Further, I would prefer to teach the public starting with a positive rather than a negative.
Absolutely.
Talking about the performance aspects of step sequences and choreo sequences (and how that affects GOE and PCS is good. I'd love to hear more about that. Of course these aspects are more subjective, and fans can have their own opinions about how well a skater interpreted music, for example, that might be just as valid as most judges'.
I'd also like to see educational snippets about what is being rewarded technically in the skating content of the step sequences. Point out that skaters earn higher levels by rotating in both directions and by using whole body movement (this does already happen occasionally and can be said during the step sequence itself). We also occasionally hear a quick comment to the effect that tech panels and judges are looking at "what the skaters are doing with their blades" or that the skaters get credit for "difficult turns" but without any detail.
I definitely don't want detail during the performance itself. Stop talking and let me listen to the music and appreciate how the skater uses their skating skills and body movements to interpret it.
But for events, especially live events, where there will be down time before and between skating groups, if broadcasters are going to make little 30-second or 1-minute features on how to tell jump takeoffs apart, they could also make little features on the different kinds of turns.
New viewers aren't going to get much from an explanation of the difference between a three turn and a bracket, except perhaps to get it on their mental radar that there are different ways of turning around on one foot and some of them are harder than others. And even that is valuable knowledge compared to assuming that how skaters get from one element to the next, or what they do with their blades while performing to the music in a leveled step sequence, is irrelevant.
But more experienced viewers her already know how to tell one jump from another and recognize errors on jump takeoffs and landings can also learn to recognize different turns.
By all means it's better to focus on helping viewers learn to recognize the different turns, not to focus on what skaters did wrong . . . which would be like nitpicking a skater's edge change on a lutz or flip for viewers who don't even understand the difference between lutzes and axels.
For ice dance, on the other hand, these fine details often do make a difference. Commentators sometimes do show replays of twizzle sequences where one of the partners had a subtle error that resulted in a lower level/base value and GOE.
So keep doing that. Also do it for the one-foot sequences in the free dance, the required pattern key points in the (junior) rhythm danceor the step sequence if an otherwise strong team makes an uncharacteristic error that loses them levels and maybe a medal, if the error was obvious to the officials and the commentator but probably not noticed by most fans, unless it's pointed out.
How many people do quads at the end of the program, if you don't mind my asking? What's the reason for that?
People who are attempting six quads. And even then, not at the very end, just after the halfway point.
Why? Because while both quads and aggressively skated level 4 step sequences are highly demanding both technically and athletically/aerobically, quads are much less forgiving of any minor technical errors.
If a tired skater makes a mistake on a difficult turn in a step sequence, must times they can just put the other foot down early and the casual viewer won't even notice a problem. Maybe there will be a visible stumble, or at worst a fall from a small to moderate distance depending what the skater doing at the time.
With quads, at worst a skater will fall from a significant height at high speed. Aside from loss of points, which would be greater under the current scoring, there's also a much greater risk of injury.
In a sport like ID, where there is nothing but basic skating, spinning, and lifting, they don't seem too tired, and they can keep doing those elements wherever. What's the reason for that?
There are a few posters here who have competed in ice dance. I'll defer to their experience about how tiring an ice dance program can be.
But I will reiterate that it's often easier to save a mistake on most ice dance moves by just putting the other foot down, which is not always an option when attempting to land a jump.
(You will typically see more two-footed jumps later in programs, except insofar as skaters might put the jumps they're less consistent with earlier in the program because they're already concerned about failing the jump even on fresh legs.)
Increasing step sequence value - in a sport where already high GOE and full levels are awarded to those with reputation,
If you don't know much about how step sequence values are determined, how are you in a position to conclude that the high values and full levels are being rewarded based on reputation rather than based on qualities of skating that you may choose not to learn about (and that are much harder to appreciate on video than live)?
and where poor basic skating is overscored to high heaven (forget Malinin, look at Grassl), would be the worst decision, and turn singles and pairs into ID.
Giving more rewards to difficult and high-quality blade-to-ice skating would be continuing the tradition of what was always rewarded in
singles free skating throughout the figures era but lost some importance in the 1990s/early 2000s, when figures were gone and younger skaters often lacked those skills, but jump difficulty was becoming more and more important.
The introduction of leveled step sequences in singles and pairs was always intended as a way to promote basic skating skills in the free skating context, to force skaters to develop fundamental skills that many had not bothered with in the
What exactly is the point of having four separate disciplines after that?
Ice dancers don't do multirotational jumps (or complex singles spins, or overhead lifts and other characteristic pair moves).
The point of encouraging skaters in disciplines that do include those elements ALSO to demonstrate difficult and high-quality skating skills honors the fundamental values of singles free skating dating back longer than the existence of ice dance as a competitive discipline and encourages a well-rounded skill set, not just acrobatic elements connected by the simplest possible stroking from one element to the next.
What distinguishes ice dance from other disciplines is the emphasis on skating in time with the rhythm of the music at all times, and remaining in physical contact with the partner at all times with the exception of a few kinds of side-by-side elements such as twizzles.
Of course in solo ice dance (newly an international but not yet a championship-level discipline) there's no partnering. But still, there are differences between what's expected in solo dance vs. singles skating. The absence or presence of rotational jumps is only the most obvious.
She still does classes with the IOC, and advises Korean skaters. She was present in the stands at PyeongChang. She awarded medals at 4CC 2020.
not letting themselves be carried away by internal conflicts, power fights and other shenanigans of no importance to the general public. It is the same with Yuzuru, they follow his post-competitive career closely and lovingly, note all his shows, write reviews and lots of articles. They also used Yuzuru's image to promote Milano Cortina since the very launching of the MC promo. In fact, it was Yuzuru that was the "face" of MC's website official figure skating section launch. That's right, they are separate organisations and I think ISU and IOC have their own differences between them. Plus the local federation and the way they are able to shape their relations with their greatest former stars (or not) matters heavily, too, I guess. JSF is a part of ISU structure, while it is JOC that translates to IOC.
