text: Fifty-six primary contests were conducted to choose 2,472 delegates. In 50 states and territories the delegates were allocated to candidates by popular vote either statewide or on the congressional district level and then elected according to state rules. In six states and territories, the first-instance popular vote did not allocate any delegates; they were elected later at local conventions and either bound to a candidate or uncommitted. Most delegates were elected as bound delegates, meaning that they were required to vote for a specific candidate on the first ballot at the national convention. Some delegates attended the convention as unbound or uncommitted delegates, meaning that they were free to vote for anyone at the first ballot. These 130 uncommitted delegates included 18 unbound RNC delegates and 112 delegates that have been elected or allocated as uncommitted. Uncommitted delegates were still at liberty to express a preference for a candidate, although that preference was not binding. Among the 901 delegates elected for candidates who later dropped out of the race, 155 were still bound to vote for their candidate on the first ballot and 34 were released according to the local rules of each state party. If no candidate were elected in the first round of voting, a progressively larger number of delegates would have been allowed to vote for the candidate of their choice. The voting rules on subsequent ballots were determined by individual states: most states released their delegates on the second round of voting, and only four states kept them bound on the third round and beyond.


title: 2016 Republican Party presidential primaries

text: This table shows how many bound delegates each candidate had won before suspending his or her campaign; it does not show how many unbound delegates pledged their support to any candidate during the primaries, nor does it show the expected result of the vote at the national convention. Although a state is considered won by a candidate if a plurality of the state's delegates are bound, RNC Rule 40(b) required a candidate to demonstrate support from a majority of delegates in eight states to be eligible as the nominee. Convention rules are based on delegate votes, not the popular vote. In the context of Republican primaries, the term "states" refers collectively to the fifty states, the District of Columbia and the five inhabited territories (altogether 56 delegations) as specified in RNC Rule 1(b). In the following table, states and territories where the candidates achieved a majority of bound delegates are marked in bold. States and territories where a candidate won a majority of delegates but not a majority of bound delegates are marked in italics.


text: Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, the 2012 GOP presidential nominee, lost the 2012 election to incumbent Democratic president Barack Obama. The Republican National Committee, believing that the long, drawn-out 2012 primary season had politically and personally damaged Romney, drafted plans to condense the 2016 primary season. As part of these plans, the 2016 Republican National Convention was scheduled for the relatively early date of July 18–21, 2016, the earliest date since Republicans nominated Thomas Dewey in June 1948.


text: When John Kasich entered the race on July 21, 2015, the field reached 16 candidates, making it the largest presidential field in the history of the Republican Party (surpassing the 1948 primaries). With Jim Gilmore's announcement to enter the race for a second time on July 30, 2015, the field reached 17 candidates, becoming the largest presidential field in American history (surpassing the 16 candidates in the Democratic Party presidential primaries of 1972 and 1976).


text: In mid-December 2014, Jeb Bush—widely seen as a possible frontrunner for the nomination due to his relatively moderate stances, record as former governor of a crucial swing state, name recognition and access to high-paying donors—was the first candidate to form a political action committee (PAC) and an exploratory committee. Many other candidates followed suit. The first candidate to declare his candidacy was Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who was popular among grassroots conservatives due to his association with the Tea Party movement, and who also received early backing of several prominent Republican donors including Robert Mercer.


text: The 2016 candidates were roughly divided into three camps, with grassroots conservatives represented by Cruz and Carson, the Christian right represented by Huckabee and Santorum, and moderates (or establishment) represented by Bush and Christie. Several - such as Rubio, Walker, and Kasich - were seen as having political backgrounds that may be appealing to both conservatives and moderates. Additionally, not all of these candidates clearly toed the grassroots/establishment divide; for instance, Rubio and Cruz were both elected to the Senate in the early 2010s as members of the Tea Party movement, but by 2015 had been courting the support of prominent party elders, political operatives, and large donors with significant success. In contrast, only three of the candidates, Carson, Trump and Fiorina, were true non-establishment candidates in the sense that they had no formal political experience; though Fiorina is widely considered to have views in line with the establishment wing led by Bush and Christie. Some called the diversity of candidates representing different wings of the party symptomatic of a struggle for the future direction of the party.


text: The field was noted for its diversity, and was even called the most diverse presidential field in American history. It included two Latinos (Cruz and Rubio), a woman (Fiorina), an Indian-American (Jindal), and an African-American (Carson). Five were the children of immigrants: Cruz (Cuban father), Jindal (Indian parents), Rubio (Cuban parents), Santorum (Italian father) and Trump (Scottish mother).


text: Widely viewed as a very open contest with no clear front-runner, potential candidates fluctuated in the polls for an extended period from late 2012 to the end of 2015. In the year prior to the election season, a total of 17 major candidates campaigned for the nomination, thus making it the single largest presidential primary field in American history at the time. However, by the time the primary season started in early 2016, four candidates had clearly emerged ahead of the rest of the field: Ohio Governor John Kasich, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, and New York businessman Donald Trump. Trump maintained wide poll leads throughout 2015 and into 2016, primarily due to his brash and unapologetic style of speaking and campaigning. Trump emphasized a disregard for political correctness, as well as populist and nativist policies; he earned the support of working-class voters and voters without college educations, among other demographics. However, Trump's brash attitude and polarizing policy stances generated numerous controversies in the media, and many of the other candidates sought to become the "anti-Trump" candidate by condemning his rhetoric and policies. Senators Cruz and Rubio emphasized their youth in comparison to most other candidates and their possible appeal to Hispanic voters. Additionally, Ohio governor John Kasich, a moderate Republican, remained in the race for an extended period despite being viewed as having little to no chance of winning the nomination.


text: Despite Trump's lead in most national polls, the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses were won by Cruz due to his support among grassroots conservatives. However, Trump rebounded with strong wins in New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada. On Super Tuesday, Trump expanded his lead by winning seven of the eleven states, while the Cruz campaign gained new energy with victories in Alaska, Oklahoma, and the significant stronghold of Cruz's home state Texas. Rubio maintained significant momentum with strong finishes in Iowa (third place), South Carolina (second place), and Nevada (second place), before finally claiming victory in Minnesota on Super Tuesday.


text: Between Super Tuesday and the beginning of the "winner-take-all" primaries, Cruz stayed nearly even with Trump, winning four states to Trump's five; Rubio won several smaller contests such as Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. In the first round of winner-take-all contests on March 15, Trump greatly expanded his lead by winning five of the six contests. After a significant loss to Trump in his home state of Florida, Rubio suspended his campaign that same day. Meanwhile, Kasich finally gained some momentum by winning his home state of Ohio.


text: As the primary season entered the spring, the mostly-consolidated field resulted in a closing of the gap between Trump and Cruz, with Trump sweeping the South, the Northeast, and parts of the Midwest while Cruz performed strongly in the West and scored a surprise victory in Maine. Kasich, unable to win any other states besides Ohio, remained far behind in third place. After Cruz's upset win in Wisconsin, speculation began to arise that the convention would be a brokered one in which the establishment would choose Kasich or someone else, since both Trump and Cruz were not viewed favorably by the establishment.


text: As April came to a close and Trump won a resounding victory in his home state of New York, both Cruz and Kasich were mathematically eliminated from winning the nomination without a brokered convention. Both men then formed an alliance to block Trump from winning the nomination, ahead of the "Acela primaries" of five Northeastern states on April 26. Subsequently, Trump swept all five states and greatly increased his delegate lead. In a final push to block Trump's path to the nomination, Cruz announced that one of the former candidates for the nomination, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, would be his running mate if he was the nominee. Nevertheless, after Trump won the Indiana primary on May 3, Cruz suspended his campaign, subsequently leading to Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus announcing Trump as the presumptive nominee. Kasich announced the suspension of his campaign the next day, leaving Trump as the only candidate left in the race. Trump then went on to win all of the remaining primaries, sweeping the remainder of the West, Midwest and the entirety of the West Coast. With his victories in New Jersey and the remaining final states on June 7, not only did Trump officially surpass the necessary number of bound delegates, but he also broke the 2000 record of 12,034,676 popular votes received by the winner of the Republican presidential primaries, with over 14 million votes.


text: After Romney's unsuccessful 2012 campaign, the potential 2016 field was left without a clear future nominee, similar to that of 2008. Different speculations began rising from all sides of the right-leaning political spectrum as to who would make the best possible nominee: One faction of candidates included young freshmen senators, some with alliances to the Tea Party movement, such as Cruz, Paul, and Rubio, who in particular was the focus of attention immediately following 2012. In most national polls from late-2012 to mid-2013, Rubio was leading due to being young, articulate, having a broad appeal among conservatives and moderates and also for his Latino heritage and continued efforts on immigration reform, which many viewed as possible tools to draw Hispanic voters to the GOP.


text: However, another narrative for the nomination, similar to that which drove Romney's 2012 campaign, was that the nominee needed to be a governor in a traditionally Democratic or swing state, with a proven record that would stand as proof that such a governor could be president as well. The possible candidates that fit this criteria included Bush, Gilmore, Kasich, Pataki, Walker and Christie, who in particular had been rising in popularity due to his loud and blunt manner of speaking at public events, championed by some as challenging conventional political rhetoric. With his record as governor of New Jersey, a heavily Democratic state, factored in, Christie overtook Rubio in the polls from mid-2013 up until early 2014, when the "Bridgegate" scandal was first revealed and started to damage Christie's reputation and poll standing. Although he was later cleared of personal responsibility in the subsequent investigation, Christie never regained frontrunner status.


