- Joined
- Jun 21, 2003
In the men’s event at U.S. nationals, Lysacek and Weir exactly tied, with Lysacek winning the title on a tie breaker. Analysis of the scores by Dr. George Rossano revealed a peculiarity in the way the last decimal place is computed. The tricky point was this.
In the men’s LP, the program component scores are rounded to two decimal places and multiplied by two. The factor of two is used in order to bring the total PCSs up to a level comparable to the TESs, so that the scoring is balanced between the technical elements and the program components.
But the question is, should we round first and then multiply by two, or should we multiply by two first and then round.
Here are Lysacek’s program component scores, computed by both methods.
Round first, then multiply by 2:
7.79X2 + 7.50X2 + 8.07X2 + 7.86X2 + 8.14X2
= 15.58 + 15.00 + 16.14 + 15.72 + 16.28 = 78.72. This was Evan’s actual score.
Multiply by 2 first, then round
7.786X2 + 7.5000X2 + 8.071X2 + 7.857X2 + 8.143X2
= 15.57 + 15.00 + 16.14 + 15.71 + 16.29 = 78.71. Johnny wins the championship!
The language in the ISU rules was unclear as to which method was intended. It looked like the ISU was not following its own rules. Which might have cost Weir the gold medal.
At the ISU Congress over the summer they addressed this by putting new language into the rules
http://www.isu.org/vsite/vfile/page/fileurl/0,11040,4844-191592-208815-140518-0-file,00.pdf
The underlined part are new words added this year. This makes it clear that the intention is to round first before adding and before applying the factor of two.
Here is another interesting rule change – one of greater substance. It says that GOEs no longer get an extra bonus after the halfway mark, only base scores.
This means that, for instance, if you do a triple Lutz after the halfway mark and get a +1 GOE, under last year’s rules your score would be (6.00+1.00)X1.10 = 7.70. Under the new rules your score will be 6.00X1.10 + 1.00 = 7.60.
On the other hand, if you get an edge call and a subsequent negative GOE, the penalty will be slightly less.
Will this change cause skaters to plan their jump layout differently, or is it just a minor bookkeeping thing?
Will it embolden skaters to put more difficult jumps in the second half of the program, by reducing the penalty for sloppy landings, etc. Or is the point difference too small to pay any attention to?
In the men’s LP, the program component scores are rounded to two decimal places and multiplied by two. The factor of two is used in order to bring the total PCSs up to a level comparable to the TESs, so that the scoring is balanced between the technical elements and the program components.
But the question is, should we round first and then multiply by two, or should we multiply by two first and then round.
Here are Lysacek’s program component scores, computed by both methods.
Round first, then multiply by 2:
7.79X2 + 7.50X2 + 8.07X2 + 7.86X2 + 8.14X2
= 15.58 + 15.00 + 16.14 + 15.72 + 16.28 = 78.72. This was Evan’s actual score.
Multiply by 2 first, then round
7.786X2 + 7.5000X2 + 8.071X2 + 7.857X2 + 8.143X2
= 15.57 + 15.00 + 16.14 + 15.71 + 16.29 = 78.71. Johnny wins the championship!
The language in the ISU rules was unclear as to which method was intended. It looked like the ISU was not following its own rules. Which might have cost Weir the gold medal.
At the ISU Congress over the summer they addressed this by putting new language into the rules
http://www.isu.org/vsite/vfile/page/fileurl/0,11040,4844-191592-208815-140518-0-file,00.pdf
l) The trimmed mean of each Program Component Score is rounded to two decimal places,...
The underlined part are new words added this year. This makes it clear that the intention is to round first before adding and before applying the factor of two.
Here is another interesting rule change – one of greater substance. It says that GOEs no longer get an extra bonus after the halfway mark, only base scores.
vi) In the Free Skating of Single Skating the base values (but not the GOE’s) for all jump elements started in the second half of the program will be multiplied by a special factor 1.1 in order to give credit for even distribution of difficulties in the program. In Pair Skating the base value (but not the GOE’s) for all throw jumps, jump elements, lifts and twist lifts, started in the second half of the program will be multiplied by a special factor 1.1. started in the second half of the program will be multiplied by a special factor 1.1.
This means that, for instance, if you do a triple Lutz after the halfway mark and get a +1 GOE, under last year’s rules your score would be (6.00+1.00)X1.10 = 7.70. Under the new rules your score will be 6.00X1.10 + 1.00 = 7.60.
On the other hand, if you get an edge call and a subsequent negative GOE, the penalty will be slightly less.
Will this change cause skaters to plan their jump layout differently, or is it just a minor bookkeeping thing?
Will it embolden skaters to put more difficult jumps in the second half of the program, by reducing the penalty for sloppy landings, etc. Or is the point difference too small to pay any attention to?
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