edgecallskating

[edgecallskating]

#sasha cohen #i bet no coach ever yelled a point your toes correction #figure skating

[edgecallskating]

I'm feeling vintage, so I'm going waaaaaaay back to a time when spiral sequences were a required element in the SP. Few skaters mastered the spiral sequence like Sasha Cohen, so let's take a look at the sequence from her 2005-06 Dark Eyes short program.

First, I-spiral (which Sasha popularized!) into a fan. No struggle for the I position and superb balance into the fan position.

The sign of a great fan spiral position isn't just the height of the free leg but minimal bend in the working leg. Bending the working knee can help cheat the position by offsetting a lack of strength or flexibility. Note the minimal knee bend here! Then the spirals dreams are made of: a nearly 180 degree arabesque held over a change of edge. I love how she tugs it just a little bit higher to get the full extension and the point in the toes is *chef kiss*.

And finally, just because she can, a Beillmann position to round out the ice-spanning set:

Spiral sequences are a hallmark of early IJS programs. When I watch them now they feel like an attempt to reconcile some of the showiness of 6.0 skating with the bullet points of IJS. Not every skater survived the transition. For every sublime Sasha Cohen moment there were a dozen skaters with limp Kerrigan spirals and dodgy catch-foots.

The spiral sequence was replaced with the choreographic sequence as of the 2012-13 season, a nod to changing tastes and shifting technical priorities. Few skaters now could hit a 180 arabesque, which is why I get so excited when I see a classic, well-supported spiral in the competitive wild.

#sasha cohen #figure skating #spirals #gifset #yes I AM a figure skating elder #hit me with your pre-IJS questions and I will answer with the voice of the ancients #wizened from the blowback of seeing cringe early-00s ice dance in real time

[edgecallskating]

I wish more skaters did classic laybacks--and I mean real, held for longer than the minimum to get the level layback spins--rather than strained Beillmann positions. Loena is the only active competitor that came to mind who regularly includes a straightforward layback position in her combination spins (which she usually transitions into a very nice Beillmann!), but I'm sure there are others. Drop your faves!

#loena hendrickx #send me your layback faves and I'll try to gif them #maybe i'll turn it into a theme week I dunno could be cute #worldsmtl24 #figure skating #worlds 2024 #world figure skating championships 2024

[edgecallskating]

No one could convince me to do pairs as a teenager and you sure as hell couldn't convince me to do it now, but Deanna makes it look like the best time ever.

#deanna stellato dudek #yeet #maxime deschamps #stellato dudek deschamps #figure skating #pairs #worlds 2024 #worldsmtl24 #world figure skating championships 2024 #world figure skating championships

[edgecallskating]

When you know you did something magnificent but also kinda wish you could have squeezed in a quad flip just to round out the set.

#seriously EVERY QUAD BUT THE FLIP #ilia malinin #mad lad #figure skating #worldsmtl24 #worlds 2024 #world figure skating championships 2024

[edgecallskating]

Have I giffed this before? Yes. Should you see it again? Also yes.

#shoma uno #masterpiece #figure skating #worlds 2024 #worldsmtl24 #world figure skating championships 2024 #world figure skating championships

[edgecallskating]

Ugh, this lift. Superb.

#gilles & poirier #piper gilles #paul poirier #figure skating #wuthering heights #ice dance #worldsmtl24 #worlds 2024 #world figure skating championships 2024

[edgecallskating]

Love the air position, love the dismount, love them.

#hocke & kunkel #figure skating #pairs #Annika Hocke #Robert Kunkel

[edgecallskating]

Deep breaths.

#donovan carillo #figure skating #worldsmtl24 #worlds 2024 #world figure skating championships 2024

[edgecallskating]

Adam, one of figure skating's elect that can make Benoîteography world. Adam Siao Him Fa, European Championships 2023

#adam siao him fa #adam slay him fa #figure skating #euros 2023 #european championship

[edgecallskating]

Deniss Vasiljevs, NHK Trophy 2023

#deniss vasiljevs #the Lambielité of him #figure skating #nhk trophy 2023

[edgecallskating]

Does Yuma secretly have the best ina bauer in the men's field? Please discuss!

#yuma kagiyama #yumabauer #figure skating #worldsmtl24 #worlds 2024 #world figure skating championships #world figure skating championships 2024

[edgecallskating]

It is a truth universally acknowledged that no one remembers like ice dance stans remember.

#my people I love you #salty to the core #figure skating #ice dance

[edgecallskating]

Where were you when Hubbell and Donohue's stationary lift was called 1 BV during the 2019 Four Continents free dance?

Lest you think I exaggerate, I bear receipts!

I'd like to nominate this as a future Canadian Heritage Moment for putting Gilles & Poirier and Weaver & Poje on the podium.

#part of our history #figure skating #ice dance #kiss and cry reaction for the ages #madison hubbell #zachary donohue #hubbell & donohue #throwback

[edgecallskating]

A little Throwback Thursday™ to the 2019 Four Continents ice dance podium. Everyone was surprised and delighted to be there and looks like they're accidentally celebrating Hubbell & Donohue's invalidated lift score. This is among my favourites from all the gifs I've ever made! It's also the first one that went really wide on T*itter and made me the fs gif-maker I am today. Thanks accidental podium cinema!

#figure skating #i love the ISU officials shimmying into frame #gilles & poirier #weaver & poje #podium cinema #chock and bates #piper gilles #paul poirier #kaitlin weaver #andrew poje #madison chock #evan bates #ice dance #throwback

[edgecallskating]

Deniss's lutz technique brings so much joy to my cranky heart.

#deniss vasiljevs #figure skating #lutz #worldsmtl24 #world figure skating championships 2024 #worlds 2024

[edgecallskating]

I bemoan the lack of spirals in modern figure skating generally, but then Jason shows up to save the day with a beautiful one.

#jason brown #show us your extension #worlds 2024 #worldsmtl24 #world figure skating championships 2024