text: After Christie's fall, the polls fluctuated from January to November 2014. Candidates who often performed well included Rand Paul, who won CPAC straw polls in 2013, 2014 and 2015, Wisconsin congressman and 2012 vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan (the eventual House speaker) and former candidates such as former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and then-governor of Texas Rick Perry, further reflecting the uncertainty of the upcoming race for the nomination.


text: In April 2014, Robert Costa and Philip Rucker of "The Washington Post" reported that the period of networking and relationship-building that they dubbed the "credentials caucus" had begun, with prospective candidates "quietly studying up on issues and cultivating ties to pundits and luminaries from previous administrations".


text: Though Bush often polled in the low double digits, he was considered a prominent candidate due to his high fundraising ability, record as governor of Florida (a crucial swing state) and apparent electability. By November 2014, Bush had finally solidified his lead in the polls. Around this time there were talks of the possibility of Romney making a third run for the presidency. During this period from November 2014 until late January 2015, the speculation fueled Romney's rise in many national polls as well, challenging Bush. Although Romney admitted he was entertaining the idea after initially declining, he ultimately reaffirmed his decision not to run on January 30, 2015.


text: However, by the end of February, another challenger rose to match Bush in the polls: Walker, who often touted his record as governor in a traditionally Democratic state, particularly noting his victory in a recall election in 2012 (the first governor in American history to do so), combined with his reelection in 2014. Walker and Bush balanced out in the polls from late February until about mid-June, at which point Trump entered the race. Walker's challenge to Bush also allowed other candidates to briefly resurge in some polls from late April up until mid-June, including former top performers Rubio, Paul and Huckabee, in addition to several newcomers to the top tier of polling, including Cruz and Carson.


text: Shortly after Trump announced his candidacy on June 16, 2015, many pundits noted his uniquely outspoken nature, blunt language and rhetoric, often directly contradicting traditional political candidates. This style was seen as resonating strongly with potential Republican primary voters and Trump began to rise in the polls. After a few weeks of briefly matching Bush, Trump surged into first place in all major national polls by mid-July, which he continued to lead consistently until November. Trump also polled well in the early-voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, often leading or coming in second in those states.


text: With the surge of Trump, a man who had never held political office, the general focus began to shift over to other non-politician candidates, commonly known as "outsiders" and the other two outsiders in the field quickly rose in the polls as well in the wake of the first two debates: Carson, who rose into second place after a well-received performance in the first debate and Fiorina, who rose into the top three after her performance in the second debate. The rising popularity of non-politician outsiders shocked many political analysts, and fueled a new conversation about how those with no political experience or prior runs for office could appeal more to potential primary voters than career politicians and what it means for the future of the Republican party and American politics in general. Trump used ideas of populism to persuade the average American throughout the election process. In mid-September, the first two major candidates dropped out of the race. Perry suspended his campaign on September 11, 2015, citing his failure to qualify for the primetime debates, his subsequent failure to raise a significant amount of money and his indictment as reasons. Ten days later, on September 21, 2015, Walker suspended his campaign mainly due to his own poll numbers dropping after two lackluster debate performances.


text: By the end of September, most polling averages indicated that the field was finally stabilizing in terms of public opinion and six candidates in particular were gaining traction and pulling away from the rest of the field by considerable margins. Polling averages indicated the top six as Trump, Carson, Rubio, Fiorina, Bush and Cruz. Trump and Carson were consistently first and second, respectively; Fiorina was initially in third place before being surpassed by Rubio; while Bush and Cruz remained in fifth and sixth place, respectively. The other candidates who had been in the top ten of polling—Christie, Huckabee, Paul and Kasich—all leveled out at roughly 3% or less, while the five remaining candidates outside the top ten—Santorum, Jindal, Pataki, Graham and Gilmore—were consistently polling below 1%. By the third debate in late October, Bush and Fiorina's numbers were also beginning to fade, while Cruz was on the rise and began coming in fourth by most poll averages. The third debate only solidified these numbers: Bush and Fiorina remained in low digits as both were considered lackluster, while Cruz was widely held as the winner and rose even further. Throughout this period, both Trump and Carson had pulled well ahead of the rest of the field and with Trump often registering in the low 30s and high 20s and Carson in the low 20s, the two of them combined often made up well over 50% of the electorate in a vast majority of national polls. Later in October and in early November, Carson began to match even with Trump by most polling averages, rising into the mid 20s and often finishing either just behind or just ahead of Trump.


text: By October, with the polls reflecting a field that seemed to be stabilizing, most commentators began to claim that the field had already established who the final four candidates—those who were in the race for the long-term and had the best chance of actually becoming the nominee—would be. The four were listed as being Trump, Carson, Rubio, and Cruz: Trump and Carson for their appeal as outsiders, as well as their opposite personalities—with Trump's blunt nature and tough foreign policy stances, against Carson's soft-spoken nature and personal favorability—Rubio for his appeal to Hispanics and his stance on such issues as immigration reform, combined with strong debate performances and significant donor backing and Cruz for his appeal to Tea Party and Christian Conservative voters, which was seen as possibly having a strong impact in the southern states. On November 17, 2015, Jindal became the third major Republican candidate to drop out. The November 2015 Paris attacks, which killed 130 people days before Jindal dropped out, were widely seen as having a significant impact on the 2016 presidential race, particularly on the Republican side. The attacks were seen as boosting the campaigns of those with tough stances on immigration like Trump and Cruz, as well as the foreign policy hawks like Rubio. Possibly as a result, Carson—who had previously been perceived as uninformed and relatively inarticulate on foreign policy—began to suffer in the polls, with Trump once again solidifying a double-digit lead over everyone else, while Rubio and Cruz began to steadily rise as Carson's numbers declined.


text: By December, Cruz had overtaken Carson by solidifying a base of support among Christian conservatives and averaged national polling of 18%, second only to Trump. The non-interventionist Paul still failed to make traction at this juncture, while Carson fell down to about 10%, roughly even with Rubio. On December 15, 2015, there was another presidential debate, which saw no major changes in the perceptions of the candidates. On December 21, 2015, the same day as the deadline to withdraw from the ballot in his home state of South Carolina, Graham suspended his campaign. Eight days later, on December 29, Pataki, who was struggling to poll above the margin of error, suspended his campaign as well.


text: 2016 dawned with the several-month-long truce between Trump and Cruz being broken. Cruz accused Trump of not being a consistent conservative or an ethical businessman, while Trump questioned the Canadian-born Cruz's constitutional eligibility to be president—candidates have to be natural-born U.S. citizens to be eligible to be president—while noting Cruz's past calls for immigration reform. This occurred as Trump and Cruz were vying for supremacy at the top of Iowa polls, in addition to both being the top two candidates in all national polls, ahead of the rest of the field by significant margins. In the closing weeks before Iowa, Trump and Cruz ran dueling television commercials, each attacking the other's record. Meanwhile, there was conflict between "establishment" candidates Rubio, Christie, Bush and Kasich, largely due to a media-reinforced belief that only a single establishment candidate could remain in the race past the early primaries. The establishment candidates staked their bids on strong showings in New Hampshire and both Christie and Kasich saw upticks in their polling in the weeks before the primary. Both the Trump-Cruz conflict and the squabbling between establishment candidates was evident at the Republican debate on January 14. The Republican debate of January 28, devoid of Trump due to priorities and conflicts with moderator Megyn Kelly after the debate in August, was the candidates' last shot at honing their message before the Iowa caucuses. Immigration and foreign policy featured prominently in this debate and many candidates used the opportunity of a "Trump-less debate" to criticize the second-place Cruz, who was also being heavily criticized by prominent Republican leaders in the weeks before Iowa.


text: In the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses, Cruz won a narrow victory over Trump and Rubio. Following poor performances in Iowa, three candidates suspended their campaigns: Huckabee—the winner of the caucuses in 2008—Santorum—the winner of the caucuses in 2012—and Paul, whose father performed very well in the 2008 and 2012 caucuses. This caused the field to narrow to nine. After coming third in the Iowa caucuses, the media quickly painted Rubio as the candidate most likely to pick up the establishment mantle and ride it to the nomination following a strong performance in New Hampshire, much as McCain and Romney had done in 2008 and 2012, respectively, before both ultimately lost the general election to Obama. Rubio used this narrative to pick up a number of endorsements in the days following the Iowa caucuses. However, in the New Hampshire debate of February 6, 2016, Rubio repeated a talking point four times almost verbatim during an exchange with Christie, which led to sharp criticism of his performance in the aftermath and the beginning of the end of Rubio's campaign.


text: In the New Hampshire primary, Trump scored a decisive victory over the rest of the field, winning the primary with 35% of the vote. Kasich, who had held over 100 town halls in the state, finished second in a surprise to many in the media. Cruz coming in third in the contest was also a shock to many, while Rubio slipped to fifth, behind Trump, Kasich, Cruz and Bush, whose campaign appeared to be revitalized following several months of apparent stagnation. After coming in seventh place in both Iowa and New Hampshire, Fiorina suspended her campaign on February 10, 2016. Later that same day, Christie, whose campaign was staked almost entirely on getting a strong showing in New Hampshire, suspended his campaign after coming in sixth in New Hampshire, failing to reach the minimum 10% vote threshold required to be allocated delegates from the state and qualifying for the next debate on CBS. Later that week, Jim Gilmore, who had failed to gain traction, win delegates or be invited to most of the debates, suspended his campaign, narrowing the field to six.


