I've always wondered why judges inflate scores at some nationals. What is the point? Not much of a political boost if no one takes it seriously due to the reputation of inflation.
Not to mention ethics and professionalism...
It is not so much that the judges inflate scores at nationals but rather some posters have preconceived notions / bias about certain skaters and therefore, assumed these skaters cannot possibly deserve a score that is beyond what they perceive as a fair score within their reputation. Kevin Reynolds is ranked 12th in the world, but getting a 170+ score in the FP is in the turf of World Medalists, hence, the said posters simply ignored what he actually did and preferred to comment based on reputation.
Some fans often criticized the judges for giving marks based on reputation, I find the reverse is ironically more frequent than many realize.
Here are the facts, Kevin did some fairly amazing elements in his skate tonight :
4S, 4T, 3A+3T, 4T+3T (+2nd half bonus), 3F+3Lo (+2nd half bonus)
This kind of technical content is simply unmatched in the world at this time. I cannot recall the last time a man had 3 Quads in his LP plus two other 3/3, including a 3A and combo involving a 3Lo. Perhaps the poster who had a laugh at Reynolds' score could enlighten us of another man who had, in the past, successfully completed the above mentioned jumps within the same LP?
Now, Reynolds' score did not break any records, whether nationally or internationally and his PCS is still mostly in 7s. Suffice to say, if he can duplicate such a skate internationally, chances are his PCS will also be mostly 7s, albeit closer to mid-low 7s than mid-high 7s. Reynolds has also put in a lot of effort to improve his 2nd mark and this is by no means an overnight effort. In any event, neither of his technical or the PCS score is particularly outrageous that deserved to be labeled as a joke, which is frankly insulting to his hard work and the judges. Note that the 3rd rank free skate is only in the 130s, a very solid skate from the former World Junior Champion with 8 Triples including two 3As, is about some 40 points lower. Some would argue a LP with 8 Triples and two 3As could have well scored quite a bit higher than 137 internationally, especially from a World Junior Champion. If there is really a national inflation as some claims, then I am clearly not seeing it based on the evidences available.
Similarly, many fans earlier in the season used the same logic to dismiss Osmond's win over Suzuki at Skate Canada. They categorically denied that the young Canadian can possibly beat a World Medalist & veteran skater. Were the judges wrong too? Who were the people using reputation to dictate results as opposed to judging what was actually on ice? Sadly, some people used reputation judging a lot more often than they realize and it ain't the judges.
So please don't let the disrespectful armchair claims of one troubled poster make you doubt ethics and professionalism of the judging panel or that the results/scores are laughable.
