Talk:Figure skating

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 20 January 2021 and 12 May 2021. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Daniel Thompson326.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 21:14, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 7 January 2020 and 15 April 2020. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Suzanasg.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 21:23, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

Info on Non-ISU Figure Skating Needed

This page does a decent job of describing some of Figure Skating History, as well as how Figure Skating works today, as governed by the International Skating Union (ISU) and USFSA. But it fails to mention anything outside the ISU context. Shortcomings include:

• Non-competition figure skating is not mentioned (although they do have organization articles). For example Ice Theatre of NY, and American Ice Theatre are two professional arts organizations with organization similar to dance companies. Non-competition figure skating in general deserves a section in this article.

• A section on social ice dance, and how it relates to social dance in general, would be in order. Social ice dance is nearly extinct in the USA, but in the 1930's it was the backbone of most skating clubs (and most people learning to skate apparently put in the effort so they could ice dance). In recent years competition ice dance has diverged significantly from social ice dance, hence social ice dance deserves a section of its own.

• Figure skating has had many disciplines over the years, and they should at least be mentioned. For example, hand-in-hand skating was a thing in the late 19th century. A section on extinct disciplines would be in order.

• There are also non-extinct disciplines that are competed today, but not within the ISU orbit. They should be listed as currently active disciplines of competition. For example, Figures and Fancy Skating are both competed through World Figure Sport Society.

• Under the "Figure Skating" template (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Figure_skating), I believe a "Figures" link should be added under Disciplines, and it should subsume "Compulsory figures" and "Special figures," both currently in "Segments." Figures competitions have two segments. In the first, everybody does the same figure; figures selected for the competition may be from the traditional ISU Figures repertoire, but may also be Special Figures (anything not on a circle, basically). The second segment is "Creative Figures," in which skaters must make their own unique figure.

• Fancy Skating should also be added as a (currently active) discipline, along with information on its history and how it is different from ISU Singles skating and Solo Iced Dance today. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Citibeth (talk • contribs) 02:51, 9 December 2024 (UTC)

Bow and Arrow and My Dress

As for popular culture section, acclaimed girls figure skating Medalist (manga) got a TV anime series adaptation this season and it's proving super popular in Japan, earning lots of praise for music, visuals and story, despite coming from low-tier Studio ENGI. In the west, Disney+ and Hulu simulcasts it online, in dubtitled and subtitled format, respectively. 188.143.7.164 (talk) 17:15, 3 February 2025 (UTC)

Edit war over an image

What is happening here exactly? Why are people fighting over a photo?

Okokok321, who placed the Ilia Malinin photo in the infobox on May 12 (diff), has exactly 3 edits. The account was obviously created with the aim to change the photo.

@Daniel Case: The image you've just reverted back to is not consensual. As an admin, you should have reverted to this revision from April 30. --Moscow Connection (talk) 10:31, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

I am unsure of what you mean by "not consensual" ... there is nothing regarding whether consent was required on the Commons image page, and there is no debate that someone performing a sport with a strong visual component in a public place, where it is also televised, is implicitly granting consent to be photographed.

Perhaps, as a non-native English speaker, you assumed "consensual" is the adjectival form of "consensus"? (what you wrote glosses in Russian as согласованный; I think you meant to say "с консенсусом"?). But even so ... the page history shows no explanation for the reverts, much less any policy that might justify its removal.

So I restored it. I had meant to semi-protect the article as well, but since there have been no edits since then it may well turn out to have been necessary. Daniel Case (talk) 17:26, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

I was the one who set the Yuzuru Hanyu photo as the principal image a while ago, because the image that had been there was awful. Someone else set the Ilia Malinin photo as the principal image more recently, and as he is currently the dominant figure skater in the world, it seemed a reasonable choice. The only photo switch that I objected to was when someone tried to insert the image of a Russian woman (I don't remember which one), which considering the state of Russian figure skating lately, I felt was inappropriate. Bgsu98 (Talk) 17:45, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

Okay, okay. You may change the image as you like. --Moscow Connection (talk) 18:18, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

Considering the state of Russian figure skating lately.
– I don't agree. Women's figure skating went downhill without Russians. --Moscow Connection (talk) 18:24, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

(edit conflict)
@Daniel Case: Yes, that's what I meant. (Thank you for the Russian translation, too.) I didn't mean the photo was taken without Malinin's consent. I meant that the choice of the main photo for this article hadn't been discussed.
Can one say that the change of the image was non-consensual? "Consensual change" has 27 hits on talk pages. --Moscow Connection (talk) 18:16, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

I don't have a strong opinion on the choice of the top image. But the choice just struck me as America-centric. And it's strange that Okokok321 created his/her account just to change the image from that of Yuzuru Hanyu and no one seemed to notice the change. But when some temps attempted to first delete the image and then change it back to that of Hanyu, they were reverted multiple times and reported as offenders. --Moscow Connection (talk) 18:16, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

I noticed the change. Like I said, I was fine with it. It's no more "America-centric" than having the photo of Yuzuru Hanyu made it "Japan-centric". The bottom line is both guys were/are the dominant faces of figure skating today. Pairs and women do not have anyone dominating the field as heavily has these guys have. Bgsu98 (Talk) 18:33, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

Moreover, the image doesn't illustrate "figure skating" — as in "skating figures". Malinin neither skates or does figures in it. :-) It just shows Malinin. --Moscow Connection (talk) 18:16, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

See WEAKSILENCE. Since infoboxes are a designated contentious topic area, we really do need consensus, even for two very similar images.

