The Judging Controversy Thread | Page 112 | Golden Skate

The Judging Controversy Thread

Regarding the judges, contrary to what has been reported, 3, not 2, of the judges (US. Korean and Swedish judges) who judged the short programs were removed and were replaced by 1 Russian, 1 Ukranian and 1 Estonian judges, based on what I see on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure_skating_at_the_2014_Winter_Olympics_–_Ladies'_singles

Is this common to switch out judges?

To play's devil's advocate 12 of those were on spins which she is very good at, out of a possible 27, so I think those are fair. The problem is the 18 on the stsq and the jumps that don't add up, compared to the 10 Yuna received. Yuna's StSq was unfairly called as level 3 in both programs but she should have been receiving all +3s with the odd +2 for how well they were executed. Everyone has said that at this particular competition Adelina's jumps were very good. What doesn't make sense is Yuna's jumps being undervalued. If other's are receiving +1 and 2s for things such as more transitions into and out of jumps, then Yuna should be receiving many more +3s for the best height/flow. i couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the protocols. How on earth could they not have given +3s for her 3-3?

Number of +3s for jumps:

SP
Yuna 4
Adelina 4

LP
Yuna 7
Adelina 17
 
Adelina had arguably the most intricate program in the entire field. Each of her jump entrances were more difficult, as in fewer crossovers and more turns in both directions, than either Caro or Yuna.

Indeed, that's a single category out of five in the components scores.
 
Indeed, that's a single category out of five in the components scores.

Yes, but the program difficulty also affects CH. PE is subjective but most think it should have been high. SS should have been below Yuna and Caro but TR higher. IN is subjective and some will like it and others won't.
 
Regarding the judges, contrary to what has been reported, 3, not 2, of the judges (US. Korean and Swedish judges) who judged the short programs were removed and were replaced by 1 Russian, 1 Ukranian and 1 Estonian judges, based on what I see on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure_skating_at_the_2014_Winter_Olympics_–_Ladies'_singles

This is ridiculous: "For instance, Kim did not attempt a triple loop or a double axel, triple toe loop combination, as Sotnikova did." Someone should put in the article that Kim attempted three triple lutzes in SP/LP and Adelina only one.
 
If other's are receiving +1 and 2s for things such as more transitions into and out of jumps, then Yuna should be receiving many more +3s for the best height/flow. i couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the protocols. How on earth could they not have given +3s for her 3-3?

For better or for worse, the way the GOE guidelines are written, the guidelines instruct judges to give +1 if a jump meets two of the following bullet points, +2 if it meets four bullet points, +3 if it meets six:

1) unexpected / creative / difficult entry
2) clear recognizable steps/free skating movements immediately preceding element
3) varied position in the air / delay in rotation
4) good height and distance
5) good extension on landing / creative exit
6) good flow from entry to exit including jump combinations / sequences
7) effortless throughout
8) element matched to the musical structure

There's no official extra reward for a jump element being "very good" (or better) on height and flow to earn higher GOE than if it's just "good" in those areas. In practice, I'd guess that being better than just "good" would at least serve as a tiebreaker if there are an odd number of bullet points. But if a judge counts up the bullet points and can only come up with a maximum of four different points, even if they're all met well above the minimum, it would be bending the guidelines to give +3 instead of +2. I'm sure it does happen at times, but it's certainly a reason to stick with +2.

Also, the negative GOE guidelines give "long preparation" as a reason for reducing the GOE by -1 to -2. So even if a judge thought a jump element met all of criteria 3-8 (6 bullet points for +3) but was telegraphed (instead of just not meeting criteria 1 and 2), then the final GOE could be +2.

I don't know what the judges' thought processes were here, but there are plenty of reasons why the biggest flowiest jump might not earn the highest GOE, if the only areas where it was best were size and flow.

Untrue. They know the TES of their total before writing down PCS.

No they do not.

They do NOT know the spin and step levels.

Not only would they have to take their best guess as to the levels of those elements, they would also have to have memorized every aspect of the scale of values and all the rules that affect the computer calculations and do those calculations in their heads to figure out the TES. It is not shown to them.

to me your argument actually supports crooked judging. there's no way they can calculate exactly what she'd need - so they have to bump up everything to insure that the score will be high enough.

Yes, they could do that.

similarly, for the obviously crooked 134, things are bumped down to insure a low score - not necessarily 134.xx.

