FIGURE SKATING

Figure skating and ice dancing The rink used for ice-skating competitions has sport in which ice skaters, singly or in pairs, inscribe precise figures and perform freestyle movements in a graceful manner. The special figure skate used has a characteristic blade, which is hollow-ground to emphasize its two edges and has serrations (the toe pick, or toe rake) at the front. A Treatise of Skating (1772) by Captain Robert Jones is apparently the first account of figure skating, which was done in cramped and formal style until, in the mid-1860s, the American dancing master Jackson Haines introduced to Europe his techniques based on dance movement. The International Skating Union (ISU), the world governing body of ice skating, was founded in 1892. World championships have been held since 1896; a separate competition for women was added in 1906, and two years later pair skating was introduced. Figure-skating events for men,women, and pairs were held in the Olympic Games in 1908 and 1920 and have constituted part of the Olympic Winter Games since they were inaugurated in 1924. Figure-skating movements are performed on either the inside or outside edge of the blade (the edge nearest the inside of the foot is the inside edge) while moving forward or backward. Most movements are based on the so-called school figures, the elements of which are curves and turns, either in or against the direction of movement, performed in a precise manner to form two or three connected circles. Figures range among five degrees of difficulty and include loops, threes, brackets, rockers, and counters. Until 1991 competitions for men and women included a section of compulsory figures. Freestyle skating combines the edges and turns of school figures in intricate footwork, spirals (sustained one-foot glides on a single edge), spins, and jumps. Spins differ from other skating moves in that they are performed on the flat of the blade rather than on an edge. Jumps, all of which share the same rotational position in the air, are distinguished by their takeoff and landing positions and fall into two main groups: the edge jumps (such as the axel, the Salchow, and the loop), which take off from one foot, and the toe jumps (such as the toe loop, the flip, and the Lutz), which are edge jumps assisted by a vault off the toe pick of the other foot. Jumps are further classified as single, double, triple, or quadruple, depending on the number of midair rotations. Competitions for individuals include two programs performed to music of the skater's choice. The short program must incorporate a number of prescribed elements; the longer free-skating program has no specific requirements and is designed to best display the skater's skill and grace. Technical merit and artistic impression are judged separately for each program; marks ranging from one to six are awarded by each judge. The skater's scores are then totaled and assigned a ranking, called an ordinal, by each judge. The winner is the skater having highest ordinals among the competitors by the greatest number of judges. In pair skating a man and a woman skate together and may perform any of the recognized free-skating movements while attempting to convey an impression of harmony and unison in their actions. Additional pair moves include lifts, in which the man lifts his partner completely off the ice; pair spins and their variations (such as the death spiral, in which the man pivots on the toe pick of one skate and the edge of the other while the woman, who clasps his hand, leans horizontally over the ice on a single edge); and throw jumps, in which the woman receives additional momentum during the takeoff by being carefully thrown by her partner. Pairs competitions are organized and judged in the same way as singles events. A fourth skating discipline, also performed by couples, is ice dancing.