Examining the flips and Lutzes (Feb. 20)
By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune
Once again, I am heaving sighs of relief that I am not competing this year in men’s figure skating at the Winter Olympics. Figure skating looks easy, but not easy enough for me. I don’t like falling down on ice, and I believe I would be doing that a lot if I were a figure skater.
Also, I would be baffled by the Lutz, which is a jump in which the skater defies the law of gravity long enough to twirl around in the air two, three or even four times and not land on his patootie.
Depending on whose book you read, the Lutz was named either after an obscure Austrian skater named Alois Lutz or an obscure Italian skater named Tomas Lutz.
The Lutz is close to being a flip, in which the skater takes off from the ice, twirls around and lands. However, in the flip, the skater takes off from the back inside edge of the skate, while in the Lutz the skater takes off from the back outside edge.
The whole thing is confusing and incomprehensible, starting with who actually invented the Lutz. It sounds like the Lutz started out as a skating mistake, with the skater taking off on the wrong edge, and then excusing himself by saying he had just invented a new skating move. Then, he left town. Nobody could remember whether he was an Austrian named Alois or an Italian named Tomas, and so the legends live on, sort of like a double Lutz, depending on whether you are an Austrian or an Italian and on whether you give a darn.
So, you have your Lutz, you have your flip and you also have your triple axel-triple toe loop and your triple Lutz-triple toe loop.
Watching all these moves, I have a hard time knowing whether any of them is a triple or a quad. Try counting the rotations and you’ll see what I mean. And, you’ll get dizzy.
I feel good just by not falling off the couch.
