Figure skating is an ice skating sporting event where individuals and mixed couples compete to try to perform the most spectacular and accurately-performed elements while skating to music.
Figure skaters use skates which differ slightly from hockey skates, to perform spins, jumps, and other "moves" on the ice, often to music. There are international competitions for figure skating, such as the World Championships and figure skating is also an official event in the Winter Olympics.
In addition to jumps performed singly, jumps may also be performed in combination or in sequence.
For a set of jumps to be considered a combination, each jump must take off from the landing edge of the previous jump, with no change of edge in between jumps. This limits all jumps except the first to toe loops and loops (which take off from the right back outside edge on which the basic six jumps are landed.) In order to use other jumps on the back end of a combination, jumps such as a half loop (which lands on a right back inside edge) can be used, enabling the skater to put a salchow or flip at the end of the combination.
Jump sequences are sets of jumps which may involve changes of edge between the jumps.
The term 'figure skating' comes from a traditional element of the competition, compulsory figures, in which skaters used their blades to draw circles, figure 8s, and similar shapes in ice, being judged on the accuracy and clarity of the figures. This is no longer a part of modern figure skating competition. Figures remain part of some governing bodies' test structures, and it bears mention that the technical rule book term for the separately tested discipline of jumps, spins, and footwork to music is free skating.
Competitors perform a variety of manoeuvers, which can be grouped into three main types - jumps, spins, and step sequences. Jumps involve the skater leaping into the air, rotating rapidly to land after completing one or more rotations. There are many types of jumps, identified by the way the skater takes off and lands, as well as the number of rotations that are completed. There are also several types of spins, identified by the position of the arms, legs, and angle of the back. Step sequences are a required element in competition programs. They involve a combination of turns, steps, hops and edge changes, performed in a straight line down the ice, in a circle, or in an S shape (serpentine step sequence). Spiral sequences are also required (in women's skating only), and involve lifting the free leg above the hip to a position equivalent of the arabesque in ballet. Spirals can be performed while skating forwards or backwards, and are distinguished by the edge of the blade used and the foot they are skated on.
The International Skating Union - ISU is the governing body for international competitions. The ISU oversees the World Championships and the figure skating events at the Winter Olympic Games. On March 20, 1914 an international figure skating championship was held in New Haven, Connecticut which was the ancestor of both the United States and Canadian national championships.
Figure skating is a very popular part of the Winter Olympic Games, in which the elegance of both the competitors and their movements attract many spectators. Unsurprisingly, the best skaters show many of the same physical and psychological attributes as gymnasts. Many of the best skaters are from Russia and the United States. The United States is a traditional power in singles skating. In recent years, it has been especially dominant in the Ladies' events. Russia and the Soviet Union are dominant in the Ice Dancing and Pairs competitions.
The sport is closely associated with show business, such as "spectaculars" where performers skate unjudged, and the crowd pleasing routines at the end of competition held at many tournaments. Many skaters both during and after their competitive careers also skate in ice-skating exhibitions.
Many fans of more traditional sports find the judging procedures incomprehensible, and the universal practice of judges attending competitors' practice sessions dubious in the extreme. It is also generally believed that judges often judge the competitors performance over many competitions rather than just the performance in the competition at hand - competitors must "pay their dues" by consistent performances before they are rewarded by the judges in major meetings. Disputes over judging are not uncommon - most recently, the pairs competition at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games ended in controversy when the Russian competitors edged out a Canadian pair, despite a major error and some technical difficulties in their routines.
A related but separate event, ice dancing, does not involve the aerobatic stunts permissible in figure skating and concentrates on the aesthetics of dancing on ice.
