Forward inside choctaws & backward outside counters

Closed choctaws from a forward inside edge, and backward outside counters run into 3-turns, down both lengths of the rink.

BIS Skills 7exercise 1In 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.

Changes on 01/10/2026. From 01/10/2026 the exercise repeats: "this completes the exercise" becomes "then repeat the sequence". The sequence itself is unchanged, and the announcement does not mention the difference.

A closed choctaw from a forward inside edge is the least comfortable entry in the syllabus. The skater is on the edge that gives the least to lean against, and the free foot has to come down behind the skating foot. There is no version of this that can be done at the last moment.

The counter into a 3-turn is the other half and it is a genuine conflict of requirements. The counter has to be checked against the curve, and the 3-turn immediately after it needs that check released in the direction the curve was going all along. Skaters who can do both turns separately meet this and find that the second one will not start.

What makes it a Skills 7 exercise is the instruction to repeat down both lengths of the ice. Two clean clusters are not enough. The test is four, and the fourth is skated on whatever speed the first three left.

Elements

Right forward inside choctawRFI to LBO: a step onto the other foot, changing edge and reversing onto a new one. No cusp.
Left forward inside choctawLFI to RBO: a step onto the other foot, changing edge and reversing onto a new one. No cusp.
Left backward outside counter-threeLBO → LFO → LBI: 2 turns on one foot.
Right backward outside counter-threeRBO → RFO → RBI: 2 turns on one foot.
Left backward outside crossoverLBO to RBI: the free foot crosses in front of the skating foot onto the same lobe, still travelling backwards.
Right backward outside crossoverRBO to LBI: the free foot crosses in front of the skating foot onto the same lobe, still travelling backwards.
Left forward outside edgeLFO: the left foot travelling forwards on an outside edge, tracing an anticlockwise lobe.
Right forward outside edgeRFO: the right foot travelling forwards on an outside edge, tracing a clockwise 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.