What is a combination jump in figure skating?

A combination jump is when your skater performs two or more jumps back-to-back without stopping between them. The key is that they land one jump and immediately take off into the next one, all flowing together as one element. It's one of the most exciting—and challenging—things to watch in figure skating.

Here's what makes it different from a sequence: in a combination, your child must take off from the same edge they landed on. So if they land a Lutz on their back outside edge, they need to immediately push into the next jump using that same edge. It requires serious control and timing, since there's no time to reset or adjust between landings.

Combinations are scored as a single element, which is why they're so valuable in competition. A double Lutz–double Loop is much more impressive (and scores higher) than doing those two jumps separately. At higher levels, skaters often work on increasingly difficult combinations like triple Lutz–double Toe or even triple Axel–double Lutz–double Loop.

Most Pre-Preliminary skaters start thinking about simple combinations, typically pairing single jumps. The real magic happens when your skater can nail the timing and control needed to string jumps together smoothly.

Want to see this in your child's skating? SkateMarks analyzes every jump with per-second AI coaching notes.