what are these figures you speak of?

[jumpschool]

PUTTING THE FIGURE IN FIGURE SKATING

Figure skating first got its name because of "school figures." Skaters spent hours and hours on the ice each day skating perfect circles on the ice, tracing lines, circles and turns. But no longer...what happened?!? A history lesson, if you will...

Comments

[likeviolins]

Yeah, even skaters who didn't do well with their figures like Midori and Kristi would be considered to have great basics by today's standards.

[likeviolins]

Awesome post, bb!

I think figures are really interesting to watch. I wish more skaters did figures to work on their edging. I could watch this Trixie Schuba video all day.

[jumpschool]

this is a good video -- i like the view of the judging process. thanks for posting!

[nonexistentlj]

Oooh, this video actually makes figures look interesting :P I love the intensity of the skaters and the sound their blades make cutting across the ice.

[a_nice_reminder]

This video is fascinating! I love how focused the skaters look, and the sound of blades on ice is one of my favorite sounds EVER. There is so much skill required to do CF, idek it is just so awesome.

Also, lol @ at the judges at 2:40.

[kerishma]

I miss compulsory figures - it gave such a good foundation for young skaters!

[oldpandadays]

This is so neat! I'd read somewhere that this was where the name of the sport originally came from, but I had no idea that they were still part of competitions up until so recently. Thanks for compiling all of this! :D

[naruke_chan]

That's so interesting! I didn't know any of this. Man, I think I'd probably kill myself trying to make my circles perfect, etc. Thanks for posting this! :D