This has been a non-stop problem since CoP was created, but now more than ever we've reached a point of PCS being virtually meaningless, with extremely high marks being awarded for hackneyed skating.
How sad the sport is that a performance like Nathan Chen's at 2017 Four Continents can receive 88 PCS. A program that consists mainly of going from jump to jump, with bad distracting landings all over the place. How can this skating be considered anywhere close to some of the best ever? That's what is being said with these scores, but it is a lie. This skating comes nowhere close to some of the best performances we have seen from John Curry, Robin Cousins, Brian Boitano, Kurt Browning, Ilia Kulik, Alexei Yagudin, Matt Savoie, Stephen Lambiel, Jeff Buttle, Daisuke Takahashi, and so many others who created something truly special on the ice with their performances.
Yes, records are being broken in terms of the JUMPS right now. People are doing 5-quad programs, which is crazy and commendable in its own way, but there is so much more to an entire program. With a performance like Nathan's you can see how much straining there is throughout the performance and how perfunctory the movements are. A random arm movement here, a random leg movement there, a random transition here, a meaningless expression there. Artistic integrity is being lost and it's not even quality plastic-ness. The guy tries to throw multiple Triple Axels into the program that look like bad practice attempts of someone learning the jump. He trips on basic crossovers and throughout the program looks like he is stumbling around. This isn't something people want to see; it looks unprofessional. The overall impression is one of people desperately throwing themselves into lots of moves and not caring so much about the result. Nathan is still a relatively polished skater, the impression is not absolutely awful, but neither is it particularly good.
Ultimately, not only are the PCS to blame for encouraging this kind of skating, but the technical values as well. People still are getting to many points for flawed jump attempts. Nearly 10 points for a quad that is fumbled on the landing (many judges thinking this deserves "0 GOE" rather than negative, which is just ludicrous). 7-and-a-half points for a Triple Axel that is tilted in the air, barely rotated, comes down on the wrong edge, and falls out on the landing. The madness must stop. This is not what skating is supposed to be and it can not be rewarded.
How sad the sport is that a performance like Nathan Chen's at 2017 Four Continents can receive 88 PCS. A program that consists mainly of going from jump to jump, with bad distracting landings all over the place. How can this skating be considered anywhere close to some of the best ever? That's what is being said with these scores, but it is a lie. This skating comes nowhere close to some of the best performances we have seen from John Curry, Robin Cousins, Brian Boitano, Kurt Browning, Ilia Kulik, Alexei Yagudin, Matt Savoie, Stephen Lambiel, Jeff Buttle, Daisuke Takahashi, and so many others who created something truly special on the ice with their performances.
Yes, records are being broken in terms of the JUMPS right now. People are doing 5-quad programs, which is crazy and commendable in its own way, but there is so much more to an entire program. With a performance like Nathan's you can see how much straining there is throughout the performance and how perfunctory the movements are. A random arm movement here, a random leg movement there, a random transition here, a meaningless expression there. Artistic integrity is being lost and it's not even quality plastic-ness. The guy tries to throw multiple Triple Axels into the program that look like bad practice attempts of someone learning the jump. He trips on basic crossovers and throughout the program looks like he is stumbling around. This isn't something people want to see; it looks unprofessional. The overall impression is one of people desperately throwing themselves into lots of moves and not caring so much about the result. Nathan is still a relatively polished skater, the impression is not absolutely awful, but neither is it particularly good.
Ultimately, not only are the PCS to blame for encouraging this kind of skating, but the technical values as well. People still are getting to many points for flawed jump attempts. Nearly 10 points for a quad that is fumbled on the landing (many judges thinking this deserves "0 GOE" rather than negative, which is just ludicrous). 7-and-a-half points for a Triple Axel that is tilted in the air, barely rotated, comes down on the wrong edge, and falls out on the landing. The madness must stop. This is not what skating is supposed to be and it can not be rewarded.