A WONDERFUL NEW WORLD. HOW WOMEN'S SINGLE SKATING CHANGED IN 10 YEARS
Judges became more generous with components, figure skaters with ultra-hard jumps.
The year 2020 is the start of a new decade, and at such moments in all spheres of life it is customary to take stock: what happened then and how it has become now. Match TV continues a series of articles on how the world of figure skating has changed in 2020 compared to 2010.
PRIZES
In 2019, the prize pool of women’s single skating at the World Championships was revised up to 182 thousand dollars - 40 thousand more than it was in 2010. The maximum possible reward is 64 thousand dollars instead of 45 thousand. To participate in the distribution of prize money, you need to take a place no lower than sixth, while 10 years ago athletes were supposed to win money up to 12th place inclusive.
RULES AND JUDGING
According to the structure and set of elements of the program, the demands have not changed for almost 10 years. The only difference is the sequence of spirals is now called a choreographic spiral (a spiral is an element when an athlete slides on the deep edge of the blade of one or two skates in a complex beautiful position. - “Match TV”). Perhaps, the entertainment sequence wins over the choreographic spiral - it was required to cover the entire rink, with the change of edge and without fuss due to time limitations.
For an excellently executed element in 2020, you can get premiums from judges in the amount of 50% of its base value, for poorly executed - lose up to 50% of the base value. Prior to the season 2018/2019, the limit values were + 30% and -30%.
If there was any amazing transformation in female single skating, it concerned the evaluations for the components of the program: these include blade 'ownership', connectives between the elements, performance, choreography and interpretation. Now the “sevens” in the components with the maximum “tens” are perceived as below average and even a reason for resentment at the referees, and then they were even given to the winners of the world championships. Moreover, those “sevens” were often received even by the recognized Queen of Components, Carolina Costner.
Take a concrete example. At the 2010 World Championships, the then current Olympic Champion Kim Yuna did not perform very well, but against the general background she still became a silver medalist. The components of the Korean judge were rated at 95.32 points (30.28 + 65.04).
Now these points are received by Sof'ya Samodurova, who, according to fans, is constantly held back in the second assessment, or Aleksandra Trusova, who competes her first season in the adults. To be more precise, Trusova’s components at the first adult stage of the Grand Prix (33.44 + 67.42 = 100.86 points. - “Match TV”) were higher than those that Olympic champion Kim Yuna saw in the protocols 10 years ago.
You can take an even more similar example from the recent past. At the 2018 World Championships, the current Olympic Champion Alina Zagitova brilliantly performed in the short program and fell three times in the free program. But her grades for components still tended to the "nines."
At the same time, the fact that modern figure skaters really have become richer and more diverse in components does not need proof. This is clearly striking if you watch a few videos of the 2010 model and several relevant performances one after the other. But the assessment for the components consists of four more parameters, and it cannot be said that conditionally Kihira, Shcherbakova or Medvyedeva are so much better in sliding, interpretation and choreography than the conditional Mao Asada, Kim Yuna or Rochette.
Just at some point, the estimates for the components rushed upwards, and it was impossible to stop the volcano. In fact, there is nothing wrong with the fact that athletes receive well-deserved "nine" for luxury skating runs. Nevertheless, this coin has a flip side: gaps in the components between leaders and those who lose solely in complexity, and not in the quality of the performance of elements, sometimes defy any logical explanation. The relationship of the second assessment with the assessment of the technique and belonging to a specific sports federation has become even more obvious, and this does not decorate the sport too much.
WHICH FROM THE CURRENT STARS BEGAN BACK THEN?
None of the girls participating in the 2010 World Junior Championships reached 2020 in active athlete status. None have achieved any serious results in the masters.
Literally, in 2010, all the skaters, who won all the medals of the Russian championship for the second consecutive season, began their journey into big sport. Aleksandra Trusova and Anna Shcherbakova were 5 years old then, Aluona Kostornaya - 6.
GEOPOLITICAL SITUATION
Japan's position in 2010 was as serious as it is ten years later. Starting from 2006 and ending with 2015, not a single pedestal of the World Championship was complete without singles from the Land of the Rising Sun.
