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Element Recognition

What are all those Skating Moves?

Before I started skating, I used to marvel at how Dick Button and Peggy Fleming could always name the skater's jumps so quickly after they finished them.  I'd be sitting there with my little "cheat sheet" trying to work out the edges and directions and feet and figure it out for 30 seconds after each one finished.  It just seemed like magic to me.  Well, now its a little easier, and these pages will hopefully make it more clear to you too.

Some basics first. If you watch many skaters, you’ll notice that most figure skaters (about 90% in fact) jump and spin in a counterclockwise direction. While its perfectly legal to jump either way, more skaters feel comfortable with the CCW direction.  Interestingly enough, most of the CW jumpers are left-handed.

The jump and spin descriptions throughout this section describe the steps a counterclockwise jumper would use — if you're watching a clockwise jumper, just change all the "rights" to "lefts" and vice versa.

The elements which have a star ( * ) next to their names in the listing below have pictures or short video clips to help you see what they look like. Thank you to all my skating friends who have volunteered to demonstrate these elements.

Edges and Turns

• Edges
• 2-Foot Turns
• 1-Foot Turns

Jumps

• Intro to Jumps
• Axel *
• Waltz Jump
• Toe Loop
• Loop *
• Salchow *
• Flip *
• Lutz *
• Walley *
• Half Loop *
• Jump Combinations and Sequences *
• Table of Jumps

Spins

• Intro to Spins
• Upright Position
  • Basic Spins * (2-Foot, Scratch, Back, Crossfoot) *
  • Layback / Attitude *
  • Biellmann *
• Sit Position
  • Sit Spin *
  • Broken Leg Spin *
  • Flying Sit and Death Drop *
• Camel Position
  • Camel Spin *
  • Illusion *
  • Flying Camel *
• Spin Combinations
  • Change of Foot and/or Change of Position *

Connecting Elements

• Grace Moves
  • Spiral *
  • Spread Eagle *
  • Ina Bauer *
  • Lunge *
  • Shoot the Duck *
• Small Jumps
  • Split Jump *
  • Russian Split *
  • Stag Jump *
  • Half Flip
  • Mazurka
  • Bunny Hop *
  • Ballet Jump *
  • Falling Leaf

Pairs Elements

• Side-by-Side Elements *
• Lifts *
• Throws *
• Pair Spins *
• Death Spirals *

Credits, Plugins

This site is produced by Don Korte as a service to the skating community.
The site is not produced by, or endorsed by the USFSA, ISI or the PSA.

Every attempt is made to ensure the accuracy of all information presented on this site. It is the skater's responsibility to understand that the USFSA Rulebook is the ultimate authority with relation to all Rules and Requirements. Some pages include photos of skaters; these are included to demonstrate skills or to share competition experiences - photos may not be used for any commercial purpose.

Thanks for Visiting -- Have a Nice Day!!