Modern figure skating is a highly competitive, eye-catching sport known for its grace, complicated jumps and spins, and sparkly costumes, so it's no wonder that it's found its way into fiction.
Humans have been skating for a very long time — primitive bone skates have been found dating back to 3000 BC. Modern steel skates with edges are thought to have originated with the Dutch, who used them to traverse their frozen waterways in winter, and skating associations later sprung up in England and Scotland. Other communal ice skating events like hockey and speed skating emerged here.
The emergence of modern figure skating as a sport is credited to Jackson Haines. He is considered the father of modern figure skating as he was the first to incorporate ballet moves and spins in his skating in the 1860s. Although stiffer forms of skating dominated in his lifetime, his students would go on to found the International Skating Union, which codified figure skating as a sport and is currently the governing body for all skating sports. The first European Figure Skating Competition was held in 1891, the first World in 1896, and the sport made its Olympic debut in 1908 as the Games' first winter sport. The sport has evolved considerably since then.
Disciplines in Figure Skating:
- Major competition categories:
- Singles: An individual man or woman performs a routine on the ice. This routine incorporates spins, jumps, and step sequences, which are often partially designated by the competition at hand.
- Pairs: A man and a woman perform together. Compared to singles skating, this incorporates pair elements such as throws, lifts, synchronized jumps and spins, and death spirals.
- Ice Dance: Like pair skating, this discipline is performed by a male/female pair. Unlike pair skating, this discipline draws more from ballroom dancing, focusing on intricate footwork and lifts. Also, unlike all other disciplines, it does not include jumps, except in non-competitive and gala routines.
- Other categories:
- Synchronized skating: A mixed group of up to 20 skaters perform elaborate figures on the ice.
- Ice theater: Less structured than the others and allows for the use of props.
Some terminology used in figure skating:
- Jump: A skater leaps into the air and rotates rapidly a certain number of times before landing.
- There are six major types of jumps, differentiated by how the skater takes off and lands: axel, flip, lutz, salchow, toe loop, and loop. For example, a "triple lutz" has the skater jump from the skate's back outside edge, rotate three times in the air, and land on the back outside edge of the other foot.
- The number of rotations in a jump is directly proportional to how technically difficult — and thus how high-scoring — the jump is. Most high-level singles skaters can do triples; quad jumps have so far dominated in males' singles and are starting to make their way into ladies' singles.
- Spin: A skater rotates on the ice while holding one or more body positions. There are three basic positions: upright, sit spin, and camel spin, each of which have their own variations.
- Step sequence: A skater traverses the rink while performing intricate footwork.
- Lift: Performed in pairs skating and ice dance; one partner is held above the other, either one or both rotate depending on the type of the lift. There are various types depending on the type of hold.
- Competition segments: The major categories have two competition segments, and the scores of which are tallied after both have finished. to determine standings.
- Short program (SP): The first segment for men's, ladies', and pair skating, this clocks in at under three minutes and has seven required elements (jumps, spins, and step sequences) that the skaters have to incorporate. This is largely done to evaluate a skater's technicality.
- Free skate (FS): The second segment for mens', ladies', and pairs'. At around four minutes long, this program still has requirements, but allows the skater to select and choose their choreography to focus on their strengths. Also referred to as a long program.
- Rhythm dance (RD): Formerly known as the short dance (SD), this is the first ice dance segment. It is analogous to the short program of the other categories, requiring certain elements that the skaters must include in their routines as they dance to music within a set tempo range.
- Free dance (FD): The second ice dance segment, longer and more creative than the rhythm dance.
- Gala: Also referred to as an exhibition, and skaters' programs for the gala are also called "exhibition skates". Not an official competition segment, and more of a 'just for fun' thing after competitions. Competitors are introduced one by one and perform whatever routine they choose, with whatever move/element/costume they choose — usually things that are banned or would get points docked in competition, or just plain comedic.
Figure skating scoring and eligibility
The major divisions in figure skating are the junior and senior fields. To compete in the junior division, a skater must be 13 years old by July 1 of the preceding year. To compete in the senior division, they must be 17 by that time. All the major competitions (save the Olympics) have a junior counterpart. Skaters in the senior division range from in their late teens to their early thirties, at which point many retire and go pro. "Professional" in the context of figure skating means they have stopped competing.