text: The third contest was in South Carolina. Prior to the primary, Rubio picked up the key endorsement of Governor Nikki Haley, a feat seen as renewing his momentum after a disappointing finish in New Hampshire. Exit polling showed that 46% of voters had decided the week before the primary, and that the majority of these votes went to Rubio. When the votes were counted, Trump again won by double digits, garnering 33% of the vote, ahead of Rubio with 22%, who edged out Cruz for second-place by 0.2%. Since Trump carried the vote both statewide and in each congressional district, his result netted him all 50 delegates available in the state. Following disappointing finishes in the first three contests despite outspending his competitors, Bush suspended his campaign on February 20.


text: Three days following the South Carolina primary, Trump won the Nevada caucuses, winning with 46% of the vote with Rubio in a distant second with 24% and Cruz slightly further behind with 21%.


text: Super Tuesday voting, after the early voting in February, decided nearly half of the delegate votes needed to achieve the 1,237 votes to win the nomination at the 2016 Republican National Convention—595 delegates at stake, to be exact. Super Tuesday holds the primary voting for 11 states in the primary election process. North Dakota held the last caucus on Super Tuesday, but there was no presidential straw poll and all the delegates elected later at its convention in April were unbound. Wyoming took a straw poll, but it was non-binding and no delegates were allocated on Super Tuesday. Leading up to Super Tuesday, a debate between the remaining five candidates took place in Houston on February 25, 2016. Political rhetoric and charges heated up with Cruz and Rubio teaming up to attack Trump.


text: Trump won the contests in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Vermont, and Virginia, while Cruz netted a strong victory in his home state of Texas and added victories in Oklahoma and Alaska. Rubio won his first contest in the Minnesota Republican Caucus and finished a strong second in Virginia. Kasich won no contests, but he almost won in Vermont and finished second in Massachusetts. Carson did not win or place in any contest, netted only three delegates and though he initially expressed an intent to stay in the race, began showing signs of withdrawing in the days following Super Tuesday; he ultimately suspended his campaign on March 4, 2016.


text: After Super Tuesday voting, but before winner-take-all voting was to begin, nine states, two territories and Washington, D.C. held their primaries and caucuses. During this period, 377 delegates were at stake. On March 3, 2016, the day before Carson dropped out of the race, Romney criticized Trump in a heavily publicized speech. Later that day, there was another GOP debate, which again featured Trump, Cruz, Rubio and Kasich. Carson did not participate in the debate, as he announced the suspension of his campaign the next day, narrowing the field to four; he subsequently endorsed Trump on March 10, 2016, the day after Fiorina endorsed Cruz. Meanwhile, as the prospect of a Trump nomination became more imminent, establishment Republicans pressured Romney or House Speaker Paul Ryan to enter the race; Romney had already decided not to enter the race on January 30, 2015, while Ryan announced he would not enter on April 13, 2016.


text: On March 5, Cruz won the Kansas and Maine caucuses by comfortable margins. Trump narrowly won the Kentucky caucus and the Louisiana primary. Rubio and Kasich did not finish first or second on any primaries on "Super Saturday". The following day, the first of the 2016 primaries to be held in a U.S. territory went to Rubio, who won all of Puerto Rico's 23 delegates. On March 8, Trump won in Michigan, Mississippi and Hawaii, while Cruz took the Idaho Republican Primary, and Rubio missed delegate thresholds in Michigan, Mississippi and Idaho, finishing the night with only a single delegate. Despite some favorable polling in Michigan, Kasich did not win any primaries, but he still picked up 17 delegates. Neither Rubio nor Kasich finished first or second in any primaries held that day.


text: In the Virgin Islands caucuses on March 10, a slate composed wholly of uncommitted delegates was initially elected. However, the entire slate was later disqualified by the territorial party and was replaced by the elected alternates – two uncommitted, two for Rubio and one each for Cruz and Trump. The dispute later went to court. Also on March 10, there was a debate in Florida between the four surviving candidates, which was conducted in a more civil tone than prior debates.


text: On March 12, the Guam caucuses endorsed eight uncommitted delegates and one unbound Cruz-supporting delegate. Rubio won his final contest in D.C. and 9 delegates went to Cruz in the Wyoming county conventions. Rubio and Trump both earned one delegate and another was elected as uncommitted.


text: March 15 featured winner-take-all primaries in the delegate-rich states of Florida—Rubio's home state—and Ohio—Kasich's home state. There were also contests in Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, and the Northern Mariana Islands, totaling 367 delegates. It was widely seen as a very important day in the presidential race because of the large number of winner-take-all delegates at stake. In the days leading up to Florida, the remaining candidates announced prominent endorsements and Trump and Rubio in particular spent millions on television advertisements assailing the other in Florida. The level of protest and violence at Trump rallies meanwhile became an object of criticism by other candidates; one such incident led to the cancellation of a Trump event in Chicago on March 13, 2016. On March 11, 2016, in an effort to stop Trump, Rubio told his supporters in Ohio to vote for Kasich, while Kasich refused to tell his Florida supporters to help Rubio, with a campaign spokesperson later quoted as saying: "We were going to win Ohio anyway even without his help, just as he's going to lose Florida to Trump without ours." The Northern Mariana Islands caucuses were the first contest to close on March 15, with Trump taking 73% of the vote and collecting all nine delegates. In Florida, Trump netted the biggest prize of the night, handily defeating Rubio in Rubio's home state. Trump added to that wins in North Carolina, Illinois and Missouri. Soon after the announcement of his loss in Florida, Rubio suspended his campaign. Kasich got on the board for the first time, winning his home state of Ohio to stave off elimination. Kasich's victory in Ohio meant that the 2016 Republican primaries were the first since 1968 (and the first in which every state held a contest) in which more than three candidates won at least one state (though in 2012 three candidates (Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, and Newt Gingrich) won states and a fourth (Ron Paul) won a territory (Virgin Islands)) while Democratic primaries have historically been more divided; examples are the Democratic primaries in 1968 (five candidates won states), 1972 (seven), 1976 (six), 1988 (five), 1992 (five), and 2004 (four). The election in Missouri was very close, with Trump beating Cruz by fewer than 2,000 votes (0.21%); Cruz could have contested the outcome because the difference was less than 0.5%, but chose not to, thereby giving the 12 statewide delegates to Trump and 37 overall out of the 52.


text: Seven states and one territory voted between March 22 and April 19, 2016, totaling 315 delegates with New York the largest (winner-take-most, 95), followed by Arizona (winner-take-all, 58).


text: The final debate between the candidates, which had been scheduled to take place on March 21, 2016, in Salt Lake City, was cancelled after Trump and Kasich withdrew from the event. Trump had initially announced that he would be absent as there had been enough debates; Kasich subsequently stated that he would not attend a debate without Trump.


text: On March 22, with concerns about the border, immigration and national security at the fore, Trump won all 58 delegates in Arizona. However, in Utah, Cruz garnered 69% of the vote, triggering the 50% rule to take all 40 delegates, buoyed by anti-Trump sentiment among many Mormons. All of American Samoa's delegates were uncommitted. After Trump was declared the presumptive nominee, all of the American Samoa delegates committed to him. American Samoa and Utah were the last caucuses of the 2016 Republican primary season.


text: As a Trump nomination became even more likely, the Club for Growth and other backers of the Stop Trump movement began adopting increasingly drastic strategies to derail his nomination, including all-out opposition to him in Wisconsin, seen as one opportunity to deny him the 1,237 delegates needed to clinch the nomination. Trump stated that he foresaw the outbreak of riots if he were denied the nomination at the convention. Despite often being viewed as anathema to the establishment, Cruz began picking up endorsements of establishment figures dismayed by the prospect of a Trump nomination, including that of Romney just before the Utah primary, Bush on March 23, 2016, and Walker on March 29, 2016.


text: Toward the end of March, the competition between the three remaining candidates grew even fiercer. The increasingly acrimonious back-and-forth between Cruz and Trump took a new turn after the "National Enquirer" accused Cruz of being involved in five extramarital affairs – claims Cruz denied, accusing Trump of planting the claim, but other sources linked it to Rubio's suspended campaign. On March 29, the same day Walker endorsed Cruz, at a GOP town hall event hosted by CNN, all three remaining Republican candidates distanced themselves from the vow they had taken in September to support their party's eventual nominee. Referring to the pledge, Kasich stated, "all of us shouldn't even have answered that question".


text: April 3 had a North Dakota convention where Cruz gained support of eight delegates and Trump got one. Cruz later got six extra delegates committed to him. After Cruz dropped out, three delegates switched their support to Trump. The 13 uncommitted delegates backed Trump, giving him the support of 17 delegates and a majority. On April 5, buoyed by support from Walker and the state's talk and national radio hosts, Cruz won the statewide contests by a 48–35% margin and six congressional districts at the Wisconsin primary for 36 delegates. Trump won two congressional districts for six delegates.


text: Following the Wisconsin primary, the three candidates moved on to Trump's home state of New York for its April 19 primary. Trump and Kasich teamed up to assail Cruz for his earlier criticism of Trump's "New York values", while Cruz reiterated his claim that Trump has an inconsistent conservative record and stated that "the only reason Kasich is attacking me now is because Kasich is afraid of going against Trump if I dropped out." Trump also received the support of former New York mayor and 2008 presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani during the lead-up to the New York primary. On April 9, 2016, Cruz won the Colorado delegates after taking a solid majority, the state's four uncommitted delegates declaring support for Cruz, bringing his total delegate count in Colorado to 34. On April 16, 2016, Cruz won all 14 at-large delegates in the Wyoming state convention. He also received the support of RNC Committeewoman Marti Halverson, one of the 3 RNC delegates to the convention.


text: On April 19, Trump won New York with 59% of the vote, taking 89 of its 95 delegates. Kasich was a distant second with 25% of the vote, taking the other six delegates. Cruz was completely shut-out from receiving any New York delegates, coming in third place with only 15% of the vote, as the threshold for obtaining any delegates was 20%. Following the New York primary, Cruz was mathematically eliminated from reaching the majority of 1,237 delegates to earn the nomination on the first ballot, as he needed 678 more while only 674 were available.


