A champion on ice
As a young boy, British figure-skating champion Steven Cousins never thought he'd be compete in the Olympics.
from the February 20, 2007 edition
Page 3 of 3
Go for the gold
How well do you know your figure-skating terminology? Test your trivia knowledge with this quiz. Match the descriptions on the left with the terms on the right. The answers are below.
Descriptions
1. The teeth at the front of a skate blade that assist a skater in jumps and spins.
2. Any movement in pairs skating where both partners perform the same steps at the same time, usually very close to each other.
3. A jump in which the skater takes off on the back outside edge of one skate blade and lands on the back outside edge of the other. The jump is named for its Austrian inventor, who first performed the movement in competition in 1913.
4. One of the most difficult jumps in figure skating in which the skater takes off from the forward outside edge of the skate and lands on the back outside edge of the opposite skate. A single jump of this type is 1-1/2 revolutions, a double is 2-1/2 revolutions, and a triple is 3-1/2 revolutions. The jump is named for its inventor, who first performed the movement in 1882, and is the only jump that takes off from a forward position.
5. For this ice-dancing routine, all the couples perform the same standardized steps and holds to music of a specified tempo.
6. This is the area at an ice rink where skaters wait for their marks to be announced after their performances in a competition.
7. This jump is a move where the skater glides backward on a back inside edge of the skate, "picks" (digs the front part of the skate into the ice) with the other skate, jumps a full revolution in the air, and lands on the back outside edge of the foot that picked.
8. A spin or spiral position in which the skater's free leg is held by one or both hands.
9. Fluid movement used to gain speed in which a skater pushes off back and forth from the inside edge of one skate to the inside edge of the other skate.
10. A lift in which the man raises his partner, by her hip, from his side up into the air. She is in the scissor position, with either one hand touching his shoulder or in a hands-free position.
11. A way of moving across the ice by pushing the feet outward from a 90-degree-angle "V" and then pulling them together again, forming an oval on the ice.
Terms
A. Kiss and cry
B. Toe pick
C. Catch-foot
D. Stroking
E. Axel jump
F. Compulsory dance
G. Jump flip [Editor's note: The original version incorrectly identified the name of the jump.]
H. Star lift
I. Unison skating
J. Swizzle or scissors
K. Lutz jump
Answers
1. B; 2. I; 3. K; 4. E; 5. F; 6. A; 7. G; 8. C; 9. D; 10. H; 11. J
Source: US Figure Skating website, www.usfigureskating.org.
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