gorgeous flexibility and position
this is classic skating
beautiful position
just perfect with the leg and the foot
she skates to the music
and look at the exquisite quality here
Figure Skating Fan Production
100 Years of figure skating - Part 2
Spins
Sit Spins
Upright Spins
I-Spin
quite incredible
Y-Spin
Layback Spin
Early part of the Twentieth Century (1900 - 1920s)
Spins, along with jumps, spirals, and spread eagles were simply compulsory or special figures on ice
Spin variations are categorized simply by different changes of the skating foot and Advanced skaters were able to execute spin variations on either foot
1930s - Spins advanced greatly between World War I and World War II
well-centered, fast, exciting to watch and greatly appreciated
this is my little daughter, Cecillia
the 14 year old girl cuts the most difficult figures
a bone skater
There are other skaters but cannot quite attain the standard of Cecilia Colledge
they call her the Pavlova of the ice and not without reason
for her performance is like that of a ballet dancer
and you almost forget that she wears skates
her grace, her precision, her technical brilliance defeat all competition
By the late 1930s, all three basic spin positions were invented
Upright Spin (Cecilia Colledge) Camel Spin (Cecilia Colledge) Sit Spin (Jackson Haines)
by 1928, Sonja Henie showed that she was simply on a level beyond all her competitors
the style and choreography she brought to her free skating routine was revolutionary
Sonja Henie, three-time Olympic champion (1928, 1932, 1936), is well known for her super fast and well centered spins
often reaching 40 or more revolutions, and became the highlights of her programs
1940s - More spin variations were executed
1950s - The rise of flying spin, the combination of a jump and a spin.
He's here skating to Olympic gold in 1952 at the Oslo Olympics
Dick Button was the first skater to execute the flying camel spin. For many years, it’s called the “Button Camel”
Dick Button and Ronnie Robertson popularized the flying sit spin
Dick Button popularized it by winning 2 consecutive Olympic titles with it.
now the star of holiday on ice, Ronnie Robertson
Ronnie Robertson popularized it by his TV appearance on the American variety show The Ed Sullivan Show in 1957!
His fast forward upright spin was described as being "faster than an electric fan."
1960s - 1970s | The evolution of upright spins
Layback spin is a variation of the upright spin
It started gaining popularity among skaters because it is aesthetic choreographic wise and it increases technical contents
and there really is lovely timing every movement
fitting into the music and it's the feel that she's got on the ice for that
1980s - Biellman Spin
It was invented by Russian figure skater, Irina Slutskaya.
Ironically, the spin was not named after her, but..
named after Denise Biellman.
Denise Biellman popularized and perfected the spin
as great as she is in the jumps, these spins are just amazing.
It remains the only figure skating spin to be officially named after a person in ISU code of points
flexibility
control
centering the speed
and her signature trademark, Biellman spin
The Biellmann spin is a difficult variation of the layback spin which requires much strength and extreme flexibility
Over time it has become the signature spin in women’s figure skating
Almost all modern figure skaters end their routines with the Biellmann spin
More variations were performed over the years
One-handed Biellman
Variation with hands on the boot instead of the blades
making the Layback looks like upright I-Spin from the back
It’s not so common among male skaters due to the high requirements on flexibility at the back
Only very few male skaters can execute this spin, often not executed by top skaters with high jumping ability
Although there are notable exception
Olympic Champion - Evgeni Plushenko and Yuzuru Hanyu
They performed it even though it wasn’t highly rewarded
1990s - More variations were invented
Stars entrance into flying camel
this is a faster churning Camel spin than anybody has done
2000s - The era of spins
Y-spins, I-spins become popular among male and female skaters
a half sit spin position
look at the speed here
change foot in the pancake position
good for you, Lucinda Ruh
Ruh has created over twenty different new spin positions now required at competitions.
oh terrific! I just love her skating!
Does her spin position remind you of someone else?
figure skater, Lucinda Ruh is known as the queen of spin
this morning right here, on this very ice, she's going to attempt to break the Guinness world record
for "most continuous upright spins on ice" on one foot
so Lucinda Ruh, good luck! Take it away!
In April 2003, Ruh set the Guinness World Record for the most continuous upright spins on ice (105 revolutions)
joining me right now, skater, Natalia Kanenikova,
she made it into the Guinness book of world records for the fastest skating spin ever recorded on ice!
We had 308.79 revolutions per minute (RPM)
so she broke her own record
congratulations Natalia!
oh that was fun! congratulations!
I arrive today to salute an outstanding young athlete from Hammonds Plains, Nova Scotia, Olivia Rebecca Oliver,
on January 19th, this amazing 11 year old
broke the world record for fastest spinner on ice skates with a speed of 342 RPM
However, as researchers stated in 2018, "Unfortunately, modern figure skaters do not often challenge these records because the rules require skaters to perform spins in different body positions to earn more points"
Even though there is no new World Record, we can see how fast these skaters spin with our own eyes
Trust me, we didn't speed up these video clips
the most difficult in spinning world!
How can we miss Hanyu here?!
Sasha Cohen popularized the I-spin position, which some fans dubbed it the “Sasha Spin”
back spin! now watch the stretch here!
and watch her pull it in right here at this moment
It’s a favorite ending spin for many women skaters
it's so difficult to come up with new positions
Caroline Zhang was known as the first to perform “The pearl spin”, a cross between a catch-foot layback spin and a Biellman spin
but wow! gorgeous flexibility and position!
this is classic skating!
wonderful and impossible and she's a joy to watch!
2010s - With the focus on jumps under the new IJS era, spins contribute to merely around 10% of their technical scores
It became just a standard repertoire in the skaters’ programs and not much new variation was invented.
Skaters often use spins as their signature moves to increase their artistic impression score
Yuna Kim created a new variation of camel spin, dubbed the “Yuna Spin”. It became her signature move
Mao Asada is well known for her one-handed Biellman and Y-Spin position
Yulia Lipnitskaya was known for her super fast I-Spin and Biellman Spin which looks like I-Spin
Yulia popularized the Hyper-extended Biellman position
Adelina Sotnikova is known for the Camel variation.
Unfortunately because of the Sochi 2014 Scandal, this unique camel variation is not so popular outside Russia.
Dick Button commented on Yuzuru Hanyu after Olympics 2014
I will tell you that he was simply breathtaking
and he was wonderful with his jumps and he was wonderful with his spins
and the program was intriguing
and even this donut spin
it's called a donut because of the circle on the top
and he didn't drop a thing
his back and his free leg to pick that up
it was a very very beautiful performance
Yuzuru Hanyu is known for his flexibility on top of his jumping ability, the most well-rounded figure skater!
2020s - With the focus on jumps, it’s unlikely we will see new variation or focus on spins.
But spins remain an essential part of the skaters' programs
As The New York Times says, "While jumps look like sport, spins look more like art."
While jumps provide the suspense, spins provide the scenery, but there is so much more to the scenery than most viewers have time or means to grasp.