text: On April 26, 2016, five Northeastern primaries were contested—Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island—and were collectively termed the "Amtrak" or "Acela primary" in reference to the "Acela Express", which runs through the area. All five primaries were won by Trump by overwhelming margins between 29% and 41%; Trump received over 54% of the vote in all five. He claimed all the delegates available in Connecticut, Delaware and Maryland, as well as all 17 pledged delegates in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania also elected 54 unpledged delegates and both the Trump campaign and "The Washington Post" estimated that Trump would win the support of at least 39 of the Keystone State's 54 unpledged delegates. Only in Rhode Island, where delegates were allocated proportionally, did Kasich (5) or Cruz (2) win any pledged delegates. Trump attained 12 of the 19 there and 111 of the 118 by the end of the night. The night was also notable as Trump cleared 10 million votes, surpassing the vote total attained by McCain and Romney in 2008 and 2012 respectively. The two aforementioned contests were won with the candidate receiving a majority of the popular vote nationwide in both 2008 and 2012. The next day, Trump received the support of 31 unbound delegates from Pennsylvania, while Cruz nabbed four of them, Kasich three, and five remained uncommitted. On April 28, 2016, a Trump rally in Costa Mesa, California, attracted protests that turned violent, with approximately twenty people arrested and a police car vandalized. On April 29, the Trump campaign declared that they had accumulated 1,001 delegates, only 236 from the 1,237 necessary for the nomination.


text: Five primaries were contested in May: Indiana, Nebraska, West Virginia, Oregon and Washington, with Indiana awarding the most, with 57 delegates. By late April, Cruz and Kasich had both been eliminated from getting 1,237 delegates, but they still had a chance to accumulate enough delegates to force a contested convention in Cleveland. Realizing this, Cruz and Kasich attempted to focus their efforts in different states, with Cruz challenging Trump head-to-head in Indiana and Kasich challenging Trump in Oregon and New Mexico. The Indiana primary, whose delegates were awarded winner-take all statewide and by congressional district, was seen as essential to denying Trump the 1,237 delegates needed to secure the nomination. Following the Acela primaries, Cruz attempted to bolster his chances by announcing that, if nominated, he would name Fiorina as his running mate (Fiorina had served as a Cruz campaign surrogate since endorsing him in March after suspending her own presidential campaign in February and Cruz hoped that Fiorina could help his campaign in Indiana and her home state of California). On April 29, 2016, Governor Mike Pence of Indiana announced that he would vote for Cruz in the primary election. Nevertheless, although Trump was outspent by a margin of more than 4–1, he handily won Indiana with 53.3% of the vote, winning a plurality in every Congressional District and taking all 57 delegates. Cruz subsequently dropped out of the race, eliminating any hope of a contested convention in July. As a result, Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus tweeted that Trump was the presumptive nominee in the GOP. The next day, Kasich also suspended his campaign, leaving Trump as the only candidate in the race. Many Republican leaders and even former presidential candidates endorsed Trump after the withdrawal of Kasich and Cruz, but other party leaders such as Ryan, Romney and the entire Bush family withheld their support, although Ryan endorsed Trump on June 2, 2016.


text: 142 delegates were awarded between the Indiana primary and the final primaries in June; however, with Trump the only candidate remaining, Washington, Oregon, West Virginia and Nebraska became essentially uncontested, although Cruz and Kasich remained on the ballot. Trump won handily in West Virginia, Nebraska and Oregon, although Kasich received one delegate from West Virginia and five in Oregon, while Cruz took five in Oregon as well. The next week, Trump won decisively in Washington State, taking 76% of the vote and 41 of 44 delegates, with the other three uncommitted.


text: After becoming the presumptive Republican nominee, Trump said regarding the Republican primaries: "You've been hearing me say it's a rigged system, but now I don't say it anymore because I won. It's true. Now I don't care."


text: On May 26, 2016, the Associated Press announced that Trump had passed the threshold of 1,237 delegates required to guarantee his nomination, thanks to unbound delegates from North Dakota who declared their support for Trump.


text: The final five primary contests were held on June 7, 2016, in California, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota, with California awarding the most with 172 delegates and New Jersey with 51. Though initially pegged by pundits as being an important primary, the suspension of the Cruz and Kasich campaigns following the Indiana primary made the California primary merely a formality at that point, as Trump shattered the all-time record for votes in the Republican primaries set by George W. Bush in 2000 of 12,034,676 votes. After the final primaries, his vote total was 14,015,993 (44.9%), almost 2 million votes higher than the previous record.


text: The 2016 Republican National Convention was held from July 18–21 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. The delegates selected the Republican presidential and vice presidential nominees and wrote the party platform. A simple majority of 1,237 delegates was needed to win the presidential nomination. Following Trump's decisive win in Indiana and the subsequent suspension of the Cruz and Kasich campaigns, as well as Trump reaching the threshold following his decisive win in Washington state, it became clear that there would not be a contested convention in Cleveland. On the first ballot, Trump won the nomination with 1,725 delegates, 488 more than required.


text: This is an overview of the money used in the campaign as it was reported to Federal Election Committee and released on July 21, 2016. Outside groups are independent expenditure-only committees, also called PACs and SuperPACs. Several such groups normally support each candidate but the numbers in the table are a total of all of them, meaning that a group of committees can be shown as technically insolvent even though it is not the case for all of them. The source of all the numbers is OpenSecrets.


text: The Republican National Committee (RNC) imposed strict new rules for states wishing to hold early contests in 2016. Under these rules, no state was permitted to hold a primary or caucus in January; only Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada were entitled to February contests. States with primaries or caucuses in early March were to award their delegates proportionally. Any state that might have violated these rules was to have their delegation to the 2016 convention severely cut: states with more than 30 delegates would have been deprived of all but nine, plus RNC members from that state; states with fewer than 30 would have been reduced to six, plus RNC members. In contrast to the 2012 cycle no states violated these rules.


text: The Republican Party presidential primaries and caucuses are indirect elections in which voters allocated or elect delegates to the 2016 Republican National Convention. These delegates can be bound or unbound to vote for a particular candidate. The election of the state delegation can happen directly or indirectly as the primary election table below shows.


text: According to Rule 40(b) of the RNC Rules of the Republican Party, enacted prior to the 2012 convention and amended most recently in 2014, nominations at the National Convention may be made only of candidates who demonstrate the support of a majority of delegates of at least eight state delegations. Previously, this had been a lower threshold of a plurality in five states. However, per Rule 42, Rules 26–42 are "Standing Rules for this convention (2012) and the temporary rules for the next convention (2016)". While the current candidates operate under these temporary rules, it is unclear whether they will remain in place for the 2016 convention. As of March 16, 2016, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus has not taken a position on the potential rule change, while others in the party advocate for it.


title: Inferiority complex

text: In psychology, an inferiority complex is an intense personal feeling of inadequacy, often resulting in the belief that one is in some way deficient, or inferior, to others.


title: Inferiority complex

text: According to Alfred Adler, a feeling of inferiority may be brought about by upbringing as a child (for example, being consistently compared unfavorably to a sibling), physical and mental limitations, or experiences of lower social status (for example, being treated unfavorably by one's peers).


title: Inferiority complex

text: An inferiority complex may cause an individual to overcompensate in a number of ways. For example, a person who feels inferior because they are shorter than average (also known as a Napoleon complex) due to common day heightism may become overly concerned with how they appear to others. They may wear special shoes to make themself appear taller or surround themselves with individuals who are even shorter than they are. If this is taken to the extreme, it becomes a neurosis.


title: Inferiority complex

text: It may also cause an individual to be prone to flashy outward displays, with behavior ranging from attention-seeking to excessive competitiveness and aggression, in an attempt to compensate for their either real or imagined deficiencies.


title: Inferiority complex

text: According to the Cambridge Dictionary of Psychology, "[i]n Adlerian psychology, a combination of an erroneous belief of an individual that they are unable to cope with some aspect of life because of a real or imagined physical or psychological deficiency, feelings of depression, and a cessation of coping efforts in that area". In another sense "A general term for a personal sense of inferiority".


title: Inferiority complex

text: The notion of an inferiority complex was introduced into the psychoanalytic branch of psychology by Alfred Adler, founder of classical Adlerian psychology, paralleling what Pierre Janet had called a feeling of incompleteness ("sentiment d’incomplétude"). The idea appears in many of Sigmund Freud's works, but has fallen out of favor due to later advances in theory. It was also used on occasion by Freud's sometime colleague Carl Jung, (who first employed the term "complex" in general as the denotation for a group of related ideas that conform to a certain pattern).


title: Inferiority complex

text: Adler considered that many neurotic symptoms could be traced to overcompensation for this feeling of inferiority, as well as such compensatory over-achievements as the oratory of the stammering Demosthenes.


title: Inferiority complex

text: An inferiority complex occurs when the feelings of inferiority are intensified in the individual through discouragement or failure. Those who are at risk for developing a complex include people who: show signs of low self-esteem or self-worth or have low status in their peer group. They may also display symptoms similar to depression. Children reared in households where the parents are perceived as having overbearing expectations may also develop an inferiority complex.


title: Inferiority complex

text: According to Adler, "Everyone (...) has a feeling of inferiority. But the feeling of inferiority is not a disease; it is rather a stimulant to healthy, normal striving and development. It becomes a pathological condition only when the sense of inadequacy overwhelms the individual and, far from stimulating them to useful activity, makes them depressed and incapable of development."


