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What is a 'two-footed landing' and why is it a problem?
TL;DR
A two-footed landing is when a skater touches both feet down on the landing of a jump that should land on one foot. Under IJS, it's a GOE deduction — and depending on severity, the jump may be downgraded. Almost every standard single jump (Salchow, Toe Loop, Loop, Flip, Lutz, Axel) is supposed to land on the right back outside edge, on one foot, for a CCW skater.
A two-foot landing isn't always disastrous, but it's always counted against the jump.
What it looks like:
- The intended landing foot touches down first (on the back outside edge), then the second foot also drops to the ice — sometimes barely, sometimes for full weight-bearing
- The skater glides out of the landing on two feet rather than gliding out on one foot in arabesque
Why it happens:
- Under-rotation (most common) — the skater didn't complete the full rotation in the air, so the body angle is off at landing and the second foot becomes a stabilizer
- Single-leg strength — the landing leg can't bear the impact alone, especially on harder jumps (Axel, doubles)
- Fear — some skaters preemptively reach for the second foot anticipating a fall, particularly after a recent fall on the same jump
- Rushing — the skater lands "early" because they ran out of air time
How it's penalized:
- Under IJS, judges deduct via GOE — typical 2-foot landing deduction is in the −1 to −3 range for the affected jump
- If the rotation is so incomplete that the landing requires both feet to compensate, the jump may be downgraded (counted as one less rotation in base value)
- At lower-level USFS tests using the 6.0 system, the issue is noted as a fault but the program is judged holistically rather than itemized
The fix is usually upstream of the landing:
- More takeoff height → more air time → more rotation completed
- Cleaner edge work on takeoff → less pre-rotation → more efficient air rotation
- Single-leg strength training off-ice (3-second one-leg holds, single-leg squats)
For all standard single jumps in CCW skating, the landing is on the right back outside edge — same foot, same edge. The free leg trails behind in arabesque.
Want to see whether your child's two-foot landings are due to under-rotation or fear? SkateMarks measures rotation count and shows the air position so you can tell which one.