by Jeffrey Ober

Created on: January 07, 2010

At the Olympic level of figure skating, there are a number of different types of jumps that are attempted to score points. These jumps are distinguished by the way the skater takes off and how many revolutions are completed while they are in the air. In all cases, to be considered a successful jump, the skater must land on one foot, on the right outside back edge of their skate.

There are three types of toe jumps that are started by the skater tapping their toe onto the ice. For the toe loop, the skater takes off from the outside back edge of one foot after tapping with their other toe on the ice. This is the simplest type of jump. A flip is launched by one foot toe tap and then the skater takes off from the inside back edge of the other foot. The most difficult of the toe jump is the lutz, which is actually quite common at the Olympic level of skating. In the lutz, the skater taps one toe on the ice and takes off from the outside back edge of the other foot.

A more difficult type of jump are the edge jumps. With these jumps, there is no toe tap and no assist from jumping off the toe of one foot. With the salchow, the skater uses their opposite leg to help launch the skater into the air from the inside back edge of one skate. The loop, or Rittberger jump, has the skater jump off from the back outside edge of a skate and land on the same edge. The hardest of all these jumps is the axel. In these jumps, the skater takes off from a forward edge, which makes this jump the most difficult.

In addition to starting and landing these jumps are required, the difficultly level of the jump also depends on the number of rotations that are completed by the skater while in the air. Triple jumps are common for women Olympic skaters, while quadruple jumps are done by only the highest level male skaters.

Skaters can also attempt combination jumps. A combination is when two or more jumps are completed in sequence. To complete a combination jump, the skater must take off from the landing edge of the previous jump and cannot make any additional movements after landing the first jump.

Figure skaters are judged on a 10-point system, the higher the score the better. They are rated by various judges on the technical score and program components including choreography and interpretation.

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