The cantilever, also called layback spread eagle, is a

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, with its introduction occurring at the Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympi ...

element. Similar to the spread eagle, the skater travels along a deep edge. With knees bent, the skater bends their back backwards, parallel to the ice. It was invented by Werner Groebli, better known as "Mr. Frick", a long-time show skater with

Ice Follies The Ice Follies, formerly known as the Shipstads & Johnson Ice Follies, is a touring ice show featuring elaborate production numbers, similar in concept to Ice Capades. It was founded in 1936 by Eddie and Roy Shipstad and Oscar Johnson. In later ...

. The first woman to perform it was Janet Lee in 1973 and was hired by as a principal skater by Ice Capades in 1986 because of it. More recently, it became a signature move of Joseph Klein,

Ilia Klimkin Ilia Sergeyevich Klimkin (, born 15 August 1980) is a Russian former competitive figure skater. He is the 2003 Grand Prix Final silver medalist, the 2004 European bronze medalist, the 1999 World Junior champion, and a three-time Russian natio ...

Elizaveta Tuktamysheva Elizaveta Sergeyevna Tuktamysheva ( ; rus, Елизавета Серге́евна Туктамышева, , jɪlʲɪzɐˈvʲetə tʊktɐˈmɨʂɨvə; born 17 December 1996) is a Russian figure skater. She is the 2015 World Figure Skating Cham ...

Alexandra Trusova Alexandra "Sasha" Vyacheslavovna Ignatova (née Trusova; rus, Александра Вячеславовна Игнатова née Трусова, , ɐlʲɪˈksandrə ˈtrusəvə; born 23 June 2004) is a Russian figure skater. She is the 2022 O ...

, and

Shoma Uno is a retired Japanese figure skater. He is a three-time Olympic medalist ( 2018 silver, 2022 bronze, 2022 team silver), a two-time World champion (2022, 2023), and a two-time World silver medalist (2018, 2017). He was also the 2019 Four Conti ...

also frequently uses the cantilever in exhibition performances.

Gallery

Image:Shawn Sawyer Cantilever - 2006 Skate Canada.jpg, Solo cantilever with hands on ice
(

Shawn Sawyer Shawn Sawyer (born January 14, 1985, in Edmundston, New Brunswick) is a Canadian former competitive figure skater. He is the 2011 Canadian national silver medallist and a three-time (2005-2006 & 2008) Canadian national bronze medallist. He repr ...

) File:Lubov Iliushechkina EX 2008-2009 JGPF.jpg, Solo cantilever without hands on ice
(

Lubov Iliushechkina Liubov Ivanovna Ilyushechkina (, born 5 November 1991) is a Russian-born Canadian pair skater. Ilyushechkina began competing for Canada with Dylan Moscovitch in 2014, and they were the 2017 Four Continents bronze medalists, two-time bronze medal ...

) File:2011 WFSC 2d 327 Allison Reed Otar Japaridze.JPG, A cantilever as an ice dance element
(

Allison Reed Allison Lynn Reed (born June 8, 1994) is a Lithuanian-American ice dancer who currently competes for Lithuania with Saulius Ambrulevičius. They are the European Figure Skating Championships, 2024 European bronze medalists, three-time ISU Grand ...

& Otar Japaridze) File:Lubov Iliushechkina & Nodari Maisuradze 2008-2009 JGPF.jpg, Assisted cantilever in pair skating
(

& Nodari Maisuradze) File:Zoe Blanc & Pierre-Loup Bouquet SlLi 2009 Worlds.jpg, Cantilever as part of an ice dancing lift
(Zoé Blanc &

Pierre-Loup Bouquet Pierre-Loup Bouquet (born 24 March 1987) is a French former competitive ice dancer Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure S ...

)

References

Figure skating glossary
Figure skating elements {{figure-skating-stub