Figure skating: what is a lutz?

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 Lutz, named after an obscure Italian skater Tomas Lutz, can be as difficult to identify as it is to perform, but like all other figure skating jumps , the Lutz has three parts: take-off, rotation and landing.

For female skaters, the Lutz is the hardest jump commonly performed, the “money jump.” Only two female skaters have ever performed the more difficult triple axel in competition: Midori Ito of Japan and the infamous Tonya Harding of the United States. Only one female skater since Kristi Yamagucci did a triple Lutz-triple toeloop in her 1992 Olympic program has exceeded the difficulty: Irina Slutskaya of Russia performed a triple Lutz-triple loop in her impressive win over Michelle Kwan at the 2000 Grand Prix final. A triple Lutz-double toeloop is commonly seen in ladies' elite skating. The triple Lutz-triple toeloop was the most common combination in men’s singles until it was supplanted by the triple axel-triple toeloop in the mid-nineties. Extremely few skaters say that the difficult Lutz is their favorite jump. Michael Weiss of the United States is a notable exception. He is what is known as a “Lutzer,” someone who loves the Lutz and does it well.

This sounds exactly like flip jump, doesn’t it? The Lutz is related to the flip. Both jumps take off and land on the same feet and they rotate in the same direction. But the flip takes off from a back inside edge. The Lutz takes off from back outside edge. This is what makes the Lutz so difficult to perform correctly. When the skater rocks to the outside edge, she is leaning opposite to the direction she will rotate when the jump is off the ground. Instead of helping the rotation, she’s fight it.

Once firmly on the outside edge, the skater will "pick" or "toe-off" the jump, using the toepick to stop the momentum and the bent knee so she can vault into the air. The picking foot should remain low should hit the ice firmly. Lifting the leg high before picking or jamming the pick into the ice are common “bad” techniques which are often seen in skaters who are not yet comfortable with their ability to consistently perform the Lutz. A good take off is very important in achieving a good landing. A knowledgeable spectator can predict whether a jump will succeed or fail based on the take off, without ever seeing the landing.

The Lutz 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 Lutz has not been performed in competition as of the beginning of the 2000/2001 skating season. Michael Weiss has been known to land quad Lutzes in practice but he was never able to land one in competition despite several attempts.

The most common mistake in doing a Lutz is what is referred to as “Flutzing.” The word “Flutz” is a combination of “flip” and “Lutz” which is exactly what the mistake entails. Instead of staying on the outside edge, the skater will rock to an inside edge before take off, sometimes only slightly. Often judges either miss this error, or neglect to deduct for it, but it is a deduction and should be considered less valuable than a Lutz performed off the correct edge.

For both clockwise and counterclockwise skaters, the Lutz 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.