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The loop jump is an edge jump in the sport of figure skating. The skater executes it by taking off from the back outside edge of the skating foot, turning one or more rotations in the air, and landing on the back outside edge of the same foot. It is often performed as the second jump in a combination.

History

The loop jump was created by German figure skater Werner Rittberger, and is often called the Rittberger in Europe. According to U.S. Figure Skating, the loop jump is "the most fundamental of all the jumps". According to writer Ellyn Kestnbaum, the jump also gets its name from the shape the blade would leave on the ice if the skater performed the rotation without leaving the ice. In competitions, the base value of the single loop jump is 0.50; the base value of a double loop is 1.70; the base value of a triple loop is 4.90; the base value of a quadruple loop is 10.50, and the base value of a quintuple loop is 14.

Firsts

Abbr.	Jump element	Skater	Nation	Event	Ref.
3Lo	Triple loop (men's)	Dick Button	United States	1952 Winter Olympics
	Triple loop (women's)	Gabriele Seyfert	East Germany	1968 skating competition
4Lo	Quadruple loop (men's)	Yuzuru Hanyu	Japan	2016 CS Autumn Classic International
	Quadruple loop (women's)	n/a	n/a	none ratified

Execution

The loop jump is an edge jump. The skater executes it by taking off from the back outside edge of the skating foot, turning one or more rotations in the air, and landing on the back outside edge of the same foot. Atlantic Monthly, in its description of all jumps, states, "An easy way to remember this jump is that it's basically a toe loop without the assist of the toe pick". The jump is usually approached directly from back crossovers, which allows the skater to establish their upper body position while gliding backwards on their right outside edge before springing into the air. The loop is more difficult than the toe loop and salchow because the free leg is already crossed at takeoff, so the rotation is begun from the edge of the skating foot and the upper body. The coordination and weight shift does not need to be exact while performing the loop, so many skaters consider it an easier jump than the flip and Lutz. It is often performed as the second jump in a combination because it takes off from the same edge as "the standard jump landing". Kestnbaum states, "The fact that the free leg remains in front makes both controlling the landing of the first jump and generating the lift and rotation for the second more difficult than when a toe loop is used as the second jump". A loop jump is considered incorrectly done if the takeoff is two-footed, meaning that the free foot does not leave the ice before the takeoff.

Gallery

• Evgenia Medvedeva begins to set up a loop jump
• Nella Pelkonen bends her knees in preparation to jump
• Regina Schermann begins to take off from the ice
• Alessia Tornaghi landing

Footnotes

1. Not performed yet by women in international competition. Done in a domestic tournament by Adeliia Petrosian in 2021.

References

1. ^ "ISU Figure Skating Media Guide 2023/24". 20 September 2023. pp. 2–3. Archived from the original on 9 December 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
2. Hines, James R. (2011). Historical Dictionary of Figure Skating. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 150. ISBN 978-0-8108-6859-5.
3. "Identifying Jumps" (PDF). U.S. Figure Skating. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 March 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
4. ^ Kestnbaum 2003, p. 285.
5. "ISU Communication 2475 Single and Pair Skating 2022-24". pp. 2–3. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
6. Pucin, Diane (7 January 2002). "Button Has Never Been Known to Zip His Lip". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
7. "Hanyu First to Nail Quadruple Loop". The Japan Times. Kyodo News. 1 October 2016. ISSN 0447-5763. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
8. ^ Abad-Santos, Alexander (5 February 2014). "A GIF Guide to Figure Skaters' Jumps at the Olympics". The Atlantic Monthly. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
9. Kestnbaum 2003, p. 284.
10. "Skating Glossary". Skate Canada. 2015. Archived from the original on 26 November 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2023.

Works cited

• Kestnbaum, Ellyn (2003). Culture on Ice: Figure Skating and Cultural Meaning. Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press. ISBN 0819566411.

• Figure skating elements
• Jumping sports