Why is it obviously crooked? Lipnitskaia's 135.34 was the averaged total taking into account all the judges, not that judge's total score for her. It's possible that the judge whose scores combined with the tech panel calls worked out to 134.xx for Kim was marking lower than the rest of the panel all along and his/her scores for Lipnitskaia were also lowest, maybe would work out to far less than 135.34.

With the scrambled protocols, we'll never know. But we can't jump to conclusions.
 
but the program difficulty also affects CH.

Adelina's CH was sloppy and gruesome. She has been criticized about it since forever. If you want to defend her scores, please stick to things she's actually good at.

For the record, I happen to really like Adelina, and picked her for bronze even before the competition ... but CH and the other components besides TR are not her strong points.

The increase in her components scores from what she has consistently received over and over and over again in her career, to 69 at Euros and nearly 75 at Olympics, nearly tying her for the highest components scores of all time, indicates that the corridor was intent on indiscriminately eliminating the PCS gap between the Russian girls and the top level skaters.
 
This is ridiculous: "For instance, Kim did not attempt a triple loop or a double axel, triple toe loop combination, as Sotnikova did." Someone should put in the article that Kim attempted three triple lutzes in SP/LP and Adelina only one.

Yuna Kim completed (not attempted) 3 3lz during the competition. Adelina completed 1 3lz e! (IMO) and I do not need to see a replay to notice that. But if you watch the replay and do not notice the edge change, then look at her knee turn in as she is jumping, that is your indication that she rolled on to the wrong edge, along with other obvious technique flaws on the lutz, placement of the free leg as the toe pick enters the ice etc...
 
This is ridiculous: "For instance, Kim did not attempt a triple loop or a double axel, triple toe loop combination, as Sotnikova did." Someone should put in the article that Kim attempted three triple lutzes in SP/LP and Adelina only one.

If you put Kim's 2A-3T next to Sotnikova's, it would put Adelina's to shame. The ISU targeted Kim with rule changes to prevent her from doing this jump combination. It's not like she's incapable of doing it 10 times better than Sotnikova on a consistent basis.
 
Why is it obviously crooked? Lipnitskaia's 135.34 was the averaged total taking into account all the judges, not that judge's total score for her. It's possible that the judge whose scores combined with the tech panel calls worked out to 134.xx for Kim was marking lower than the rest of the panel all along and his/her scores for Lipnitskaia were also lowest, maybe would work out to far less than 135.34.

With the scrambled protocols, we'll never know. But we can't jump to conclusions.

who said anything about lipnitskaia? i just meant that, i can't believe one judge genuinely believed the program deserved a 134.xx, period. no other qualifiers.
 
Number of +3s for jumps:

SP
Yuna 4
Adelina 4

LP
Yuna 7
Adelina 17

I'm confused, are you agreeing with me or disagreeing? Maybe I'm just being overly sensitive. I also said she got 17 on jumps and 1 on the StSq, which is not completely fishy until you see what Yuna received for a Level 3 StSq and then what she received on her jumps. All the judging was ridiculous here.

At least Shin Amano will be the tech panel at Worlds so levels will be called harshly/fairly.
 
1) Selective/outrageous inflation of PCS
2) Unprecedented/outrageous GOEs
3) Calculated/predetermined tech calls
4) Transparent/look-who's-here judging panel
 
why don't we just ask each judge to show us their scoring? i mean, they themselves believe they scored each skater appropriately right? nothing to hide?

(obviously, i'm not serious)
 
why don't we just ask each judge to show us their scoring? i mean, they themselves believe they scored each skater appropriately right? nothing to hide?

(obviously, i'm not serious)

Yup. It's obvious that these folks are opposed to even talking about a future reform, let alone exposing the rigging in Sochi. They want to deliberately shield the judges and scores from scrutiny. They will go any length whichever way.
 
Yup. It's obvious that these folks are opposed to even talking about a future reform, let alone exposing the rigging in Sochi. They want to deliberately shield the judges and scores from scrutiny. They will go any length whichever way.

i think someone mentioned that the first thing on the ISU's plate is doing away with anonymous judging - though, that's really all but admitting the judging in Sochi was crooked/unjustifiable
 
i think someone mentioned that the first thing on the ISU's plate is doing away with anonymous judging

No. The first thing on the ISU's plate was deleting the contact page from their website.
The second thing was deleting critical posts from their social media pages.
The third thing was telling Phil Hersh they would get back to him the next day, and then not talking to him again.
 
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