rules to play figure skating

Edge jumps use no toe assist, and include:
Salchows, which take off from either the left or right back inside edge. Allowing the edge to come round, the opposite leg helps launch the jump into the air and land on one foot;
Loops (also known as Rittberger jumps) take off from either the left or right back outside edge and land on the same edge;
Axels, which are the only rotating jump to take off from a forward edge. Because they take off from a forward edge, they include one half extra rotations and are very much considered[by whom?] the hardest jump of the six.

Pair lifts are generally overhead. According to the current ISU rules for senior level competition, the man must rotate more than once, but fewer than three and a half times. In competitive pair skating, lifts must travel across the ice to be included in the technical elements score (TES); stationary lifts are included in choreography. Pair lifts are grouped by the holds involved.The judges look at speed, ice coverage, the quality of the ladys position, position changes, and the mans stability and cleanness of turns throughout. Skaters may also raise their score by having a difficult entry such as in spiral or spread eagle position, a difficult exit, or other features such as stopping the rotation, turning a carry lift into rotational one, or reversing rotation (i.e. both clockwise and counter clockwise directions).

Twist lifts are a form of pair lifts, where the lifted partner is thrown into the air, twists, and is caught by the lifted partner. The lady is caught by her waist in the air and lands on the backward outside edge. Some pairs include a split before rotating. This is credited as a difficult feature if each leg is separated by at least a 45

Ice dancers are not allowed to lift their partners above their shoulders. Dance lifts are separated into short lifts and long lifts. There are many positions each partner can take to raise the difficulty of a lift. Each position must be held for at least three seconds to count and is permitted only once in a program.

Short lifts may last up to six seconds in competition on the senior level.
Stationary lift A lift performed on the spot. The lifting partner does not move across the ice, but is allowed to rotate.
Straight line lift The lifting partner moves in a straight line across the ice. This lift may be performed on one foot or two.
Curve lift The lifting partner moves along a curve across the ice. This lift may be performed on one foot or two.
Rotational lift The lifting partner rotates in one direction while traveling across the ice.
Long lifts may last up to ten seconds in competition on the senior level.
Reverse rotational lift The lifting partner rotates in one direction, then switches and rotates in the other direction, while traveling across the ice. Serpentine lift The lifting partner moves in a serpentine pattern across the ice.
Combination lift A lift combining two of the four short lifts. Each part of the lift must be fully established.
In both pairs and dance, lifts that go on longer than allowed receive deductions.

Compulsory figures involves using blades to draw circles, figure 8s, and similar shapes in ice. Skaters are judged on the accuracy and clarity of the figures and the cleanness and exact placement of the various turns on the circles. Figures were formerly included as a component of singles competitions but were eliminated from international events in 1990. The United States was the last country to retain a separate test and competitive structure for compulsory figures, but the last national level figures championship was held in 1999. Moves in the field (known in the United Kingdom as field moves) replaced compulsory figures as a discipline to teach the same turns and edge skills.

The International Skating Union (ISU) is the governing body for international competitions in figure skating, including the World Championships and the figure skating events at the Winter Olympic Games. Medals are awarded for overall results. The standard medal colors are gold for first place, silver for second, and bronze for third place. U.S. Figure Skating also awards pewter medals for fourth place finishers in national events. At the World, European, Four Continents, and World Junior Championships, the ISU also awards small medals for segment results (short and free program).

In singles and pairs figure skating competition, competitors must perform two programs, the short program, in which the skater must complete a list of required elements consisting of jumps, spins and steps; and the free skate, also known as the long program, in which the skaters have slightly more choice of elements. Under both the 6.0 system and the ISU Judging System, the judges consider the complete package when evaluating performances, i.e. The best jumper is not always placed first if the judges consider another skaters speed, spins, presentation, etc., to outweigh the difference in jumping execution.

Ice dancing competitions formerly consisted of three phases: one or more compulsory dances; an original dance to a ballroom rhythm that is designated annually; and a free dance to music of the skaters own choice. Beginning in the 2010 11 season, the compulsory and original dances were merged into the short dance.

Skating was formerly judged for technical merit (in the free skate), required elements (in the short program), and presentation (in both programs).The marks for each program ran from 0.0 to 6.0, the latter being the highest. These marks were used to determine a preference ranking, or ordinal, separately for each judge; the judges preferences were then combined to determine placements for each skater in each program. The placements for the two programs were then combined, with the free skate placement weighted more heavily than the short program. The highest placing individual (based on the sum of the weighted placements) was declared the winner.

In 2004, in response to the judging controversy during the 2002 Winter Olympics, the ISU adopted the International Judging System (IJS), which became mandatory at all international competitions in 2006, including the 2006 Winter Olympics. The new system is often informally referred to as the Code of Points, however, the ISU has never used the term to describe their system in any of their official communications.Under the system, points are awarded individually for each skating element, and the sum of these points is the total element score (TES). Competitive programs are constrained to have a set number of elements. Each element is judged first by a technical specialist who identifies the specific element and determines its base value. The technical specialist uses instant replay video to verify things that distinguish different elements; e.g., the exact foot position at take off and landing of a jump. The decision of the technical specialist determines the base value of the element. A panel of twelve judges then each award a mark for the quality and execution of the element. This mark is called the grade of execution (GOE) that is an integer from ?3 to +3. The GOE mark is then translated into another value by using the table of values in ISU rule 322. The GOE value from the twelve judges is then processed with a computerized random selection of nine judges, then discarding the high and low value, and finally averaging the remaining seven. This average value is then added to (or subtracted from) the base value to get the total value for the element.

A skater/couples world standing (WS) is calculated based on results over the current and preceding two seasons. Competitors receive points based on their final placement at an event and the events weight. The following events receive points.

ISU Championships (World, European, Four Continents, and World Junior Championships) and Olympic Winter Games: The best result by points per season, the best two results by points over the three seasons.

ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating and Final (senior and junior): The two best results by points per season, the best four results by points over the three seasons.

International senior calendar competitions: The two best results by points per season, the best four results by points over the three seasons. Following the current seasons World Championships, the results from the earliest season are deleted. A new partnership starts with zero points there is no transfer of WS points if a pair or ice dancing couple split up and form a new partnership.

These standings do not necessarily reflect a skater/couples capabilities. Due to limits on entries to events (no more than three from each country), and varying numbers of high level skaters in each country, skaters from some countries may find it more difficult to qualify to compete at major events. Thus, a skater with a lower SB but from a country with few high level skaters may qualify to a major event while a skater with a much higher SB but from a country with more than three high level skaters may not be sent. As a result, it is possible for a skater who regularly scores higher to end up with a much lower world standing.A skater/couples seasons world ranking is calculated similarly to overall world standing but is based on the results on the results of the ongoing season only.

A skater/couples seasons best (SB) is the highest score they have achieved within a particular season. There may be SB for combined total and segment scores (short program/dance, free skating/free dance). Each skater or couples best combined total appears on a list of seasons bests. The list may be used to help determine assignments to the following seasons Grand Prix series. Only scores achieved at select international competitions are considered. Scores from national competitions and certain international events are excluded.

There are also personal best (PB) scores, i.e. the highest scores a skater or couple has achieved over their entire career, in terms of combined total and segment scores. However, PB scores are not completely comparable if achieved in different seasons because the ISU modifies requirements and rules between seasons. In different seasons, there may be different requirements to achieve a certain level or different elements may be required. New elements may become allowed (for example, two quads in the short program were permitted starting in the 2010 11 season). There may be a change in point values. For example, the values of quads were increased after the 2010 Olympics and a second step sequence in men is no longer assigned a level. As a result, the ISU now places more weight on SB.