Hee, so how long have you been watching figure skating? Do you know what L1 step sequence even looks like? Can you tell me when edge turn happens? I'm actually curious.
You know, I don't think the decision would be rescinded, or that's what anyone - Adelina, Yuna, Caro, Mao or Gracie - would want anyway. That's not the real issue.
If scores like PCS depends on whether the audience is receptive or whether the judges like you better, why do we even need scoring points? Why don't the judges just say then: We like Julia/Adelina better so we'll give it to them. If the judges suddenly decide to award only two or three skaters with +10 points more than they used to get mere TWO MONTHS AGO just because they liked them so much better now (for whatever reason
), but without showing evidence on what exactly improved in them to increase those PCS (especially clear in Julia's performance in single -- she wasn't any better than she was at European, and yet got showered with PCS in Olympics), then how else everyone else supposed to skate?And how else other skaters supposed to know what the judges are looking for in their skates? It's always been somewhat murky, for sure, but for the last eight years, they have rewarded speed, edge turns, quality of the flow, the cleanliness of the lines. Perhaps casual viewers would not know the mechanics of PCS, but most people who have been following figure skating can tell what gets rewarded in PCS most often and what doesn't. Even with Patrick and supposed inflation, it was clear why he was being awarded PCS, fall or not - for his blade-to-ice skating skills.
Knowing that, skaters work hard on those skills, hoping they would be rewarded accordingly.
They also know musicality and choreography and even minute details like how you use your arms get rewarded for PCS. That's where Yuna gets a lot of pluses. So, they make sure their routine has precision and detailed turns, even if they may not be evident to casual viewers. Skaters know what the judges are looking for, based on how they used to be rewarded in previous years.
But during this Olympics, it all went out the window. Even counting Olympic inflation, they just inflated a few people's scores, by a huge margin. Because, what, the audience loved them? There's no credible explanation. They keep shoving down the same ******** that Yuna lost on TES, not mentioning that GOEs apparently are being rewarded on different scales, but only on certain people. And they insist that they rewarded "more beautiful skater" (their words, not mine) accordingly. Yes. By such a big point of 0.08. That's not an explanation. There's no rhythm or reason, that's why people are suspicious about judging. And if there's no collusion or whatever, then they should at least come out and be responsible for the scores they give out by at least making it clear where the difference came from. Skated from heart? Sold the program more? Okay, and how does that reflect on what the skater laid down on the skate, or how did that increase their PCS by 10? Can they actually show that with math? Or are we just supposed to guess from the audience reaction? Is that the only criteria they have for this load of BS, "skated from the heart"?
On more technical sides of things, how about flutz calls and UR called? Skaters who have been skating for a long time knows the fear of getting dinged for UR. They work for years to fix their jumps in order to above the dreaded > mark on their protocol.
And did Adelina, who's never had a non-UR calls on a couple of her jumps, never, get called on it this time? What about Julia and her flutz? Nope. Apparently they're all clean as a whistle this time in this Olympics. So, did they miraculously fix their jumps? Don't look like it, but okay, if they're going to go lenient on > generally for everyone because this is the Olympics, then I can accept it.
Guess what, they dinged Mao's jumps. TWICE. If they were going to do that to Mao, who skated probably one of the most historic free programs in history, one that would be rewatched again and again, they should've dinged everyone else the same way. But did they? The rules applied so obviously selectively. It was so incredibly blatant I can't even laugh about it.
That's why people are saying the judging was unfair to Yuna and Caro, and especially to Mao, whose program components alone should have scored her higher on any other night. Yuna and Caro's PCS may depend on fickle judges mind, I may be able to concede that, but Mao? Technical scores? C'mon. If they change the rules just for this night, how are other skaters supposed to prepare and practice and actually think they can be considered under the same rules when they're laying down their program in the future?
Obviously, the judges or ISU don't give a **** about their skaters.
I was reading a post from AVClub about the impression on ladies free skating in Sochi, and this part especially got to me:
So you know what? Whoever deemed FS as the Hunger Games was perfectly appropriate. They can randomly change the rules on you for whatever reason at the last possible minutes for the Olympics for their own benefit, never fair to the players, and it's perfectly acceptable because instead of making the rules clear to the skaters, they're spinning the media to blame Yuna for not jumping another triple, as if that was the only factor, nevermind that it was never a problem for her to get ~148 just last year with the same routine. Nevermind that just that very same night, Caro landed 7 and Mao landed 8, and that had no effect on the outcome whatsoever.
They bend the rules for their own benefit. No, they broke it, and told the skaters they will break it whenever they want, however they want, despite their insistence CoP is designed to avoid just that.
And the skaters obviously know it. It's just us fans getting upset. So that manifesto is right. The real competition to Yuna, Caro or Mao wasn't another young Russian upstart who outscores them (not outskate them, mind you). "It's with something nameless, much larger, and much more threatening than another woman looking for gold."
I'm only saying this because when you are comparing seven triple skate, you have to consider 2As too. If you want to compare Sotnikova's seven triple skate, Gracie Gold's one is much more suitable
