⛸️Glossary

Terms

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Axel Axel

The only one of the six jumps taken off facing forward, which is why it carries an extra half rotation compared with the others — a triple Axel is actually three and a half turns. Named for Norway's Axel Paulsen, who first performed it in 1882, it carries the highest base value of any jump family: 8.00 for a triple, 12.50 for the quadruple Ilia Malinin ratified in 2022.

Badge Test Badge Test

A skills assessment run by a national federation's testing structure, progressing through a series of levels from entry through senior. Each level specifies required gliding, turn, spin and jump elements, and passing determines eligibility for many local and regional competitions. Most recreational skaters use this ladder as their milestone even without any competitive ambition, and testing usually checks specified elements individually rather than a full program.

Base Value Base Value

The fixed point value assigned in advance to every element, published each season in the ISU Scale of Values. A quadruple Axel is worth 12.50, a quadruple Lutz 11.50, a triple Axel 8.00 and a double Axel 3.30. Spins and step sequences gain base value as their level rises. An underrotated jump receives only 70 percent of this value, while a jump in the second half of a program receives a 1.1 multiplier.

Biellmann Spin Biellmann Spin

A spin in which the free leg is pulled up behind the back and overhead, named after Switzerland's Denise Biellmann, who popularized it in the 1970s. It requires extreme spinal extension and hip flexibility that becomes difficult to maintain past adolescence for most skaters. It is recognized as a difficulty variation that raises a spin's level, though the strain it places on the lower back makes it a frequent subject of debate at the training stage.

Blade Sharpening Blade Sharpening

The process of regrinding the hollow along the bottom of the blade to reset both edges, needed roughly every 20-40 hours of ice time. It must be done with figure-specific equipment; sending a blade to a hockey or speed-skating specialist can damage the front toe pick or change the hollow radius enough to make jumping impossible. A deeper hollow bites the ice harder, while a shallower one, around 1/2 to 5/8 inch, gives beginners smoother rotation and gliding.

Camel Spin Camel Spin

A spin performed in an arabesque position, with the skating leg straight and the torso and free leg extended parallel to the ice. One of the three basic spin positions; if the free leg drops below hip height it no longer counts as the position. Entering it with a jump creates a flying camel, an element Dick Button invented in the 1940s and which some rinks still call the Button camel.

Crossover Crossover

A technique for generating speed through a curve by stepping one foot in front of and across the other, learned in both forward and backward directions. It is the second major hurdle beginners learn and a connecting move in every program, with elite skaters carrying the speed built here directly into jumps. The upper body should lean into the circle while the outside foot pushes all the way through the ice; a habit of merely alternating feet without pushing kills the speed.

Death Spiral Death Spiral

A signature pairs element in which the man pivots on one foot to anchor the rotation while holding the woman's hand as she arches her body on a deep edge low enough for her head to nearly brush the ice, tracing a circle. There are four types depending on which edge is used, and the level is set by how many rotations the woman sustains in the low position and how deep the man's pivot is. Despite the name, it carries more visual drama than actual danger.

Downgrade Downgrade

A call the technical panel issues when a jump falls more than half a rotation short of its required turns, marked with a << symbol on the scoring sheet. It is scored as the next jump down in rotation count, so a triple Axel drops to double Axel value, a loss of more than four points. It is a heavier penalty than an underrotation, which covers a shortfall of a quarter to half a turn, and a negative GOE is typically applied on top of it.

Edge Edge

One of the two ridges created by the hollow ground into the bottom of a blade, inside and outside. Combined with the two directions of travel, forward and backward, this produces eight basic edges. Which edge a skater is on at takeoff determines the type of jump, and edge depth is the foundation of the Skating Skills component. Coaches spend more time on edges than on rotation itself, because most rotation problems are actually edge problems showing up late.

Edge Call Edge Call

A ruling the technical panel makes when a Lutz or flip is launched from the wrong take-off edge. A clear violation is marked with an 'e' and cuts the base value; an ambiguous case draws only a cautionary '!' with no reduction. A Lutz taken from the inside edge is called a flutz, and a flip taken from the outside edge is called a lip. These habits form young and are notoriously hard to correct, and several World Championship medals have swung on this single symbol.

Flip Flip

A toe jump launched from a back inside edge with the opposite foot's toe pick, worth 5.30 for a triple and 11.00 for a quadruple. It is frequently confused with the Lutz, since the two differ only in take-off edge, and a flip launched from the outside edge is downgraded to a lip with a reduced score. It is usually entered from a three-turn or mohawk, which makes the entry itself distinguishable from a Lutz, and it is widely used as the first jump in a combination.

Flutz Flutz

A Lutz launched from the wrong inside edge, which effectively performs a flip while claiming Lutz base value. The technical panel reviews it in slow motion and marks it with an 'e' that cuts the base value. The habit of instinctively rolling onto the easier edge to gain rotation usually forms in childhood and is very difficult to correct, leading some elite skaters to avoid the Lutz in their layout altogether.

