There are five groups of lifts in pair skating, categorized in order of increasing level of difficulty.

According to the International Skating Union (ISU), "the Woman must be caught in the air at the waist by the Man prior to landing and be assisted to a smooth landing on the ice on a backward outside edge on one foot"[2] during a twist lift.

There are five groups of pair lifts, determined by the hold at the moment the woman passes the man's shoulder.

[5] A simple take-off includes, but is not limited to, a change of hand hold during ascent.

Difficult landings include, but are not limited to, the following: somersaults; one-hand landings; variations in holds; and spread-eagle positions of the man during dismounting, but "only if the spread-eagle lasts long enough: from the moment the Man starts bending his arms till the moment the Woman is placed on the ice".

[14] If the woman changes position, from upright with her head upwards to upright with her head downwards, or from "Platter to Platter, Star to Star with half a rotation of the Woman in any direction", it is considered a change position.

[9] Only half a revolution made by the man is allowed on the carry lift's take-off and/or exit.

[15] Off-ice training is crucial in making pair skaters more confident in their own skating and have more trust in their partners.

Lifts are done on the floor before they are attempted on the ice, and the man's footwork is emphasized to ensure that his turns are accurate and safe for his partner.

Their coaches also teach partners how to have firm wrist and finger grips, as well as how to communicate with each other non-verbally.

[19] In the free skate, there are no limits on the amount of revolutions pair teams can perform, and the woman's take-off can include the Lutz, flip, toe loop, or Axel.

[17][18] Judges look for the following when evaluating twist lifts: the speed at entry and exit; whether or not the woman performs a split position while on her way to the top of the twist lift; her height once she gets there; clean rotations; a clean catch by the man (accomplished by placing both hands at the woman's waist and without any part of her upper body touching him); and a one-foot exit executed by both partners.

[1][21] According to former pair skater Archie Tse, stronger teams emphasize the delay between the man throwing the woman up in the air and reaching up to catch her by putting his hands down by his sides while she is in flight.

[17] The first quadruple twist lift performed in international competition was by Russian pair team Marina Cherkasova and Sergei Shakhrai at the 1977 European Championships.

Injuries and falls occur, especially during training, but they tend to be minor because skating blades are thick, 0.15 inches to 0.25 inches in width, so the woman's weight, which should be balanced in the center of her blade, is distributed over a larger area of her partner's body.