Layback spin

An upright spin with the head and shoulders leaning backwards and the back arched; the free leg can be anywhere.

Also called layback. Other names.

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The ISU counts the layback as an upright spin, not a position of its own: the skating leg is straight or nearly so, and what makes it a layback is the upper body, with the head and shoulders leaning back and the back arched. Where the free leg goes is the skater’s choice. US Figure Skating’s rulebook puts the same thing as the head leaning away from the axis the body turns about, with a definite arch in the back.

The Biellmann, which US Figure Skating describes as the free foot pulled from behind to above the head, is one of the variations the ISU still counts as upright. The ISU’s sideways leaning spin is the layback’s neighbour, with the head and shoulders leaning to the side instead.

British Ice Skating’s national tests name the layback among the single-position spins from National 4. In the ISU’s short programme, a women’s layback has to hold its position for eight revolutions.

Off the ice

• Core and carriageA trunk that holds its shape while the shoulders and hips move separately.
• Holding spin positionsThe sit, camel and layback shapes, held still for longer than a spin lasts.

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