Before the first medal is awarded at the Palavela arena, the ice has already become a working environment for the world’s leading skaters. Official practice…
Guides
Official practice sessions at Torino 2019
How Turin’s altitude shaped skating performance
At 239 metres above sea level, Turin sits well below the elevations usually associated with altitude-related sporting effects. The city’s height is enough to…
How Skaters Choose Competition Costume Designs
A figure-skating costume is part of the performance long before the music begins. Under the lights of an arena such as Turin’s Palavela, fabric, color,…
A Guide To Free Dance Requirements For Ice Dance Teams
Ice dance combines the precision of skating with the musicality, partnering, and theatrical detail of dance. In the free dance, teams have greater freedom than…
How the Technical Panel Shapes Figure Skating Results
At a figure skating competition, the visible performance is only part of the story. Every jump, spin, lift, step sequence, and pair element must be identified,…
How to read the official figure skating event schedule
A figure skating schedule is more than a list of start times. It shows how the competition unfolds across several days, which disciplines appear in each…
Why Torino’s Grand Prix Final brings generations together
The Grand Prix Final is designed as a meeting point for the established stars of figure skating and the athletes still making their way toward the…
The art of the death spiral in pairs figure skating
Few elements in figure skating combine danger, trust, and visual drama as completely as the death spiral. One partner circles low to the ice while the other…
A day behind the scenes at the Grand Prix Final
A volunteer at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final sees a side of competition that spectators rarely notice. The audience experiences music, costumes,…
How figure skating judges assess program components
A figure skating score reflects two different kinds of achievement. The technical panel identifies jumps, spins, lifts, steps, and other elements, then assigns…