The temptation is to say, "This is a sport. You get so many points for a triple Lutz. Period. Any wishy-washy fooling around with, 'oh that's pretty' is irrelevant and has no place in an athletic competition.
I'm not exactly sure of what you are arguing here in relation to the ISU constantly and ineffectively tweaking PCS. As I said in my previous post, figure skating is both art and sport, which needs to be understood, acknowledged, and fully embraced. Yes, a skillfully executed triple lutz has a certain point value. The GOE should be based on how proficiently executed, not on how pretty it looks. Each skater has a different physicality and movement style, but do they have good posture, stretch, good height, proper entry and exit on the jump, the right blade control and positioning? Those are the technical aspects related to sport.
The aesthetic aspects related to performance execution involve choreography, fluidity, expressing the musical nuances and telling a story. The right music, cut effectively matters and makes a huge difference. Then, it is the seamless quality of how a properly executed jump or technical element in pairs and ice dance meld with the music & choreo, and with the athlete's/ duo's musicality and expressiveness in telling a story. IMO, the judging system doesn't truly take the importance of this unity between art and sport into account nor accurately reward how effectively music, choreo, and costume suit and support well-conceived and well-executed performances. This fault in the judging system is perhaps, in part, due to relying on the excuse that art is subjective and judged via individual tastes.
Why not take away the 'subjectivity' excuse and actually place judges on the panel who possess a deep understanding of performance quality (theater, dance, costume, music/ musicality) and movement quality (physicality and body mechanics). Such judges do not need to have a background in figure skating, but should ultimately gain a full understanding of the sport. I think having judges who know the origins and dynamics of performance, music, costume, and movement quality, would be very helpful in reframing and improving figure skating judging.
Honestly, figure skating judging has been faulty and complicated from the sport's beginnings. Again, this is why the history and evolution of the sport should be adequately studied and understood by all decisionmakers before attempting to make viable improvements to the rules. Above all, the ISU, in my not so humble opinion, need to stop making and changing rules based chiefly on the needs of broadcasters, timing concerns, cliquey federation power plays, etc. Yes, the sport/art of figure skating is complicated, but by overlooking the history, by not breaking everything down to basics, by not operating inclusively, and by not fully understanding all aspects of figure skating, the sport's handlers end up making rules and how the sport is run even more messy, complicated, and misunderstood.
I acknowledge that there are some caring members of the ISU who are trying, but too often misguidedly. In any case, it will take a full consensus of sincere, dedicated individuals, community efforts and expertise to advance beneficial change. I don't expect to see true progress in my lifetime. For sure, it will take years, inclusivity, passionate determination, full commitment, and attuned, grounded understanding to truly begin to repair the sport's unique challenges. The alternative is continuing the status quo conflicts of interest, blind leading the blind, refusal to listen to skaters, and the shoulder-shrugging, going along to get along approach, which sadly has at its core figure skating revenue inequitably distributed to figure skating while more fully allocated to and benefiting a completely different sport. 🕳