Scoring in figure skating has a subjective element. Under the current system, each figure skating element above has a base value (points you get for attempting it in the first place) and an additional grade of execution (GOE) depending on how well it was performed, which is decided by a panel of judges. The GOE ranges from -5 to +5. For example, a quadruple toe jump has a base value of 10.30, which a skater will get if it is performed serviceably. If it is performed exceptionally well (clean, good posture throughout, has the appropriate number of rotations, lots of ice coverage, sticks the landing), judges can add additional points on top of it. If it is performed incorrectly, such as by underrotating or landing on the wrong skate edge or foot, the skater might get a negative GOE and get less than 10.30.
Major competitions:
Like many performance-based sports, competitive figure skating takes place across a wide range of competitions of various levels of skill levels and prestige. Each season of figure skating competition lasts a full year from July 1st to June 30th, though in practice the bulk of competition tends to start ramping up beginning in August and September, and reaches its crescendo with the World Championships in March. At the elite level, figure skating competitions can be divided into three tiers: Olympic, International, and National.
- Olympic: Arguably the most prestigious event, and certainly the most well-known. Figure skating first made an appearance at the 1908 and 1920 Olympics, before becoming a staple of the Winter Olympic Games ever since its inception in 1924. Singles and Pairs skating has been featured since the start, with Ice Dance joining the event in 1976. The Olympics also uniquely offer a Team event, in which nations compete with one entry in each discipline. The Winter Youth Olympics also features figure skating, with the same events as in the main Games but lacking a team event. However, most juniors can't compete in the Youth Games because its lower limit for age eligibility is 15 (as of December 31 of the calendar year of the Games).
- International: These competitions are closely overseen by the International Skating Union, and are considered the most prestigious annual competitions with strict qualification requirements. Results from these events contribute to a skater's place in the World Standings, which remains the most important factor in their likelihood to be chosen for future high-level events.
- World Championships: The highest annual non-Olympic level of competition, usually held around the end of February for juniors, and in March for seniors. Each country nominates between 1-3 skaters to compete in the event, with the size of their allotment being based on the country's performance throughout the year.
- Grand Prix series: Introduced in 1995 as a series created from the unification of six of the top national-level competitions in the world. It is an invitational series with the top skaters of each discipline being invited; the top 12 skaters in the World Championship get an automatic invite, with the remaining selection decided by the World Standings.
- The Senior competition involves six main competitions held between October and December, featuring a mostly steady location lineup of the United States, Canada, France, Finlandnote , Chinanote and Japan. Each nominated skater competes in two events, with the top 6 advancing to the Grand Prix Finals, held in mid-December.
- The Junior competition features a similar format, but is held across seven, non-static main events instead of six. The seven Junior events are held separately from the Seniors, though the Finals are held together.
- European Championships: The longest-running international competition, inaugurating its first edition in 1891. Like the World Championships, each eligible nation sends 1-3 skaters in each discipline based on the nation's performance throughout the season. The European Championships are typically held in January, and do not have a Junior equivalent
- Four Continents Championships: Introduced in 1999, intended to be an equivalent to the European Championships for non-European nations. Qualification is slightly different: Instead of each nation's allotment being determined by national performance, each nation gets the full 3 slots, with individual skaters instead needing to achieve a certain scoring threshold to be eligible for the event. Held in late January or early February.
- National: Overseen by the sport's national governing bodies of each nation, these competitions cover the spectrum from club-level events to major competitions open to international entrants. At the elite level, there are two types of events that hold particular relevance:
- Challenger Series: Introduced in 2014 by the ISU as a second-tier competitive series below the Grand Prix. The Challenger Series is made up of a selection of around ten national competitions held between August and December; skaters who choose to compete in multiple events will have their two best scores added together to determine the overall winner of the series.
- National Championships: Each national governing body typically holds at least one major domestic competition that has significant weight in determining who they will select to compete at the international level. For the major figure skating countries, these national competitions are considered highly competitive and are noteworthy events on the figure skating calendar.
However, there are plenty of ways to write skating into a story that don't involve national or international competitions. Skaters can compete at local or regional levels, represent their high school or university in a tournament, or just skate for fun.
Ice shows
Unlike competitions, which exist solely to showcase a skater's skill, ice shows blend figure skating and the performing arts. They can be skating exhibitions, where skaters show off their moves similar to a concert, or follow in the footsteps of theater and use skating to tell a story.
