Jumping and turning off the floor

Floor jumps: going up before going round, pulling in, and opening out to land.

Not checked yet. The suggestions 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.

Skaters rehearse jumps on the floor: the waltz jump’s half turn from a forward takeoff, then a full turn, landing in the landing position. There is no edge to take off from and no glide out, so what is left is what the floor can teach: going up before going round, pulling the arms and legs in quickly, and opening out to land.

Floor jumps go on a forgiving surface with plenty of clear space, after a warm-up, landing on a bent knee and holding the landing position for a slow count of three. A coach should introduce them, because a turn practised wrongly on the floor is a fault carried onto the ice, where it is harder to see.

The number of turns matters less than finishing each one cleanly. A half turn that lands in a held position teaches more than a full turn that does not.

On the ice, this prepares

• Waltz jumpThe first jump, and the only one with a forward takeoff apart from the Axel it grows into.
• SalchowLBI takeoff, off the edge, 1 rotation to RBO.
• Toe loopRBO takeoff, off the pick, 1 rotation to RBO.
• LoopRBO takeoff, off the edge, 1 rotation to RBO.
• AxelLFO takeoff, off the edge, 1.5 rotations to RBO.

Written for the guide from what each element asks of the body. No governing body's material.