title: Inferiority complex

text: Classical Adlerian psychology makes a distinction between primary and secondary inferiority feelings.


title: Inferiority complex

text: When an inferiority complex is in full effect, it may impact the performance of an individual as well as impact an individual's self-esteem. Unconscious psychological and emotional processes can inhibit a student's ability to receive and understand new information in addition to an excessive guardedness that results from an inability to accept or understand one's own subconscious feelings of inferiority.


title: Inferiority complex

text: In his PhD dissertation, Guy Hutt found that in students who display difficulty with math classes, the subject can become associated with a psychological inferiority complex, low motivation and self-efficacy, poor self-directed learning strategies, and feelings of being unsafe or anxious.


title: Inferiority complex

text: In the mental health treatment population, this complex sometimes overlaps in patients with other disorders such as certain types of schizophrenia, mood disorders, and personality disorders. Alfred Adler identified an inferiority complex as one of the contributing factors to some unhealthy childhood behaviors.


title: Inferiority complex

text: Individuals with increased feelings of inferiority have a higher tendency toward self-concealment, which in turn results in an increase in loneliness and a decrease in happiness.


title: Inferiority complex

text: Related to the inferiority complex is a "superiority complex", a psychological defense mechanism in which a person's outward display of superiority displaces or conceals their feelings of inferiority. Differentiated by Adler from a normal desire for social recognition, the superiority complex results in vulgar displays of self-worth or status, stemming from underlying feelings of inferiority – sometimes judged by observers to appear as a form of imposture.


title: Figure skating

text: Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance; the four individual disciplines are also combined into a team event, first included in the Winter Olympics in 2014. The non-Olympic disciplines include synchronized skating, Theater on Ice, and four skating. From intermediate through senior-level competition, skaters generally perform two programs (the short program and the free skate), which, depending on the discipline, may include spins, jumps, moves in the field, lifts, throw jumps, death spirals, and other elements or moves.


title: Figure skating

text: Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level (senior) at local, regional, sectional, national, and international competitions. The International Skating Union (ISU) regulates international figure skating judging and competitions. These include the Winter Olympics, the World Championships, the World Junior Championships, the European Championships, the Four Continents Championships, the Grand Prix series (senior and junior), and the ISU Challenger Series.


title: Figure skating

text: The sport is also associated with show business. Major competitions generally conclude with exhibition galas, in which the top skaters from each discipline perform non-competitive programs. Many skaters, both during and after their competitive careers, also skate in ice shows, which run during the competitive season and the off-season.


title: Figure skating

text: The term "professional" in skating refers not to skill level but competitive status. Figure skaters competing at the highest levels of international competition are not "professional" skaters. They are sometimes referred to as amateurs, though some earn money. Professional skaters include those who have lost their ISU eligibility and those who perform only in shows. They may also include former Olympic and World champions who have ended their competitive career, as well as skaters with little or no international competitive experience. In addition to performing in ice shows, professional skaters often compete in professional competitions, which are held throughout the world, each with its own format and rules.


title: Figure skating

text: In languages other than English, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Italian, Polish and Russian, figure skating is usually referred to by a name that translates as "artistic skating".


title: Figure skating

text: The most visible difference to ice hockey skates is that figure skates have a set of large, jagged teeth called "toe picks" on the front part of the blade. These are used primarily in jumping and should not be used for stroking or spins. If used during a spin, the toe pick will cause the skater to lose momentum, or move away from the center of the spin. Blades are mounted to the sole and heel of the boot with screws. Typically, high-level figure skaters are professionally fitted for their boots and blades at a reputable skate shop. Professionals are also employed to sharpen blades to individual requirements.


title: Figure skating

text: Blades are about thick. When viewed from the side, the blade of a figure skate is not flat, but curved slightly, forming an arc of a circle with a radius of . This curvature is referred to as the "rocker" of the blade. The "sweet spot" is the part of the blade on which all spins are rotated; this is usually located near the stanchion of the blade, below the ball of the foot. The blade is also "hollow ground"; a groove on the bottom of the blade creates two distinct edges, inside and outside. The inside edge of the blade is on the side closest to the skater; the outside edge of the blade is on the side farthest from the skater. In figure skating, it is always desirable to skate on only one edge of the blade. Skating on both at the same time (which is referred to as a "flat") may result in lower skating skills scores. The apparently effortless power and glide across the ice exhibited by elite figure skaters fundamentally derives from efficient use of the edges to generate speed.


title: Figure skating

text: Skates used in singles and pair skating have a set of large, jagged teeth called a "toe pick" on the front of each blade. The toe picks are mainly used to help launch the skater into the air for the take-off when performing jumps. Ice dance blades have smaller toe picks than blades used for the other disciplines.


title: Figure skating

text: During a spin, skaters use the "sweet spot" of the blade, which is one of two rockers to be found on a blade and is the roundest portion of the blade. The sweet spot is located just behind the toe pick and near the middle of the blade. The other rocker is the more general curvature of the blade when stroking or gliding.


title: Figure skating

text: Ice dancers' blades are about an inch shorter in the rear than those used by skaters in other disciplines, to accommodate the intricate footwork and close partnering in dance. Dancers' blades also have a smaller toe pick as they do not require the large toe pick used for jumping in the other disciplines. Hard plastic "skate guards" are used when the skater must walk in his or her skates when not on the ice, to protect the blade from dirt or material on the ground that may dull the blade. Soft blade covers called "soakers" are used to absorb condensation and protect the blades from rust when the skates are not being worn. In competition, skaters are allowed three minutes to make repairs to their skates.


title: Figure skating

text: There are many different types of boots and blades to suit different disciplines and abilities. For example, athletes who are performing advanced multi-rotational jumps often need a stiffer boot that is higher and gives more support. Athletes working on single or double jumps require less support and may use a less stiff boot. Ice dancers may prefer a lower cut boot that is designed to enable more knee bend.


title: Figure skating

text: Likewise, blades designed for free and pairs skating have a longer tail to assist landing. The blade profile and picks are designed to assist with spinning and with jump entry, take-off, landing and exit. Modern blade technology increasingly uses carbon fibre and materials other than steel to make blades lighter. These materials may also be more flexible and help cushion jump landings and be protective of young athlete's joints. Ice dance blades have short tails to enable close foot work and reduce the risk of blade clash in close complex moves. They may also be thinner to assist with glide and fast changes of edge.


title: Figure skating

text: Off-ice training is the term for physical conditioning that takes place off the ice. Besides regular physical exercise, skaters do walk-throughs of jumps off the ice to practice sufficient rotation and height of their jumps, and to practice consistency in landing on one foot. In 2020/2021 many athletes relied on a variety of off-ice training and conditioning methods due to rinks being closed due to COVID-19.


title: Figure skating

text: There is significant variation in the dimensions of ice rinks. Olympic-sized rinks have dimensions of , NHL-sized rinks are , while European rinks are sometimes . The ISU prefers Olympic-sized rinks for figure skating competitions, particularly for major events. According to ISU rule 342, a figure skating rink for an ISU event "if possible, shall measure sixty (60) meters in one direction and thirty (30) meters in the other, but not larger, and not less than fifty-six (56) meters in one direction and twenty-six (26) meters in the other." The scoring system rewards skaters who have good ice coverage, i.e. those who efficiently cover the entire ice surface during their programs. Olympic-sized rinks make the differences in skill between skaters more apparent but they are not available for all events. If a rink has different dimensions, a skater's jump setup and speed may be hindered as he or she adjusts.


title: Figure skating

text: Ice quality is judged by smoothness, friction, hardness, and brittleness. Factors affecting ice quality include temperature, water quality, and usage, with toe picks causing more deterioration. For figure skating, the ice surface temperature is normally maintained between and , with the Olympic disciplines requiring slightly softer ice (−3.5°C) than synchronized skating (−5.5°C). Typically after every two warm-up groups, an ice resurfacer cleans and smooths the surface of the ice sheet. Inadequate ice quality may affect skaters' performances.


title: Figure skating

text: Some rinks have a harness system installed to help skaters learn new jumps in a controlled manner. A heavy-duty cable is securely attached to two of the walls around the ice, with a set of pulleys riding on the cable. The skater wears a vest or belt, with a cable or rope attached to it, and the cable/rope is threaded through the movable pulley on the cable above. The coach holds the other end of the cable and lifts the skater by pulling the cable/rope. The skater can then practice the jump with the coach assisting the completion. This is used when a skater needs more help on a jump. However, if the coaches see fit, they could use another harness usually called "the fishing pole harness." It is named that because it looks similar to a fishing pole. The skater will put on the harness and the coach will adjust it so it fits the skater. The skater will go and do the jump with very little help from their coach. They can also do the jump on any pattern they choose, whereas, the other harness, they must do in a straight line.


title: Figure skating

text: The four disciplines of men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance, are also incorporated into a team event which appeared on the Olympic programme for the first time at the 2014 Winter Olympics.


title: Figure skating

text: Each element receives a score according to its base value and grade of execution (GOE), resulting in a combined technical elements score (TES). At competitions, a technical specialist identifies the elements and assigns each one a level of difficulty, ranging from B (Basic) to Level 4 (most difficult). For each element, a panel of judges determines the GOE, ranging between −5 and +5, according to how well the skater executes the element. The GOE is weighted according to the base value of the element. Through the ISU guidelines skaters must perform a minimum of seven elements in their short program and twelve elements in their long program.


title: Figure skating

text: The ISU defines a fall as a loss of control with the result that the majority of the skater's body weight is not on the blade but supported by hands, knees, or buttocks.


