# Synchronized Skating Rules, Law 1: Teams, terms and the four basic shapes (ISU Sports Rules)

Figure Skating · Law 1: Teams, terms and the four basic shapes · Insporta Book (https://book.insporta.app/figure-skating/laws/synchronized-skating-law-1-teams-terms-and-the-four-basic-shapes/)

The two sub-disciplines of synchronized skating and which is meant for the Olympics, who may be in a team, alternates and how many skaters a team may lose to injury, and the terms the rules use: axes, configuration, Features, highlighting, innovative movements, lines, turn series, the four basic shapes and more.

## 1.11 Teams, terms and the four basic shapes

Teams, sub-disciplines and alternates; the general terms of synchronized skating.

### Test 1: Teams, sub-disciplines and alternates

- Pending agreement of the IOC, Synchro9 is the sub-discipline for the Olympic Winter Games and the Youth Olympic Games; the IOC sets the number of entries. (Source: ISU SR SYS 2026, Rule 800.1.b)
- A synchronized team may include both women and men, and its object is to perform as one unit. (Source: ISU SR SYS 2026, Rule 800.2)
- A Synchro12-16 team may list up to four alternates; a Synchro9 team only one. (Source: ISU SR SYS 2026, Rule 800.2.b)
- After injury or illness a Synchro12-16 or novice team may skate if it is short by no more than two skaters; a Synchro9 team by no more than one. (Source: ISU SR SYS 2026, Rule 800.2.b)
- The injury or illness must be certified by the ISU Medical Advisor assigned to the competition or by the team physician. (Source: ISU SR SYS 2026, Rule 800.2.b)
- In novice, a team can consist of nine to sixteen skaters. (Source: ISU SR SYS 2026, Rule 800.4)
- Exceptions to the composition of a team may be decided by the Council for multi-sport events sanctioned by the ISU. (Source: ISU SR SYS 2026, Rule 800.2.c)
- Synchro9 may lose one skater (8 left); Synchro12-16 up to two, so a twelve can drop to ten and a sixteen to fourteen. (Source: ISU SR SYS 2026, Rule 800.2.b)
- With a certified injury or illness, a Synchro9 team may still skate one skater short. (Source: ISU SR SYS 2026, Rule 800.2.b)
- The four basic element shapes are block, circle, line and wheel. A is a block, B a circle, C a line, and D a wheel, its spokes turning around a centre. (Source: ISU SR SYS 2026, Rule 841.1 (Shape))

### Test 2: The general terms

- Configuration is the number of lines, spokes or circles in the element. (Source: ISU SR SYS 2026, Rule 841.1)
- Highlighting is when one skater performs a movement away from and in contrast with the rest of the team. Splitting into smaller groups is sub-grouping. (Source: ISU SR SYS 2026, Rule 841.1)
- An Innovative Movement is a creative and/or unexpected movement that is not part of the skating repertoire. (Source: ISU SR SYS 2026, Rule 841.1)
- A line or spoke is formed when two points are connected, so it must have at least two skaters. (Source: ISU SR SYS 2026, Rule 841.1)
- A stationary element is done on one spot, rotating or not; stopping means the skaters stand in one place without any movement. (Source: ISU SR SYS 2026, Rule 841.1)
- Basket weave, catch, hand, elbow and shoulder holds, and no hold, are examples of holds a team may use. (Source: ISU SR SYS 2026, Rule 841.1)
- Syncopated choreography is choreography or elements with a rhythmic time delay in movement, for example skaters moving one after the other. (Source: ISU SR SYS 2026, Rule 841.1)
- Features are technical content that increases difficulty; they are published each season, and elements are divided into Difficulty Groups by the number of Features included. (Source: ISU SR SYS 2026, Rule 841.1)
- A series or combination of turns is at least two different types of turns on one foot, the exit edge of one being the entry edge of the next. (Source: ISU SR SYS 2026, Rule 841.1)
- The axes are the imaginary lines dividing the ice: the long axis (A), the short axis (B) and a diagonal axis corner to corner (C). D is a curve, not an axis. (Source: ISU SR SYS 2026, Rule 841.1 (Axis))

Sources: ISU Sports Rules, Synchronized Skating, 2026, Rule 800 and Rule 841.1 (paraphrased in original wording; original questions authored from the rules, not reproduced)

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