What’s a (f)lutz?

The term “flutz” is a term frequently heard by avid figure skating fans, but what is a flutz actually? A concise definition of a flutz is: a Lutz that takes off on the inside instead of outside edge. For skaters who jump counterclockwise, both the flip and Lutz jumps are toe pick assisted jumps that take off of a backward left edge. For skaters who jump clockwise, such as Ashley Wagner and Alissa Czisny, flips and Lutzes take off from a backward right edge. A flip takes off of on the back inside edge and a Lutz takes off from a back outside edge. A flutz occurs when a skater intends to do a Lutz and starts on a back outside edge, but rocks over to an inside edge at the last minute essentially making the jump a flip, or a flutz. Although less common, some skaters suffer from the opposite problem and have a tendency to turn intended flips into Lutzes.  With the advent of slow motion replays that the IJS judging system introduced, more and more figure skaters, especially ladies, are receiving edge calls (“e”, Figure 1.) on their flips and Lutzes. At the 2012 US Figure Skating Championships 4/5 of the top senior ladies received an edge call, and 7/19 senior ladies executed a flutz instead of a Lutz.

Portion of Ashley Wagner’s long program scorecard from 2012 Nationals.

How is it possible to spot a flutz for those who don’t have access to instant replay? The most reliable method is to simply focus on watching the skater’s blade and the angle it is at upon take off. However, one can also observe whether or not a skater suddenly shifts his or her weight right before launching into the air. If there is a sudden shift in weight away from the skating side there will likely be an edge change too. Likewise, a big kicking or flinging of the leg right before the skater picks into the ice is often another sign of a flutz.  Below is an example of a clean triple Lutz-triple toe combination (performed by retired skater Vaughn Chipeur).

At the 2012 US Nationals, Caroline Zhang skated a solid free program featuring beautiful spins and cleanly executed jumps aside from an edge call on her triple Lutz at 1:26 making the jump a “Flutz”.