Artistry in a program that's performed at it's best will always have a set mark. But technical ability in a program can always go up or down depending on how much base value a skater chooses to incorporate or not incorporate, and of course how well that difficulty is executed.
The technical mark and "second mark" are supposed to be roughly equal in weight. It's what the sport has operated on and what it should continue to operate on, as without performance and artistry, it loses most appeal. The second mark didn't suddenly become less valuable as more and more Triples got added to programs in the 90's; it remained equally as important despite the level of content rising.
Over time, as tech content has evolved, people have learned to do formerly "very difficult" jumps more consistently. For example, doing a 3Toe+3Toe now is not the same amount of difficulty as it was in the early 80's. Back then it would put you on a whole other level in the technical mark, these days not really. A skater who could win via that technical advantage despite being a mark lower artistically, would not win on it now, as the PCS can easily outvalue the difference. If looked at through only a modern lens, the more artistic skater back then would deserve to win, because the relative amount of technical content isn't a big difference based on current standard. For that time though, it
was a big difference.
While artistry itself may not increase in the way that tech content does, it needs to be credited with equal weight to what the technical playing field is, because it will ALWAYS remain difficult and worthwhile to give a great and creative performance, and we want the competitors to always give serious attention to that aspect of their skating. A program without tech content will not win regardless of the artistic score being increased anyway - Janet Lynn for example, as beautiful as some of her programs may have been and deserve high PCS, would still not get enough points compared to an "adequately artistic" 7-Triple program.
Although, artistry itself can increase too. People can keep reaching new levels of expression and musicality and choreographic crispness. What might have been a "10" for artistry in one era, may not be the same in a later era. This can somewhat be accounted for already by the sliding scale on which PCS are judged, but there's also merit to the PCS itself deserving more points as the sport progresses. Sadly, the sport has not been progressing artistically in recent times for singles skating, but that's a separate issue.
And it's been mentioned again and again: if PCS was brought higher in scale it would only create a greater discrepancy between skaters like Hanyu and Chen and the rest of the pack and "save" top-tier skaters who have poor performances
No that isn't what it would do, if there was good judging. With actual meaningful separation by the judges, and thoughtful assessment of what is being performed, it would push skaters to grow in this area. Lower-tier skaters who have strong artistry would get rewarded for it and be able to pull up in the standings. It would have been the difference in who gets a medal between Matteo Rizzo and Kevin Aymoz at Europeans this year, for example. Most people thought Kevin deserved it on the basis of his superior artistry, and the judges scored him a decent amount higher there, but in the end it didn't give enough points to matter in comparison to the small technical advantage Rizzo had.
Frankly, I'm thrilled that a skater like Jin or Zhou can make it onto the World podium by having much greater tech content, instead of waiting for the judges to give them PCS that allows for it.
Well first of all, Zhou already did receive very high PCS at these past Worlds. Secondly, having greater technical content has always been a way to push ahead, and would continue to be, regardless of PCS scaling getting changed. The amount of tech content you need just depends on exactly how much your PCS is lacking. It's supposed to be a balance.
Just because Brown isn't doing quads or seems close to getting one doesn't mean the PCS scale should be raised to give him more of a fighting chance.
It's not about giving him specifically more of a fighting chance. It's about rewarding the qualities in skating that should always be worth a lot. Look at how few skaters have come up in their career by focusing on the exquisite qualities Jason Brown has, in comparison to the countless people who have instead focused on jumps.
But my point was that is very very important to compete and win as many ISU events prior to the bigest competition of the year... Because of that you will have the privilege to skate in a group which is per se known as the one with higher scoring potential... The starting position is very important in all the ISU competitions (and not just your position prior to the free skate, but also your position prior to the short program), thats just the way it is...
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