The loop jump is an edge jump in the sport of figure skating. The skater executes it by taking off from the back outside edge of the skating foot, turning one or more rotations in the air, and landing on the back outside edge of the same foot. It is often performed as the second jump in a combination.
History
The loop jump was created by German figure skater Werner Rittberger, and is often called the Rittberger in Europe. According to U.S. Figure Skating, the loop jump is "the most fundamental of all the jumps". According to writer Ellyn Kestnbaum, the jump also gets its name from the shape the blade would leave on the ice if the skater performed the rotation without leaving the ice. In competitions, the base value of the single loop jump is 0.50; the base value of a double loop is 1.70; the base value of a triple loop is 4.90; the base value of a quadruple loop is 10.50, and the base value of a quintuple loop is 14.
Firsts
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!scope=col| Abbr.
!scope=col| Jump element
!scope=col| Skater
!scope=col| Nation
!scope=col| Event
!scope=col class="unsortable"|
|-
!scope=row rowspan=2| 3Lo
| Triple loop (men's)|| || || 1952 Winter Olympics ||
|-
| Triple loop (women's)|| || || 1968 skating competition||
|-
! scope="row" | 4Lo
| Quadruple loop (men's)|| || || 2016 CS Autumn Classic International||
|}
Adeliia Petrosian remains the only woman to land/attempt a quadruple loop in a competition, but as she landed it in a domestic competition is not counted as ratified attempt by the ISU.
Execution
The loop jump is an edge jump. The skater executes it by taking off from the back outside edge of the skating foot, turning one or more rotations in the air, and landing on the back outside edge of the same foot. Atlantic Monthly, in its description of all jumps, states, "An easy way to remember this jump is that it's basically a toe loop without the assist of the toe pick".