Backward inside loops

From a stationary start on both feet: a forward outside 3-turn and, on the same foot, a backward inside loop.

BIS Skills 6exercise 3In the syllabus both before and after 01/10/2026

Not checked yet. The requirements 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.

A loop is the only element in the syllabus that goes nowhere. The foot stays down, the edge stays the same, the direction of travel stays the same, and the blade draws a small closed circle inside the lobe it was already on. Everything else here is judged on what the skater does; a loop is judged on what the ice shows afterwards.

Getting into it is most of the difficulty, and the exercise says so: the objective names the exit edge of the 3-turn that leads in and says nothing about the loop itself. The turn has to produce a settled backward edge with the rotation stopped and the free side quiet, because a loop entered with any rotation left over opens out into a spiral of decreasing radius and does not close.

The stationary start is the other constraint. There is no speed to draw the circle with, so the loop has to be made by the knee and by where the weight sits over the blade, and the axis is allowed to move to suit the skater and the rink. That is an unusual concession, and it shows how much room a loop actually needs.

Elements

Left forward outside three turnLFO to LBI: half a turn into the circle, changing edge and staying on the same lobe.
Right forward outside three turnRFO to RBI: half a turn into the circle, changing edge and staying on the same lobe.
Left backward inside loopLBI to LBI: a small circle traced on the same edge, still travelling backwards, and the lobe continues.
Right backward inside loopRBI to RBI: a small circle traced on the same edge, still travelling backwards, and the lobe continues.
Left backward outside edgeLBO: the left foot travelling backwards on an outside edge, tracing a clockwise lobe.
Right backward outside edgeRBO: the right foot travelling backwards on an outside edge, tracing an anticlockwise lobe.
Right backward inside edgeRBI: the right foot travelling backwards on an inside edge, tracing a clockwise lobe.
Left backward inside edgeLBI: the left foot travelling backwards on an inside edge, tracing an anticlockwise lobe.
Left backward inside step wideLBI to RBI: a step onto the other foot placed wide, nothing crossing, still travelling backwards, and the lobe reverses.
Right backward inside push backRBI to LBO: a push off the inside edge onto the other foot's outside edge, still travelling backwards, and the lobe continues.
Right backward inside step wideRBI to LBI: a step onto the other foot placed wide, nothing crossing, still travelling backwards, and the lobe reverses.
Left backward inside push backLBI to RBO: a push off the inside edge onto the other foot's outside edge, still travelling backwards, and the lobe continues.

This page lists which elements the exercise calls for and what it is working on. It does not reproduce British Ice Skating's sequence, pattern or wording. For the exercise as published, go to their own document.