This coincided with a difficult transition period in the teams of the USA and Russia, which fell out of the medal circle for at least one Olympic cycle. It always happens when big stars complete their careers - Sasha Cohen, Michelle Kwan, Irina Slutskaya.
Who took the place of Russia and America? South Korea, which at that time can be called the country of one skater, and Italy. Periodically, the federations of Finland, Canada and Switzerland joined the fight for awards (in the case of Switzerland, we are talking only about the awards of the continental championship. - “Match TV”).
The situation broke in 2014 immediately after the Sochi Olympics. The freshly baked Olympic Champion Adelina Sotnikova and the icon of Kim Yun did not participate in those world championships. Gold went to Japan again, but silver was sent to Russia by the efforts of Yuliya Lipnitskaya, and since then at least one Russian singles skater has always been among the strongest in the world. The only exception was the difficult championship immediately after Pyeongchang-2018.
In addition to Russia, Japan is clearly a strong federation. The United States and Canada would be happy to say their weighty word, but they do not have weapons - the last North Americans to fight Russian and Japanese skaters were Caitlin Osmond, who completed her career, and Gabrielle Daleman, who could not escape a series of injuries
True, the alignment may change soon. If Canada is still sad, then the United States has 14-year-old Alysa Liu, who owns quadruple jumps and a triple Axel. The reservoir is growing in South Korea.
WHAT IS NECESSARY FOR VICTORY THEN AND NOW
Over the past 20 years, one or the other single women have made periodic attempts to break in the triple Axel so that it turns from an unpredictable stallion breaking apart the remaining jumps into a workhorse for victories. In 2010, Mao Asada almost succeeded - already then she did three triple Axels in two programs.
Asada had her own Achilles' heel - her Lutz edges, which were always noted as incorrect. Perhaps that’s why she didn’t refuse the Axel - without it her content would not be enough for claims to leadership.
In 2010, no one jumped cascades of triple Lutz - triple Rittberger, which we now almost ceased to perceive as something complicated. Miki Ando performed it in a double Rittberger variation, which is certainly simpler. Lutz and flip with a Toeloop were then considered cascades of high difficulty - only a few jumped them. Most chose a set of two triple Toeloops or a double jump Lutz / Flip.
What now? Now - a brave new world. Anna Shcherbakova included two quadruple Lutz's and a quadruple Flip in the program, so her cascade of Lutz-Rittberger goes unnoticed. Aleksandra Trusova is master over the quadruple Toeloop, Lutz, Flip and Salchow, intending to learn another Rittberger and finish off the triple Axel.
Yelizaveta Tuktamysheva stably competes in tournaments with three triple Axels, learned the quadruple Toeloop and plans to master the quadruple Salchow.
The triple Axel generally ceased to be a unique leap - at least in training, at least in competitions, except for Russians, skaters from Japan, Korea and other countries jump it.
The limit of the upper level for these 10 years in women's single skating has risen higher than ever. Any of the skaters who skated cleanly at the recent Russian Championship in Krasnoyarsk would technically be stronger than those who won the main competitions at the end of the first decade of the 2000s. But in sport there is no subjunctive mood, and you will have to win the one with whom you are competing right now.
2020 was noteworthy even in the sense that for the first time in history all the Grand Prix Gold (six medals out of six plus the Gold in finals. - “Match TV”) was taken home by the students of one coach - Eteri Tutberidze. For the first time in the recent history of Russian figure skating, students from only one coach can go to the main tournaments - and moreover, they can win every single medal of the European and World Championships this season.
There is no doubt that Anna Shcherbakova, Aleksandra Trusov and Alyona Kostornaya will not stop rewriting history in the near future. The only question is how the sports world will react to such unconditional dominance. The last time it reacted by rewriting the rules - this happened after the victory of Alina Zagitova at the 2018 Olympics thanks to all the jumps performed in the bonus second half of the program.
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https://matchtv.ru/figure-skating/m..._let_izmenilos_zhenskoje_odinochnoje_katanije
