Backward slalom

The same wave, drawn travelling backwards.

Also called backward two-foot slalom. Other names.

basic

Not checked yet. The mechanics on this page are a first draft by a non-expert, and no coach has seen them yet. Read them as a starting point and check them with a coach. Corrections are very welcome.

The mark this leaves on the ice, both blades. A straight line is a claim as much as a curve is: it says the blade is flat, and a blade that is not flat is an edge and a different element.

shoulder to hip —on the —

both blades on the ice, travelling backwards, curving side to side and changing edge together. Negative twist means the shoulders are held back against the hips, which stores rotation before a takeoff and checks it on a landing.

Both blades on the ice and close together, skating short half-circle curves from side to side while you travel backwards, and changing edge on both feet together at each change of curve. British Ice Skating Skills 1 asks for it as the second side of its slalom exercise, as backward two-foot power changes of edge, with the same objectives as the forward side: correct edges, rhythmic knee action and speed throughout.

Ice Skating Australia asks for at least six curves and stresses bent knees, lean and posture. It teaches the backward slalom one level after the forward one, alongside backward stroking. New Zealand teaches the forward and backward two-foot slaloms together, at its Novice 2 badge.

Build on

SlalomThe same wave drawn travelling backwards, which British Ice Skating Skills 1 asks for as the second side of its slalom.
Backward two-foot glideBoth feet stay on the ice while travelling backwards, as here, and swing from one pair of edges to the other.

Leads to

4 elements in the guide are built on this one.

Left backward inside change of edge, Left backward outside change of edge, Right backward inside change of edge, Right backward outside change of edgeBritish Ice Skating Skills 1 builds its backward slalom from two-foot power changes of edge, the roll a backward change of edge makes on one blade.

Appears in

BIS Skills 1BIS · level 1

Where it sits in one country's grades is on that country's copy of this page: UK, USA, Australia or New Zealand.

BIS Skills 1, exercise 4: SlalomPower changes of edge down the length of the rink, forwards on two feet and one, and backwards on two.