title: Figure skating

text: Jumps involve the skater leaping into the air and rotating rapidly to land after completing one or more rotations. There are many types of jumps, identified by the way the skater takes off and lands, as well as by the number of rotations that are completed.


title: Figure skating

text: Each jump receives a score according to its base value and grade of execution (GOE). Quality of execution, technique, height, speed, flow and ice coverage are considered by the judges. An "under-rotated" jump (indicated by<) is "missing rotation of more than , but less than revolution" and receives 70% of the base value. A "downgraded" jump (indicated by«) is "missing rotation of revolution or more". A downgraded triple is treated as a double jump, while a downgraded double is treated as a single jump.


title: Figure skating

text: An edge violation occurs when a skater executes a jump on the incorrect edge. The hollow is a groove on the bottom of the blade which creates two distinct edges, inside and outside. The inside edge of the blade is on the side closest to the skater, the outside edge is on the side farthest from the skater, and a "flat" refers to skating on both edges at the same time, which is discouraged. An unclear edge or edge violation is indicated with an 'e' and reflected in the GOE according to the severity of the problem. "Flutz" and "lip" are the colloquial terms for a Lutz and flip jump with an edge violation.


title: Figure skating

text: In 1982, the ISU enacted a rule stating that a skater may perform each type of triple only once in a program, or twice if one of them is incorporated into a combination or sequence. For a set of jumps to be considered a "combination", each jump must take off from the landing edge of the previous jump, with no steps, turns, or change of edge between jumps. Toe loops and loops are commonly performed as the second or third jump in a combination because they take off from the back outside edge of the landing foot, or skating leg. To perform a salchow or flip on the back end of a combination, a half loop (which is actually a full rotation, but lands on a back inside edge of the landing leg) may be used as a connecting jump. In contrast, jump "sequences" are sets of jumps that may be linked by non-listed jumps or hops. Sequences are worth 80% of the combined value of the same jumps executed in combination.


title: Figure skating

text: A figure skater only needs to be able to jump in one direction, either clockwise or counter-clockwise. The vast majority of figure skaters prefer to rotate in a counter-clockwise direction when jumping. Thus, for clarity, all jumps will be described for a skater jumping counter-clockwise.


title: Figure skating

text: There are six jumps in figure skating that count as jump elements. All six are landed on one foot on the back outside edge (with counter-clockwise rotation, for single and multi-revolution jumps), but have different takeoffs, by which they may be distinguished. Jumps are divided into two different categories: "toe jumps" and "edge jumps".


title: Figure skating

text: The number of rotations performed in the air determines whether the jump is a single, double, triple, or quadruple (commonly known as a "quad"). The simplest jump is a waltz jump, which can only be done in a half-leap and is not classified as a single, double, or triple jump. Senior-level male single skaters perform mostly triple and quadruple jumps in competition. The only quad not to have been accomplished by a skater in competition is the quadruple Axel, which involves four and a half rotations. This jump has been attempted in competition but has not been landed successfully. Triple jumps, other than the triple Axel, are commonly performed by female single skaters. It is rare for a female skater to land a quadruple jump, and very few female single skaters have been credited with quads in competition.


title: Figure skating

text: Some elite skaters can complete a jump in about one second, with 26 inches of height and 10 feet in distance. The takeoff speed of a jump can reach up to 15 mph. Prior to most jumps, a figure skater needs to skate backward to build power and speed.


title: Figure skating

text: Toe jumps are launched by digging the toe pick of one skate into the ice, using it to vault into the air with the opposite leg. The main toe jumps are (in order of score value):


title: Figure skating

text: All of the above descriptions assume a counter-clockwise direction of rotation, landing backwards on the outside edge of the right foot. (For clockwise rotation, the skater takes off using the alternative foot and lands backwards on the outside edge of the left foot.)


title: Figure skating

text: Again, these descriptions assume a counter-clockwise direction of rotation, landing backwards on the outside edge of the right foot. (For clockwise rotation, the skater takes off using the alternative foot and always lands backwards on the outside edge of the left foot.)


title: Figure skating

text: Several other jumps are usually performed only as single jumps and in elite skating are used as transitional movements or highlights in step sequences. These include the half toe loop (ballet jump), half loop, half flip, walley jump, waltz jump, inside Axel, one-foot Axel, stag jump, and split jump. There are two kinds of split jump:


title: Figure skating

text: Spins are a required element in all four Olympic disciplines. There are three basic positionsupright, sit and camelwith numerous variations.


title: Figure skating

text: Spins may be performed individually or in a spin sequence, combining different types of spin; a spin sequence is known as a "combination spin". During a spin, the skater rotates on the front rocker (sometimes called the "sweet spot" or "spin rocker"), which is the curved part of the blade that corresponds to the ball of the skater's foot, just behind the toe pick. A spin may be executed on the back rocker of the blade during a change of edge spin. For example, a back scratch spin will flip edges to a forward inside edge. This feature of a spin will change the level of a spin.


title: Figure skating

text: A figure skater only needs to be able to spin in one direction, either clockwise or counterclockwise. Most skaters favor a counter-clockwise direction of rotation when spinning (as in jumping), but some skaters prefer to spin in the clockwise direction. A small minority of skaters can spin in both directions. Spins may be performed on either foot. For skaters who rotate in a counter-clockwise direction, a spin on the left foot is called a forward spin, while a spin on the right foot is called a backspin. The opposite applies to skaters who rotate in a clockwise direction. When learning to spin, a skater will typically learn a forward spin first, then once that is mastered they will learn how to execute a backspin.


title: Figure skating

text: When performing some types of spin, an elite skater can complete on average six rotations per second, and up to 70 rotations in a single spin. However, this is rarely seen in modern competitions because it would gain no extra points for the spin.


title: Figure skating

text: Spins are normally entered on the ice, but they can also be entered from a jump or sequence of jumps known as star jumps. Spins that are entered through a jump are calling flying spins; these include the flying camel, flying sit spin, death drop, and butterfly spin. Flying spins may go from a forward spin to a back spin and they can also be performed as part of a spin sequence (combination spin).


title: Figure skating

text: In pair skating, spins may be performed side by side with both partners doing the same spin or combination spin simultaneously. Additionally, in pairs and ice dance, there are pair spins and dance spins, during which both skaters rotate around the same axis while holding onto one another.


title: Figure skating

text: Pair lifts are generally overhead. According to the current ISU rules for senior-level competition, the man must rotate more than once, but fewer than three-and-a-half times. In competitive pair skating, lifts must travel across the ice to be included in the technical elements score (TES); stationary lifts are included in choreography. Pair lifts are grouped by the holds involved.


title: Figure skating

text: The judges look at speed, ice coverage, the quality of the lady's position, position changes, and the man's stability and cleanness of turns throughout. Skaters may also raise their score by having a difficult entry such as in spiral or spread eagle position, a difficult exit, or other features such as stopping the rotation, turning a carry lift into rotational one, or reversing rotation (i.e. both clockwise and counter-clockwise directions). This gives the lifts a level. They can be from a base level to a level 4. The higher the level, the more points the skaters can receive.


title: Figure skating

text: Twist lifts are a form of pair lifts, where the lifted partner is thrown into the air, twists, and is caught by the lifted partner. The lady is caught by her waist in the air and lands on the backward outside edge. Some pairs include a split before rotating. This is credited as a difficult feature if each leg is separated by at least a 45° angle from the body axis and the legs are straight or almost straight. Scores are also affected by the height of the twist, turns, steps or other moves before the element, the lady holding her arms over her head, delayed rotation, etc. This element is also a leveled element.


title: Figure skating

text: Ice dancers are not allowed to lift their partners above their shoulders. Dance lifts are separated into "short lifts" and "long lifts". There are many positions each partner can take to raise the difficulty of a lift. Each position must be held for at least three seconds to count and is permitted only once in a program.


title: Figure skating

text: Along with other forms of skating, figure skating is one of the only human powered activities where travelling backwards is integral to the discipline. The ability to skate well backwards and forwards are considered to be equally important, as is the ability to transition well between the two.


title: Figure skating

text: Step sequences are a required element in all four Olympic disciplines. The pattern can be straight line, circular, or serpentine. The step sequence consists of a combination of turns, steps, hops and edge changes. Additionally, steps and turns can be used as transitions between elements. The various turns, which skaters can incorporate into step sequences, include:


title: Figure skating

text: Choctaws are the two-foot equivalents of rockers and counters. Other movements that may be incorporated into step sequences or used as connecting elements include lunges and spread eagles. An Ina Bauer is similar to a spread eagle performed with one knee bent and typically an arched back. Hydroblading refers to a deep edge performed with the body as low as possible to the ice in a near-horizontal position.


title: Figure skating

text: Moves in the field is a pre-determined required sequence that demonstrated basic skating skills and edge control. In the context of a competitive program, they include sequences that may include spirals, spread eagles, Ina Bauers, hydroblading, and similar extended edge moves, along with loops, twizzles, and different kinds of turns.


title: Figure skating

text: A spiral is an element in which the skater moves across the ice on a specific edge with the free leg held at hip level or above. Spirals are distinguished by the edge of the blade used (inside or outside), the direction of motion (forward or backward), and the skater's position. A spiral sequence is one or more spiral positions and edges done in sequence. Judges look at the depth, stability, and control of the skating edge, speed and ice coverage, extension, and other factors. Some skaters can change edges during a spiral, i.e. from inside to outside edge. Spirals performed on a "flat" are generally not considered as true spirals. Spiral sequences were required in women's and pair skating prior to the 2012–13 season, but from the 2012–13 season onward, they were replaced by the choreographic sequence. The choreographic sequence consists of moves in the field, unlisted jumps, spinning movements, etc. and is required for the men's, women's and pair free program.


