Activities Sports & Athletics In Which Direction Should a Figure Skater Jump and Spin? Share PINTEREST Email Print Robert Decelis Ltd/The Image Bank Collection/Getty Images Sports & Athletics Skating Lessons Basics History Gear Famous Skaters Inline Skating Baseball Basketball Bicycling Billiards Bodybuilding Bowling Boxing Car Racing Cheerleading Cricket Extreme Sports Football Golf Gymnastics Ice Hockey Martial Arts Professional Wrestling Skateboarding Paintball Soccer Swimming & Diving Table Tennis Tennis Track & Field Volleyball Other Activities Learn More By Jo Ann Schneider Farris Jo Ann Schneider Farris was a silver medalist in junior ice dancing at the 1975 U.S. National Figure Skating Championships and is the author of two books on skating our editorial process Jo Ann Schneider Farris Updated March 05, 2019 Most figure skaters jump and spin in the counter-clockwise direction, but some figure skaters make moves in the clockwise direction. How does an ice skater determine which way to do figure skating moves? Most Skaters Are Right-Footed Being a right-footed skater means that the jumps rotate in a counter-clockwise direction and are landed on the right foot. Most skaters enter a spin on the left foot and exit out of spins on the right foot. Some Skaters Do Everything in the Opposite Direction They jump and spin to the right, land jumps on the left foot and exit out of spins on the left foot because they are left-footed. How to Decide Which Direction Is Best for You First try everything right-footed. If you notice that your left foot seems stronger when you glide backward, there is a good chance you are left-footed. Note the direction in which spinning seems more natural to you. If your left foot seems more stable and you like entering spins with the right foot, you are probably left-footed. Your Direction Doesn't Correspond With How You Write Some people are right-handed and left-footed. Some skaters are right-handed and right-footed. Some skaters are left-handed and right-footed You Can't Jump One Way and Spin the Other If you prefer landing on your right foot, you must spin with the left foot and exit out of spins on the right leg. You have no choice; otherwise, when you get to more advanced moves, nothing will work properly. a Good Back Spin Is Necessary to Do Jumps All skaters need to master the back spin before doing an axel. If a skater is not comfortable spinning backward in the same direction he or she will need to do when spinning in the air, the difficult jumps will never be mastered. Spinning and Jumping in the Same Direction Is Important for Choreography The choreography of a skating routine will look lopsided and wrong if the spins and jumps are done in different directions. Stick to Jumping and Spinning in the Same Direction Even if you skate just for fun, don't mix up your spinning and jumping direction.