How Do You Differentiate Between Figure Skating Jumps?
To the new figure skating fan, the terms and names of the different jumps and moves can be confusing. This is especially true with the jumps that are performed by single and pairs skaters since they seem to happen so fast. But with just a few things kept in mind, you’ll be telling an axel apart from a salchow in no time. The following steps will provide simple ways to recognize which jumps a skater is performing. Learn the names of the six standard rotational jumps that you will typically see when watching elite figure skating on television, or at a professional skating show. These jumps are called: salchow, toe loop, flip, loop, lutz and axel. Determine if the jump is from a backward or forward take-off. Watch carefully when the skater begins her jump and takes off from the ice. If she is facing forward and swings her leg forward into the air to come off the ice, and she makes at least one and a half complete rotations, then she has performed an axel jump. If the skater is facing back
