Figure skating: what is a salchow?

Figure skating jumps are not difficult to understand. Any fan with a quick eye, who knows forwards from backwards left from right can learn to identify common jumps. The Salchow is named after skating pioneer Ulrich Salchow. This is why the word is always capitalized. The Salchow is a very easy jump to identify. Like all other figure skating jumps, the Salchow has three parts: take-off, rotation and landing.

For most skaters, the Salchow is considered to be of intermediate difficulty: very few skaters identify the Salchow as their favorite jump. And certain high profile skaters say that the Salchow is their least favorite jump, among those are Todd Eldredge and Kristi Yamagucci. The Salchow is often seen in pairs skating as a throw jump, where the man throws his partner into the air creating more lift.

The Salchow looks somewhat like the flip because they take off on the same edge. The flip has a toe assist which makes it slightly easier for some and slightly more difficult for others. This is a matter of personal preference to the individual skater. Some skaters prefer the “edge” jumps, those which do not use a toe assist. Other skaters prefer the “toe” jumps, which use the toe pick to assist. Michelle Kwan is a prominent “toe” jumper. Tara Lipinski is considered to be somewhat of an “edge” jumper.

For a counter-clockwise jumper, the Salchow takes off on the left foot. There is no toe assist, which is one of the things which makes the Salchow easy to identify. The jump rotates in the counter-clockwise direction, an even number of times, and lands on the right foot. For a clockwise jumper, the Salchow takes off on the right foot, rotates clockwise and lands on the left foot. In the Salchow, the skater is taking off from a back inside edge. There is a firm “hook” on the edge just before a Salchow leaves the ice which looks a great deal like a capital J.

There are several acceptable techniques for holding the free foot (the one the skater is not standing on) during the take off. Some skaters have a way of bending the ankle sideways which, though very ugly, is not a deduction. Russian ladies often seem to have this technique. Other skaters leave the foot on the ice like a canoe’s outrigger. This outrigger method is not technically a deduction, but it is frowned upon by good judges. American Timothy Goebel is noted for using an outrigger technique.

The Salchow rotates an even number of times: once for a single, twice for a double, three times for a triple and four times for a quadruple or "quad." The quad Salchow was first performed in Junior level competition (rather than in Senior level) by the, then seventeen year old, Goebel. There was some dispute about whether the jump was legal because of Goebel’s use of the left foot as an outrigger. He was confirmed as the first man to land a quad Salchow and the first American to land a quad in competition after the judges reviewed the attempted jump on tape.

Though using the free foot as an outrigger is not considered an error, there is one common deduction for the Salchow. Unlike the flip where the toe assist normally keeps the jump from being “cheated” the Salchow can easily have some of the rotation take place on the ice. It is acceptable, and good technique to have a tiny bit of rotation take place on the ice. As noted above, the J curve on the edge must be firm, but if the jump rotates more than about one quarter of a rotation before it leaves the ice, it is called “cheating” the jump and is a deduction.

For both clockwise and counterclockwise skaters, the Salchow lands on a back outside edge; however, just landing the jump is not an indication of quality. A good quality jump has good speed going and coming out. The skater is supposed to flow out of the jump smoothly, with no wobbling, no touching the ice with her hands and no hopping. Moreover, the skater should have a strong, upright carriage, a gracefully held leg and turned out toes. This is the essence of skating.