The winter Olympics are coming up soon, and there are a lot of different sports that will be featured. One of the sports that will be in the Olympics is figure skating, and part of the figure skating program is the long program.
So, which of these sports has a long program as part of the Winter Olympics? Let’s take a look.
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Short Program
In the sport of figure skating, the short program is a segment that consists of seven required elements. It is skated during the Olympic Games, World Championships, Four Continents Championships, and other international competitions. The short program is the first segment in a figure skating competition.
The short program includes seven required elements:
-Spins: Skaters must perform three different kinds of spins, which must be assigned specific values by the judges. The three kinds of spins are the pull-up spin (in which the skater pulls up on one foot while spinning on the other), the sit spin (in which the skater sits on the ice while spinning), and the camel spin (in which the skater extends one leg behind them while spinning on the other).
-Jumps: Skaters must perform three different kinds of jumps, which must be assigned specific values by the judges. The three kinds of jumps are the toe jump (in which the skater launches off one foot and lands on both feet), Salchow jump (in which the skater takes off from a back edge and lands on both feet), and loop jump (in which the skater takes off from a forward edge and lands on both feet). All three jumps must be executed in succession without any other intervening moves.
-Footwork: Skaters must perform a set of footwork patterns, which must be assigned specific values by the judges. These patterns can be either straight line or circle movements, and they must include at least one change of direction.
The short program is worth 33% of a skater’s total score in competition.
Long Program
In figure skating, the long program is skated after the short program. It usually consists of jumps, spins, step sequences, and sometimes a choreographic section.
The long program was introduced at the 1908 Summer Olympics. It was then called the free skate, in contrast to the compulsory figures section. The name “long program” was used from 1930 onwards.
Today, the long program is used in both men’s and women’s singles, as well as in pair skating and ice dancing. Usually, it is between 4½ minutes and 5 minutes for men, and 4 minutes for women. Pairs and dance teams have a shorter long program by about 30–90 seconds.
Pairs
Pairs skating is a figure skating discipline in which two skaters, usually a man and a woman, skate together. The pair performs both mandatory elements, consisting of several jumps and lift combinations, as well as a free skate program of choreographed elements. Pairs was first contested at the Olympic Winter Games in Antwerp, Belgium in 1920.
Ice Dance
Ice dance is a discipline of figure skating that draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the Winter Olympic programme at the 1976 Innsbruck Games, and became a permanent part of the Games in 1980. Like other figure skating disciplines, it consists of compulsory and free skating components. In compulsory ice dancing, skaters must perform a standard set of predetermined steps and sequences to music with a strict beat. Free skating includes different jumps, spins, lifts, and footwork that can be performed to skaters’ own choice of music.
Judges hold ice dancers to very strict criteria when it comes to skating ability and interpretation of their chosen music. For example, they will look at how well the skaters glide across the ice, how well they maintain their footing while performing complicated steps and turns, how high they leap into the air, how fast they spin, and how well they connect their movements to the rhythm of the music. They will also look at how well the skaters interpret the mood or theme of their chosen music, how well they maintain eye contact with each other and with the audience, and how well they tell a story through their movements on the ice.
The International Skating Union (ISU) governs international competitions in ice dance, including the Winter Olympics. The ISU sets rules for compulsory and free dances, as well as for judging criteria.