By definition, in synchronized skating a circle
is created by a number of skaters skating around a common centre
and holding each other by using the same kind of hold. The circle is a figure seemingly very simple to execute:
actually, it hides some snares a coach shouldn’t neglect. Obviously a circle may rotate
clockwise or anti-clockwise. And here comes the first problem:
centrifuge force. Centrifuge force pushes every skater out of the
circle, therefore it makes much more difficult to hold each other
and it may cause brakes in the circle itself. In order to prevent
this kind of problem, a coach must insist on the control of
rotation speed of a circle, so that the team can acquire total
mastery on this manouver. Also, even if what follows may seem
evident, it’s better to repeat that a correct circle must be
perfectly round. Usually a circle is not
perfectly round when there isn’t constant tension in every
single point of the figure, and/or when the skaters aren’t
skating at the same speed. As a result, in the first case a
circle is not round and it gets hard to keep the rotation because
the skaters are running along curves of slightly different radii.
In the second case the circle is deformed, so its center starts
moving randomly. Most of the times this big mistake may cause a
brake in the circle and sometimes some skaters may even fall on
the ice. To solve the above problems, a coach must check the
roundness and the tension of the circle before it starts
rotating. A very useful exercise is to make the skaters form a
circle that turns around the coach so that he/she one can observe
more closely the way the circle is being skated. It is necessary to give a team
the feeling of the change of dimension of a circle by making them
use different kinds of holds, therefore it’s a very good
exercise calling different kinds of hold while the circle
is rotating, so that the skaters get used to the variations of
dimensions of a circle, and the same time have to try to keep it
round. Another basic exercise is the change of direction of
rotation: the change of direction should be executed at the same
time as a change of hold. It's also very useful to "simulate brakes"
in the circle to teach the skaters how to close it again by using
proper technique. We must remember that a brake in the manouver
done in the Short
Program is liable to detractions by the
judges. It’s quite clear that, once a team has familiarity
with this figure, then it's ready to practice more advanced
combinations and variations of it.
Here below you can find all the basic circles:
