Also known as figure skating, ice skating is a graceful and visually pleasing sport. The moves in ice skating may seem simple and easy at first sight, but in reality, it requires a lot of skill and practice. Here, we list and describe some of the moves and terms.
A popular winter sport, ice skating is mostly played in the cold northern regions of the world. Several nations from all over the world field figure skating teams during world sporting events like the Winter Olympics. If you are new to the field, and are looking to learn the sport, you first need to learn the commonly used terms and moves.
In ice skating, the skater performs a variety of jumps and spins wearing skating boots, which come attached with blades at the bottom. It's the blades that propel a player to move around the ice surface. The part of the skate that touches the surface of the ice is called the 'edge'. Each skate blade has two edges - the 'inside edge' and the 'outside edge'. For example, if you are wearing a skating boot on your right foot, then the inside edge would be on your left side, and the outer edge would be on your right side.
Ice Skating Jumps
Lutz Jump
This is a kind of toe jump, where, the skater starts from the outer edge of the right foot, and leaps in the air with the help of the toe of the left foot. He makes a rotation in the air, and while landing, lands on the heel of the left foot. The variations of this jump include the triple lutz and the double lutz.
Flip Jump
The flip jump is a type of toe jump, where the skater starts from the inside edge of the right foot, and jumps with the help of the toe of the right foot. During this jump, he makes one rotation in the air, and lands on the heel the left foot. Some of the variations of this jump include the triple flip and the double flip.
Loop Jump
In the loop jump, the skater starts from the outside edge with the right foot, and makes one rotation in the air and lands on the outside edge of the right foot. Some of the variations of this jump include the ½ loop, double loop, and the triple loop.
Toe Loop Jump
In this jump, the skater starts from the outside edge of the right foot, and is supported by the toe of the left foot. While landing, he lands on the outside edge of the right foot. Before landing, he makes one rotation in the air. Some of the variations of this jump include the double toe jump, triple toe loop, and the quadruple toe loop.
Salchow Jump
In this jump, the skater makes a single rotation in the air. He starts from the inside edge of the right skating foot, and lands on the left foot. This jump is named after its founder Ulrich Salchow. Some of the variations of this jump include the one foot Salchow, double Salchow, triple Salchow, and the quadruple Salchow.
Waltz Jump
This is the first jump that is learned by novice skaters. In this jump, the skater starts from the outside edge of the right foot, makes ½ a rotation in the air, and then lands on the outside edge of the left foot.
Axel Jump
One of the most important figure skating terms is the Axel jump. It is one of the most difficult moves, as the skater sets off from the outside edge of the right foot, and lands on the outside edge of the left foot. During the jump, the skater makes 1½ rotations in the air.
Ice Skating Spins
Upright Spin
In this type of spin, the body more or less remains vertical to the ice. The layback spin, cross foot spins, backspins, and one-foot spins are some of the categories of this type of spin. This spin is performed mostly by female ice skaters, where the skater has to move around the surface of the ice with only one leg, and at the same time bend back. The two most common variations of the upright spin include the Bielman position and the sideways leaning spin.
Camel Spin
A camel spin is a move where the skater skates around with one leg, keeping the other leg horizontal to the ice surface. The most common variations of camel spin include flying camel spin and death-drop camel spin. These variations of camel spin increase the difficulty level of this sport, and are a delight to watch for the spectators.
Sit Spin
As suggested by its name, the sit spin is a move where the body comes very close to the ice, without touching it. The move is performed in a way that, it seems as if the skater is sitting on the ice and spinning at the same time. Some of the variations of the sit spin includes the sit change, flying change sit, flying sit, etc.
These were some of the most common and basic ice skating terms and moves, which every novice should know.
