Strategy on choice of layback spins in figure skating

Abstract

Spin is an important component of figure skating, one of the most elegant events in the Winter Olympic Games. It is always presented as an example of the conservation of angular momentum in mechanics textbooks. However, the physics behind it in the actual operation is not that simple. Herein, we analyzed videos of an elite figure skater with open source video analysis. The moments of inertia of her body in six different layback positions were obtained. The average ice resistance during her spin was found to be about 26N and was put into consideration in the following calculation. Twenty-two different layback spins that score the same basic value were discussed. The initial angular momentum a skater needs when executing a spin is considered to be the largest contributor to its difficulty; the suggested easiest spin among the 22 was thus found by comparing their initial angular momentum. This paper presents a strategy that may help figure skaters achieve a high-scored layback spin efficiently, and the process itself will be an inspiring example of applying theory to practice for physics students.

Forces on hockey players and conservation laws: on the theoretical efficiency of different techniques

“…The kinematics and dynamics of hockey players on ice have been extensively studied in the biomechanics literature [2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. These contributions are nevertheless not optimal as starting points for physics instruction, where focus is typically on idealized models that maximally highlight the physical principles at play and while there have appeared papers [9,10] in the pedagogical literature on ice skating, they are typically concerned with figure skating and not with the type of fast linear movement associated with the game of ice hockey where efficient locomotion rather than graceful movement is of the essence. When it comes to the game of hockey, the pedagogical literature is richer in technical aspects of the behavior of the hockey puck [11][12][13][14][15] than of the players.…”