Free Skating Free Skating

The second segment of a competition, in which seniors perform up to twelve elements over four minutes with a maximum of seven jumping passes. It carries roughly twice the points of the short program and is where placements are usually decided, with skating order reversed from the short program so the leader skates last. Ice dance uses a free dance in the equivalent slot.

Grade of Execution (GOE) Grade of Execution (GOE)

The mark a judge gives for how well an element was performed, ranging from -5 to +5. It is converted as a percentage of that element's base value, so a plus-four on a quadruple is worth several times more than a plus-four on a double. Height and distance, a difficult entry, smooth landing flow and matching the music are the criteria for a positive mark, while a fall automatically caps the score at -5. The highest and lowest marks are dropped and the rest averaged.

Ice Dance Ice Dance

A discipline skated by two people together but forbidding jumps and throws — no jump of more than one rotation and no lift with the man's hands raised above his head is permitted. Instead it is scored on edge quality, twizzles, step sequences performed in hold, dance spins and time-limited lifts. It runs across two segments each season, a rhythm dance built on an ISU-assigned rhythm and a free dance with open choice of music and content.

Jump Combination Jump Combination

A layout in which a second jump follows immediately off the landing foot of the first, with no step or turn in between — inserting one turns it into a sequence rather than a combination. This is why the loop and toe loop, which share the same landing foot, are the most common second jumps. It is typically the highest-value element in a program, and if the second jump under-rotates, the point loss is confined to that single slot.

Kiss and Cry Kiss and Cry

The seating area beside the rink where a skater sits with their coach awaiting the score after a performance. The nickname originated in 1980s Finland, reflecting that the winner kisses and the loser cries. Because television cameras are fixed on it, it has become a standard fixture of broadcasts, with scores typically taking 30 seconds to a minute to appear. Depending on the event, it is also staged with flowers, stuffed animals and sponsor branding.

Layback Spin Layback Spin

An upright-family spin performed with the upper body arched backward and the head dropped, seen mainly in women's singles and pairs. It requires spinal extension and shoulder flexibility that male skaters rarely attempt. Pulling the free leg up while arched back leads into a Biellmann, and because it repeatedly hyperextends the lower back, it is also one of the elements most directly linked to lumbar injury.

Level Level

A difficulty grade applied to spins, step sequences and ice dance elements, ranging from Base and Level 1 through Level 4. It is awarded by the technical panel counting how many recognized difficult features were completed, and a higher level carries a higher base value. Jumps do not carry levels. The gap between Level 3 and 4 is only about 0.5 points per element, but across a whole program it can widen to nearly 2 points, often enough to flip a placement.

Loop Loop

An edge jump launched with no toe pick, taken off from a back outside edge with the feet crossed and landed on the same foot. Because take-off and landing use the same foot, it is the most common second jump in a combination, worth 4.90 for a triple and 10.50 for a quadruple. Without a run-up motion to build into, it has to be wound up from a standing position, which makes generating height notoriously difficult.

Lutz Lutz

The toe jump with the second-highest base value after the Axel. A skater typically glides a long way into a rink corner in a counter-rotated direction before planting the toe pick from a back outside edge. That reverse curve on entry is what makes it difficult, and if the edge rolls to the inside just before take-off it's called a flutz and loses base value. A triple Lutz is worth 5.90, a quadruple 11.50.

Mohawk Mohawk

A step that changes direction from forward to backward, or the reverse, by switching from one foot to the other while keeping the same type of edge through the transition. Because it changes direction through a foot switch rather than a rotation, it is usually the first direction-change technique a beginner learns, and it appears constantly in Salchow entries, step sequences and crossover transitions. It differs from a three-turn, which changes direction through rotation on a single foot.

Pair Skating Pair Skating

A discipline skated by a man and a woman together, adding elements only possible with two people on top of everything in singles: throw jumps, in which the woman is thrown and rotates; twist lifts, where she is thrown, spins and is caught; overhead lifts across five permitted groups; and the death spiral. Side-by-side jumps and spins are also scored on how closely the two match, and this is where mistakes most often occur.

Program Components Score (PCS) Program Components Score (PCS)

The score that evaluates the program itself rather than individual elements, reduced from five to three components — Composition, Presentation and Skating Skills — starting in the 2022-23 season. Each is scored up to 10.00 in quarter-point increments and multiplied by a segment- and discipline-specific factor. At the top of the sport these scores cluster tightly between 8.5 and 9.75, drawing criticism as reputation-based scoring, but it is usually this score that separates two skaters with identical technical content.

Quadruple Jump Quadruple Jump

A jump completing four full rotations, commonly shortened to a quad. Canada's Kurt Browning landed the first ratified quadruple toe loop in 1988, and it is now a prerequisite for medal contention in men's singles. Base values range from 9.50 for a toe loop up to 12.50 for an Axel. It requires nearly five rotations per second in the air, and because a fallen quad still banks a large share of its base value, attempting one even at the risk of falling is a rational strategic choice.

