Loop jump

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

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 begins from the edge of the skating foot and the upper body. The coordination and weight shift do 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

File:Evgenia Medvedeva at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games - Free program 11.jpg|Evgenia Medvedeva begins to set up a loop jump File:2020-01-11 Women's Single Figure Skating Short Program (2020 Winter Youth Olympics) by Sandro Halank–081.jpg|Nella Pelkonen bends her knees in preparation to jump File:2020-01-11 Women's Single Figure Skating Short Program (2020 Winter Youth Olympics) by Sandro Halank–209.jpg|Regina Schermann begins to take off from the ice File:2020-01-11 Women's Single Figure Skating Short Program (2020 Winter Youth Olympics) by Sandro Halank–656.jpg|Alessia Tornaghi landing File:Amber Glenn 2025 Worlds Practice 3Lo.webm|Video of Amber Glenn performing a series of three-turns followed by a triple loop jump

Footnotes

References

Works cited

References

1. Media Guide, p. 20
2. "Identifying Jumps". U.S. Figure Skating.
3. "Communication No. 2707: Single & Pair Skating Scale of Values (ISU No. 2707)".
4. (7 January 2002). "Button Has Never Been Known to Zip His Lip". Los Angeles Times.
5. (1 October 2016). "Hanyu First to Nail Quadruple Loop". The Japan Times.
6. Media Guide, p. 21
7. Abad-Santos, Alexander. (5 February 2014). "A GIF Guide to Figure Skaters' Jumps at the Olympics".
8. (2015). "Skating Glossary". Skate Canada.