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Flip jump

Figure skating jump

The flip jump (also called the flip, and formerly the toe salchow) is a figure skating jump. The International Skating Union (ISU) defines a flip jump as "a toe jump that takes off from a back inside edge and lands on the back outside edge of the opposite foot". It is executed with assistance from the toe of the free foot.

01History

The origin of the flip jump is unknown, although American professional figure skater Bruce Mapes might have created it. Writer Ellyn Kestnbaum calls the jump "somewhat trickier than the loop for most skaters. considerably more so than the salchow or toe loop", because of its unstable inside edge and the precision required to align and time the jump's vault from the toepick. As a consequence, quadruple flip jumps are, as ESPN puts it, "rare". Kestnbaum also states that it is crucial that the skater's edge not be too deep, but instead almost forms a straight line.

Variations of the flip jump include the half flip and the split flip. The half flip is often used as a simple transitional movement during a step sequence and as a takeoff for other half jumps. A split flip is a single flip jump with a split position at the peak of the skater's position in the air. There is no record of the first male skater to perform the triple flip.

In competitions, the base value of a single flip is 0.50; the base value of a double flip is 1.80; the base value of a triple flip is 5.30; the base value of a quadruple flip is 11.00; and the base value of a quintuple flip is 14.

Firsts

Abbr. Jump element Skater Nation Event Ref.
3F Triple flip (women's)Katarina Witt East Germany1981 European Championships
Triple flip (women's)Manuela Ruben Germany
4F Quadruple flip (men's)Shoma Uno Japan2016 Team Challenge Cup
Quadruple flip (women's)Alexandra Trusova Russia2019-20 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final
Watch videos about Flip jumpExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Flip jump, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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