Pair skating is a discpline of figure skating for teams consisting of a lady and a man. The teams perform both singles elements in unison and elements such as acrobatic lifts that are unique to pair skating, with the goal of giving an impression of "two skating as one". Pair skating is difficult because achieving this degree of unison requires similar technique and timing on all elements of the performance, as well as practice and trust between the partners.

Pair skating elements

• Throw jump - a move in which the man assists the lady into the air and she lands on her own. Throw jumps can be done with any of the jump takeoffs, done as doubles or triples for elite pair teams. The most difficult throw jump that has been completed in competition is the throw triple axel jump. It was first performed by Rena Inoue and John Baldwin Jr at the 2006 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

• Pair spin- a spin in which the two spin around a common axis while holding each other. The additional balance obtained by holding onto a partner allows pair skaters to obtain spin positions that would be difficult or impossible for a singles skater to acheive.

• Death spiral - a move in which the man performs a pivot while swinging the lady around on a deep edge in a position almost horizontal to the ice.

• Lift - lifts are categorized by the grip and position used to initially lift the lady over the man's head. For example, in a hip lift, the man lifts the lady with his hand on her hip, and a lasso lift uses a hand-to-hand grip. In normal lifts, the man performs turns on the ice before setting the lady down; a carry lift, by contrast, is a lift without rotation.

• Twist lift - a move that begins with the man assisting the lady in a toe-assisted jump where she rotates and is caught mid-air by the man, who then places her down back on the ice. Double and triple twist lifts are commonly seen at the elite level; the first quadruple twist lift was performed by Marina Cherkasova and Sergei Shakrai at the 1977 European Championship.

• Side-by-side elements include: jumps, spins, and step sequences. Keeping in line with "two skating as one", the quality of a side-by-side element is not evaluated by an average of each skater's completion. Instead, skaters should begin a side-by-side element together, maintain unison and close proximity to each other throughout, and finish together. Pairs sometimes shout auditory cues to their partner in order to maintain and adjust their timing throughout a side-by-side element.

Terminology

• Mirror pairs are rare teams that perform side-by-side elements in opposite rotational directions. One such pair was Kristi Yamaguchi (counter-clockwise) and Rudy Galindo (clockwise). Jill Watson and Peter Oppegard were also mirror pairs.

• Mirror skating is a term similar to mirror pairs, but can apply to movements other than jumps and spins. The pair team of Andrée and Pierre Brunet are credited with first performing this kind of movement.^*

• Shadow skating occurs when the pair performs the same movements without touching one another.

References

• Smith, Beverley. Figure Skating: A Celebration. ISBN 0-7710-2819-9.

Figure skating