Every spin you see at the Olympics is built from three basic positions: upright, sit and camel. Skaters add harder variations, change feet, jump into spins and switch positions, and a technical panel turns all of that into a level from Base to Level 4 while the judges grade how well it was done. Once you know what to look for, a spin stops being a blur and starts to look like a list of choices.
Key takeaways
- Every spin comes back to three basic positions: upright, sit and camel.
- A flying spin starts with a jump, a change of foot moves the spin from one foot to the other, and a combination spin changes position.
- The technical panel sets each spin's level, from Base up to Level 4, by counting the level features it sees.
- The judges each give a grade of execution (GOE) from -5 to +5, and each step is worth 10% of the spin's base value.
- Fast, centered spins with clear positions score best, and a spin that wanders across the ice loses marks.
Spins are the part of a program where everything seems to stop and spin at once. The commentator says "Level 4 combination spin," everyone nods, and the replay moves on. This guide explains what's actually happening, in plain words, so you can watch the next competition and follow along.
The three basic positions
The International Skating Union (ISU) recognizes three basic spin positions. In a camel, the free leg stretches out behind with the knee higher than the hip, so the body makes a long T. In a sit, the skater crouches on one leg until the upper part of the skating leg is at least parallel to the ice. An upright is any position with the skating leg straight or slightly bent that isn't a camel.
Anything that doesn't fit one of those three is called a non-basic position. You'll also see skaters spin in two directions: most turn counterclockwise, and a few turn clockwise. When a skater spins on their usual forward spinning foot, it's a forward spin, and on the other foot it's a back spin.
Variations and named spins
On top of the basic positions, skaters build variations: changes to the body, arms or free leg that make the position harder to hold. The ISU only counts a variation as difficult if it takes real extra strength, flexibility or balance. That's why you see top skaters grabbing their blades, leaning sideways or folding forward, rather than spinning in a plain position.
Some spins are famous enough to have names. A layback is an upright spin with the head and back arched backward. In a Biellmann, named after the Swiss skater Denise Biellmann, the skater pulls the free leg up from behind and over the head. A scratch spin is the very fast upright spin at the end of many programs, with the arms and free leg pulled in tight.
Camels and sits have their own shapes too. In a doughnut, the skater in a camel reaches back, catches the free blade and pulls it toward the head to make a ring. A cannonball is a sit spin with the arms and free leg pulled in close, and a pancake is a sit spin with the free leg folded across the skating leg and the body bent over it.
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Build a bundleFlying spins, changes of foot and combinations
Flying spins
A flying spin starts with a jump, and it's named for the position it lands in, so a flying camel lands in a camel and a flying sit spin lands in a sit. The death drop, a dramatic flying entry that drops straight into a back sit spin, is one of the most popular. Skaters can also make the flying entry itself harder, such as a butterfly entry into a sit spin, to earn a level feature.
Change of foot
In a change-foot spin, the skater spins on one foot and then steps or jumps onto the other and keeps spinning. For a counterclockwise skater, that usually means a forward spin on the left foot followed by a back spin on the right, and clockwise skaters mirror it. Each foot needs at least three revolutions, or the spin loses value.
Combination spins
A combination spin changes between basic positions, such as camel to sit to upright. It needs at least two basic positions, with at least two revolutions in each, and only gets full value if all three appear. Combination spins usually include a change of foot too, which is why you'll hear "change-foot combination spin" so often. At senior level, each singles program has three spins, one of them a flying spin and one a combination spin. Those were the 2025-26 rules used in Milan, and from 2026-27 the free skate allows six jumping passes and one of the three spins is a choreographic spin.
How a spin gets its level
Every spin is called at a level, from Base up through Level 1, 2, 3 and 4, and the level sets its base value. That call comes from the technical panel: a technical specialist and an assistant who identify each element and its level, and a technical controller who checks their calls. The panel can review replays before it confirms a call.
