Best spinners in skating

[lakewood]

Yuna's camel spin is to die for.

[smarts1]

Yuna's camel spin is to die for.

You mean the layover position she does? I think that's pretty much the only spin position I can praise her for because the rest of her positions are .

[gkelly]

Just curious -- when deciding who you consider the "best" spinners, do you tend to think in terms of

speed of rotation?
centering?
number of revolutions?
difficulty of positions?
beauty/clarity/"correctness" of positions?
flexibility?
originality?
air position on flying spins?
ability to change position (or edge) without losing speed and centering?

Often the very best spinners are great at all or most of the above.

For me, I'd probably consider the first two or three criteria listed above, and the last one, as measures of spinning skill. I'd say the "best" spinners, the ones that make me think "wow," are the ones who are best in those areas.

The other criteria will also get my attention, and the beauty criterion might make me most inclined to go back and watch that skater just to enjoy his or her spins.

E.g., I might consider this layback or this camel as exceptionally attractive, but the spins as spins I would consider just good, not exceptional.

[shsocu]

If teams are considered as well, I would add Davis and White to the list

Samson and Delilah
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...MXD3XHvQ#t=81s

Tango
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...0akCSAY#t=202s

[pinky166]

Yuna's camel spin is to die for.

Her layover and button positions are very nice I agree. That's the spin she does best. Her layback spin leaves much to be desired and her I-spin is just ok for me, though. I wouldn't consider spins a strength of Yuna, except for her camel spin.

[iarispiralllyof]

Just curious -- when deciding who you consider the "best" spinners, do you tend to think in terms of

speed of rotation?
centering?
number of revolutions?
difficulty of positions?
beauty/clarity/"correctness" of positions?
flexibility?
originality?
air position on flying spins?
ability to change position (or edge) without losing speed and centering?

Often the very best spinners are great at all or most of the above.

For me, I'd probably consider the first two or three criteria listed above, and the last one, as measures of spinning skill. I'd say the "best" spinners, the ones that make me think "wow," are the ones who are best in those areas.

The other criteria will also get my attention, and the beauty criterion might make me most inclined to go back and watch that skater just to enjoy his or her spins.

E.g., I might consider this layback or this camel as exceptionally attractive, but the spins as spins I would consider just good, not exceptional.

I agree that the *best* spinners tend to have most of those qualities, but I don't agree that the spin has to have most of those qualities to be amazing. elements should always match the music, and the best spinners are able to vary the speed or intensity of their spins to fit the music

laybacks are much more beautiful at a moderate speed....that's why for me sasha and sarah's laybacks are so much better than say mirai nagasu..it seems like mirai is wildly flinging her leg and body about

and yuna is amazing but i've never liked the "yuna spin". it looks sooo awkward. i'm sure it's really hard to do though

[briancoogaert]

For me, it's centering, speed of rotation, beauty/clarity of positions.
I don't really care about amazing flexible position, if this spinner is unable to do a correct camel or a good sit spin, centered and fast.

[Vash01]

For me, it's centering, speed of rotation, beauty/clarity of positions.
I don't really care about amazing flexible position, if this spinner is unable to do a correct camel or a good sit spin, centered and fast.

ITA. I would take Dorothy Hamill's camel spin over some of the contorted positions we are seeing today, for its simplicity, clarity, correctness and speed, plus its relation to the music.

[Amy03]

Mao Asada has amazing spins love her flexibility and positioning in them!
I also like nagasu's spins!

[BmcC102]

The 'yu-na' spin is not really her spin (but then again, Biellmann wasn't the first to do 'her' spin either...). Tonya Harding is credited with that spin according to skateweb, which is a website that has had this fact listed in its FAQ since I started watching skating circa 1998. The spin's been around for many, many years:

http://www.frogsonice.com/skateweb/f...nical.shtml#Q2

Look for the 'harding spin' definition.

[geod2]

Czisny, Cohen, Zhang (the pearl spin was out of this world), Lambiel.

I'm glad you and Marco mentioned Caroline Zhang.
Her outrageous flexibility helped, of course.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JaMJUdvoZI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...RpKDYqrg#t=82s


.

[iarispiralllyof]

I know michelle was never an amazing spinner, but this forward scratch spin is so pretty

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dINriD0lucU#t=3m53s

[ks777]

Yuna's camel spin is to die for.

But her regular camel position is not great at all. needs a lot more stretch.

[iarispiralllyof]

But her regular camel position is not great at all. needs a lot more stretch.

can i ask what you mean by that? like should her leg be higher?