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How do the inside and outside edges of a figure-skating blade affect skating movements?
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figure skating
Katarina Witt, competing for East Germany, became the first woman since Norway's Sonja Henie (1928, 1932, and 1936) to win consecutive Olympic gold medals, doing so in 1984 and 1988.
In figure skating, the blade is hollow-ground to create two distinct edges: the inside edge (nearer the inside of the foot) and the outside edge. While a skater typically uses only one edge at a time, these edges are fundamental to all skating movements, whether performed moving forward or backward.12
Mastering these edges is essential for developing balance, power, and precise control. Movements are categorized by the edge used, such as:2
- Moves in the field: These include basic elements like crossovers, spirals, and 3-turns, as well as more complex maneuvers like mohawks, cross rolls, and edge pulls.2
- Spins: Most spins, including the scratch spin, are performed specifically on the back inside or back outside edges of the blade.3
Historically, skaters practiced these skills through school figures, which required tracing precise curves and turns on a single skate to perfect edge control. Today, these skills are refined through "moves in the field," which apply edge techniques across the full extent of the ice.2