A bracket turn is a kind of one-foot turn in
figure skating
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 Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympics, 1908 Olympics ...
.
The transition between edges during the turn is the same as for a three turn—for example, forward inside edge to back outside edge—but unlike a
three turn, in which the cusp of the turn points into the curve of the arc on which it is skated, a bracket turn is counterrotated so that the cusp points outward. The tracing of the turn on the ice resembles a
curly bracket
A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. Typically deployed in symmetric pairs, an individual bracket may be identified as a 'left' or 'r ...
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Brackets are considered advanced turns in figure skating and commonly appear only in step sequences instead of as a simple means of changing direction. They were also part of the
compulsory figures
Compulsory figures or school figures were formerly a segment of figure skating, and gave the sport its name. They are the "circular patterns which skaters trace on the ice to demonstrate skill in placing clean turns evenly on round circles". For ...
, which skaters were required to perform in every routine until they were abolished in 1990.
Figure skating elements
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