New Judging System - End of Year Update

For immediate release:

The ISU has successfully tested the New Judging System for Figure Skating and Ice Dancing at the 2003 Nebelhorn Trophy and the 2003 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series and Final.

The events ran smoothly and were enjoyed by many thousands of spectators, as well as by a large television audience. There seemed to be a significant improvement especially in the quality of footwork, spins and lifts as the series progressed, because skaters recognized that the hard work required to improve their performances would be rewarded in higher point scores. The competition results were widely regarded as an accurate reflection of the skaters’ performances within the framework of the rules.

Positive Comments
Many skaters and coaches made positive comments about the New Judging System during the season. Here are some examples:

Elena Liashenko (UKR) at Cup of China:
“Skating first in the first group, I never would have thought that I could win the event. Today, the new judging system was great for me. Under the old system, it would have been highly unlikely for me to move up to first. With this new system, more athletes have a chance to win.”

Tanith Belbin / Benjamin Agosto (USA) at Skate America:
“It is very helpful for all the athletes. You get a sheet showing all the judges’ marks for all your elements, your programs, and your levels (of difficulty). You get direct, immediate feedback as to what you need to work on or what your strengths are.”

Doug Leigh, coach of Takeshi Honda (JPN) in October 2003:
"I'd never go back to the old way. We can work with this one, and improve it if we need to. It is, by far, a better system, and gives so much more control to the athlete to decide where he finishes. All you have to do is do your job."

Grand Prix Final Men’s Event:
Evgeni Plushenko produced two fine performances at the Grand Prix Final. However, he included a third jump combination in his free skating, although only two jump combinations are awarded credit in order to ensure a balanced program. Therefore he did not gain points for the third jump combination and the included jumps, which he could not repeat (e.g. Triple Axel). He also omitted a planned jump at the end of the program, which would have earned more points. Plushenko finished in second place, 3.1 points behind Emanuel Sandhu (CAN), who skated extremely well to win the gold medal.

Alexei Mishin, coach of Evgeni Plushenko (RUS):
“He did three combinations. He wanted to do the second quad with the loop, and I said, go ahead. But he forgot not to do the Axel in combination.”

2003/4 ISU Grand Prix Winners
Discipline / Name / Country / Score
Ladies Fumie Suguri JPN 182.08
Men Emanuel Sandhu CAN 228.29
Pairs Xue Shen / Hongbo Zhao CHN 196.08
Ice Dancing Tatiana Navka / Roman Kostomarov RUS 175.91*

* The Ice Dancing competition at the Grand Prix Final did not include a Compulsory Dance segment, only the Original and Free Dances.

Highest Total Scores Achieved During the 2003 Grand Prix of Figure Skating and Final

Discipline / Name / Country / Score
Ladies MasterCard Skate Canada Sasha Cohen USA 197.60
Men Trophée Lalique Evgeni Plushenko RUS 234.29
Pairs Grand Prix Final Xue Shen / Hongbo Zhao CHN 196.08
Ice Dancing Cup of Russia Tatiana Navka / Roman Kostomarov RUS 225.79 + 183.39 *
+ Including the Compulsory Dance segment.
* Excluding the Compulsory Dance, for comparison with the Grand Prix Final score.

About the New Judging System
The New Judging System, which was developed following a decision of the ISU Congress in June 2002, is a revolutionary step forward in the judging of figure skating. Skaters receive points for each element of their program according to an agreed scale. Points are added or subtracted based on ssessment by judges of the quality of execution of each element, according to strict criteria. At the end f the program judges also give five marks for presentational aspects of the performance, such as iterpretation of the music. Scores for each of a skater’s programs are added and the highest score wins.

Full details of the New Judging System are available on the ISU website – www.isu.org. See in particular Communications 1207 and 1224 about the point scores and Communication 1238 about assessment of judges.

Thanks, Paula. I love the COP, although I think it definitiely needs some changes. I won't go into them here, but one thing I think the ISU did right (the ISU did something right?!) was to test the COP on Nebelhorn and the GP series and final, where the results do not affect the skaters' standings re each country's Nats, Euros, 4C, and Worlds. For this last three, the ordinal system will be used.

Although I prefer the COP, I don't think it's refined enough to be used at Nats, Euros 4C. and Worlds. At least for this season, I think it's the proper way to go. It gives those who are evaluating the COP a chance to see where it worked and where it didn't in real competition. I'm not saying the GP series isn't important--it certainlly is to the skaters--but it's not as important in the record books and overall scheme of things as Nats, Euros, 4C, and Worlds.

I do think the COP will be ratified by the ISU for next season. Although I know many people still don't like it or don't understand it, I think it's a postive move forward for skating.
Rgirl

Thanks Paula. My sense was that the COP was a big improvement, and comments from skaters and coaches throughout the season so far seem to indicate that most agree. I have really been enjoying seeing good performances rewarded, and seeing skaters who are 4th or 5th after the short being able to move up to first after a great long. I also like seeing emphasis placed on balanced programs, including spins, footwork, edge quality and stroking, etc. into the mix, rather than just counting quads and triple/triple combos. I look forward to seeing the COP fine tuned, but I am sure they are on the right track.

Now if only they would eliminate the anonimity factor for the judges, and I would be a very happy camper indeed. But of course, this is the subject of other already established threads.

I agree with you Rgirl ... I like the COP alot, but do recognize that it isn't a perfect system ... and will need some adjustments made.
I think using it for the GP was an excellent idea. I have no doubt it will be voted in permanently ... I just hope they make the effort to work on the problems.

I also think it will be well received once people get used to it. IMO, if it's tweaked properly, it will be better than the current system.

I'm with RGirl. the CoP is fine but it does need some serious discussions and resolutions which will make it an excellent scoring system.

Joe

I think it would be very interesting if BOTH systems were used this year at 4CC, Euros and Worlds. They could use the 6.0 system for official results, but if they had a separate panel scoring with COP it would be very interesting to see the results and how the 2 compare.

i like this system a bit more... however, it does need a good tweaking and adjustments.