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Compulsory figures or school figures were formerly an aspect of the sport of figure skating, from which its name (in English) derives. The original focus of the sport was the carving of specific figures into the ice. The patterns of compulsory figures all derive from the basic figure eight.
Compulsory figures in competition
Compulsory figure terminology Figures are composed of either two or three circular lobes. The simplest figure, the circle eight, consists of a circle skated on an edge on one foot tangent to another circle skated on the corresponding edge on the other foot. The place where the circles meet is called the center, and a line through the center of the circles is called the axis or long axis. The change of foot at the center is accomplished by a thrust from the former skating foot onto a strike by the new skating foot. More complex two-lobed figures include a three turn or bracket turn at the halfway point on each circle, or a double three -- two three turns placed symmetrically to divide the lobe into thirds. The most basic three-lobed figure is the serpentine, skated by doing half a circle on the middle lobe and a change of edge on the same foot to complete the full circle at the end; and then repeating on the other foot to complete the figure. Variations on the three-lobed figures include placing a rocker or counter turn at the centers instead of a simple change of edge, or combining a change of edge with the turns in the ordinary two-lobed figures. A paragraph figure is an advanced two-lobed figure skated entirely on one foot, with a change of edge at the center. The entire figure is then repeated on the other foot over the original tracing. Most figures are skated on circles about three times the skater's height. However, a special class of figures, the loops, are done on much smaller circles, four or five feet in diameter. Here the skater curves sharply inward at the top of the circle to make a teardrop-shaped loop tracing about a blade-length wide. The basic loop is a two-lobed figure, but like the other two-lobed figures it also has more difficult serpentine and paragraph variants. Practice of compulsory figures is commonly called patch because each skater is assigned their own patch of ice to practice on, instead of sharing the entire ice surface. Classification of compulsory figures Figures were formerly identified by these numbers in the rulebook. Note that each figure has several variants depending on which foot, edge, and direction is used to start the figure. Judging of compulsory figures The criteria that are used to judge figures include: Judges normally stand on the ice, off to one side, to watch the execution of the figure. When the skater has finished, they typically check the alignment of the figure from different angles, peer closely at the tracings of the turns, and pace off the diameters of the circles to check their sizes. Equipment for compulsory figures Somewhat paradoxically, compulsory figures require a blade that is less sharp than for freestyle skating in order to produce more precise tracings of edges and turns. A shallower hollow along the bottom of the blade prevents accidental "flats" caused by touchdown of the other edge. Blades for compulsory figures also have smaller toe picks that are placed higher on the front of the blade so that the picks do not drag accidentally on the ice. When figures were a regular part of skating competitions, many skaters recycled their old free skating boots and blades into skates for figures by having the bottom toe pick ground off. A device called a scribe -- essentially, a large compass -- is commonly used as an aid for learning and practicing figures. It can be used to lay out the initial shape of a figure and to check the shape and size of circles already skated, and as a straightedge to check the alignment of the turns. However, scribes are not permitted in competition, nor may skaters rely on markings on the ice or rink boards (such as hockey circles or lines) to align their figures. | ||||||||||
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