To Skid or Not to Skid

By Robert Ogilvie, MFF, MP, MG, MPD, SD

If observations made of the 2010 Olympics are anything to go by, the technique of using a long skid into the double and triple Axel takeoffs may now be undergoing reappraisal. I must emphasize that the conclusions drawn are my own personal opinions based on the use of a now somewhat hard to obtain but very useful VCR with a frame by frame shuttle. Also included in this article are the results of two excellent biomechanical papers written some years ago.

The performances viewed consisted of eleven men and ten women singles skaters—the total televised. Only one (Florent Amodio) used the long skid approach! The remainder replaced the skid with a sharply curving forward outside (FO) edge whose dimensions can only be estimated but seemed to be of an arc measuring about one third of a circle having a radius of possibly between four and five feet. Jumps using the curving FO edge without skidding could therefore be said to have clean takeoffs thus bringing the technique in line with other edge-to-edge jumps, except that the takeoff is forward, and because of the asymmetrical construction of the foot the blade must pivot at the moment of takeoff. The sharpening of the curve has a similar but reduced effect on the takeoff edge to that of the skid since it lessens the straight line linear speed of the skater.

Over the years what has occurred is that the skid when used has become shorter and shorter. There are two reasons why this has occurred. Some years ago attention was brought by certain authorities to the depth of hollow used for free skating. Hitherto, it had been very difficult to get skaters interested in the hollow they were using: they always said, “I leave it to the sharpener”—very unwise as few sharpeners had ever skated. (I myself did all the sharpening for my local pupils.) Suddenly everyone was convinced that a radius of hollow of 3/8 inch was the way to go. This is rather deep (I had always used a radius of 5/8 inch), but 3/8 of an inch was frequently used by traveling show skaters who wanted their sharpening to last and often had difficulty finding a good sharpener. Also blades directly from the factory tended to have rather deep hollows.

The problem was that it is quite difficult to make the blade skid using a radius of hollow as deep as 3/8 inch radius which frequently took a skater by surprise when he or she used it for the first time. At the takeoff of a double or triple Axel the blade would fail to skid as expected and continued on a curve while the skater’s center of gravity attempted a flatter curve as though the blade were skidding. As a result his or her foot went one way and their center of gravity another, causing a wild tilt out of the circle with the skater finishing up on all fours. This was known as a “waxel” (a wipe-out Axel)—a common occurrence at the time, and one that a coach cannot ask his pupil to repeat for the camera! I was fortunate, however, in having had the opportunity of taping two of these disasters during a regular TV program of skaters’ practice sessions and was able to study the waxel carefully. So skaters made a virtue of necessity and wisely learned to avoid the skid and use a relatively clean edge takeoff.

The big disadvantage of the long skid is that it is based on the false analogy of the high jump in which the athlete plants his take-off foot firmly on the ground to take advantage of his linear motion by converting it into a vertical tangential force. However, when the athlete plants his foot it stops dead whereas when a skater tries to do this on the ice the blade skids and the greater part of the force is dissipated—taken to its absurd limit, he or she will simply stop. There is also the danger that the skater may bring the outside of the boot into contact with the ice, with a disastrous result. I believe this is what happened a year or so ago when one of the ladies took off, apparently intending to do a double Axel, but aiming it toward and too close to the barrier. Realizing this she leant back too much, attempted a skid and probably caught the side of her boot on the ice. This lifts the blade off the ice causing a serious fall that sent her crashing into the barrier. I personally have direct experience of this.

Some years ago a pupil of mine rushed toward me for a comment, did a skid stop, caught the side of her boot on the ice and knocked me flat. She did not do it again.

The skid could still be used successfully if it were shortened to no more than about 12 inches. At this length it would approach more closely the instantaneous stop of the planted foot of the high jumper.

Let us see what the biomechanists have to say on the subject. Two very important papers have been written: “A Kinematic Comparison of Single, Double, and Triple Axels” (King, Arnold, and Smith, 1994) and “Takeoff Characteristics of Single and Double Axel Figure Skating Jumps” (Albert and Miller, 1996). These papers examine nearly all quantifiable details of the Axels with special attention paid to the skid. The average length of the skid into the Axels performed by six male skaters is 1.1 meters for the double and 1.2 meters for the triple. Another authority, Dr. Dědič in the original edition of “Single Figure Skating,” gives the length of Don Jackson’s skid into his open Axel as 1.0 meter. Nevertheless, the problem of the deep hollow inhibiting the skid still remains.

The above is not a criticism of the articles; they did an excellent job of analyzing the methods of the skaters provided, but changes were already taking place. Nevertheless, under favorable circumstances the short skid is still a valid technique and was used by Mao Asada in her triple Axels.

Here is an interesting quote from the King et al paper: “However, taking off without skidding requires considerable skill and leaves little room for misstep.” Certain skaters now seem to be acquiring this skill when conditions are favorable.

Reprinted from January/February 2011 PS Magazine