What has changed for the better in figure skating?

[frompolandwithlove]

Hi, I have a question for long-term fans of the sport. I know many of US here have been following the sport for decades. We often talk about what skating was like back then. We wonder what's missing from modern skating. We reminisce about our favorite skaters and favorite shows and programu from the past.
But here's the thing - as a relatively new fan, I can't objectively compare skating from different eras. I don't yet feel nostalgic for the "old days" (Ok, this is kind of a lie, I am nostalgic for old competition format), but those who have been watching skating since childhood certainly have comparisons. I know complaining is fun, but... well, I've lost my enthusiasm, I'm worried about how the next season will turn out and what the future will bring for my favorite sport, and I desperately need some optimism.

So, what has changed for the better in figure skating for the past 10-20-30 years?

 

[yfan1]

If you want to talk about the past 30 years, I'd say that the CoP was a positive change to the judging, because

1. It meant that judge voting in order to get the 'right' result - which often resulted in weird switching of results - vanished, and all the judges needed to do now was go element by element. Also, another thing this fixed was that now theoretically someone in 10th place could go and win, which was nigh on impossible in 6.0

2. The early CoP encouraged better programs, because transitions were incentivized. This sounds odd, but there were many many empty programs. The footwork being forced to plain have more content was good too. Spin positions people complain about, but frankly I think it's a good thing that flexibility was encouraged.

Another good thing in the last 30 years is the technical innovation. Michelle Kwan's COE spiral, women going for 6-7 triple programs, men going for huge quads - all were good things.

I would also say some of the very best programs and performances happened in the 90s and 2000s-early 2010s. I definitely wasn't a fan of the pre-1990s skating all that much. One thing I *will* say, is that even if we take into account the less than ideal skating posture nowadays, the skaters seem to pay attention to dance training more and the best are very good performers, better than the average performer of the 90s or 00s.

Some of the best ever artists (Yuna Kim, Sui/Han, Mao Asada, Lambiel, Takahashi, Hanyu) are relatively recent skaters, not of the olden days. People can say 6.0 had freer performances, sure, but I think these skaters lay on the very best intersection of 6.0 and CoP, and ended up doing great tech content in addition to excellent artistry.

Even up until recently, we had skaters with huge flowing jumps, like Kolyada, Boyang, Han Yan, among others. Women like Karen Chen and Alena Kostornaia were beautiful skaters in a dying women's field.

It's not all bad. It's more that the judging lets things get away that it shouldn't (and yes, some rules and guidelines can be better too). And one can argue judging has always been bad...