Patrick Chan of the Canada skates his short program at the 2009 Homesense Skate Canada International in Kitchener, Ontario in November 2009. (Geoff Robins/AFP/Getty Images) Figure Skating is the marquee sport of the Winter Games, says former Canadian world champion Paul Martini. "Some may say it's hockey, but it's probably a toss-up," he says, arguing his case. "Figure skating draws more eyes than anything else during the course of the Winter Games."
It's hard to define the hook. To begin with, there's the pageantry — the beauty, the music, the costumes, the impressive cast of athletes seeking expressive and athletic perfection. And then there are the open and fierce rivalries, a formidable sideshow to the event itself. Bend your knees, spin tightly, jump fast, and do it calmly and artistically.
Under this microscope, nerves can be the big determinant between perfection found and lost. Like most sports, figure skating requires tremendous psychological, as well as physical discipline.
"When nerves come into play you tend to get stiff, you tend to not bend your knees," explains Martini's former partner Barbara Underhill. "No matter how talented you are, that doesn't matter anymore unless you are be able to control your nerves and be able to focus."
For all the lavish costumes and theatrical gestures of figure skating, the mental demands of the sport mean that skaters have to sustain their tenacity over a series of battles, from jump to jump, spin to step, outside edge to inside edge, short program to free program.
The Olympic competition
In the short program, worth one-third of the final score, skaters must complete a series of required jumps, spins, combinations and step sequences in two minutes and 40(50) seconds. Marks are deducted for missed or poorly executed elements. The top 24 skaters advance to the free skate competition, which accounts for two-thirds of the final score.
The free skate runs between four minutes for the women and four minutes and 30 seconds for the men. Here, skaters showcase their artistic style and personal areas of strength. Judges give high marks for creativity, difficulty, variety, confidence and speed.
Speed, spinning and jumping
In both programs, the skater must be vigilant about form and execution. From sit spin to camel spin, speed of rotation and strength of position are crucial. A good spin resembles a toy top: centred and spinning tightly in one spot. The skater should also demonstrate some creative flair in combining spin positions.
Speed is a big factor in whether a jump is successful. But that's not obvious to the casual viewer, primarily because it does not translate well on television. Skaters are dwarfed by the expanse of the ice rink. Skaters who go into jumps with more speed increase their level of difficulty and are rewarded with better marks. This explains how one skater who falls on a high-speed jump can place ahead of a skater who performed cleanly but slowly.
The level of difficulty in jumps is also measured in terms of the number of rotations - a triple Axel is more difficult than a double Axel. (Please see the glossary for a list of the jumps). The Salchow, toe loop, and loop are among the easier jumps, while the flip, Lutz, Axel and quad are more difficult.
Skaters further increase their program's level of difficulty with combination jumps. In breaking down the technical, judges examine the speed with which a jump is entered and exited, air position, height and distance. Deductions are taken for small things that may be imperceptible to the average viewer, such as a wrapped free leg instead of a tight backspin jumping position.
To these technical considerations, the skater must also consider the artistry of the program. Meeting the technical demands with surety and grit must also be in harmony with the expressiveness of the piece. It's a fine balance that some skaters struggle to achieve.
Showstoppers
The mighty quad has been a presence in international competition for more than a decade and has evolved from an awesome showstopper to an almost expected element.
Under the International Skating Union's new rigorous judging system, skaters are cramming their programs with difficult jumps and footwork in order to gain scores. Many skaters are suffering through injury during the training season as they keep upping the ante. It's a tall order: clean, powerful jumps, tough combinations, footwork, artistry, speed, and creative interpretation of music. And through it all, the skater must appear relaxed, confident and poised.
The feeling of falling
Sometimes things go awry. "Let's face it, when you hit the ice, it's no different from when you hit anything else that feels like concrete," Martini says of the dreaded tumble. "When you do have a fall, it's not expected. You're usually not ready for it." Following the physical jolt, the skater must quickly regain composure and focus.
This can be a formidable task requiring the skater to dig deep within. Well-trained skaters map out the different levels of energy required for each portion of the program, but having to pick oneself up and regain the lost speed and momentum, drains the gas tank a little. Untimely spills befall just about everyone, and the best skaters look for windows of opportunity to compensate for errors committed during their programs.
All about the body
In training, skaters must also negotiate between the need to land clean, solid jumps and their bodily limits. For singles skaters, one of the biggest sources of injury is overuse.
To meet the difficult judging demands, and to attain higher marks, skaters will make many attempts at difficult jumps, some of them barely within their limits. As a result, skaters suffer through stress fractures, strains, groin pulls and hip injuries.
Skaters average two two-hour sessions a day on the ice, one in the morning, another in the afternoon, however it is not uncommon to practice upwards of three hours a day.
