I wonder if it wouldn't be a good idea to have a different scoring system for men's skating than for women's.
Let me get at this a different way. I think that the ladies' discipline is the one that is hardest hit by the current judging system. My fear is that women's skating will become "men's skating by skaters who can't skate as well as men." This does not apply just to quads and triple Axels. Lutz edges and complete rotations on triples, speed and power, even -- it seems -- quickness of feet, all favor the men's side.
By "pretty skating" I mean the part about smooth flow across the ice on deep and secure edges, spirals with excellent amplitude and extension in addition to below-the-ankles skills, spins and moves in the field that highlight the phrasing of the music and acknowledge the esthetics of the sport.
Good. We're getting closer to being on the same page now.
To me, the word "pretty" often sounds as though it's being used to belittle feminine qualities and to put the focus on appearance for women and on deeds for men. That's why I would prefer to refer to "beautiful skating" or "beautiful edges" if we want the focus to be on skills, on what the skater does, rather than what she looks like.
The beauty of the skating is not something specific to female bodies -- men can also achieve beautiful edges, beautiful body line, etc., and IMO should be rewarded for it.
Between 1989 and 2010, the short program rules and in some years the long program rules as well required women to show several flexibility-related skills (laybacks and spiral sequences) that many men would have difficulty with. So already the rules of the sport are different between the sexes at the highest levels. (I've just come from an adult competition where both women and men at the higher levels have a choice between step sequence or spiral sequence -- the rules are less sex-differentiated for adults, but the competitions are still divided by sex, and sometimes by age, for more meaningful comparisons.)
For all divisions -- senior, junior, novice, no-test, adult, male, female, 6.0, IJS, whatever -- smooth flow across the ice on deep and secure edges is probably the single most important quality that is rewarded. I don't think we should minimize the importance of security on edges by making it worth less than the tricks in men's skating or by referring to it as "looking pretty" as if it's more about appearance than about skating skills.
Already there are different rules about required elements, program lengths, and component factors for men vs. women. Some of those I'd like to see made more consistent between sexes, but there's certainly room to discuss areas where they should remain different or become more different to reflect differences in the way males vs. females are physically capable of practicing the sport. I don't think that making adjustments requires a completely different approach to scoring.
For example, I would recommend giving women the same amount of time as men, the same number of total elements (of which the additional one need not be another jump), and raising PCS factor to be the same as men's. If, as to be expected, the women's jump content remains easier, then the percentage of women's total score represented by PCS would be larger than under the current weighting. That might achieve the effect that you're looking for. But the women who make the best use of those PCS would do so by refining their skating skills at least as much as their above-the-blade presentation skills.
And both men or women who can use refined skating skills -- deep secure edges, strong body line and extension, full use of the whole body in non-neutral positions that successfully challenge that edge security, etc. -- should also be rewarded for doing those things well, because ultimately those things are more fundamental to "good skating" and "a good performance" than the outcome of a couple of risk elements or the exact difficulty of the risks attempted.
That's why there were usually only 2 (or maybe 3) contenders for the top spot at major competitions. Look at the two-person rivaries that persisted for years - Boitano/Orser, Browning/Petrenko, etc. Today there are many skaters who can medal at major competitions, suggesting a much more level playing field. Top skaters with track records still receive some advantage, but not as much as under 6.0.
None of this is a unique opinion any longer, even the media and commentators especialy non Canadian ones have pointed it out quite often in the last year now.