A spin climbs the levels by collecting level features from a list the ISU publishes and updates most seasons. Each feature the panel credits adds a level, so a Level 4 spin needs at least four. Features include difficult variations, a difficult entrance or exit, a clear change of edge, spinning in both directions, a clear increase of speed and at least eight revolutions in a camel, layback or difficult variation.
Most features count only once per program, so skaters plan which spin gets which feature. A spin with fewer than three revolutions isn't counted as a spin at all. Our guide to spin levels goes through the full list and the rules that trip skaters up.
On the score sheet, each spin is a short code followed by its level. The table shows how to read the letters.
| Part of the code | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Sp | Spin | USp: upright spin |
| U, S, C or L just before Sp | Upright, sit, camel or layback | SSp: sit spin |
| CoSp | Combination spin | CoSp: a spin that changes position |
| F at the front | Flying entry | FCSp: flying camel spin |
| C at the front | Change of foot | CCoSp: change-foot combination spin |
| 1, 2, 3, 4 or B at the end | The level, or Base | FCCoSp4: flying change-foot combination spin, Level 4 |
| V at the end | A requirement was missed, so the base value is reduced | CCoSp3V |
What the judges reward
While the technical panel decides what the spin was, the judges decide how good it was. Each judge gives a grade of execution (GOE) from -5 to +5, and with a full panel of nine, the highest and lowest marks are dropped and the rest are averaged. In singles, each step of GOE is worth 10% of the spin's base value, so a +3 adds 30%.
The judges' guidelines for spins reward good speed or acceleration, clear and controlled positions, an effortless look, staying centered, creativity and matching the music. They take marks off for things like a spin that travels across the ice, poor or awkward positions, a poor jump into a flying spin and falls. That's why a fast, centered Level 3 can outscore a slow, wandering Level 4.
What to look for next time
Start with the entry. If the skater jumps into the spin, it's a flying spin, and if they come in with an unusual step or move, they may be going for a difficult entrance. Then watch the position: is it a camel, sit or upright, and is the skater doing something extra with the arms, free leg or body?
Try counting revolutions in a camel, a layback or a difficult variation, since eight or more without changing position, foot or edge is a level feature. Watch the feet for a change of foot, and listen to the commentators for a change of edge, which is hard to see on TV. Near the end, look for a clear burst of speed, and notice whether the spin stays on one spot or drifts.
After the program, the protocol shows the code and level the panel gave each spin. If you're curious how spins fit into the whole score, our guide to how figure skating scoring works explains it, and our figure skating glossary covers the other words you'll hear.
Trying it yourself
Watching spins can make you want to try one, and adults can learn to spin. Most start with a two-foot spin and then a one-foot upright spin, and our guide to first spins for adult skaters walks through both. A coach will help you find the right spot on your blade and keep you from building habits that are hard to undo.
Some adults also practice turning at home on an off-ice spinner, which is a fun way to work on posture and arms. If you start competing later on, the same levels and GOE apply to your spins at adult events judged under the IJS, with a lower maximum level at most U.S. adult levels, while events judged under the Component Judging System (CJS) don't use spin levels at all.
Sources
The positions, levels and scoring rules in this guide come from the ISU and U.S. Figure Skating documents below, mostly as reproduced by skating federations. The ISU updates its spin rules most seasons, so check the current communication before relying on any single detail.
- ISU Communication 2788 (2026-27, updated May 19, 2026), as posted by U.S. Figure Skating: spin positions, level features and the six positive GOE criteria for spins.
- ISU, Figure Skating Judging System page: the technical panel, the nine-judge panel and the trimmed mean.
- ISU press release on the 2018 Congress changes, as reported by skating media: the -5 to +5 GOE range and 10% per grade in singles and pairs.
- ISU Technical Panel Handbook, Single Skating 2026-27: two basic positions minimum in a combination spin, all three for full value.
- U.S. Figure Skating 2026-27 Official Rulebook, rules 1041 and 1061, and 2026-2027 Adult Singles Free Skating Requirements: spin levels at adult events.
- Adults Skate Too, Spin Levels Demystified: the level features, counting rules and spin codes.
