Breaking it down: The New Scoring System | Golden Skate

Breaking it down: The New Scoring System

gsk8

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Jun 21, 2003
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The New Scoring System - Pt.1

Ok, folks. Let's break this down and see if we can all get a clear picture before Oct.

The new system is based on cumulative points instead of the 6.0 standard of marks and placement.

Under the new system, points are awarded for a technical score combined with points awarded for five additional components – skating skills, transitions, performance/execution, choreography and interpretation.

In the technical score, each element of a skater’s program is assigned a base value. During the program, judges will evaluate each element within a range of +3 to –3. This evaluation will either add or deduct from the base value of the element. When a skater executes an element, the “Technical Specialist,” monitored by the “Technical Controller,” will identify the element, and its respective point value will be listed on the judge’s screen. The judge then grades the quality of the element. The sum of all performed elements together with the grade of execution will form the technical score.

In addition to the technical score, the judges will award points on a scale from 0 to 10 with increments of .25 for the five components to express the overall presentation. (See Parts 2-6)
 

gsk8

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The New Scoring System: Pt 2 (Skating Skills)

The judges will award points on a scale from 0 to 10 with increments of .25 for the five components to express the overall presentation. This is the one of the five components:

Skating Skills

  • Overall skating quality
  • Multi-directional skating
  • Speed and Power
  • Cleanness and sureness of edges
  • Glide and Flow
  • Depth and quality of edges
  • Balance in ability of partner
 

gsk8

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The New Scoring System: Pt 3 (Transitions)

The judges will award points on a scale from 0 to 10 with increments of .25 for the five components to express the overall presentation. This is the one of the five components:

Transitions

  • Difficulty and quality of steps linking elements
  • Creativity and originality of steps linking elements
  • Originality and difficulty of entrances and exits of elements
  • Pattern (ice dancing)
  • Balance of workload between partners (ice dancing)
  • Difficulty and variety of dance footwork, holds, linking movements (ice dancing)
 

gsk8

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The New Scoring System: Pt 4 (Performance/Execution)

The judges will award points on a scale from 0 to 10 with increments of .25 for the five components to express the overall presentation. This is the one of the five components:

Performance/Execution

  • Body alignment
  • Carriage
  • Style
  • Body alignment
  • Variation of speed
  • Unison (pairs and dance)
  • Balance in performance between partners (ice dancing)
 

gsk8

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The New Scoring System: Pt 5 (Choreography)

The judges will award points on a scale from 0 to 10 with increments of .25 for the five components to express the overall presentation. This is the one of the five components:

Choreography

  • Harmonious composition of the program
  • Creativity and originality (dance only)
  • Conformity of elements, steps and movements to the music
  • Originality, difficulty and variety of program pattern
  • Distribution of highlights
  • Utilization of space and ice surface
 

gsk8

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The New Scoring System: Pt 6 (Interpretation)

The judges will award points on a scale from 0 to 10 with increments of .25 for the five components to express the overall presentation. This is the one of the five components:

Interpretation

  • Finesse, and nuances of the musical phrases
  • Expression of the music’s style and character
  • Maintaining the character and style of the music throughout the entire program
  • Timing (OD and FD only)
 

gsk8

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The New Scoring System: Pt 7

A factor of 2.0 is the weight between the technical score and the five other components (shown in p art2-6). Additional points may be awarded for innovative elements, and deductions will be taken for rule violations.

At the end of each program, the skater will receive a “segment score” which is the total of the technical score + skating skills + transitions + performance/execution + choreography + interpretation.

The sum of all segment scores — for example short program + free skate — is the total “competition score.” The skater with the highest competition score is declared the winner.


For more information about the ISU’s new judging system, read the ISU Communication #1207 which is in .pdf format.
 

Lcp88

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Thanks Paula - I never was able to understand it on the ISU site.
Laura
 
Joined
Aug 3, 2003
I have a question: What constitutes an innovative element? Is it just something nobody else can do or can it be an unusually composed choreography? For example, one year the French ladies skater whose name escapes me (she was also a water skiier and had a nice rack) did all her spins at the end of her LP to music from "Legends of the Fall." She went from one spin to another, spinning in both directions, and it had the effect, for me, of life in the west sort of winding away. It seemed innovative to me, but I don't know that it would be considered an innovative ELEMENT.

Sasha's catch-foot turning slide spiral would seem to me to be an innovative move. But since she's done it in the past, is it still "innovative." And what about the BC spin? It's really just a shotgun spin with the free leg pulled up extremely high. Is that innovation or unusual flexibility?

