Compulsory figures or school figures were formerly a segment of figure skating, and gave the sport its name. They are the "circular patterns which skaters trace on the ice to demonstrate skill in placing clean turns evenly on round circles". For approximately the first 50 years of figure skating as a sport, until 1947, compulsory figures made up 60 percent of the total score at most competitions around the world. These figures continued to dominate the sport, although they steadily declined in importance, until the International Skating Union (ISU) voted to discontinue them as a part of competitions in 1990. Learning and training in compulsory figures instilled discipline and control; some in the figure skating community considered them necessary to teach skaters basic skills. Skaters would train for hours to learn and execute them well, and competing and judging figures would often take up to eight hours during competitions.
Skaters traced compulsory figures and were judged according to their smoothness and accuracy. The circle is the basis of all figures. Other elements in compulsory figures include curves, change of foot, change of edge, and turns. Skaters had to trace precise circles while completing difficult turns and edges. The simple "figure eight" shape was executed by connecting two circles; other figures included the three turn, the counter turn, the rocker turn, the bracket turn, and the loop.
Although few skaters continue to practice compulsory figures, and few coaches still teach them to skaters, some skaters and coaches believe compulsory figures give skaters an advantage in developing alignment, core strength, body control, and discipline. The World Figure Sport Society has conducted festivals and competitions of compulsory figures, endorsed by the Ice Skating Institute, since 2015.
History
Early history Tracing figures in the ice is the oldest form of figure skating, especially during its first 200 years of existence, when it was a recreational activity practiced mostly by men. Combined skating, or "patterns of moves for two skaters around a common center marked by a ball and later an orange placed on the ice", had a "profound historical significance" to the sport that eventually manifested itself in ice dancing, pair skating, and synchronized skating, and dominated the sport for 50 years in England during the 18th century. The Art of Skating, one of the earliest books about figure skating, was written by Robert Jones in 1772 and described five advanced figures, three of which were illustrated with large color plates. Jones' limited body of figures, which emphasized correct technique, were the accepted and basic repertoire of figures in 18th-century England. The Edinburgh Skating Club, one of the oldest skating clubs in the world, described combined figures and those done by multiple skaters; interlocking figure eights were the most important. According to writer Ellyn Kestnbaum, the Edinburgh Skating Club required prospective members to pass proficiency tests in what became compulsory figures. The London Skating Club, founded in 1830 in London, also required proficiency tests for members and pioneered combined skating, which contributed to the evolution of school figures. Artistic skating in France, which was derived from the English style of figure skating and was influenced by ballet, developed figures that emphasized artistry, body position, and grace of execution. Jean Garcin, a member of an elite group of skaters in France, wrote a book about figure skating in 1813 that included descriptions and illustrations of over 30 figures, including a series of circle-eight figures that skaters still use today.
George Anderson, writing in 1852, described backward-skating figures, including the flying Mercury and the shamrock, as well as the Q figure, which became, in its various forms, an important part of the repertoire of skating movements for the rest of the 1800s. Anderson also described two combined figures, the salutation (already described by Jones) and the satellite. By the 1850s, the most important figures (eights, threes, and Qs) were developed and formed the basis for figure skating at the time. In 1869, Henry Vandervell and T. Maxwell Witham from the London Skating Club wrote System of Figure Skating, which described variations of the three turn (the only figure known before 1860), the bracket (first done on roller skates), the rocker, the Mohawk, the loop, the Q, and other figures. The Mohawk, renamed in Canada to the C Step in 2020, a two-foot turn on the same circle, most likely originated in North America. Figure skating historian James Hines called the grapevine, which was probably invented in Canada, "the most American of all figures". The Viennese style of figure skating, as described by Max Wirth's book in 1881, described connecting figures, which ultimately led to modern free skating programs.
In 1868, the American Skating Congress, precursor to U.S. Figure Skating, adopted a series of movements used during competitions between skaters from the U.S. and Canada. Until 1947, for approximately the first 50 years of the existence of figure skating as a sport, compulsory figures made up 60 percent of the total score at most competitions around the world. Other competitions held in the late 19th and early 20th centuries included special figures, free skating, and compulsories, with most of the points they earned going towards how they performed the same set of compulsory moves. The first international figure skating competition was in Vienna in 1882; according to Kestnbaum, it established a precedent for future competitions. Skaters were required to perform 23 compulsory figures, as well as a four-minute free skating program and a section called "special figures", in which they had to perform moves or combinations of moves that highlighted their advanced skills.
