But soon after that, the International Skating Union (ISU), skating’s worldwide governing body, made the decision to ban backflips from competition due in large part to the high risk of head and neck injuries. In fact, Kubicka reported his own coach, Evy Scotvold, suffered a head injury practicing the move as a member of the Ice Follies, according to Ice Skating International—a fact Kubicka only learned after his Olympics turn. (Other banned sports moves include the Korbut flip and the Thomas salto, both in gymnastics, for context.)
For the next 47 years the ban stood, though a few skaters still performed backflips in competition as a show of defiance. In 1998, French skater Surya Bonaly did one at the Nagano Olympics, though her score was reduced as a result. More recently, another French skater, Adam Siao Him Fa, did one at both the 2024 European Championships and the 2024 World Championships (and received similar consequences).
“I knew that I was losing a couple of points, but I wanted to push our sport, to move it forward and to bring back this element,” Siao Him Fa explained at his European World Championships appearance, according to Ice Skating International.
Outside of competition, some skaters also performed backflips at non-scored events like exhibition galas, including Olympians Scott Hamilton, Keegan Messing, and Nathan Chen. In 2022, both Messing and Chen did backflips at a gala at the Winter Olympics in Beijing.
How a recent rule change is shaking things up
Everything changed at the 59th Ordinary ISU Congress in 2024. Held in Las Vegas, the five-day meeting resulted in the removal of “somersault-type jumps” from Rule 610—the rule detailing what moves can’t be performed in competition.
