A twizzle is a multirotational one-foot turn in figure skating

Figure skating

Figure skating is an Olympic sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice skates. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level , and at local, national, and international competitions...

. The twizzle is most commonly seen in ice dancing

Ice dancing

Ice dancing is a form of figure skating which draws from the world of ballroom dancing. It was first competed at the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, but did not become a Winter Olympic Games medal sport until 1976....

, where it appears in a number of compulsory dances

Compulsory dances

Compulsory dances, now called pattern dance in ice dancing, are a part of ice dancing and artistic roller skating in which all the couples perform the same standardized steps and holds to music of a specified tempo. One or more compulsory dances were usually skated as the first phase of ice dancing...

 and is a required element of step sequences in the short dance

Short dance

The short dance is a segment of an ice dancing competition. It was approved by the June 2010 International Skating Union congress and instituted beginning in the 2010–2011 figure skating season...

, original dance

Original dance

The original dance was a segment of an ice dancing competition. It was usually the second of three programs, sandwiched between the compulsory dances and the free dance. Until 1994, it was known as the original set pattern dance...

 and free dance

Free dance (figure skating)

The free dance is a part of an ice dancing competition. It is the second part of the competition to be contested, after the short dance.-Structure and content:...

. A twizzle is also common in synchronized skating

Synchronized skating

Synchronized skating or synchronised skating, a large and fast-growing discipline, consists of 8—20 athletes skating on ice at one time moving as one flowing unit at high speeds...

 where it is also a required element of step sequences.

A twizzle differs from a figure skating spin

Figure skating spins

Spins are an element in figure skating where the skater rotates, centered on a single point on the ice, while holding one or more body positions. The skater rotates on the part of the blade just behind the toe pick, with the weight on the ball of the foot...

 in that it travels across the ice instead of being centered in one spot. It also differs from a series of three turns

3 turn

A 3 turn is a figure skating element which involves both a change in direction and a change in edge. For example, when a skater executes a forward outside 3 turn, the skater begins on a forward outside edge and finishes on a backwards inside edge...

 in that the turning action is continuous.

Twizzles can be performed both forward and backward, on both inside and outside edges, and both clockwise and counterclockwise. Twizzles are most commonly performed in an upright position with the free foot held close to the skating leg, but other variants are possible as well, such as a twizzle in a sit spin

Sit spin

The sit spin is one of the three basic figure skating spin positions. It is defined by a squatting position in which the skater's buttocks are below the knee of the skating leg. This forms an angle of less than 90 degrees between the thigh and the calf of the skating leg...

position.

Speed, ice coverage i.e. distance, unison (couples), closeness (couples), variety and difficulty of positions, change of rotational direction (counter-clockwise, clockwise), and difficult entries are taken into consideration by the judges and technical specialists.