Free skating

[9] Free skating, developed when skaters connected individual compulsory figures into a cohesive program, has been a part of international competitions throughout the ISU's history, becoming more important and popular after World War II.

The free skate, along with compulsory figures, were segments in competitions until 1973, when the short program was added.

[12][note 2] Kamila Valieva from Russia holds the highest single women's free skating score of 185.29 points, which she earned at the 2021 Rostelecom Cup.

[14] Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov from Russia hold the highest pairs free skating score of 157.46, which they earned at the 2022 European Championships.

[21] Skaters have complete freedom in the selection of the kinds of step sequences they want to execute.

They can include jumps in their step sequences, but they must fully utilize the ice surface.

[22] A well-balanced free skate for senior pairs must consist of the following: up to three lifts, not all from the same group, with the lifting arm or arms fully extended;[note 3] only one twist lift, only one solo jump; only one jump sequence or combination; only one pair spin combination; only one death spiral of a different type than what the skaters performed during their short program; and only one choreographic sequence.

[24] A well-balanced free skate for synchronized skating must consist of elements and other linking movements that reflect the character of the music the teams choose and/or expresses a story, theme, idea, or concept also chosen by the team.

[27] These elements must be "linked together harmoniously by a variety of connections and executed with a minimum of two footed skating".