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Skaters differ over quad-jump scoring system
Source: Agencies |
February 12, 2010, Friday
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THE figure skating judging system is already under scrutiny at the Olympics.
Battle lines have been drawn between Europe - represented in the blue corner by quad-jump specialists such as Russia's reigning Olympic champion Yevgeny Plushenko - and North America - represented in the red corner by non-risk takers such as Canada's Patrick Chan.
At the heart of the debate is the way officials tally up the marks to reward skaters for their performances and a feeling among some athletes that judges have pre-conceived ideas about reputations rather than that day's performance.
"Right now if I skate clean programs, I know I won't be judged as high (as Plushenko)," said Austrian Viktor Pfeifer.
"At the moment it's hard for an unknown skater to get a lot of recognition, you have to work for it, you don't get it automatically. If we had a stopwatch and we could measure stuff like that, then it would be perfect but that's not possible because it's an artistic sport and it's subjective and you can't blame the judges for that."
The old 6.0 format was dumped following the 2002 Salt Lake City judging scandal and a revamped accumulative points system was introduced in its place. The first score is for technical content and this is easy to justify as every skill has a pre-determined difficulty level. But it is the second mark, for execution or presentation, that can still be very subjective and open to criticism.
Skaters such as Plushenko and former world champion Brian Joubert are usually more athletic than their non-European counterparts and bank on earning the bulk of their scores by performing high-risk elements such as quadruple jumps.
The North Americans, however, struggle with the soaring jumps and instead concentrate on intricate footwork, dizzying spins and artistic choreography to impress the judges.
World titles
The last two world titles were won by North Americans - Jeffrey Buttle and Evan Lysacek - and neither attempted a quad during their routines.
"I love the new system. It's a great way to promote an all-around skater, especially a skater like me," Chan told reporters.
Plushenko and Joubert disagree and believe that quadruple jumps deserve higher marks.
ISU president Ottavio Cinquanta said the new system offers a balance that did not exist before. "We give the tools to the judges but they are human beings. This judging system has rendered skating a measurable sport."
Skate Canada's high performance director Mike Slipchuk said that despite all the loopholes, it was at least more balanced than the 6.0 format.
"We have a lot of faith in the judging system. I have always found it fair and know the right skaters will be on the podium here. The judging panel is a mix of officials from all over the world and it's not a North America versus Europe versus Asia."
Battle lines have been drawn between Europe - represented in the blue corner by quad-jump specialists such as Russia's reigning Olympic champion Yevgeny Plushenko - and North America - represented in the red corner by non-risk takers such as Canada's Patrick Chan.
At the heart of the debate is the way officials tally up the marks to reward skaters for their performances and a feeling among some athletes that judges have pre-conceived ideas about reputations rather than that day's performance.
"Right now if I skate clean programs, I know I won't be judged as high (as Plushenko)," said Austrian Viktor Pfeifer.
"At the moment it's hard for an unknown skater to get a lot of recognition, you have to work for it, you don't get it automatically. If we had a stopwatch and we could measure stuff like that, then it would be perfect but that's not possible because it's an artistic sport and it's subjective and you can't blame the judges for that."
The old 6.0 format was dumped following the 2002 Salt Lake City judging scandal and a revamped accumulative points system was introduced in its place. The first score is for technical content and this is easy to justify as every skill has a pre-determined difficulty level. But it is the second mark, for execution or presentation, that can still be very subjective and open to criticism.
Skaters such as Plushenko and former world champion Brian Joubert are usually more athletic than their non-European counterparts and bank on earning the bulk of their scores by performing high-risk elements such as quadruple jumps.
The North Americans, however, struggle with the soaring jumps and instead concentrate on intricate footwork, dizzying spins and artistic choreography to impress the judges.
World titles
The last two world titles were won by North Americans - Jeffrey Buttle and Evan Lysacek - and neither attempted a quad during their routines.
"I love the new system. It's a great way to promote an all-around skater, especially a skater like me," Chan told reporters.
Plushenko and Joubert disagree and believe that quadruple jumps deserve higher marks.
ISU president Ottavio Cinquanta said the new system offers a balance that did not exist before. "We give the tools to the judges but they are human beings. This judging system has rendered skating a measurable sport."
Skate Canada's high performance director Mike Slipchuk said that despite all the loopholes, it was at least more balanced than the 6.0 format.
"We have a lot of faith in the judging system. I have always found it fair and know the right skaters will be on the podium here. The judging panel is a mix of officials from all over the world and it's not a North America versus Europe versus Asia."
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