Layback spin

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Figure skating element
Layback spin (Nikodinov).png
Element nameLayback spin
Scoring abbreviation LSp
Element type Upright spin
Inventor Cecilia Colledge

A layback spin is a variation of the upright spin, a spin in figure skating. British figure skater Cecilia Colledge was "responsible for the invention" [1] of the spin and the first to execute it. [2] Colledge's coach, Jacques Gerschwiler, who was a former gymnastics teacher and according to Colledge "very progressive in his ideas", [1] got the idea for the upright spin while watching one of Colledge's trainers, a former circus performer turned acrobatics instructor, train Colledge to perform backbends "by means of a rope tied around her waist". [1] The upright spin has long been associated with women's skating, but men have also performed it. Skaters include it in their programs because it increases their technical content and fulfills choreographic needs. [3]

Contents

The layback spin is executed by holding the free leg in a back attitude position and arching the head and upper body backward so that the skater faces up towards the sky, ceiling, or further. [4] The free leg position is optional. [5] A variation of the layback spin is the Biellmann spin , made popular by world champion Denise Biellmann, which the International Skating Union (ISU), the organization that governs figure skating, considers a difficult variation of the layback spin. It is executed by the skater grabbing their free blade and pulling the heel of their boot behind and above the level of the head so that their legs are in an approximate full split, with the head and back arched upward. [4] [6] The spin "requires much strength and extreme flexibility". [7]

Other difficult variations of the layback spin are the full layback (the upper body is arched sideways with the upper body bent to the side from the waist towards the ice or arched back from the waist towards the ice) and when the skater's upper body is arched sideways or arched back, with their free leg almost touching their head in a full circle. In ice dance, difficult variations of the layback spin include a split, with both legs straight and the boot of one partner's free leg held up higher than their head (which can be supported by their partner) and leaning away from the other partner, with the axis to their upper back to the knee over 45 degrees. [6]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Single skating</span> Discipline of figure skating

Single skating is a discipline of figure skating in which male and female skaters compete individually. Men's singles and women's singles are governed by the International Skating Union (ISU). Figure skating is the oldest winter sport contested at the Olympics, with men's and women's single skating appearing as two of the four figure skating events at the London Games in 1908.

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The 6.0 system of judging figure skating was developed during the early days of the sport, when early international competitions consisted of only compulsory figures. Skaters performed each figure three times on each foot, for a total of six, which as writer Ellyn Kestnbaum states, "gave rise to the system of awarding marks based on a standard of 6.0 as perfection". It was used in competitive figure skating until 2004, when it was replaced by the ISU Judging System in international competitions, as a result of the 2002 Winter Olympics figure skating scandal. British ice dancers Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean earned the most overall 6.0s in ice dance, Midori Ito from Japan has the most 6.0s in single skating, and Irina Rodnina from Russia, with two different partners, has the most 6.0s in pair skating.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Figure skating lifts</span> Figure skating technique

Figure skating lifts are required elements in two disciplines of figure skating: pair skating and ice dance. There are five groups of lifts in pair skating, categorized in order of increasing level of difficulty. Judges look for the following when evaluating pair lifts: speed of entry and exit; control of the woman's free leg when she is exiting out of the lift, with the goal of keeping the leg high and sweeping; the position of the woman in the air; the man's footwork; quick and easy changes of position; and the maintenance of flow throughout the lift. Twist lifts are "the most thrilling and exciting component in pair skating". They can also be the most difficult movement to perform correctly. They require more strength and coordination than many other pair elements, and are usually the first or second element in a program. According to the International Skating Union (ISU), "the Woman must be caught in the air at the waist by the Man prior to landing and be assisted to a smooth landing on the ice on a backward outside edge on one foot" during a twist lift. A pair lift and twist lift is required in the short program of pair skating; a well-balanced free skating program in pair skating must include lifts.

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The upright spin is one of the three basic figure skating spin positions. The International Skating Union (ISU), the governing body of figure skating, defines an upright spin as a spin with "any position with the skating leg extended or slightly bent which is not a camel position". It was invented by British figure skater Cecilia Colledge. Variations of the upright spin include the layback spin, the Biellmann spin, the full layback, the split, the back upright spin, the forward upright spin, the scratchspin, and the sideways leaning spin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Competition elements in ice dance</span>

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Kestnbaum, p. 107
  2. Hines, p. 112
  3. Petkevich, John Misha (1988). Sports Illustrated Figure Skating: Championship Techniques (1st ed.). New York: Sports Illustrated. p. 154. ISBN   978-1-4616-6440-6. OCLC   815289537.
  4. 1 2 Kestnbaum, p. 281
  5. "Special Regulations & Technical Rules: Single & Pair Skating and Ice Dance 2022". International Skating Union. 2022. p. 104. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  6. 1 2 "Communication No. 2393: Ice Dance Lausanne, Switzerland: International Skating Union". 6 May 2021. p. 5. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  7. Hines, p. 227

Works cited