Field Guide to Figure Skating
USA

Axel + loop

Axel (LFO, off the edge) straight into a loop (RBO, off the edge), 2.5 rotations in all.

Also called 1A+1Lo. Other names.

combotakeoff LFObetween RBOlanding RBO2.5 rotations

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.

LFOtakes off
RBOlands, takes off
RBOlands
The edges, drawn: the Axel's takeoff, the edge between each jump and the next, and the loop's landing. Each edge in between is one edge: one jump lands on it and the next leaves from it.

shoulder to hip —on the —
LFO takeoff · one and a half rotations · RBO landing, held · loop: one rotation · RBO landing. Negative twist means the shoulders are held back against the hips, which stores rotation before a takeoff and checks it on a landing.

The Axel is the one jump here with a forward takeoff, so the first jump turns the skater from forwards to backwards. Its extra half turn means the landing has to be checked quickly to keep the speed.

The Axel lands RBO and the loop takes off from RBO: one edge, held, with no step or turn on it. In a jump sequence the skater may hop or step between the jumps; in a combination there is nothing between them.

The loop is the harder second jump. With no pick, the skater holds the landing edge, brings the free leg through to cross in front and springs off the same edge. Its base value is higher than a toe loop’s.

Derived

The Axel takes off LFO off the edge and lands RBO; the loop takes off from that same edge with no pick and lands RBO. 2.5 rotations in all, written 1A+1Lo on a protocol sheet.

Made of the Axel and the loop. Nothing here is stored on the page beyond the two jumps and the count.

A skater who rotates clockwise takes off RFO and lands on LBO: the same combination, mirrored.

Build on

Appears in

In the USA's grades

None of the American level lists in this guide name it.