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Pagophilia

Adventures in skating historiography

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Category: Freestyle

The flying Mercury

March 10, 2019May 30, 2020 Bev1 Comment

This fanciful move goes all the way back to the eighteenth century.

Posted in FreestyleTagged goethe, sonjahenie, wingsonmyfeet

Layback & cross-foot spins

May 14, 2018 Bev

I wrote about the cross-foot spin in a previous post. This post is about how its neglect led to different requirements for male and female skaters. The cross-foot spin became a short program requirement for men parallel to the layback spin requirement for women in 1975. It also began to parallel the layback spin in… Continue reading Layback & cross-foot spins →

Posted in Freestyle

Takeoff edges

April 17, 2018November 30, 2020 Bev

One feature that differentiates jumps in figure skating is the takeoff edge. Jumps can start on any edge, but nearly all finish on the backward outside edge. The flip, for example, begins on a backward inside edge. In contrast, the Lutz takeoff is on a backward outside edge. These two jumps are otherwise identical: a… Continue reading Takeoff edges →

Posted in Freestyle

The cross-foot spin

April 7, 2018November 30, 2020 Bev

The cross-foot spin is a figure skating move that was once quite popular but is rarely performed today. Laurence Owen performed one at the end of her 1961 National Championship-winning free skate (jump ahead to 4:30 if you just want to see the final spin combination): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0114AudgYms While I was looking for a video, I… Continue reading The cross-foot spin →

Posted in Freestyle