Competitive Technical Q & A #9
“Thomson” Variation in a Spin
September 25, 2012
These clarifications have either been developed by Skate Canada or received from the
ISU Technical Committees and/or Sports Directorate. Any further official clarifications
provided by the ISU after the date of this communication will take precedence and will
be communicated via this website.
If you still require clarification after reviewing this document, contact Skate Canada at
coaching&programs@skatecanada.ca
Question: How is the Thomson variation in an upright spin called?
ANSWER: The “Thomson spin” is a difficult variation (DV) of an upright spin in which the
skater puts the free leg straight behind him/her and crosses behind the skating leg (not
touching the ice). It is named after former Canadian champion Kay Thomson. You can
see the original position done by Kay Thomson at about the 1:35 mark in this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_ID5wSy4og .
If a skater does the variation as in the video, then the call will be upright straight (US).
If a skater also does a layback position with the Thomson free leg position described in
the first paragraph, the call will be upright layback (UL). Note that there is a definition
for a layback and sideways leaning spin in ISU Communication 1741 (p. 1):
Layback spin is an upright spin in which head and shoulders are leaning
backward with the back arched. The position of the free leg is optional.
Sideways leaning spin is an upright spin in which head and shoulders are leaning
sideways and the upper body is arched. The position of the free leg is optional.
If the skater bends the skating leg more than just "slightly" in either the upright or the
layback position, the DV would be in the non basic position(NBP). See the ISU Judging
System Technical Panel Handbook-Singles Skating, section with spin positions
photographs (p. 2, last photo in the NBP line) for an indication of the degree of knee
bend of the skating leg that is classified as NBP.
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Coaches and technical panel members should note the following:
If a skater appears to attempt the UL with the Thomson variation but does not, in the
opinion of the panel, succeed with the layback position, the panel will call the US. This
call will block a box for any later US variation.
If a skater does the Thomson difficult variation with the skating leg clearly bent (either
with a straight torso or a layback position), the difficult variation is credited only in a
combination spin. In this case, the skater will not be given credit for another Thomson
difficult variation (either UL or US). The ISU Judging System Technical Panel Handbook
(Spins, p. 5 last box) is clear in this regard: “If a difficult variation in a non-basic position
of a spin combination is quite similar to one of the already executed difficult variation in
a basic position, the last performed of these two variations will not be counted as a
Level feature.”
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