Is the "jump" the most difficult element?

[SeaniBu]

OH, thanks for that info dlarry. Let's hope this scoring is something still being "figured out.":agree:

 

[Ladskater]

It depends on the skater. Some skaters are natural jumpers and jumping comes easy while others have to really work at jumping but are better at spinning and moves in the field. Some skaters are excellent at both spinning and jumping while others are only good at jumping and not so good at spinning. Many of the Chinese pair teams struggle with spinning. They put a lot of emphasis on their lifts and throw moves while their finer moves suffer. It took Shen and Zhao quite a long time to improve their pair spins.

Jumping has always taken the emphasis of free skating because it is difficult. It adds difficulty to the program making it more of a competition between the skaters.