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Pairs Elements - Lifts

Lifts are the dramatic element that everyone associates with pairs skating. In lifts the man raises the lady above the ice, often into very high and scary-looking positions (they probably feel pretty scary too...). In almost all cases it is required that the man "turns" during the lift; if he does not, it is called a "carry" instead. The 2001 rules permit only 1 carry in a senior pairs FS program, otherwise all lifting actions must include rotation. 

Lifts are categorized into 6 groups that are named to match the type of "hold" used just prior to and during the lift. For most skaters, the difficulty increases as the group number gets bigger (for instance a group 4 lift is considered harder than a group 1 lift for most skaters). Often, the names of the lifts will reflect the type of jump that it looks like the lady is performing prior to the lift; sometimes though they are named to represent the final position achieved by the lady.

A brief summary of the lift categories is shown below.  Additional pages show demonstrations of representative lifts.