Technical question: is the Axel directly derived from ballet's Saut de Basque?

gkelly

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VGThuy

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I wonder why the Axel is one of the only jumps that uses the inventor's first name instead of the last name. I guess "Axel" just sounds catchy.
 
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SmallFairy

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Yes, the jump used to be referred to as "Double/triple etc Axel Paulsen". Paulsen was a speed skating champion and also a figure skater, of course a big star in Norway and also elsewhere. He invented the modern speed skate, with the blade fixed to the boot. He did his new invented axel jump on speed skates.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axel_Paulsen
 
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Theoreticalgirl

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Does anyone have any copies of the USFS Rulebook from the 1980s lying around? I can verify that "Axel Paulsen" is used in my 1974 copy. Knowing where USFS switched over from "Axel Paulsen" to "Axel" will give us a general idea of when the linguistic shift took place.
 
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Does anyone have any copies of the USFS Rulebook from the 1980s lying around? I can verify that "Axel Paulsen" is used in my 1974 copy. Knowing where USFS switched over from "Axel Paulsen" to "Axel" will give us a general idea of when the linguistic shift took place.

It's actually still called an Axel Paulsen in some places in the ISU Special Regulations and Technical Rules (not in the U.S. Figure Skating rulebook though). Was it ever referred to as an "Axel Paulsen" in casual speech or was that always considered excessively formal? This video from 1957 looking at David Jenkins' 3A referred to it just as a "Triple Axel."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2unFSmlNjI
https://www.isu.org/isu-statutes-co...les/17927-single-pair-and-ice-dance-2018/file
 

Theoreticalgirl

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It's actually still called an Axel Paulsen in some places in the ISU Special Regulations and Technical Rules (not in the U.S. Figure Skating rulebook though). Was it ever referred to as an "Axel Paulsen" in casual speech or was that always considered excessively formal? This video from 1957 looking at David Jenkins' 3A referred to it just as a "Triple Axel."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2unFSmlNjI
https://www.isu.org/isu-statutes-co...les/17927-single-pair-and-ice-dance-2018/file

No idea. My guess is that for communication via broadcast medium "Axel" gets the idea across quickly and effectively to an wider audience with different levels of knowledge about the sport. The limited technology available at the time would require broadcasters to be more resourceful with the way they used language.

Any historians on the board? @N_Halifax I'm looking at you :)

My suggestion for using the USFS rulebook as a marker was that seeing where a governing body switched from the formal to colloquial, as a way to understand the larger cultural shift towards the informal.
 
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SkateGuard

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No idea. My guess is that for communication via broadcast medium "Axel" gets the idea across quickly and effectively to an wider audience with different levels of knowledge about the sport. The limited technology available at the time would require broadcasters to be more resourceful with the way they used language.

Any historians on the board? @N_Halifax I'm looking at you :)

My suggestion for using the USFS rulebook as a marker was that seeing where a governing body switched from the formal to colloquial, as a way to understand the larger cultural shift towards the informal.

I think you have the right idea here, Theoreticalgirl. All of my books are on the other side of the country right now but if memory serves me correctly, the term 'Axel Paulsen' was still in the CFSA Rulebook as late as the early 80's.
 

Vash01

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I wonder why the Axel is one of the only jumps that uses the inventor's first name instead of the last name. I guess "Axel" just sounds catchy.

It could be because Axel is shorter than Paulsen, hence easier to pronounce
Exception - Salchow

Other jump names are:
Lutz
Flip
Loop (Originally Rittburger)
Toe loop (long but easy to pronounce)
 

bardtoob

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When I was young I thought the Salchow was a "sow cow" and remembered that name became of Tonya Harding and her large rearend making a rather long and labored entrance into the triple jump.
 

VGThuy

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Every time I meet new people and they ask my about my skating fandom, they always ask me "why is it called a 'sow cow'?" or some variation. Some times they get the name right, but it's always that jump they ask about.
 

gkelly

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It could be because Axel is shorter than Paulsen, hence easier to pronounce

Yes, and when you say the whole name it comes first, so it makes more sense to shorten an existing longer name that way.

Also, at least in English, it sounds like the word "axle," which is also associated with (a different kind of) rotation.
 
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VGThuy

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The flip confuses non-skate fans the most. They're expecting an actual flip so when I tell them so and so landed the triple flip, I can tell by their eyes that they're thinking about someone flipping three times before they realize it must be another jump that looks similar to the others.
 

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