Ideally we should use a video if we can get one ... it would tell us more about what figure skating is about than a mere still picture. And we could sidestep the national-bias issue if it were a montage of skaters from different countries. Daniel Case (talk) 18:22, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

Okay. Maybe Bgsu98'll come up with something? The Greek Wikipedia article features a collage as the main image: el:Καλλιτεχνική παγοδρομία. --Moscow Connection (talk) 20:10, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

We're lucky we have the high-quality images we do have! High-quality videos that aren't copyrighted aren't likely, even without the music. Bgsu98 (Talk) 20:20, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

While I hate to vote against my own photo, I agree that an image of someone kneeling on the ice isn't the best representation of figure skating. I actually threw together an experimental multi-image template the other day because I thought it would be nice if we could represent the four Olympic disciplines + synchro in the imagebox, and I was trying to pick out images of skaters from different countries who were also doing some sort of recognizable skating movement. Is there any reason not to stick 5 images in there? FloweringDagwood (talk) 00:27, 10 June 2026 (UTC)

No, go for it! Bgsu98 (Talk) 00:35, 10 June 2026 (UTC)

Okay, I have replaced it. I'm not particularly married to any of the images (or their arrangement, if people think one by one would be better), but I focused on finding images that a) showed recent, accomplished skaters from different countries b) had similar proportions for the first two rows c) showed skating movements (Ina Bauer, spin, twist lift, dance lift) and d) were still readable at a small size. FloweringDagwood (talk) 00:49, 10 June 2026 (UTC)

Added photo of Malinin in line with “recent, accomplished skaters from different countries,” as he is three-time and reigning world champion ~2026-50888-41 (talk) 17:17, 21 September 2026 (UTC)

I think that particular image of Malinin you picked is both harder to read at a small thumbnail size (it's not cropped very closely) and is a less good illustration of the concept of figure skating - there's not much apparent motion or a clear skating element being performed. FloweringDagwood (talk) 17:27, 21 September 2026 (UTC)

I agree that Ilia should be the skater pictured, but perhaps there are better images to choose from where he takes up more of the frame? Bgsu98 (Talk) 17:28, 21 September 2026 (UTC)

I have also requested page protection, because I am tired of fly-by-night IPs edit-warring over nonsense. Bgsu98 (Talk) 17:29, 21 September 2026 (UTC)

Thanks for doing that. We do have plenty of photos of Malinin, although I'm not seeing a lot of good options with an upright ratio and showing him in motion that I think will be super readable (some have dark costumes on dark backgrounds, so it's hard to see what he'd doing when it gets shrunk down). This one could work I think, or maybe one of the ones of him practicing jumps. If we change his photo, I'd be okay with changing the women's photo to a skater from Japan or Korea to keep a greater geographical variety - perhaps Sakamoto as the most recent (and 4x) World Champion? FloweringDagwood (talk) 17:48, 21 September 2026 (UTC)

Will add the suggested photo of Malinin. I agree to change women's photo to Sakamoto. What photo? ~2026-50892-17 (talk) 18:01, 21 September 2026 (UTC)

My suggestion - it's a nice photo of her in a Biellmann, which is a pretty iconic element. FloweringDagwood (talk) 18:09, 21 September 2026 (UTC)

The one you added just now is the other one I was considering. I think both are fine. FloweringDagwood (talk) 18:10, 21 September 2026 (UTC)

Great! ~2026-50892-17 (talk) 18:32, 21 September 2026 (UTC)

Thank you to all of the IPs for clearly demonstrating why this article needs to be locked down. Bgsu98 (Talk) 19:57, 21 September 2026 (UTC)

FYI, this edit war has now become a meme/joke on social media. It's a photo. There are so many skaters who are important; we can't possibly capture the entire sport in one picture. Legendofmv (talk) 20:38, 21 September 2026 (UTC)

Ha! Send me the link! 😂😂😂 Bgsu98 (Talk) 23:18, 21 September 2026 (UTC)

https://x.com/yuzuromans/status/2101614424259809698?s=61 Here since you want it lmaoo Tree3ananas (talk) 11:11, 22 September 2026 (UTC)

Maybe we should have gone with Jackson Haines and Madge Syers. In any case - I think if we're sticking with Malinin, the current photo is a bit dull, but I'm not seeing anything hugely better currently on Commons. If nobody objects, I might crop and adjust this one in gala lighting. FloweringDagwood (talk) 20:45, 21 September 2026 (UTC)