Professional versus amateur skaters
The term "professional" in skating does not refer to skill level, but to competition status. "Professional" skaters are skaters who perform only in ice shows (who may have retired from competitions, or never competed at all), and are paid like entertainers doing gigs. Competing skaters maintaining their International Skating Union standing are sometimes referred to as "amateur" because they do not earn a salary, only monetary prizes from competitions. As figure skating is a very expensive sport, competing skaters fund their career with external financial support (from their family, private benefactors, or the state) and/or sponsorship/advertising deals.
Figure skating in fiction:
In fiction, figure skating is stereotyped as Always Camp. Attention will often be drawn to the sparkly costumes, often to Tutu Fancy levels. Similar to ballet, its athletes are often stereotyped as dainty or feminine, although like real ballet, there is an incredible amount of athleticism that goes into being a figure skater. The concept of ice shows can be parodied with the trope On Ice. Expect lots of Choreography Porn.
It may be contrasted with Ice Hockey, and should not be confused with Roller Derby.
Works that prominently feature figure skating:
Anime and Manga
- The Cherry Project: A 1990-1991 shoujo manga by Naoko Takeuchi (of Sailor Moon fame) about a young skater who partners up with her crush.
- Dogsred: A manga about a figure skater-turned-hockey player.
- Ice Revolution: A manga about a tomboy who turns to figure skating to become more feminine.
- Two On Ice: A romance/sports manga that ran from 2023 to 2024, about a male figure skater who meets his female idol after she seemingly vanished from the sport.
- Yuri!!! on Ice: A 2016 anime about a depressed world-class skater from Japan who is inspired to continue the sport after his idol, a Russian top skater, becomes his coach. Much of the story focuses on him making his comeback during the Grand Prix series.
Film
- Blades of Glory: A 2007 sports comedy following two disgraced men's singles skaters who aspire to get back in the game.
- The Cutting Edge: A 1992 Romantic Comedy where spoiled pairs skater partners up with an ex-hockey player to get Olympic gold.
- Go Figure: A 2005 sports film where a promising skater juggles her dream of skating in the Olympics with her hockey scholarship.
- Ice Angel: A 2000 fantasy film about a male hockey player who dies and comes back in the body of a female figure skater.
- Ice Princess: A 2005 sports film where a young girl applies her skill at physics to figure skating, becoming proficient in the process.
- I, Tonya: A 2017 biopic about Tonya Harding and a certain infamous incident at the 1994 Olympics.
- Snow White and the Three Stooges: A 1961 Non-Actor Vehicle for Olympic figure skater Carol Heiss, featuring extended skating scenes.
Literature
- Ana on the Edge: A 2020 middle-grade novel about a champion preteen figure skater who begins to experience gender dysphoria in the sport's strict gender binary.
- Ginban Kaleidoscope: A 2003-2006 light novel series about an aspiring figure skater and the pilot haunting her.
- Skating Shoes: A 1951 children's novel about a young girl who gets into figure skating to recuperate.
Live-Action TV
- Battle Of The Blades: A 2013 reality show and skating dance competition that pairs hockey players with figure skaters.
- Dancing On Ice: A 2006 reality show starring celebrities and professional skaters in an ice dance competition. Notable primarily for being Strictly Come Dancing On Ice and for reuniting the legendary ice dancing duo of Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, perfect-scoring 1984 Olympic champions and unofficial international treasures of the skating world, who had retired from skating eight years earlier.
- Finding Her Edge: A 2026 teen romance drama about a former skater who becomes an ice dancer to help her family keep their rink.
- Spinning Out: A 2020 series about a ladies' singles skater who struggles to balance things as she transitions to pairs skating.
Theatre
- Crystal: A hybrid performance featuring ice skating and the acrobatics Cirque du Soleil is known for.
- Disney on Ice: A long-running ice show featuring Disney characters.
- Touken Ranbu - Ice Blade -: Touken Ranbu's ice show adaptation.
Video Games
- Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games: The Winter Games line (Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014) have figure skating as one of the playable events.
- Pretty Series: A multimedia franchise spinning out of Rhythm Games that involve incorporating figure skating into Idol Singer routines.
Western Animation
- She's a Good Skate, Charlie Brown: A 1980 Peanuts animated special about Peppermint Patty preparing for an upcoming skating competition.