rules to play figure skating

Single skating is a discipline of figure skating in which male and female skaters compete individually. Mens singles and ladies singles are both Olympic disciplines and are both governed by the International Skating Union, along with the other Olympic figure skating events, pair skating and ice dancing. Single skaters perform jumps, spins, step sequences, spirals, and other moves in the field as part of their competitive programs.

Pair skating is a figure skating discipline. International Skating Union (ISU) regulations describe pair teams as consisting of one lady and one man. The sport is distinguished from ice dancing and single skating by elements unique to pair skating, including overhead lifts, twist lifts, death spirals, and throw jumps. The teams also perform the elements of single skating in unison. Pair skating requires similar technique and timing on all elements of the performance, as well as practice and trust between the partners. The aim is to create an impression of two skating as one. Serious skating accidents are most common in the pair discipline.

In February 1908, pair skating first appeared at the World Championships, with three teams from Germany, the United Kingdom, and Russia competing in Saint Petersburg. Its Olympic debut was in October 1908, with three teams competing in London, one from Germany and two from the U.K. Pair skating has evolved significantly since its early beginnings. Some elements common in the modern day sport were not introduced until decades later.

Ice dancing is a discipline of figure skating that draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976.As in pair skating, dancers compete as a couple consisting of a man and a woman. Ice dance differs from pair skating by having different requirements for lifts. Couples must perform spins as a team in a dance hold, and throws and jumps are disallowed. Typically, partners are not supposed to separate by more than two arm lengths. Originally, partners were supposed to be in a dance hold the entire program, though modern ice dancing has lifted this restriction somewhat.Another distinction between ice dance and other skating disciplines is the use of music in the performances. In ice dancing, dancers must always skate to music with a definite beat or rhythm. Singles and pair skaters more often skate to the melody and phrasing of their music, rather than its beat. This is severely penalized in ice dance.

Four skating is a figure skating and roller skating discipline. Fours teams consist of two ladies and two men. The sport is similar to pair skating, with elements including overhead lifts, twist lifts, death spirals, and throw jumps, as well as the elements of single skating in unison, pairs elements in unison and unique elements that involve all four skaters. Fours is not an Olympic event and is rarely competed. It was discontinued from the Canadian Figure Skating Championships following the 1996 1997 season.

Special figures were a component of figure skating in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Like compulsory figures, special figures involved tracing patterns on the ice with the blade of one ice skate. This required the skater to display significant balance and control while skating on one foot.While compulsory figures were standard patterns derived from the figure 8, the special figures were elaborate patterns of the skaters own invention. These designs included rosettes, stars, crosses, and other elaborate curlicues. The building blocks for special figures included not only the elements of the standard compulsory figures, but shapes known as beaks, spectacles, and cross cuts.Tracing of elaborate patterns on the ice was a characteristic of the American and British schools of figure skating. By the early 20th century, this had been largely displaced by the International Style of free skating which utilized the entire ice surface and featured more athletic movements set to music.Special figures was an event in the 1908 Summer Olympic Games. Nikolai Panin of Russia won the event.

Ice theatre (also known as theatre on ice, TOI, and ballet on ice) is a branch of figure skating which merges the technical jumps and spins with unique choreography, ice dancing, pairs moves, synchronized skating, and theater to tell a story or act out an emotion or idea. It is a relatively new branch of figure skating, but it is also growing quickly.[1] Ice Theatre can be enjoyed by the youngest to the oldest and brings out the more artistic side of figure skating.This article focuses on ice theatre as a competitive discipline for amateur or recreational skaters. Ice Theatre can also refer to professional skating ensembles such as the John Curry Company, Ice Theatre of New York, The Next Ice Age, Seattle Ice Theatre, Ice Semble Chicago and American Ice Theatre that perform classical ballet or modern dance on ice in a concert or show setting, much like a professional dance troupe. These companies are typically organized as not for profit and provide community outreach and education programs.

Adagio skating, a form of pair skating most commonly seen in ice shows, where the skaters perform many acrobatic lifts but few or none of the other elements which competitive pairs must perform.

Acrobatic skating, also known as Acrobatics on ice or Extreme Skating, is a combination of circus arts, technical artistic gymnastics skills, and figure skating.

Jumps involve the skater leaping into the air and 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 by the number of rotations that are completed.Each jump receives a score according to its base value and GOE.Quality of execution, technique, height, speed, flow and ice coverage are considered by the judges. An under rotated jump (indicated by < ) is missing rotation of more than ?, but less than ? revolution and receives 70% of the base value. A downgraded jump (indicated by <<) is missing rotation of ? revolution or more. A triple which is downgraded is treated as a double, while a downgraded double is treated as a single jump.An edge violation occurs when a skater executes a jump on the incorrect edge. The hollow is a groove on the bottom of the blade which creates two distinct edges, inside and outside. The inside edge of the blade is on the side closest to the skater, the outside edge is on the side farthest from the skater, and a flat refers to skating on both edges at the same time, which is discouraged. An unclear edge or edge violation is indicated with an e and reflected in the GOE according to the severity of the problem. Flutz and lip are the colloquial terms for a Lutz and flip jump with an edge violation.

Toe jumps are launched by tapping the toe pick of one skate into the ice, and include (in order of difficulty from easiest to hardest[citation needed])Toe loops take off from the back outside edge of the left or right foot and are launched by the opposite toe pick (toe walleys are similar, but take off from the back inside edge of the right foot);Flips, which take off from the back inside edge of the right or left foot and are launched by the opposite toe pick;Lutzes, which take off from the back outside edge of the right or left foot and are launched by the opposite toe pick.