Back in my middle school days I played basketball on the 8th grade team. My ever supportive mother, although she didn’t understand a lick about the sport, came to every game to cheer me on. I’m sure she was confused and bored to tears most of the time. Maybe a few pointers before the season would have helped her enjoy my games a bit more.
So now it’s your turn to get involved in your child’s sport or activity, even if it’s as simple as learning a few rules or techniques! Maybe all your involvement to date has been buying her girls figure skating clothing, but that changes today! Here’s a quick lesson on figure skating spins so you can identify all those moves on the ice that make her look like a human pretzel. There are three types of spins in figure skating- Upright Spins, Sit Spins and Camel Spins. Each category has basic, foundational moves that evolve into very complicated spins.
Upright Spins
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| Scratch spin |
The Scratch Spin – This move involves both legs – one skating leg and one “free leg” that is crossed in front of the skating leg. The arms and free leg start extended straight out and high. They are pulled in gradually, which accelerates the spin, and the leg is pushed down so that the feet are crossed at the ankles.
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| Biellmann spin |
Evolve this into: the Biellmann Spin. Yow! This move takes years of practice to master and requires superhuman flexibility. It might be awhile before she attempts this one, but when she does you can correctly identify it.
Sit Spins
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| Sit spin |
The Sit Spin – A basic move to start this category. The skater bends the skating knee into a sitting position and the other leg is extended. The skater reaches his or her arms out to touch the toes of the extended leg – all while spinning in a circle!
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| Flying sit spin |
Evolve this into: the Flying Sit Spin. The only difference from the basic sit spin is that the skater starts the move from a jump. Her or she must get into the sit spin position while in the air.
Camel Spins
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| Camel spin |
The Camel Spin – This spin paints a beautiful picture on the ice. What defines the Camel Spin is that the free leg must be held backwards with the knee of the free leg higher than the hip level. Michelle Kwan is famous for performing this move to textbook perfection.
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| Donut spin |
Evolve this into: the Donut Spin (also known as the horizontal Biellmann). In this spin the skater pulls the blade of the skate of the free leg backward with one or both arms while arching the back to create a horizontal circular shape with the body.
These moves might look complicated but finding beautiful and affordable ice skating clothes doesn’t have to be. Shop SophiasStyle.com for skating dresses, practice pants and jackets and even boot covers. She’ll look good in our figure skating clothes for girls while she masters her technique!