Why do people think home crowds

[Grgranny]

make a difference in scores. In other words, I am always hearing they were judged better because of the home crowd. I never have understood that as the judges are all from different countries.

 

[Skate Sandee]

Because judges are human. And the prevailing thought is that with the more enthusiastic cheering from a home crowd for a hometown skater, it might unconsciously nudge an extra point or two out of the judges. If a skater skated the exact same program the same way - one in their hometown and one in another country - emotion can sometimes sway a judge without them even knowing it.

I actually don't think it's results in a huge inflation of points. Just a tenth here and there. It's like when a teacher is trying to decide whether to give a student a B or B- on a project. They may be swayed by things completely unrelated to the project (like effort in other parts of the class, respect shown to the teacher, etc).

 

[icenut84]

I think it's more to do with the difference made to a skater's individual performance - an enthusiastic reception and support may help them to perform better. (Or it may give them more pressure - it can work both ways). Also, if a skater gets a huge ovation for their performance, it may be viewed in a slightly better light than a skater (a competitor from a different country) who gets a more subdued reception. The judges are used to this and likely try to ignore it, but they are only human and are probably bound to be affected on some level.

 

[skatepixie]

also....the cheers can help the skater perform better. Its encouraging. Its huge in local events, in my area at least, all the skaters from our rinks club get TONS of cheers and the other skaters, well, get like nothing but polite clapping. The energy of the crowd helps the skater. Our club isnt all that highly ranked, but they end up doing well at our events because they skate cleaner and i think that the home crowd cheering has something to do with it.

 

[BronzeisGolden]

My view is that it has always pushed a skater's performance ever higher, and in turn, the marks. Prime examples that I can recall: Yuka Sato at the 1994 Worlds and Vanessa Gusmeroli at the 2000 Worlds. Yuka gave a stunning performance at the 1994 Worlds in front of a home crowd...to my knowledge she had NEVER delivered a freeskating performance of that caliber. Also, I remember Vanessa Gusmeroli's "Legends of the Fall" freeskate from Nice. Nice wasn't her hometown, but the French support seemed to lift her to a new level. She had struggled so terribly in 98 and 99, and this freeskating performance was a complete shock to me. I still can't believe she lost to Maria Butirskaya 5/4!

 

[lulu]

I agree with basically everything said here, I don't think that any judge consciously puts a team ahead because of the emotion of the crowd, but I think it may have an impact, especially when the homecrowd is especially vocal. Again, I don't think it is going to have be the difference between 4th place and 1st place, but (under the old system) it might be the difference between 5.5 and 5.6 or 5.7

I do agree that the homecrowd can certainly motivate a skater, but there is also the factor of being nervous skating in front of so many families and friends.

 

[Ladskater]

Sometimes it can work the opposite as well. Skating in front of the home crowd can put extra pressure on the skater. If they don't skate well, they feel like they just let their entire home town down. It goes both ways. It can work well for skaters and sometimes not so well. It just depends.

A skater can also feel more at home in a certain rink if they have skated there many times before. This also helps cheer them on.

 

[skatepixie]

There is also the issuse of not being jet lagged and knowing your way around...