopping sequence (engl. Jump sequence ) - consists of at least two hops, between which a change of foot or rotations are performed.

Jump combination (engl. Jump combination ) - consists of at least two jumps that follow immediately after one another. The second jump is made from the same ledge that the first jump landed on (i.e. there are no turns or foot changes between jumps).

T

Thorén - see Euler

Three-turns - see threesomes

Toe loop - was called a relatively easy jump in the simple version. You jump backwards from the outer edge of your right foot (stab your left skate teeth), turn around yourself several times in the air and land backwards on the outer edge of your right foot. Because you have to stick your auxiliary leg, this jump belongs to the category of so-called typed jumps. It is jumped single, double, triple and even quadruple.

Death spiral - figure walking in pairs; the partner is pulled around the body axis, sliding almost horizontally over the ice on one leg and only held by the hand by the partner's outstretched arm.

Twizzle - a single or multiple turn on one leg, in which the runner moves across the ice. The movement of the Twizzle ice dance element differs from a pirouette, in which the runner turns on the spot. Because of its continuous, uninterrupted rotation, the Twizzle differs from a mere string of threes .

V

Connecting elements - are all movements that are carried out between the jumps and pirouettes of a program (short program or freestyle), such as spirals, Spread Eagle, Ina Bauer etc. In a well-developed program, their meaning goes beyond that of a pure filling element between the "big ones." “Elements - they add to the overall artistic expression of the program. The multitude of connecting elements is mostly only limited by the imagination and ability of the figure skater and choreographer.

W.

Libra pirouette - (English camel spin ) - you achieve this position by shaping your body into the shape of the letter "T". One leg is skating, the other is behind it, parallel to the ice. The upper body bends forward and forms a straight line with the free leg.

Turning ( rocker ) - a turning step in which the running direction is changed on one leg without changing edges, in the direction of rotation of the inlet arch, against the direction of rotation of the outlet arch, earlier as a mandatory figure walked in 3 circles.

Throwing jumps - see thrown jumps