Salchow Salchow

An edge jump introduced by Sweden's Ulrich Salchow in 1909, typically entered from a three-turn and launched from a back inside edge with no toe assist. It carries the second-lowest base value of the six jumps after the toe loop — 4.30 for a triple, 9.70 for a quadruple — and because its entry is relatively simple, it is usually the first rotating jump most skaters learn. Rotation is generated by the swinging force of the free leg at take-off.

Second-Half Bonus Second-Half Bonus

A rule giving a 1.1 multiplier to the base value of jumps started after the midpoint of the free skate. Since the 2018-19 season it applies only to the final three jumping passes, after skaters previously crammed jumps into the back half and distorted program shape. Jumps attempted on tired legs are more prone to underrotation calls, so chasing the bonus sometimes costs more than it earns.

Short Program Short Program

The competition's opening segment, in which senior singles and pairs skaters must perform exactly seven required elements within 2 minutes 40 seconds. Missing or exceeding a required element earns that element no score with no way to make it up, which keeps strategy conservative even at the top level. It carries roughly half the points of the free skate, leaving room to recover from a poor showing, though it does affect skating order in the free skate.

Sit Spin Sit Spin

One of the three basic spin positions, performed with the skating knee bent deeply enough to bring the hip below knee height. Failing to meet that height threshold means the position isn't credited, cutting both level and score. Variations such as the cannonball, pancake and doughnut depend on free-leg placement and are each recognized as level-raising features. Jackson Haines is credited with first performing the position in the 19th century.

Step Sequence Step Sequence

An element that links turns and steps to travel across the full ice surface, with level determined by the type and number of turns used — rockers, counters, brackets, twizzles, chocktaws — how fully the pattern uses the ice, and whether speed is maintained throughout. Judges simultaneously read the Skating Skills component off the same passage. Because it can't be masked by pure athleticism, it is considered the element that most honestly reveals a skater's fundamentals.

Stroking Stroking

A core figure-skating term: see competitive rules and judging criteria for how stroking is applied in short program and free skate.

Technical Element Score (TES) Technical Element Score (TES)

The sum of the scores for every element performed in a program. Each element's base value is combined with the judges' grade of execution and added together, and this score usually decides medals at the elite level, since program component scores vary little between top skaters while a single quadruple jump can swing the technical score by ten points or more. The total score is the Technical Element Score plus the Program Components Score, minus deductions.

Technical Panel Technical Panel

The panel that rules on what was actually performed, made up of a technical specialist, an assistant and a technical controller. It determines the type and rotation count of each jump and the level of every spin and step, and reviews underrotations, downgrades and edge errors on video. Its role is entirely separate from the judges who score quality, and most of the calls that erase points originate here.

Throw Jump Throw Jump

A pairs element in which the man launches his partner into the air to rotate, and she lands the jump alone. Thrown Salchows, loops and flips are common, and top pairs attempt them beyond triples and up to quadruples. Because the woman travels much farther than she would jumping alone, landing impact is greater and calculating distance to the rink boards becomes essential, which keeps this element consistently near the top of pairs injury statistics.

Toe Loop Toe Loop

The toe jump with the lowest base value of the six, launched from a back outside edge with the opposite foot's toe pick. It is worth 4.20 for a triple and 9.50 for a quadruple. Its simple entry and matching landing foot make it the most widely used second jump in a combination, and it is also usually the first quadruple jump any given skater lands. It draws the most frequent debate over pre-rotation, where the body begins turning before leaving the ice.

Toe Pick Toe Pick

The serrated teeth at the front of the blade that distinguish figure skates from hockey or speed skates. It is used to launch off the ice for the toe loop, flip and Lutz, and in certain spin and step-sequence movements. Most beginner forward falls happen when the toe pick catches the ice unexpectedly, and a habit of walking on the ice by stabbing the toe pick down kills speed and wears the pick down faster.

Twizzle Twizzle

A traveling one-foot element that completes several rotations in quick succession while moving across the ice, a core element of ice dance. Both partners must perform it at matching speed, position and rotation count simultaneously, and any mismatch drops the level. It is the single most common point where placements are decided in ice dance, and World Championship titles have changed hands over a missed key point in a single twizzle.

Underrotation Underrotation

A call applied when a jump falls short of its required rotation by more than a quarter turn, marked with a < symbol on the scoring sheet and reduced to 70 percent of base value. It also applies to jumps landed cleanly without a fall, so nearly three points can vanish from a jump that looks successful to the audience, and it shows up disproportionately in the later part of a program once a skater's stamina fades.

Zayak Rule Zayak Rule

A repetition limit created after the United States' Elaine Zayak landed six triple toe loops in her free skate at the 1982 World Championships. In the free skate, only two types of triple or quadruple jump may be repeated, and any repeated jump must be performed inside a combination or sequence. A quad and a triple of the same jump count as a repetition of each other, and violating the rule means the repeated element earns no value.

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