- Joined
- Dec 9, 2017
Pairs' PCS and size difference
Mathman said this in another thread:
Has anyone noticed such a trend? I do feel there's a bias amongst viewers a little, because I've seen posts calling Zhang Hao "lumbering", for instance, and Yu and Savchenko being called solo pairs. Maybe it's for some other reason, though.
Mathman said this in another thread:
I have always wondered if the judges have a dislike for "gorilla and flea" pairs teams and, perhaps subconsciously, give lower PCSs. Here is what Wikipedia says about the team of Marina Cherkasova and Sergei Shakhral, 1980 world champions.
Cherkasova was 12 when the pair captured the bronze at their first European Championship in 1977. Their height difference [she was 138 cm (4 feet 6 inches), he was 173 cm (5 feet 8 in) facilitated innovation in twist and lift elements; they became the first pair to perform the split quadruple twist in 1978. Later, the judging standards were changed to value physical harmony between the partners, which handicapped Cherkasova and her partner.
They won the European title in 1979. By 1980 Cherkasova had grown 20 cm. The change affected their technical elements, however, the pair managed to win silver at 1980 Europeans, silver at the 1980 Olympics, and gold at Worlds. ...
Shakhrai's problems lifting his now 45 kg partner eventually resulted in them splitting up. By 1981, Cherkasova had grown so tall that Shakhrai could no longer effectively lift her. ...
Has anyone noticed such a trend? I do feel there's a bias amongst viewers a little, because I've seen posts calling Zhang Hao "lumbering", for instance, and Yu and Savchenko being called solo pairs. Maybe it's for some other reason, though.