School Figures - A bit of history

[DreamSkates]

I had no idea that in the beginning, school figures were an art form and quite creative.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jU9Hy1upUr0
Please add your insights and videos.

 

[aftershocks]

^^ Thanks for sharing. I kinda remember seeing this way back when. Scott is phenomenal. His school figures are what ended up winning him the Olympic gold medal in 1984.

This performance by Shepherd Clark at the 2018 World Figure & Fancy Skating Championships is a bit of a hybrid, but as we can see, this kind of actual 'figure' skating takes true blade mastery. And it is definitely an art form. Shepherd's edges are so perfect, even on ice filled with other markings, we can still see his expertise.

Shepherd Clark 2018 World Fancy Skating Champion

Modern Figures & Fancy Skating live here! Enjoy Shepherd Clark's Fancy Skating performance on day 3 of the 2018 World Figure & Fancy Skating Championships. S...

www.youtube.com

Sarah Jo Damron-Brown at 2018 WF&FSC:

Sarah Jo Damron-Brown, 2018 World Fancy Skating Champion

Modern Figures & Fancy Skating live here! Enjoy Sarah Jo Damron-Brown's Fancy Skating performance on day 3 of the 2018 World Figure & Fancy Skating Champions...

www.youtube.com

Swirling Mirror Loop Cross Figure:

World Figure Sport’s “Swirling Mirror” Loop Cross

With great excitement, World Figure Sport’s Board of Directors approved the new WFS’s “Swirling Mirror” Loop Cross Special Figure for the 2020 World Figure &...

www.youtube.com

Jill Albrecht's Creative Figure at 2016 World Figure Championship:

Jill Ahlbrecht's 2016 World Figure Championship's Creative Figure

To celebrate the 5th Anniversary Year of the 2019 World Figure & Fancy Skating Championships, World Figure Sport is delighted to release spectacular world cl...

www.youtube.com

 

[VGThuy]

I don't know if it was the cinematic lighting, the close-ups of the stern-looking judges, the harsh sound echoing in the ice hall or what, but this video showing the 1972 Olympics compulsory portion of the competition gave me ANXIETY and I don't know how skaters dealt with it.

1972 Sapporo Figure Skating Highlights - Janet Lynn Trixie Schuba Karen Magnussen

Gorgeous footage of figures and free skating from this rarely seen event.

www.youtube.com

Also, the difference between Schuba looking like a total boss as she's doing it like it's the easiest thing in the world and Janet Lynn looking less sure and a little antsy before she goes was really insightful.

 

[overedge]

The Joy of Figures

Over the past two weeks, the international competitive ice skating season has started, with the Skate America competition in Detroit and the Skate Canada competition in Saint John. In most countrie…

allaboutwork.org

Compulsory Figures: Technical Guidelines, Diagrams, and Tests

When I was researching my blog posts on compulsory figures in skating, I discovered that there was very little information on the Internet about the content of compulsory figure tests, or about the…

allaboutwork.org

 

[gkelly]

I had no idea that in the beginning, school figures were an art form and quite creative.

More like, in the beginning skaters discovered/invented the basic ways that blades could curve and turn on the ice.

Some skaters got very creative about drawing complex patterns on the ice with their blades. These were called "special figures." There was even a competition for this skill at the 1908 Olympics (but never at Worlds or Europeans).

And then there were "school figures" or "compulsory figures" in which everyone was required to skate the exact same basic patterns. There were a total of 41, most of which had separate versions started on the right foot or the left foot, and only the more difficult of which were skated in senior competition. Ulrich Salchow would have been doing the exact same patterns as Kurt Browning.

The creative patterns were not part of the "school." They were more like freeskating in a context where the only relevant skills were edges and one-foot turns on the ice, and where the patterns drawn on the ice were more important than the appearance of the skater's body.

Of course, training the basic patterns in the school figure syllabus was pretty much the only way to develop the skills to be able to make those more complex patterns with any accuracy. Not many skaters under 40 these days who have those skills.

 

[sadya]

Here is some more history from Skate Guard blog: http://skateguard1.blogspot.com/search?q=figures

Floskate has a montage of compulsory figures: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2LP8ZQa6BE

It's interesting how compulsory figures are discussed in documentaries:
Fire on Ice (Janet Lynn and Trixi Schuba)

Fire On Ice Part 4 Janet Lynn

Fire On Ice Part 4 Janet Lynn

www.youtube.com

Reflections on Ice

Janet Lynn and Trixie Schuba - 1971 Worlds

Part of a documentary showing Trixie's figures and a short clip of her LP. Beautiful clips of Janet in what was at that point the performance of her life.

www.youtube.com

Documentary from 1971 Trixie Schuba

Trixi Schuba - Compulsory Figures Documentary 1971

FULL TRANSLATION BELOW IN COMMENTS: A very rare interview with Trixi Schuba before she won the 1971 Worlds in Lyon. They analyse her figures and what made he...

www.youtube.com

I can't find a clip of this online now, but didn't Arakawa draw a tulip on ice during a show in Japan?