Anybody got an answer?
Rgirl
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
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Jun 27, 2003
am I the only one here who is just extremely confused by this whole new thing??? I was just understanding the details of the "old" system!
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
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Jun 27, 2003
good grief why can't we just stick with the good ol 6.0 system and make sure the judges aren't bought?? LOL I don't want to learn a new system
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Thanks for these summaries, Paula. I did in fact spend quite a bit of time at the ISU website trying to get the hang of it, without much success.
Or maybe when the competitions start, people will want to talk about these.
I agree. In fact, it's already started, over on the Nebelhorn Trophy thread. Personally, I can't wait for all the fights to begin oer the interpretation of these guidelines. I don't think that they will be using the CoP at the Campbell's Classic (?) This will make Skate America all the more interesting. I hope that I will be able to go.
I think everybody should copy these for themselves if they don't already have a copy of the COP so they can know what to complain about when they start using it.
I just did that, Rgirl. Copy all of the seven pages of Paula's posts, I mean. I am going to go over them right now.

All right!!! about your avatar, Rgirl. Although I expected Ilya K. Are you going to post three more times today and get up to 3000?

Mathman
 
Joined
Aug 3, 2003
Wow, Mathman, I hadn't noticed I was that close. Hmm, we'll see...

Re the avatar, you read my mind. It was a very tough choice between this one of Oksana and the one of Ilia with the round sunglasses. Actually, what made the decision was the way Oksana and Ilia were facing. Oksana faces toward your post, the Ilia one I liked is facing away. I didn't want my avatar to look rude.

Besides, this photo of Oksana reminds me of one of my favorite books, "Lolita." Plus she looks a little crazed in this photo. If I were still dancing, I'd probably look something like that, I mean in terms of expression:eek:
Rgirl
 

icenut84

Final Flight
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Rgirl - the French skater you're thinking of is Vanessa Gusmeroli.

I'm also a bit confused about the extra "innovative element" score. Like you mentioned, some of Sasha's flexi moves could be seen as innovative - or just showing her flexibility. Ok, say if she got points for one of her spiral variations, the skid spiral or the BO edge one with her body turned round. Would she still get the points if she performed it in the next season too? Because it's still innovative compared to what the majority of skaters do, but it's not new. Anyone know what happens then?

Also, what about Sasha Abt's flying spin combo in the 02 season? (He did a death drop - kind of inverted butterfly - butterfly in succession, into a sit spin.) It was very innovative for a flying spin IMO - would he get points for that?

What about moves like varying your arm positions on a jump (like the tano lutz or something)?
 
Joined
Aug 3, 2003
GUSMEROLI! Such a French name, no wonder I couldn't remember it. Just kidding. Thanks, Icenut. I liked her skating. She was a little eccentric, and I thought it made her interesting. Guess she went with water skiing.

Yeah, I have all the same questions you do about the "innovative move" thing. Guess we'll have to wait and see when and if they give "innovative move" points.
Rgirl
 

nymkfan51

Medalist
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Paula ... I just want to say thankyou. This is very informative. I like having it broken down into parts like this. I actually think I might be starting to understand it! LOL

Norma
 

gsk8

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Country
United-States
Just so it's clear, I gathered this information from various resources. I did not write it. I posted it so people can refer to it during the skating season. I will try to add more if I can. Thanks!
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
The more I look over these categories, the more it seems to me that the judges will still be able to make sure that the skaters come out in the order that they want, regardless of the details on technical elements. For instance, under the category "Skating Skills" we have the subcategories

Overall skating ability
Multi-directional skating
Speed and power
Cleanness and sureness of edges
Glide and flow
Depth and quality of edges.

In other words, whoever you think is the best skater, you give them the highest score. Since a total of 50 points can be earned in these "soft" (non-quantified) categories, the difference in these scores could overwhelm the differences in tech marks.

I'm not complaining. I think this is a good thing. Comparing Michelle's Worlds LP to Elena Sokolova's, for instance, Sokolova would rack up more technical points (a triple-triple, plus a seven triple performance), but Michelle's superior "Skating Skills" as listed above would carry the day handily. This in fact is what did happen: Sokolova got higher technical marks from the judges, while Kwan ranked higher on presentation.

By the same token Sasha could overcome a couple of technical mistakes by scoring well in the non-quantified areas of skating -- and this is equaly true whether we are talking about the CoP or the "old" technical/presentation 6.0 system.

Overall, we might not see much of a difference in the final standings. But if the ISU intends to publish the points awarded for each element to each skater, as they recently did for the Nebelhorn trophy, that is fantastic. This will give us all kinds of data to analyze, nitpick about, and grouse over after every competition, besides just the generic "we wuz robbed." I can hardly wait.

Mathman
 
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
Mathman, if you check out the Nebelhorn thread and plug into the results, there is no way you can find out who the seven(?) judges were and how exactly did they mark each skater.

While we have overall more information, we do not know the judges individual scoes which we knew in the old system. When we could then say the judge from the Kingom of Bulova is an idiot. His scores are way out of line and keep him in mind for future events.

If we take a skating skill, eg. .80 base and see Judge A gives 2.2 while Judge B gives 0.9 - Quite a difference! but we will never know that.

You've got to remember, it's Speedy's wish to keep the public from knowing too much about the individual judges. This is not a conspiracy theory, this is fact. Enough good people joined a splinter group because of it.

Joe
 
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