Editing Layback spin

{{Short description|Element in figure skating}}
{{Infobox Figure Skating Element
|image= Layback spin (Nikodinov).png
|imagesize= 90px
|caption= 
|element name= Layback spin
|alt name= 
|scoring abbrev= LSp
|element type= [[Upright spin]]
|edges= 
|take off edge= 
|landing edge= 
|inventor= [[Cecilia Colledge]]
|named for= 
|disciplines= 
}}

A '''layback spin''' is a variation of the [[upright spin]], a [[figure skating spin|spin in figure skating]]. British figure skater [[Cecilia Colledge]] was "responsible for the invention"<ref name="kestnbaum-107">Kestnbaum, p. 107</ref> of the spin and the first to execute it.<ref name="hines-112">Hines, p. 112</ref> Colledge's coach, Jacques Gerschwiler, who was a former gymnastics teacher and according to Colledge "very progressive in his ideas",<ref name="kestnbaum-107" /> got the idea for the upright spin while watching one of Colledge's trainers, a former circus performer turned acrobatics instructor, train Colledge to perform backbends "by means of a rope tied around her waist".<ref name="kestnbaum-107" /> The upright spin has long been associated with women's skating, but men have also performed it. Skaters include it in their programs because it increases their technical content and fulfills choreographic needs.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Petkevich |first=John Misha |url= |title=Sports Illustrated Figure Skating: Championship Techniques |publisher=Sports Illustrated |year=1988 |isbn=978-1-4616-6440-6 |edition=1st |location=New York |pages=154 |oclc=815289537}}</ref>

The layback spin is executed by holding the free leg in a back attitude position and arching the head and upper body backward so that the skater faces up towards the sky, ceiling, or further.<ref name="kestnbaum-281">Kestnbaum, p. 281</ref> The free leg position is optional.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022 |title=Special Regulations & Technical Rules: Single & Pair Skating and Ice Dance 2022 |url=https://www.isu.org/figure-skating/rules/fsk-regulations-rules/file |access-date=15 September 2022 |publisher=International Skating Union |page=104}}</ref> A variation of the layback spin is the '''[[Biellmann spin]]''', made popular by world champion [[Denise Biellmann]], which the [[International Skating Union]] (ISU), the organization that governs figure skating, considers a difficult variation of the layback spin. It is executed by the skater grabbing their free blade and pulling the heel of their boot behind and above the level of the head so that their legs are in an approximate full split, with the head and back arched upward.<ref name="kestnbaum-281" /><ref name="no2329-5">{{Cite web |date=6 May 2021 |title=Communication No. 2393: Ice Dance Lausanne, Switzerland: International Skating Union |url=https://www.isu.org/inside-isu/isu-communications/communications/25800-isu-communication-2393/file |access-date=15 September 2022 |page=5}}</ref> The spin "requires much strength and extreme flexibility".<ref>Hines, p. 227</ref>

Other difficult variations of the layback spin are the '''full layback''' (the upper body is arched sideways with the upper body bent to the side from the waist towards the ice or arched back from the waist towards the ice) and when the skater's upper body is arched sideways or arched back, with their free leg almost touching their head in a full circle. In ice dance, difficult variations of the layback spin include a '''split''', with both legs straight and the boot of one partner's free leg held up higher than their head (which can be supported by their partner) and leaning away from the other partner, with the axis to their upper back to the knee over 45 degrees.<ref name="no2329-5"/>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Catch foot layback.jpg|{{center|Catch foot layback spin<br><small>([[Elena Glebova]])</small>}}
File:Mirai Nagasu Spin 2007 JGP USA.jpg|{{center|Catch foot layback spin<br><small>([[Mirai Nagasu]])</small>}}
File:Zhang 2008TEB by Carmichael.jpg|{{center|Catch foot layback spin<br><small>([[Caroline Zhang]])</small>}}
File:Lubov Iliushechkina & Nodari Maisuradze Spin 2009 Europeans.jpg|{{center|Catch foot layback spin as part of a pairs spin<br><small>([[Liubov Ilyushechkina|Lubov Iliushechkina]] & [[Nodari Maisuradze]])
File:Angela Nikodinov 2.jpg|{{center|<small>([[Angela Nikodinov]])</small>}}
File:Angela Wang - 2018 Grand Prix of Helsinki - 08.jpg|{{center|<small>([[Angela Wang]])</small>}}
File:Bereswill 2008JGPFgala by Carmichael.jpg|{{center|<small>([[Becky Bereswill]])</small>}}
File:Jennifer Kirk Layback 2003 NHK Trophy 2.jpg|{{center|<small>([[Jennifer Kirk]])</small>}}
File:Kim 094cc by Carmichael.jpg|{{center|<small>([[Yuna Kim]])</small>}}
File:Rachael Flatt Spin 2009 World Team Trophy.jpg|{{center|Layback spin<br><small>([[Rachael Flatt]])</small>}}
File:Wagner 2009 WJC Layback spin.jpg|{{center|Layback spin<br><small>([[Ashley Wagner]])</small>}}
File:Rohene Ward Layback.jpg|{{center|A man performs layback spin<br><small>([[Rohene Ward]])</small>}}
File:Catch foot layback.jpg|{{center|Catch-foot layback spin<br><small>([[Jelena Glebova]])</small>}}
File:Diane Szmiett Spin 2008-2009 JGPF.jpg|{{center|"Haircutter" variation<br><small>(Diane Szmiett)</small>}}
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}

== Works cited ==
* Hines, James R. (2006) ''Figure Skating: A History''. Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press. {{ISBN|978-0-252-07286-4}}.
* Kestnbaum, Ellyn (2003). ''Culture on Ice: Figure Skating and Cultural Meaning''. Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press. {{ISBN|0-8195-6641-1}}.

{{commons category|Layback spins}}

{{Figure skating}}

[[Category:Figure skating elements]]