 

[DreamSkates]

More like, in the beginning skaters discovered/invented the basic ways that blades could curve and turn on the ice.

Some skaters got very creative about drawing complex patterns on the ice with their blades. These were called "special figures." There was even a competition for this skill at the 1908 Olympics (but never at Worlds or Europeans).

And then there were "school figures" or "compulsory figures" in which everyone was required to skate the exact same basic patterns. There were a total of 41, most of which had separate versions started on the right foot or the left foot, and only the more difficult of which were skated in senior competition. Ulrich Salchow would have been doing the exact same patterns as Kurt Browning.

The creative patterns were not part of the "school." They were more like freeskating in a context where the only relevant skills were edges and one-foot turns on the ice, and where the patterns drawn on the ice were more important than the appearance of the skater's body.

Of course, training the basic patterns in the school figure syllabus was pretty much the only way to develop the skills to be able to make those more complex patterns with any accuracy. Not many skaters under 40 these days who have those skills.

In the beginning of the video I linked, there are illustrations of the creative patterns. The more complex ones received higher marks of course. But it took some serious skill to learn how to do that and skate a pattern while you were on the ice and not looking from above!

 

[DreamSkates]

I've been reading Scott Hamilton's Landing It (1999) and he talks about figures, how he had to work so hard to get to first place (eventually) which helped him win an Olympic gold medal, and how much learning figures contributed to quality of skating.

Like many from his era, there is a sense of loss with no more figures in competitions. Yet, as the videos (thank you Sadya for posting) show, that another "eventually" figure skating evolved into a more expressive art form (Thank you Janet Lynn!). The public also had input, as watching a free program with expression gave much more of a connection to the skaters and what was happening on the ice, than did figures.

There have been discussions here about, should school figures return to competitive skating? I'm not trying to rehash that and don't bemoan the changes that occurred when I was not a fan.

Scott, in his book, talks about the then (1990's) jumping craze and how a slight, lighter body could jump better than perhaps a more muscular type that could do great figures. A slight, light body may not provide the weight needed balance and steadiness for figures.

It's interesting the title of "Figure Skating" continues to this day.

 

[rosewood]

Talking about ""Figure Skating continues to this day" (quoting from @DreamSkates's last sentence), Mao's hobby these years is special figures. She learned some from Lori Nichol (around one year break). Since then she loves doing this. She also enjoys drawing , etc together with MTT members.

Instagram

www.instagram.com

 

[skatesindreams]

A masterpiece, of skated figures:

John Curry: "After All"

John Curry - After All

An amazing number by John from his 1980 special Ice Dancing. Mesmeric!!

www.youtube.com

 

[gkelly]

In the beginning of the video I linked, there are illustrations of the creative patterns. The more complex ones received higher marks of course. But it took some serious skill to learn how to do that and skate a pattern while you were on the ice and not looking from above!

Absolutely.

My point is that creative figures are not school figures. They were completely different things in terms of the history of competition and training for competition.

If you just say "figures" meaning patterns traced on the ice, then you're good.

"School" figures refers specifically to the 41 figures in the standard competition syllabus. Anything else was not part of the school.

 

[DreamSkates]

A masterpiece, of skated figures:

John Curry: "After All"

John Curry - After All

An amazing number by John from his 1980 special Ice Dancing. Mesmeric!!

www.youtube.com

That was lovely.
The ISU could bring this back as a separate skating discipline with technical and artistic portions. Not connected at all to the sp/lp currently skated. Much like other sports that have more than one aspect of that sport that an athlete can compete in.

 

[overedge]

That was lovely.
The ISU could bring this back as a separate skating discipline with technical and artistic portions. Not connected at all to the sp/lp currently skated. Much like other sports that have more than one aspect of that sport that an athlete can compete in.

The US had figures as a separate competition at Nationals until 1990 (?). ISI still has figures testing and has figures competition at its Worlds and at a lot of regional events too.

 

[gkelly]

The US had figures as a separate competition at Nationals until 1990 (?).

The US, like the ISU, had figures as part of the combined singles events at junior and senior level through 1990.

