Figure Skating Spins- The basics

A figure skating program consists of many: things music, artistry, costume, spirals, footwork, jumps and spins. However there are three primary focus – jumps, spins and footwork.  With the ISU Judging System spins are given credit for position or creativity and difficulty level.  I am also going to give IJS credit for raising the bar on spin difficulty in recent years.

There are four basic spin positions. Can you name them? I bet you can easily name two or three of them. The for basic positions are- camel, sit, upright, and layback.  In recent years, innovative positions or variations have created highly interesting and unusually artistic, sometimes even ugly spin positions. Spins such as the Biellmann, the pancake, the catch foot camel and the broken leg sit spin are new variations.  To create difficulty, spins are even done on the opposite edge as previously executed. For instance, the forward scratch spin ,which is typically done on a backward inside edge, is now being attempted on a forward outside edge.

In this post I will go over identifying the four basic spin positions, in a future post I will cover variations of these positions.

Camel Spin- A camel spin can be recognized by the free leg being 90 degrees from the skating leg. The back is arched and arms typically are out to the side although some people pull them close to the body. A camel spin is basically a level spiral position

Sit Spin- A sit spin is identified by its sitting position low to the ice. In order to be qualified as a sit spin under IJS, a skater’s  bottom must be level with his knee or lower. The back is at approximately a 45-degree angle and arched. It is not hunched over the skating knee. The free leg is stretched out straight in front of the skating leg. Arms are typically stretched out in front of the skating knee and clasped together.

Upright Spin- One of the first spins a skater will learn will be in the upright position, the two-foot spin. The most common upright spin is the scratch or back scratch spin. The scratch spin is identified by the skaters perpendicular, position to the ice. The free leg and arms will start out to the side, and the skater spins they will be drawn closer to the body and the free leg will cross in front of the skating leg.

Layback spin- The layback spin starts upright. It is identified by the back then being arched backwards and the free leg being held up and turned out to the side. Arms are typically held above the chest in a round position.

Can you identify these common positions on the ice? What is your favorite spin position?