User:Daniel Thompson326/Figure Skating

Figure Skating article for assignment 4 drafting area

Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The four Olympic disciplines are men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dance. These four events are often combined into a team event seen at the Olympics and other competitions. The non-Olympic disciplines include synchronized skating, Theater on Ice, and four skating. From intermediate through senior-level competition, skaters generally perform two programs (the short program and the free skate), which, depending on the discipline, may include spins, jumps, moves in the field, lifts, throw jumps, death spirals, and other elements or moves.

Elements and moves
Each element receives a score according to its base value and grade of execution (GOE), resulting in a combined technical elements score (TES). At competitions, a technical specialist identifies the elements and assigns each one a level of difficulty, ranging from B (Basic) to Level 4 (most difficult). For each element, a panel of judges determines the GOE, ranging between −5 and +5, according to how well the skater executes the element. The GOE is weighted according to the base value of the element. Through the ISU guidelines skaters must perform a minimum of seven elements in their short program and twelve elements in their long program.

Clothing
Skaters are generally free to select their own attire, with a few restrictions. In competition, females may wear a dress, typically with matching attached briefs, and since 2004, they may also choose trousers. They may wear opaque flesh-colored leggings or tights under dresses and skirts, which may extend to cover their skates. Men must wear trousers – they are not allowed to wear tights, although, officials do not always impose a deduction for violations. Matching costumes are not required in pair skating and ice dance.

Competition costumes vary widely, from simple designs to heavily beaded or trimmed costumes. Skaters risk a deduction if a piece of their costume falls onto the ice surface. An official may stop a program if he or she deems there to be a hazard. Skaters and family members may design their own costumes, sometimes with assistance from their coach or choreographer, or turn to professional designers. Costumes may cost thousands of dollars if designed by a top-level costume maker. This rule of costuming came after Katarina Witt's costume and performance at the 1988 Winter Olympics.

According to current ISU regulations, costumes in competition must be fair, non-revealing, and appropriate for both short and long programs. Costumes should not be showy or exotic in nature. Clothing, however, can reflect the genre of music chosen. Although the use of flesh-colored fabric means the costumes are often less revealing than they may appear, there have been repeated attempts to ban clothing that gives the impression of "excessive nudity" or that is otherwise inappropriate for athletic competition. In general, accessories or props are not permitted in competition. The ISU allowed an exception for the original dance in the 2007–08 season but not since.

Injuries and health issues
Competitive skaters generally do not wear helmets or other protective gear. There is a risk of head injuries, particularly in pair skating as a result of falls from lifts. Although pair skaters are most susceptible, serious head injuries can occur in all disciplines, including ice dance. Partners have accidentally slashed each other with their skate blades. This may occur when partners drift too close during side-by-side camel spins. Several female pair skaters have suffered head/face injuries during this element, including Elena Berezhnaya, Jessica Dubé, Mandy Wötzel, Galina Maniachenko (Efremenko), and Elena Riabchuk.

Commenting on falls and concussions, Madison Hubbell said that "Most of the time, the worst falls are on things we kind of take for granted." Shin splints, knee injuries, and back problems are not uncommon. Hip damage may occur as a result of practising jumps and throws. In rare cases, intensive training of spins may result in subtle concussions (Lucinda Ruh).

Injuries have also been sustained by skaters from different teams when many skaters are practising on the ice. Midori Ito collided with Laetitia Hubert at the 1991 World Championships, while Oksana Baiul and Tanja Szewczenko collided at the 1994 Olympics, but all went on to compete. On practice sessions with multiple skaters on the ice, the skater whose music is playing conventionally has right of way. Also, pairs and ice dancers skating as a unit have right of way over those skating separately as changing course is more difficult for a couple.

In some countries, medical personnel may be slow to respond to accidents. At the 2000 World Championships in Nice, France, a pair skater who had been injured in a lift accident lay on the ice for several minutes and had to get up and leave the ice on his own before being offered medical attention.

Eating disorders are reportedly common in figure skating. Body image and the need to maintain a fit body is a very common issue in figure skating, as skaters age, their bodies change and change the way they must approach the sport. Skaters such as Gracie Gold, and Ashley Wagner have faced issues such as eating disorders and depression.

Figure skaters occasionally have positive doping results but it is not common. Commenting on Soviet skaters, three-time Olympic champion Irina Rodnina stated in 1991, "Boys in pairs and singles used drugs, but this was only in August or September. This was done just in training, and everyone was tested (in the Soviet Union) before competitions."

Figure Skating in Pop Culture
Books
 * '' The Official Book of Figure Skating (1998)
 * '' The Complete Book of Figure Skating (2002)
 * '' The Science of Figure Skating (2018)

Films and Shows


 * '' Blades of Glory
 * '' Carmen on Ice
 * '' The Cutting Edge: Chasing the Dream
 * '' I, Tonya
 * '' Ice Castles
 * '' Snow White and the Three Stooges
 * '' Thin Ice (1937 film)
 * '' Tonya and Nancy: The Inside Story
 * '' Yuri on Ice

Video Games


 * '' ESPN International Winter Sports 2002
 * '' Imagine: Figure Skater
 * '' Michelle Kwan Figure Skating
 * '' NBC Sports Figure Skating
 * '' Winter Sports: The Ultimate Challenge