I believe that the figures competition was separated from the freeskating for novices in 1990.

Beginning in 1991, figures were a separate competition for all three levels at US Nationals. The last figures competitions at Nationals were in 1999. The last few years of figures competition combined genders.

1991 was also the first year of Juvenile/Intermediate Nationals (which went through several name changes during the ~2 1/2 decades of its existence). I believe that juvenile and intermediate events remained combined with both figures and freeskating through approximately 1994.

(Once figures were removed or separated from freeskating at the lower levels in the mid-90s, a short program was added to intermediate singles competition. Juvenile still has no SP.)

US adult nationals began in 1995 and I believe continued to include figures events through 2000.

The links in @aftershocks's post #2 come from a new organization formed a few years ago to revive interest and participation in both standard school figures and more creative figures and "fancy skating" (which appears to be edge-based freeskating with no jumps).
WorldFigureSport.org

WFS

World Figure Sport, not-for-profit 501(c)(3), is the only world organization brand that epitomizes the “Art of Skating” with the World Figure and Fancy Skating Championships on black ice.

worldfigurechampionship.com

 

[DreamSkates]

I'm going to keep this in mind and find a way to attend or support World Skating and festival.

 

[aliceanne]

I've been reading Scott Hamilton's Landing It (1999) and he talks about figures, how he had to work so hard to get to first place (eventually) which helped him win an Olympic gold medal, and how much learning figures contributed to quality of skating.

Like many from his era, there is a sense of loss with no more figures in competitions. Yet, as the videos (thank you Sadya for posting) show, that another "eventually" figure skating evolved into a more expressive art form (Thank you Janet Lynn!). The public also had input, as watching a free program with expression gave much more of a connection to the skaters and what was happening on the ice, than did figures.

There have been discussions here about, should school figures return to competitive skating? I'm not trying to rehash that and don't bemoan the changes that occurred when I was not a fan.

Scott, in his book, talks about the then (1990's) jumping craze and how a slight, lighter body could jump better than perhaps a more muscular type that could do great figures. A slight, light body may not provide the weight needed balance and steadiness for figures.

It's interesting the title of "Figure Skating" continues to this day.

One thing I noticed about Scott’s and Kurt’s footwork in their free programs is that they often hopped rather than skated their turns. I assume it was to maintain speed, but it tells you why figures weren’t always useful to free skaters.

 

[Sylvia]

Just did a search and found this thread from almost 3 years ago!

I thought this was really cool clip of Carolina Kostner tracing figures on sunlit ice indoors on December 16, 2022 (Rachael Flatt's comment: "I remember learning these with Lori [Nichol]!"): https://www.instagram.com/reel/CmOtX7CI7HH/

Kostner also tweeted the same clip: https://twitter.com/msKOSTNER/status/1603742631829377024

https://twitter.com/x/status/1603742631829377024

 

[bardtoob]

Lisa Elmore skates her Creative Figure at the 2018 World Figure Championship

Modern Figures & Fancy Skating live here! Enjoy Lisa Elmore's Creative Figure on day 2 of the 2018 World Figure & Fancy Skating Championships! Please turn u...

youtu.be

Gary Beacom skates his "Beacom Blossom" Creative Figure at the 2016 World Figure Championship

Modern Figures & Fancy Skating live here! See the first time that Gary Beacom skates his spectacular "Beacom Blossom" Creative Figure from the 2016 World Fi...

youtu.be

 

[Sylvia]

Bumping this thread back up for @On My Own (or should I say anyone who is interested) ...

ETA:

What Were (Are!) Compulsory School Figures — and Why I Still Teach Them By Deborah Wilker (09/16/18):

Why I Teach School Figures

What Were (Are!) Compulsory School Figures -- and Why I Still Teach Them By Deborah Wilker | skatewithdeb.com | 09/16/18 Compulsory school figures are the crucial foundation upon which modern figure skating was founded more than 100 years ago. While figures were removed from...

www.skatewithdeb.com

 

[VALuvsMKwan]

Bumping this thread back up for @On My Own...

Placing link here as well that I posted in the other thread for the same reason:

Compulsory figures - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[On My Own]

Thanks for the article, because I used it in the thread we were originally talking in. When I asked the question, though, it wasn't for lack of knowledge. It was to prod the people into giving me an answer.

 

[VALuvsMKwan]

Thanks for the article, because I used it in the thread we were originally talking in. When I asked the question, though, it wasn't for lack of knowledge. It was to prod the people into giving me an answer.

Attention junkie. Got it.