Figure skating facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Figure skating (ice dancing) couple

Figure skating (pair) team

Figure skating woman

Figure skating man

Figure skating is both an art and a sport, in which people skate around on ice, doing jumps and spins. It is done at the Winter Olympics, and it has its own world championships. The name means to make figures or patterns on the ice. People skate with music.

In figure skating, sometimes women or men skate alone, or they skate in couples. Couples dancing includes pairs and ice dancing. Pairs skating has jumps, and sometimes the man lifts the woman in the air. These things are not done in ice dancing. In ice dancing, the woman must be held in the man's arms. Another kind of figure skating is synchronized skating done in groups.

History
Rules
- Singles Skating
Judges
- Technical Score
- Presentation Score
Jumps
Spins
Turns and Steps
Related pages
Images for kids
See also

History

The first ever figure skating club was started in 1742 in Edinburgh, Scotland. World Championships began in 1896 (the first in St. Petersburg, Russia). Before the Winter Olympic Games were started, competitions in figure skating were part of the Summer Olympic Games, in 1908 and 1920.

Rules

The International Skating Union (ISU) make the rules.

Singles Skating

Singles skating is composed of a Short Program and a Free Skate. Both of them have a technical score and a presentation score.

The Short Program (SP) must include 2 solo jumps, a jump combination consisting of two jumps, 3 spins and one Step Sequence fully utilizing the ice surface.

Free Skate (FS) contains jump elements, jump combinations or jump sequences. The Free Skate also has 3 spins, one Step Sequence fully utilizing the ice surface and a choreographic sequence.

Judges

Under the ISU Judging System the Judges focus entirely on evaluating the quality of each element performed (technical aspect) and the quality of the performance. There will be a panel of 9 Judges per segment. Out of these 9 scores, the highest and lowest score of each element or program component are ignored and the average will be taken.

Technical Score

A one arm overhead lift in pair skating

Pair performing crossovers

The score for the element is composed of a “Base Value” of each element and the “Grade of Execution - GOE”. GOE is that the Judge grades the quality of the element on a scale of +3, +2, +1, 0, -1, -2, -3. The total of all the elements scores gives the Technical Score.

Presentation Score

The Judges award points on a scale from 0.25 to 10,00 with increments of 0.25 for the Presentation Score to grade the overall presentation of the performance. There are five items in the Presentation Score.

Skating Skills

Over all skating quality

Transitions, Linking Footwork and Movement

The varied and/or intricate footwork, positions, movements, and holds that link all elements. This also includes the entrances and exits of technical elements.

Performance/Execution

The physical and emotional involvement of the skater/couple as they translate the intent of the music and choreography

Choreography/Composition

The arrangement of all movements according to the principles of proportion, space and music

Interpretation

The translation of the music to movement on ice

Jumps

Ross Miner sets up for a jump.

There are six types of jump that ISU decides to score. The following items are listed in order of the score (difficulty). There are two types of jumps: edge jump and toe jump. The Axel, loop, and Salchow are edge jumps and the lutz, flip and toe loop are toe jumps.

Axel

This is the only jump where a skater takes off while skating forward. It's the most difficult jump of the six.

Lutz

The skater takes off from the back outside edge of the left or right foot and pokes the ice with the opposite toe.

Flip

The skater takes off from the back inside edge of the left or right foot and pokes the ice with the opposite toe.

Loop

The skater takes off from the back outside edge of the right or left foot. This jump is often used in second jump of combination jump.

Salchow

The skater takes off from the back inside edge of the right or left foot.

Toe Loop

The skater takes off from the back outside edge of the right or left foot and pokes the ice with the opposite toe. This is the easiest jump and it is often used in second jump of combination jump.

Spins

Upright spin

Pair camel spin

Pair spin with lady in layback and man in sit spin

Spins are classified as Sit spins, Upright spins or Camel spin. Each of them has various variations. Any position which is not basic is a non-basic position.

Sit spin

The position of this spin is that the upper part of the skating leg is at least parallel to the ice.

there are 3 categories based on position of free leg

Sit Forward (with leg forward)

Sit Sideways (with leg sideways)

Sit Behind (with the leg behind)

Upright spin

The position of this spin is any position with the skating leg is extended or slightly bent which is not a camel position.

there are 4 categories based on position of the torso.

Upright Forward (with torso leaning forward)

Upright Straight or Sideways (with torso straight up or sideways)

Upright Biellmann (in Biellmann position)

Upright Layback

Camel spin

The position of this spin is any position where the free leg backwards and the knee is higher than the hip level, however Layback, Biellmann and similar variations are still considered upright spins.

There are 3 categories based on the direction of the belly button.

Camel Forward (with belly button facing forward)

Camel Sideways (with belly button facing sideways)

Camel Upward (with belly button facing upward)

Turns and Steps

Turns

three turns, twizzles, brackets, loops, counters, rockers

Turns must be executed on one foot. If a turn is “jumped ”, it is not counted as performed.　

Steps

toe steps, chasses, mohawks, choctaws, change of edge, cross rolls

Steps must be executed on one foot whenever possible.

Ice dancing

Images for kids

Central Park, Winter: The Skating Pond, 1862 lithograph by Charles Parsons (1821–1910) depicting skating in the 19th century
Close-up of a figure skating blade, showing the toe picks, the hollow (groove) on bottom surface of blade, and screw attachment to the boot
Blade sharpening
Synchronized Marigold IceUnity skating team performing a 3-spoke "wheel" element in 2005
Lifts performed by the Haydenettes, 26-time U.S. national synchro champions
An example of ice dance costumes (Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir at 2012 World Championships)
Jackson Haines is considered to have been the father of modern figure skating.
Russian pair skaters Ludmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov in 1968
Takahiko Kozuka waiting for his marks with coach Nobuo Sato in the "Kiss and cry" area
Denis Ten sets up for a jump.
Kevin van der Perren rotates in the air.
Jamal Othman lands on the right back outside edge.
Pairs skaters Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir set up for a throw jump
A pair team after the woman has been thrown: Jessica Miller rotates in the air.
Anabelle Langlois lands after performing a throw jump with Cody Hay.
Camel spin
Sit spin
Layback spin with catch-foot
Biellmann spin
Death drop
Three turns, so called because the blade turns into the curve of the edge or lobe to leave a tracing resembling the numeral "3".
Bracket turns, in which the blade is turned counter to the curve of the lobe, making a tracing resembling a bracket ("}").
Mohawks, the two-foot equivalents of three turns and brackets.
Rockers, one-foot turns that involve a change of lobe as well as of direction.
Counters, one-foot turns that involve a change of lobe as well as of direction.
Twizzles, traveling multi-rotation turns on one foot
A basic outside edge spiral position with the free leg held unsupported behind the body.
A pair outside edge spiral in a catch-foot position.
Back inside death spiral.
Parallel mirror spread eagles with the man on an inside edge and the woman on an outside edge.
Ina Bauer
Canadian Championships Dance
Hydroblading
Male ice dancer in Besti squat while lifting partner
Spread eagle