Compulsory figures were an important part of figure skating for the rest of the 19th century until the 1930s and 1940s. The first European Championships in 1891 consisted of only compulsory figures. In 1896, the newly formed International Skating Union (ISU) sponsored the first annual World Figure Skating Championships in St. Petersburg. The competition consisted of compulsory figures and free skating. Skaters had to perform six compulsory moves so that judges could compare skaters according to an established standard. Compulsory figures were worth 60 percent of the competitors' total scores.
Special figures were not included in World Championships, although they were included as a separate discipline in other competitions, including the Olympics in 1908. The early Olympics movement valued and required amateurism, so figure skating, almost from its beginnings as an organized sport, was also associated with amateurism. Athletes were unable to support themselves financially, so as Kestnbaum put it, "thus making it impossible for those who had to earn a living by other means to attain the same level of skill as those who were independently wealthy or who practiced professions that allowed for flexible scheduling". According to Kestnbaum, this had implications for attaining proficiency in compulsory figures, which required long hours of practice and purchasing time at private rinks and clubs.
In 1897, the ISU adopted a schedule of 41 school figures, each of increasing difficulty, which was proposed by the British. They remained the standard compulsory figures used throughout the world in proficiency testing and competitions until 1990, and U.S. Figure Skating continued to use them as a separate discipline in the 1990s. After World War II, more countries were sending skaters to international competitions, so the ISU cut the number of figures to a maximum of six due to the extended time it took to judge them all. The first judges' handbook for compulsory figures was published by the ISU in 1961.
Demise in 1990 and modern renaissance in 2015
The demise and revival of compulsory figures occurred, respectively, in 1990, when the ISU removed compulsory figures from international single skating competitions, and beginning in 2015, when the first competition focusing entirely on figures took place. Judging scandals and the broadcasts of figure skating on television have been cited as the reason for the decline of figures. The U.S. was the last country to include figures in its competitions until 1999. The elimination of figures resulted in an increase of focus on the free skating segment and in the domination of younger girls in the sport. Most skaters stopped training with figures, although many coaches continued to teach figures and skaters continued to practice them because figures taught basic skating skills and gave skaters an advantage in developing alignment, core strength, body control, and discipline.
A revival of compulsory figures began in 2015. The first World Figure Championships (renamed to The World Figure and Fancy Skating Championships in 2017) occurred in Lake Placid, New York. By 2023, nine championships had taken place. Judging was done blind, after the skaters left the ice, and without the judges knowing which competitor completed which figure. Karen Courtland Kelly, 1994 Olympian and figures expert, who founded the World Figure Sport Society (WFSS) and organized its figures championships, was credited with revitalizing figures. By 2020, the championship and the revitalization of figures were supported by many skaters, including U.S. Olympian Debi Thomas, who competed at the 2023 Championships. Since its inception, The World Figure Sport Society has held 11 championships, out of which the most successful competitors are Shepherd Clark, with nine gold medals and two silvers, and Jill Albrecht with three gold medals and one bronze. The event is considered to be the most comprehensive figure event ever held, as it is a blend of historic figures, as well as new figures the competitors perform, as skating artists, with Fancy Skating, the final event, all on black ice, where the actual tracings may be seen clearly, so that the Fancy portion includes the visible evaluation of the smoothness of the patterns, positions, with emphasis upon a moving sculptural aesthetic. The "6.0" has been used in the event, to preserve that aspect of Figure Skating's history.
Execution of figures Compulsory figures, also called school figures, are the "circular patterns which skaters trace on the ice to demonstrate skill in placing clean turns evenly on round circles". Compulsory figures are also called "patch", a reference to the patch of ice allocated to each skater to practice figures. Figure skating historian James Hines reports that compulsory figures were "viewed as a means of developing technique necessary for elite skaters". He states, "As scales are the material by which musicians develop the facile technique required to perform major competitions, so compulsory figures were viewed as the material by which skaters develop the facile required for free-skating programs". Compulsory figures has been called "the slow-sports movement" or "yoga on ice". Hines also states that although compulsory figures and free skating are often considered as "totally different aspects of figure skating", historically they were not, and insisted that "spirals, spread eagles, jumps, and spins were originally individual figures".