Bev Smith's article "New judging system comes under fire"

[Kuchana]

Yet another scathing article on the ISU.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...TE05/TPSports/

The highlights:

If the ISU had saved all the money it spent on the new judging system and instead directed it toward educating judges and suspending corrupt or incompetent judges, the complex new system would have been unnecessary, some said.

"People [in the ISU] weren't prepared to do that," one judge said. "It wasn't going to be supported, because [ISU president Ottavio] Cinquanta wanted a big splash."

Last November, French coach Muriel Zazoui discovered that a result cannot be changed even if technical controllers or specialists incorrectly assess an element or assign it the wrong level of difficulty. According to Canadian Ted Barton, who helped develop the new system, the assessment is a field-of-play call and sports arbitrators do not interfere with decisions made during a sporting event.

On Jan. 21, in a statement released three days before the European championships, the ISU took the idea a step further and said it will not allow an appeal of incorrect levels of difficulty.

Mistakes are bad enough, but the ISU's new system leaves an opening for corrupt officials to make whatever assessment they wish, and get away with it. They can decide what they like and no questions are allowed.

An ISU committee may decide later if the controller failed to do the job properly, but the damage would be done. Skaters could suffer, especially when an Olympic gold medal is on the line.

Sounds like the ISU is covering its tracks... :sheesh:

[Joesitz]

And that article is quoting Europeans as being disgusted with the way Speedy is handling this.

Can you imagine a crooked judge deliberately putting down a score he knows is wrong but he also knows it can not be changed.

This Olys, if not corrected is going to see the rise of a stronger WFS.

Joe

[Kuchana]

Exactly Joe. It's not just Westerners voicing dissatisfaction with the new system but Europeans as well and some people evidently fail to realize that or take it into consideration. There are problems with the new system and you don't have to be a biased person to realize that.

I'm very fearful of another scandal in Turino...some may scoff at my thinking and dismiss it as being paranoid or what not but I think it's clearly possible. I also think at this rate with the new system still being worked out with the problems already especially in light of Turino rolling around the corner, the identity of the judges' hidden, and now this with the ISU ruling that you can't even challenge the judges' decision, things are going to run amuck and it will give the corrupt judges (not all of them) plenty of ample opportunity to abuse the system more than they have already. Oh and what are going to be the repurcussions I wonder from it if it does??? Is the ISU going to turn its shoulder yet again if it does? I wouldn't doubt it.