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Everything You May Want to Know About Olympic Figure Skating

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Get excited about the figure skating events that will take place in Vancouver in 2010!

Olympic Figure Skaters

1960 Olympic Figure Skating Champion Carol HeissGetty Images
Women's figure skating is the most popular figure skating event at the Winter Olympics. There are "queens and princesses of the ice" who have left their mark on the figure skating world. There are also many famous people who have been a part of ice skating history.

Become a Figure Skater

Olympic Silver Medalist Sasha CohenPhoto by Elsa/Staff - Getty Images
Do you want to get an idea of what's involved in becoming a figure skater? Before you begin to skate, there are things you should know.

Recognize Olympic Figure Skating Jumps

2008 World Figure Skating Champion Mao Asada Is One of the Few Women Who Can Land a Triple Axel JumpPhoto by Patrick Kovarik - Getty Images
Certain jumps are done by Olympic figure skaters...read more

Basic Ice Skating Spins

Ryan Jahnke does an above average spin position with speed and centeringPhoto by Matthew Stockman - Getty Images
Many of the spins Olympic figure skaters do are variations of basic ice skating spins.

The Figure Skating Judging System

Figure Skating JudgesPhoto by Graham Chadwick - Getty Images

The ISU Judging System is the new figure judging system which was implemented in 2004. The new kind of scoring replaced the old 6.0 figure skating judging system and was created in response to the 2002 Olympic figure skating scandal. The idea was to attempt to make figure skating competitions more objective and fair.

Competitors are given two scores: a technical score and a program component score. The technical score is added together to the program component score and the result is the segment score. The sum of all the segment scores (the short program and the free skate) becomes the total competition score. The skater with the highest score wins.

Olympic Figure Skating Events

Scott Hamilton - 1984 Olympic Figure Skating ChampionPhoto bu Steve Powell - Getty Images
Women's and Men's single skating events, pair skating, and ice dancing are the figure skating events that take place at the Winter Olympics.

Phases of Olympic Figure Skating Events

Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto won a silver medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics.Photo by Jonathan Ferrey - Getty Images

Women's and men's single skating events and pair skating events have two phases: the short program and the long program or freeskate.

Ice dancing events have three phases: the compulsory dance phase, the original dance, and the free dance.

2010 Olympic Figure Skating Preview

Kim Yu-Na of South KoreaPhoto by Guang Niu/Getty Images
As the 2010 Winter Olympics approaches, there are certain figure skaters that ice skating fans should especially pay attention to. These skaters may become the 2010 Olympic Figure Skating Champions or medalists.

Figure Skaters Predicted to Win in Vancouver in 2010

Many People Predict that 2009 World Figure Skating Champion Evan Lysacek Will Win the 2010 OlympicsPhoto Courtesy of US Figure Skating - Copyright Paul/Michelle Harvath
There is really no way anyone can know for sure who the 2010 Olympic figure skating champions will be, but it is fun to make predictions.

2010 Olympic Figure Skating Schedule

Mao Asada - World and Japanese Figure Skating ChampionPhoto by Chung Sung-Jun - Getty Images
  • Sunday, February 14, 2010 - Pairs Short Program
  • Monday, February 15, 2010 - Pairs Freeskate and Awards
  • Tuesday, February 16, 2010 - Men's Short Program
  • Thursday, February 18, 2010 - Men's Freeskate and Awards
  • Friday, February 19, 2010 - Ice Dance Compulsory Dance
  • Sunday, February 21, 2010 - Ice Dance Original Dance
  • Monday, February 22, 2010 - Ice Dance Free Dance and Awards
  • Tuesday, February 23, 2010 - Ladies Short Program
  • Wednesday, February 24, 2010 - Ladies Freeskate and Awards

Which U.S. Figure Skaters Will Make the 2010 Olympic US Figure Skating Team?

U.S. Men Who May Qualify for the 2010 U.S. Olympic Figure Skating TeamPhoto by Harry How - Getty Images
At the 2010 U.S. National Figure Skating Championships, past and present U.S. Figure Skating Champions, Olympic and world medalists, and World figure skating champions will be competing against one another for an Olympic spot. The days when the U.S. Figure Skating Championships that led to the Olympics were predictable, are over. Surprises are definately in store.

Explore Figure Skating

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