title: Figure skating

text: A death spiral is a required element of pair skating. There are four varieties distinguished by the lady's edge and direction of motion. The man performs a pivot, one toe anchored in the ice, while holding the hand of his partner, who circles him on a deep edge with her body almost parallel to the ice. As of 2011, the woman's head must at some time reach her skating knee. The man must also be in a full pivot position and the death spiral must be held for a minimum amount of rotation, depending on the level.


title: Figure skating

text: Compulsory figures involves using the blades of the figure skates to draw circles, figure eights, and similar shapes on the surface of the ice. Skaters are judged on the accuracy and clarity of the figures and the cleanness and exact placement of the various turns on the circles. Figures were formerly included as a component of singles competitions but were eliminated from international events in 1990. The United States was the last country to retain a separate test and competitive structure for compulsory figures, but the last national-level figures championship was held in 1999. "Moves in the field" (known in the United Kingdom as "field moves") replaced compulsory figures as a discipline to teach the same turns and edge skills.


title: Figure skating

text: The World Figure Sport Society, based in Lake Placid, NY, hosts an annual World Figure Championship, which was first held in 2015. This event acts to preserve the historic origins of figure skating, offering a perfect black ice surface on which the compulsory figures competition is held.


title: Figure skating

text: The ISU is the governing body for international competitions in figure skating, including the World Championships and the figure skating events at the Winter Olympic Games. Medals are awarded for overall results; the standard medals are gold for first place, silver for second, and bronze for third place. U.S. Figure Skating also awards pewter medals for fourth-place finishers in national events. Additionally, at the World, European, Four Continents, and World Junior Championships, the ISU awards "small medals" for segment results (short and free program). A medal is generally attributed to only one country, even if a partnership is composed of skaters with different nationalities. A notable exception was the pair skating partnership between Ludowika Eilers and Walter Jakobsson; their 1910–11 medals were attributed to both Germany and Finland. Beyond the early 20th century, no skaters have been allowed to represent two countries in the same competition.


title: Figure skating

text: In singles and pairs figure skating competition, competitors perform two programs: the short program, in which they complete a set of required elements consisting of jumps, spins and steps; and the free skate, also known as the "long program", in which they have a slightly wider choice of elements. Under both the 6.0 system and the ISU Judging System, the judges consider the "complete package" when evaluating performances, i.e. the best jumper is not always placed first if the judges consider the difference in jumping execution to be outweighed by another skater's speed, spins, presentation, etc.


title: Figure skating

text: Ice dance competitions formerly consisted of three phases: one or more compulsory dances; an original dance to a ballroom rhythm that was designated annually; and a free dance to music of the skaters' own choice. Beginning in the 2010–11 season, the compulsory and original dances were merged into the short dance, which itself was renamed the "rhythm dance" in June 2018, before the 2018–19 season.


title: Figure skating

text: Skating was formerly judged for "technical merit" (in the free skate), "required elements" (in the short program), and "presentation" (in both programs). The marks for each program ran from 0.0 to 6.0, the latter being the highest. These marks were used to determine a preference ranking (or "ordinal") separately for each judge; the judges' preferences were then combined to determine placements for each skater in each program. The placements for the two programs were then combined, with the free skate placement weighted more heavily than the short program. The highest placing individual (based on the sum of the weighted placements) was declared the winner.


title: Figure skating

text: In 2004, in response to the judging controversy during the 2002 Winter Olympics, the ISU adopted the International Judging System (IJS), which became mandatory at all international competitions in 2006, including the 2006 Winter Olympics. The new system is sometimes informally referred to as the "Code of Points", however, the ISU has never used the term to describe their system in any of their official communications.


title: Figure skating

text: Under the IJS, points are awarded individually for each skating element, and the sum of these points is the "total element score" (TES). Competitive programs are constrained to include a set number of elements. Each element is judged first by a technical specialist who identifies the specific element and determines its "base value". This is done using instant replay video to verify features that distinguish different elements; e.g. the exact foot position at take-off and landing of a jump. A panel of twelve judges then each award a mark for the quality and execution of the element. This mark, called the "grade of execution" (GOE), is an integer with a minimum value of −5 and a maximum value of +5. The GOE mark is then translated into another value by using the table of values in ISU rule 322. The GOE value from the twelve judges is then processed with a computerized random selection of nine judges, the highest and lowest values are then discarded, and finally the average of the remaining seven is calculated. This average value is then added to (or subtracted from) the base value to determine the total value for the element.


title: Figure skating

text: Note: The IJS previously used a GOE scale of −3 to +3 but this was changed for the 2018–19 season and is in the early stages of being tested in competitions.


title: Figure skating

text: The "program components score" (PCS) awards points to holistic aspects of a program or other nuances that are not rewarded in the "total element score". The components are:


title: Figure skating

text: A detailed description of each component is given in ISU rule 322.2. Judges award each component a raw mark from 0 to 10 in increments of 0.25, with a mark of 5 being defined as "average". For each separate component, the raw marks are then selected, trimmed, and averaged in a manner akin to determining a "grade of execution". The trimmed mean scores are then translated into a factored mark by multiplying by a factor that depends on the discipline, competition segment, and level. Then the five (or four) factored marks are added to give the final PCS score.


title: Figure skating

text: The "total element score" and the "program components score" are added to give the total score for a competition segment (TSS). A skater's final placement is determined by the total of their scores in all segments of a competition. No ordinal rankings are used to determine the final results.


title: Figure skating

text: There are also skating competitions organized for professional skaters by independent promoters. These competitions use judging rules set by whoever organizes the competition. There is no "professional league". Well-known professional competitions in the past have included the World Professional Championships (held in Landover, Maryland), the Challenge Of Champions, the Canadian Professional Championships and the World Professional Championships (held in Jaca, Spain).


title: Figure skating

text: The Ice Skating Institute (ISI), an international ice rink trade organization, runs its own competitive and test program aimed at recreational skaters. Originally headquartered in Minnesota, the organization now operates out of Dallas, Texas. ISI competitions are open to any member that have registered their tests. There are very few "qualifying" competitions, although some districts hold Gold Competitions for that season's first-place winners. ISI competitions are especially popular in Asian countries that do not have established ISU member federations. The Gay Games have also included skating competitions for same-gender pairs and dance couples under ISI sponsorship. Other figure skating competitions for adults also attract participants from diverse cultures.


title: Figure skating

text: The world standing (WS) of a skater/couple is calculated based on the results over the current and preceding two seasons. Competitors receive points based on their final placement at an event and the event's weight. The following events receive points:


title: Figure skating

text: Following the current season's World Championships, the results from the earliest season are deleted. A new partnership starts with zero points; there is no transfer of WS points if a pair or ice dance couple split up and form a new partnership.


title: Figure skating

text: These standings do not necessarily reflect the capabilities of the skater(s). Due to limits on entries to events (no more than three from each country), and varying numbers of high-level skaters in each country, skaters from some countries may find it more difficult to qualify to compete at major events. Thus, a skater with a lower SB but from a country with few high-level skaters may qualify to a major event while a skater with a much higher SB but from a country with more than three high-level skaters may not be sent. As a result, it is possible for a skater who regularly scores higher to end up with a much lower world standing.


title: Figure skating

text: The "season's world ranking" of a skater/couple is calculated similarly to the overall world standing but is based on the results of the ongoing season only.


title: Figure skating

text: The season's best (SB) of a skater/couple is the highest score achieved within a particular season. There is an SB for the combined total score and the individual segment scores (short program/rhythm dance, free skating/free dance). Only scores achieved at selected international competitions are considered; scores from national competitions and some international events are disregarded. The best combined total for each skater or couple appears on a list of season's bests, and the list may be used to help determine participants in the following season's Grand Prix series.


title: Figure skating

text: Skaters and couples also have personal best (PB) scores, i.e. the highest scores achieved over their entire career, in terms of combined total and segment scores. However, PB scores are not completely comparable if achieved in different seasons because the ISU regulations and technical rules are modified before each new season. There may be different requirements specified to achieve a certain level; the required elements may change and new elements may be allowed (for example, two quads in the short program were permitted starting in the 2010–11 season); and the point values may change (for example, the values of quads were increased after the 2010 Olympics, and a second step sequence is no longer assigned a level in the men's competition). As a result of these variations in the technical requirements, the ISU places more weight on the season's bests, which are fully comparable within any one season.


title: Figure skating

text: For competitive programs, figure skaters were once restricted to instrumental music; vocals were allowed only if they contained no lyrics or words. Beginning in the 1997–98 season, the ISU decided to allow lyrics or words in ice dance music. Although the rules were not relaxed for singles and pairs, judges did not always penalize violations. At the 2011 World Championships, Florent Amodio's long program music included words but an insufficient number of judges voted for a deduction. In June 2012, the ISU voted to allow skaters from all disciplines to choose music with words in their competitive programs beginning in the 2014–15 season.


title: Figure skating

text: Skaters may use professional music editors so that their music meets requirements. Ice dancers are required to skate to music that has a definite beat or rhythm. Singles and pair skaters more often skate to the melody and phrasing of their music. For long programs, figure skaters generally search for music with different moods and tempos. Music selections for exhibitions are less constrained than for competitive programs.


title: Figure skating

text: Skaters are generally free to select their own attire, with a few restrictions. In competition, women may wear a dress, typically with matching attached briefs. This rule of costuming was created in response to Katarina Witt's costume and performance at the 1988 Winter Olympics. In 2004, the rule was extended to allow women to wear trousers. They may wear opaque flesh-colored leggings or tights under dresses and skirts, which may extend to cover their skates. Men must wear trousersthey are not allowed to wear tights, although, officials do not always impose a deduction for violations. Matching costumes are not required in pair skating and ice dance.


