Waltz jump
The first jump, and the only one with a forward takeoff apart from the Axel it grows into.
Also called three jump. Other names.
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.
Forward on a left outside edge, the free leg swings through, and you turn half a rotation in the air to land backwards on the right outside edge. No toe pick: the spring comes from the edge and the swing.
Most coaches teach it as the way into the Axel, which is why it is worth the time it takes to get right. The entry edge, the swing, the check on the landing and the run-out are the same movements you will need later with another full turn added on top. A few coaches treat it as a jump with its own takeoff and teach the Axel’s entry separately, so ask yours how they use it.
Watch the run-out. Holding a checked back outside edge after the landing, without the free leg swinging round, is the part that takes time. The landing itself is the smaller difficulty.
Derived
LFO is three letters (foot, direction, edge): left foot, forwards, outside edge. Every edge in the guide is written that way, so RBI is a right foot travelling backwards on an inside edge.
Takes off LFO and lands RBO, the same edge every jump in this guide but the Euler lands on, so the takeoff is what tells them apart. The spring comes from the edge, with no pick.
Shares its takeoff edge with the Axel: the pair that get mistaken for each other.
Lands on RBO, where the toe loop and the loop take off, so it can start a combination: waltz jump + toe loop or waltz jump + loop.
A skater who rotates clockwise takes off RFO and lands LBO: the same jump, mirrored.
Build on
- Left forward outside three turnLFO to LBI: half a turn into the circle, changing edge and staying on the same lobe.
- Bunny hopBoth leave the ice from a forward glide. New Zealand's KiwiSkate teaches them together, on its Free skating 1 badge.
Off the ice
- Holding the landingThe one position the jumps land in, held for longer than a landing lasts.
- Jumping and turning off the floorFloor jumps: going up before going round, pulling in, and opening out to land.
Leads to
6 elements in the guide are built on this one.
- Half flipA half turn in the air off the toe pick from a back inside edge, landing on the other foot's toe and stepping forwards.
- Waltz jump + Euler + flipWaltz jump (LFO, off the edge) through an Euler into a flip (LBI, off the pick), 2.5 rotations in all.
- Waltz jump + Euler + SalchowWaltz jump (LFO, off the edge) through an Euler into a Salchow (LBI, off the edge), 2.5 rotations in all.
- Waltz jump + loopWaltz jump (LFO, off the edge) straight into a loop (RBO, off the edge), 1.5 rotations in all.
- Waltz jump + toe loopWaltz jump (LFO, off the edge) straight into a toe loop (RBO, off the pick), 1.5 rotations in all.
- Flying spinA spin entered with a jump, with no turning on the ice before the take-off, named by the position it lands in.
Appears in
In the USA's grades