Compulsory figures
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Compulsory figures were a former aspect of the sport of figure skating, from which its name (in English) derives. The original focus of the sport was the carving of specific figures into the ice, and for many years after free skating was added to competitions, the marks for the compulsory figures still contributed 60% of the total score.
Pressure to change this began when the Olympic Games began to be widely shown on television. Television coverage posed major problems to the compulsory figures (also called "school figures") for two reasons. The first and more obvious one is that they were not suitable to television coverage themselves. Even the most ardent skating fan found the completion of the figures, followed by seemingly microscopic analysis by the judges, to be tedious at best and unwatchable at worst, and the general public obviously found them to be of no interest. The other problem was that the skaters who excelled at compulsory figures often were not the most talented at free skating, but at times racked up such a large lead from the school figures that they won the competitions anyway, leaving television viewers and spectators alike stunned and appalled, since they had watched only the free skating and had little or no knowledge of or interest in the compulsory figures.
To address this, and to put more emphasis on the free skating, a reform was undertaken. A new element, the short program, was added to competitions. Seen as something intermediate between the full free skating program of four minutes and the compulsories, this two minute program incorporated certain required elements of the free program which were judged on their technical merits. At first, this new element counted for twenty percent of the overall score, leaving the compulsory figures to count for thirty percent and the long program free skate to count for fifty percent. The short program combined a sense of mandatory elements and a presentation that could be of interest to a television audience and paying live spectators. The short program added more "watchable" activity to a figure skating competition, and was considered by most to be hugely successful, so much so that the original proportions were later reversed so that the compulsory figures counted only twenty percent, and in the last decade compulsory figures were dropped entirely. Purists felt that an important instillation of discipline into the sport had been lost, but more casual followers were in fact relieved that they were gone.
Today, compulsory figures are no longer a competitive event and few competitive skaters have the time or interest to learn how to do them. Some adult recreational skaters, however, still find pleasure in the control and patience required to master figures.
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Compulsory Figure Terminology
Figures are composed of either two or three circular lobes. The simplest figure, the circle eight, consists of a circle skated on an edge on one foot tangent to another circle skated on the corresponding edge on the other foot. The place where the circles meet is called the center, and a line through the center of the circles is called the axis or long axis.
More complex two-lobed figures include a three turn or bracket turn at the halfway point on each circle, or a double three -- two three turns placed symmetrically to divide the lobe into thirds.
The most basic three-lobed figure is the serpentine, skated by doing half a circle on the middle lobe and a change of edge on the same foot to complete the full circle at the end; and then repeating on the other foot to complete the figure. Variations on the three-lobed figures include placing a rocker or counter turn at the centers instead of a simple change of edge, or combining a change of edge with the turns in the ordinary two-lobed figures.
A paragraph figure is an advanced two-lobed figure skated entirely on one foot, with a change of edge at the center. The entire figure is then repeated on the other foot over the original tracing.
Most figures are skated on circles about three times the skater's height. However, a special class of figures, the loops, are done on much smaller circles, four or five feet in diameter. Here the skater curves sharply into the circle to make a teardrop-shaped loop tracing about a blade-length wide at the top of the circle. The basic loop is a two-lobed figure, but like the other two-lobed figures it also has more difficult serpentine and paragraph variants.
Practice of compulsory figures is commonly called patch because each skater is assigned their own patch of ice to practice on, instead of sharing the entire ice surface.
Classification of Compulsory Figures
Figures were formerly identified by these numbers in the rulebook. Note that each figure has several variants depending on which foot, edge, and direction is used to start the figure.
- [1-4] Circle Eight
- [5-6] Serpentine
- [7-9] Three
- [10-13] Double Three
- [14-17] Loop
- [18-19] Bracket
- [20-21] Rocker
- [22-23] Counter
- [24-25] One Foot Eight
- [26-27] Change Three
- [28-29] Change Double Three
- [30-31] Change Loop
- [32-33] Change Bracket
- [34-35] Paragraph Three
- [36-37] Paragraph Double Three
- [38-39] Paragraph Loop
- [40-41] Paragraph Bracket
Judging of Compulsory Figures
The criteria that are used to judge figures include:
- The circles must be perfectly round, without wobbles, flats, bulges, or curling inward.
- All the circles in the figure must be the same size.
- The turns on a figure must be lined up with the central axis, and the circles themselves must also all line up.
- The turns must be symmetrical in shape and executed on true edges without scraping or "flats".
- Loops should be shaped like loops, and not be circular or pointed.
Judges normally stand on the ice, off to one side, to watch the execution of the figure. When the skater has finished, they typically check the alignment of the figure from different angles, peer closely at the tracings of the turns, and pace off the diameters of the circles to check their sizes.
Equipment for Compulsory Figures
Somewhat paradoxically, compulsory figures require a blade that is less sharp than for freestyle skating in order to produce more precise tracings of edges and turns. A shallower hollow along the bottom of the blade prevents accidental "flats" caused by touchdown of the other edge. Blades for compulsory figures also have smaller toe picks that are placed higher on the front of the blade so that the picks do not drag accidentally on the ice. When figures were a regular part of skating competitions, many skaters recycled their old free skating boots and blades into skates for figures by having the bottom toe pick ground off.
A device called a scribe -- essentially, a large compass -- is commonly used as an aid for learning and practicing figures. It can be used to lay out the initial shape of a figure and to check the shape and size of circles already skated, and as a straightedge to check the alignment of the turns. However, scribes are not permitted in competition, nor may skaters rely on markings on the ice or rink boards (such as hockey circles or lines) to align their figures.