title: Figure skating

text: Competition costumes vary widely, from simple designs to heavily beaded or trimmed costumes. Skaters risk a deduction if a piece of their costume falls onto the ice surface. An official may stop a program if he or she deems there to be a hazard. Skaters and family members may design their own costumes, sometimes with assistance from their coach or choreographer, or turn to professional designers. Costumes may cost thousands of dollars if designed by a top-level costume maker.


title: Figure skating

text: According to current ISU regulations, costumes in competition must be fair, non-revealing, and appropriate for both short and long programs. Costumes should not be showy or exotic in nature. Clothing, however, can reflect the genre of music chosen. Although the use of flesh-colored fabric means the costumes are often less revealing than they may appear, there have been repeated attempts to ban clothing that gives the impression of "excessive nudity" or that is otherwise inappropriate for athletic competition. In general, accessories or props are not permitted in competition. The ISU allowed an exception for the original dance in the 2007–08 season but not since.


title: Figure skating

text: To compete internationally on the senior level, skaters must be at least 15 before July 1 of the preceding year. To be eligible for junior-level events, a skater must be at least 13 but under 19 before that date (or 21 for male pair skaters and ice dancers). A skater must meet the age requirement "before" it becomes July 1 in their place of birth. For example, Adelina Sotnikova was born a few hours into July 1, 1996, in Moscow and consequently, was not eligible to compete at Junior Worlds until 2011 and senior Worlds until 2013. The ISU's rules apply to international events. Many countries have no age requirements for domestic non-ISU competitions, thus, some skaters compete at the senior level nationally while not eligible for international competition.


title: Figure skating

text: The ISU has modified its age rules several times. Before the 1990s, 12 was the minimum age for senior international competitions. New rules were introduced in 1996, requiring skaters to be at least 15 before July 1 of the preceding year to compete at the Olympics, Worlds, Europeans, or Four Continents. The minimum age for all other senior internationals was 14 until July 2014, when it was raised to 15.


title: Figure skating

text: During the 2005–06 season, Mao Asada of Japan was age-eligible to compete at the Grand Prix Final, where she claimed the title, but she was not permitted to compete at the Olympics. For the 2008 World Championships, the United States was obliged to send skaters who had placed 5th and 7th at nationals because higher-placed skaters were too young, including a skater who missed the cutoff by 20 days. The ISU has strictly enforced the rules in recent years. However, American pair skater Natasha Kuchiki was allowed to compete at the 1990 World Championships when she was two years too young and American single skater Tara Lipinski, who was 13 at the time the 1996 rules were introduced, was grandfathered into remaining eligible for future events, along with other skaters who had already competed at the World Championships. A loophole also existed for a few years for underage skaters who had medaled at Junior Worlds.


title: Figure skating

text: As in gymnastics, skating has experienced controversy surrounding possible age falsification. On February 14, 2011, questions emerged surrounding nine Chinese skaters. The Associated Press found that birthdates listed on the Chinese Skating Association's website suggested five female skaters, Sui Wenjing, Zhang Dan, Yu Xiaoyu, Geng Bingwa, and Xu Binshu, were younger than their ISU ages, and four male skaters, Han Cong, Zhang Hao, Jin Yang, and Gao Yu, were older. The dates disappeared from the website by February 15. On February 17, the ISU said there were no discrepancies for Zhang Dan, Zhang Hao, and Xu Binshu between the birthdates listed on their passports, ISU registration forms and the Chinese Olympic Committee's website. Athletes in China sometimes face pressure to falsify their age.


title: Figure skating

text: Skaters may represent a country of which they are not yet a citizen in most competitions, except the Olympics which require citizenship.


title: Figure skating

text: At most international events, each country may send one to a maximum of three entries per discipline. Consequently, even if a skater has a high season's best, he or she may not be sent to major events if their country has many good skaters in their discipline. Some skaters have tried to circumvent this by representing another country. In response, the ISU introduced rules barring skaters from international events for a certain period of time. In the 2010 regulations, it was 24 months or more from the date of the last ISU Championship. In the 2012 regulations, the minimum was 18 months for singles and 12 months for pairs/ice dancers from the date of their last ISU Championships (Worlds, Europeans, Four Continents, Junior Worlds) and 12 months if they competed in some other international competition. Competitors may sit out for much longer because they also have to obtain a release from their previous federation. The ISU has set no limit to how long a country may hold skaters.


title: Figure skating

text: Beginning in the 2010–11 season, minimum scores were introduced for the World, European, or Four Continents Championships. In the 2011–12 season, different minimum scores were introduced for the Grand Prix series.


title: Figure skating

text: Figure skating is an expensive sport. This is particularly due to the costs of ice time and coaching. In the late 1980s, the expenses of a top-ten women's competitor at the U.S. Championships reached nearly US$50,000 a year. In October 2004, a U.S. Figure Skating article estimated the annual expense at US$9,000–$10,000 for pre-juvenile, US$18,000 for juvenile, US$35,000–$40,000 for novice, and said junior and senior levels were somewhat more expensive. In the 2010s, American senior national medalists had expenses in the mid-five-figure range. Swiss skater Stéphane Lambiel said his costs were around CHF 100,000 per season. World champion Patrick Chan's expenses were Can$150,000. In 2015, CBC Sports estimated that a Canadian pair team had expenses of about Can$100,000 per year.


title: Figure skating

text: Prize money is relatively low compared to other sports. A men's or women's singles skater who won the 2011 World Championships earned US$45,000, about 1.8% to 2.5% of the US$1,800,000–$2,400,000 for winners of the tennis US Open and Australian Open. A couple who won the pairs or ice dance title split US$67,500. A winner of the senior Grand Prix Final in December 2011 earned US$25,000.


title: Figure skating

text: Some national associations provide funding to some skaters if they meet certain criteria. Many skaters take part-time jobs and some have tried crowdfunding. In Germany, many elite skaters join the army to fund their skating. In Italy, some skaters join police agencies' sport groups, such as the Polizia Penitenziaria's "Fiamme Azzurre" (Carolina Kostner, Anna Cappellini, Luca Lanotte) or Polizia di Stato's "Fiamme Oro" (Federica Faiella, Paolo Bacchini). Some competitive skaters depend on income from shows. Shows must be sanctioned by their association, i.e. skaters may lose their competitive eligibility if they take part without permission. In some cases, skaters may feel pressure to compete through injury to be allowed to perform in a show.


title: Figure skating

text: Competitive skaters generally do not wear helmets or other protective gear. There is a risk of head injuries, particularly in pair skating as a result of falls from lifts. Although pair skaters are most susceptible, serious head injuries can occur in all disciplines, including ice dance. Partners have accidentally slashed each other with their skate blades. This may occur when partners drift too close during side-by-side camel spins. Several female pair skaters have suffered head/face injuries during this element, including Elena Berezhnaya, Jessica Dubé, Mandy Wötzel, Galina Maniachenko (Efremenko), and Elena Riabchuk.


title: Figure skating

text: Commenting on falls and concussions, Madison Hubbell said that "Most of the time, the worst falls are on things we kind of take for granted." Shin splints, knee injuries, and back problems are not uncommon. Hip damage may occur as a result of practising jumps and throws. In rare cases, intensive training of spins may result in subtle concussions (Lucinda Ruh).


title: Figure skating

text: Injuries have also been sustained by skaters from different teams when many skaters are practising on the ice. Midori Ito collided with Laetitia Hubert at the 1991 World Championships, while Oksana Baiul and Tanja Szewczenko collided at the 1994 Olympics, but all went on to compete. On practice sessions with multiple skaters on the ice, the skater whose music is playing conventionally has right of way. Also, pairs and ice dancers skating as a unit have right of way over those skating separately as changing course is more difficult for a couple.


title: Figure skating

text: In some countries, medical personnel may be slow to respond to accidents. At the 2000 World Championships in Nice, France, a pair skater who had been injured in a lift accident lay on the ice for several minutes and had to get up and leave the ice on his own before being offered medical attention.


title: Figure skating

text: Eating disorders are reportedly common in figure skating. Body image and the need to maintain a fit body is a very common issue in figure skating, as skaters age, their bodies change and change the way they must approach the sport. Skaters such as Gracie Gold, and Ashley Wagner have faced issues such as eating disorders and depression.


title: Figure skating

text: Figure skaters occasionally have positive doping results but it is not common. Commenting on Soviet skaters, three-time Olympic champion Irina Rodnina stated in 1991, "Boys in pairs and singles used drugs, but this was only in August or September. This was done just in training, and everyone was tested (in the Soviet Union) before competitions."


title: Figure skating

text: Although people have been ice skating for centuries, figure skating in its current form originated in the mid-19th century. "A Treatise on Skating" (1772) by the accomplished skater, Welshman Lt. 'Captain' Robert Jones (c.1740–c.1788), is the first-known book on figure skating. He designed skates that could be attached to shoes by screws through the heels (rather than using straps), and these were soon available from Riccard's Manufactory in London.


title: Figure skating

text: Competitions were held in the "English style" of skating, which was stiff and formal and bore very little resemblance to modern figure skating. Without changing the basic techniques used by skaters, only a limited number of figure skating moves could be performed. This was still true in the mid-1800s before improvements were brought about by American skater Jackson Haines, who was considered to be the "father of modern figure skating". In the mid-1860s, Haines introduced a new style of skating, incorporating free and expressive techniques, which became known as the "international style". Although popular in Europe, the international style of skating was not widely adopted in the United States until long after Haines's death.