Oh gosh I hope you can find something better than this. For me, gala costumes aren't the best representation of the sport in the first place but also the lighting is pretty dreadful lol Piratesswoop (talk) 23:30, 21 September 2026 (UTC)

It's not ideal, but I really didn't find an option I liked much better in his Commons gallery. Happy to go with another if you see one. Or we can leave it as it is for now. FloweringDagwood (talk) 23:45, 21 September 2026 (UTC)

Hanyu won this battle. Let’s all go home 🙂 ~2026-51184-77 (talk) 05:25, 22 September 2026 (UTC)

@CherryBees keep fighting soldier, you have my full support 🐐 ~2026-50894-61 (talk) 06:13, 22 September 2026 (UTC)

I thought this was resolved by adding Sakamoto? ~2026-51183-79 (talk) 14:24, 22 September 2026 (UTC)

I propose that we put Hanyu and Malinin side by side and call it a day ~2026-50894-61 (talk) 15:06, 22 September 2026 (UTC)

@CherryBees: image changes on this page clearly need to be discussed; please stop continuing to switch them without attempting to seek consensus. Frankly, I don't really care who the images are of and current Olympic champs are as good as anyone, but I don't think those images of Shaidorov (posing on the ice) or Liu (hard to read at a small size) are the best choices. FloweringDagwood (talk) 23:04, 22 September 2026 (UTC)

It seems everyone but you agrees it should be Hanyu. If you don’t like the Olympic champions then let’s leave it as him. CherryBees (talk) 23:11, 22 September 2026 (UTC)

No, not everyone agrees it should be Hanyu. Bgsu98 (Talk) 23:16, 22 September 2026 (UTC)

I'm not the one who suggested Malinin - in fact, when I changed the infobox to a multi-image template, I selected a photo of Hanyu - and the discussion does not show that everyone agrees on including any skater. I just want the images to show the skater in movement, stack nicely, and be easy to visually parse at a tiny size. FloweringDagwood (talk) 23:20, 22 September 2026 (UTC)

So why were you reverting edits when we achieved that? Can we just return it to the pictures of Hanyu, Sakamoto, Virtue Moir, and Savchenko Massot? CherryBees (talk) 23:31, 22 September 2026 (UTC)

You are ignoring the entire conversation here. Having two Japanese skaters side-by-side is no more appropriate than having two American skaters side-by-side. By the way, I’m fine with the use of the current Olympic champions. Bgsu98 (Talk) 23:37, 22 September 2026 (UTC)

I understand what you mean about the two Japanese skaters, it seems the Olympic champions are the least controversial choice then unless anyone has any other ideas. CherryBees (talk) 23:44, 22 September 2026 (UTC)

My suggestions for images then would be for Shaidorov: picture A (could be cropped a bit narrower) or picture B. For Liu: photo A (practice clothes but nice ones) or maybe photo B (can be cropped and brightened) if the white dress doesn't blend in too much - her current one is nice, but unfortunately I do honestly find it hard to tell what is going on when it's shrunk down. FloweringDagwood (talk) 23:58, 22 September 2026 (UTC)

Personally, I think the picture choice for Shaidorov is fine, but the one of Alysa Liu doesn't work, because her head totally blends into the crowd of spectators, so you can hardly even tell who she is. Bgsu98 (Talk) 05:33, 23 September 2026 (UTC)

I've changed out just Liu's image then, as well as switching out FB/C to a similar one that's upright. FloweringDagwood (talk) 14:14, 23 September 2026 (UTC)

At this point, I think we just need to end this debate. Plenty of skaters will work, but this has now turned into a massive running joke and as funny as it is, it's getting to be slightly ridiculous. Legendofmv (talk) 16:28, 23 September 2026 (UTC)

If we are doing Olympic champions for the four olympic disciplines can we also like do the same (at least the closest to the same) for Synchro? The image currently (I think, I actually haven't checked the wikimedia file) is Helsinki Rockettes which are not the current World Champs which is Les Supremes currently (and have been for a while). This Team Les Supreme Free Skate at the 2026 ISU Synchronized Skating World Championships 07.jpg or This Team Les Supreme Free Skate at the 2026 ISU Synchronized Skating World Championships 01.jpg or these two (I think my favorite for a representation of the sport with the latter showing it's mixed gender nature but it is older and gala) Les Supremes 2024 Worlds Gala 2.jpg Les Supremes 2024 Worlds Gala 4.jpg Tree3ananas (talk) 14:37, 23 September 2026 (UTC)

I think that's reasonable - I picked the original image because it looked nice at a small size and the team was from another country than the other skaters. I guess after 2030 we can use an image of the Synchro-9 Olympic champs if we have one. FloweringDagwood (talk) 14:59, 23 September 2026 (UTC)

The pic at this moment looks good, except that it looks like Alysa has only one leg. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 04:18, 24 September 2026 (UTC)