I think I'm officially over the choreo elements in the FD. The criteria are too vague, the scoring is inherently subjective, a lot of the teams end up doing similar elements that don't even match the music, and they have far too big of a point maximum relative to the other leveled elements. I hope the ISU revisits the FD element rules during the next Congress and perhaps introduces new leveled elements that incorporate a pattern dance, compulsories, or other classic dance material. Jean-Luc Baker said on the practice stream yesterday that he feels we are losing some of the nature of ice dance, and I have to agree, as much as I hate to be doom and gloom-y. I understand that the ISU is trying to create moments that go viral, and in rare instances like with Smart/Dieck, it works really well in creating these epic, impactful programs, but these programs are so similar and I think fans and skaters are getting really confused and upset by the scoring for good reason. It's a lot easier to understand that you hopped a turn and dropped a level than to understand why you only got +2 on a choreo element.
