The short program of figure skating is the first of two segments of competitions, skated before the free skating program. It lasts, for both senior and junior singles and pair skaters, 2 minutes and 40 seconds. In synchronized skating, for both juniors and seniors, the short program lasts 2 minutes and 50 seconds. Vocal music with lyrics is allowed for all disciplines since the 2014-2015 season. The short program for single skaters and for pair skaters consists of seven required elements, and there are six required elements for synchronized skaters. Overview The short program, along with the free skating program, is a segment of single skating, pair skating, and synchronized skating in international competitions and events for both junior and senior-level skaters. It has been previously called the "original" or "technical" program. The short program was added to single skating in 1973, which created a three-part competition until compulsory figures were eliminated in 1990. The short program for pair skating was introduced at the 1963 European Championships, the 1964 World Championships, and the Olympics in 1968; previously, pair skaters only had to perform the free skating program in competitions. Synchronized skating has always had two competition segments, the short program and free skating. The short program must be skated before the free skate. It lasts, for both senior and junior singles and pairs, 2 minutes and 40 seconds. In synchronized skating, for both juniors and seniors, the short program lasts 2 minutes and 50 seconds, "but may be less". Vocal music with lyrics is allowed in all disciplines since the 2014-2015 season. The first time vocal music was allowed at the Olympics was in 2018. Pair skating, which has never included a compulsory phase like the other figure skating disciplines, did not require a short program until the early 1960s, when the ISU "instituted a short program of required moves" as the first part of pair competitions. The short program for pair skating first appeared at the European Championships in 1963, the World Championships in 1964, and the Olympics in 1968. The arrangement of the specific moves, also unlike compulsory figures for single skaters and the compulsory dance for ice dancers, were up to each pair team. According to writer Ellyn Kestnbaum, the short programs introduced in single men and women competitions in 1973 were modeled after the pair skating short program, and the structure of competitions in both single