Single athletes, couples, or groups perform jumps, spins, intricate footwork and other choreographic elements on ice.

Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level, and at local, Regional, Sectional, National, and international events. Figure skating is the most watched event in any Winter Olympic Games.

In most languages figure skating on ice is usually referred to by a name that translates as "artistic skating".

Figure skating is a very dramatic sport. All major competitions include exhibitions with the top-placing skaters performing their show programs for the crowd. There are many ice skating exhibitions and shows all over the world.

Singles: this is the most popular discipline of figure skating on ice. Men and women ("ladies") perform fantastic elements, which include various triple and quadruple jumps, mind bending spins and complicated forms of footwork artfully choreographed to instrumental music clips.

Pair skating teams consist of a woman and a man. Skaters perform jumps and spins in unison, spectacular throw jumps and lifts above the man's head.

Ice dancing is also for couples. Ice dancers focus on intricate high-speed footwork performed in close dance holds. Lifts must not go above the man's head.

Synchronized skating, for mixed-gender groups of up to 20 skaters. This discipline resembles a group form of ice dance with emphasis on precise formations of the group as a whole and complex transitions between formations.

Fours team consists of two men and two women who perform singles and pairs elements in unison as well as unique elements that involve all four skaters.

Theatre on ice, aka "ballet on ice". This is a form of group skating that is less structured than synchronized skating and allows the use of props, theatrical costuming and all kinds of music.

Adagio skating, a form of pair skating most commonly seen in ice shows, where the skaters perform many spectacular acrobatic lifts but few or none of the singles elements which competitive pairs must perform.

Acrobatic skating, aka "Acrobatics on ice" or "Extreme Skating", is a combination of circus arts, technical artistic gymnastics skills, and figure skating. Acrobatic skating merges the best of many sporting worlds into an exciting spectacle.

The sport of figure skating continues to evolve as does the judging system, which shapes this sport.