The Loop is a figure skating jump that takes off from a back outside edge and lands on the same edge. For a jump with counterclockwise rotation, this is the right back outside edge. It is named from its similarity to the loop compulsory figure. In Europe, it is called also the Rittberger, after its inventor Werner Rittberger. Figure skating is an ice skating sporting event where individuals, mixed couples, or groups perform spins, jumps, and other moves on the ice, often to music. ... Compulsory figures were a former aspect of the sport of figure skating, from which its name (in English) derives. ... A satellite composite image of Europe // Etymology Picture of Europa, carried away by bull-shaped Zeus. ... Werner Rittberger Werner Rittberger (born July 14, 1891 in Berlin, Germany; † 1975 in Krefeld, Germany) was a German figure skater. ...

Loop technique

Entry to a triple loop jump, showing the cross-legged position and strong shoulder check (top) and release of the check (bottom).

To do a loop jump, a skater typically does a 3 turn or mohawk turn onto a left back inside edge, then reaches into the circle on the right back outside edge while drawing the left foot (still on the ice) to cross in front of the right. The knees are deeply bent, so that it sometimes appears that the skater is almost in a sitting position. On the approach edge, the rotation is strongly checked with the shoulders facing into the circle. At takeoff, the skater lifts the left leg while simultaneously pushing off with the right; the rotational momentum for the jump comes from releasing the check of the shoulders and pressure on the edge, rather than by swinging the arms or free leg. The skater maintains the cross-legged position, known as a back spin position, in the air before landing after one rotation. Image File history File links LoopEntry. ... Image File history File links LoopEntry. ... A 3 turn is a figure skating element which involves both a change in direction and a change in edge. ... A Mohawk is a turn in figure skating that involves a change of foot but not a change of edge. ...

The loop can also be done as a double or triple, with two or three rotations, respectively. Dick Button performed the first triple loop jump at the 1952 Winter Olympics. The first female skater known to be able to perform a triple loop was Gaby Seyfert in 1968. No skater has yet successfully performed a quadruple loop in competition. Richard Dick Button (born July 18, 1929 in Englewood, New Jersey) is an American former figure skater and current television analyst. ... The VI Olympic Winter Games were held in 1952 in Norway. ... Gabriele (Gaby) Seyfert (born November 23, 1948 in Chemnitz) is a former German figure skater. ...

Since the loop takes off the edge that is used as the landing edge for most jumps, it is often seen as the second element of a jump combination. In this case, it is necessary for the skater to keep the free leg (the left leg for a counterclockwise rotator) forward on the landing of the preceding jump, instead of bringing it backward in the normal check-out.

Eric Millot of France was the first skater to perform a triple loop/triple loop combination, in 1996. In the years since, doing triple loops in combination has become considered somewhat hazardous, since a number of skaters including 1998 Olympic champion Tara Lipinski have suffered serious hip injuries from practicing them. 1996 (MCMXCVI) is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... The XVIII Olympic Winter Games were held in 1998 in Nagano, Japan. ... Tara Kristen Lipinski (born June 10, 1982 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) of Sugar Land, Texas is an accomplished figure skater and media celebrity. ... Bones of the hip In anatomy, the hip is the bony projection of the femur, known as the greater trochanter, and the overlying muscle and fat. ...

Loop variants

A related jump in figure skating is the half loop. In spite of its name, it is a full rotation jump. It differs from a regular loop jump in that it is landed on the opposite foot, on a backward inside edge. Half loops are only done as single jumps, and are primarily used as connecting elements in a jump sequence, before a salchow jump or flip jump which take off from a back inside edge. The salchow is a figure skating jump with a takeoff from a back inside edge and landing on the back outside edge of the opposite foot after one or more rotations in the air. ... The flip jump (usually just flip) is a jump in figure skating in which the counter-clockwise jumper takes off from the left back inside edge and lands on the right back outside edge (reverse feet for the clockwise jumper). ...

The true half-rotation jump with a loop entrance, landed forward (on the left toe pick and right forward inside edge, for a counterclockwise jump), is called a falling leaf. This jump can be performed with a split position at the peak of the jump, which is called (rather uncreatively) a split falling leaf.

The loop jump should not be confused with the toe loop jump, which has significantly different mechanics and technique. The toe loop is one of the simplest jumps in figure skating. ...