This week at the annual U.S. Figure Skating Skate America competition, figure skaters from across the nation will gather to perform a broad array of spins and flips that many people could imagine attempting. When most people spin quickly, they feel dizzy and lose their balance. They might even get sick to their stomachs, but years of training helps ice skaters overcome this sensation.
In this video, Tarkeshwar Singh, professor of kinesiology at Penn State, and Angela Paxos, kinesiology undergraduate student and figure skater, explain what happens in most people's inner ears to make them feel dizzy and how skaters overcome that sensation.
Also, Penn State figure skaters Molly Perciavalle, who studies biobehavioral health and Spanish, and Ava Stephens, who studies computer science, skate and discuss skating on Beaver Stadium's field when it was turned into an ice rink earlier this year.
Watch the video by clicking the image above or on Penn State's YouTube channel.
