Wad of OT reply... feel free to skip
With all due respect, the scoring criteria is what the ISU says it is and the one currently used in the judging of figure skating. It's not perfect, sometimes they recognize their faults (i.e. the new change in the zayak rule), but everyone has their own ideas about how it should be and the truth is that most of us here are not technical specialists.
Sometimes? There are tons of faults many have been discussed over the years like undervalue of difficult triple-triples, zayaking rules, but are deliberately neglected, instead, they make strange 'updates' like adding scale value to the easiest 3t continuously, make it easier to get GOEs by adding a Tano, and make it less harsh to punish imperfect techniques. With each panel of technical judges being strict and lenient among specific strategic competitions, it seems they can't even agree among themselves make the whole "consistently high-quality standard of judging" a joke. In any case, that is rather a lazy way of thinking. Otherwise, you are saying text book can never be wrong and the status of the world can't innovate and improve. As a long term observer the sport, how can one not begin to see it as a self-serving exercise among the few power federations to swap medals with everyone else just to make up the numbers. The are very rare genuinely honest rule changes I have seen about improving the sport, including reward where reward should be given, and not taken for granted or conviniently neglected.
How high is high enough to get +6? How long should the distance be to get +6? They don't all jump to the same height/distance so how do you "truly" measure the quality of the jump? The criteria would still remain subjective and prone to manipulating.
You read my post wrong. It is not about +6, but about the range of scoring -6,-5,-4 all the way to +4, +5, +6. It is not about sizes, but a degree of quality relative to the rest of the competition and their personal milestone. Is it not true that out of all bullet points, jump higher and further requires the highest form of athleticism that brings legitimacy this sport as an Olympic standard sport (See their motto) as it requires the greatest exertion of risks and effort (See Anna's falls). I believe Anna's 3lz3t for example should score higher than Gracie's 3lz3t at WC in this regard, a matter of +5 vs +4. +6 should be exceptional, rare if any. While Satoko's should earn -3 or -4 for hers (smallest in history). - 5, -6 is for UR, and falls. If Satoko manages to jump higher and bigger in the next event, then she should also be rewarded vs previous efforts, which is minimum height just to tick a box, play safe, consistent etc. No different than what Zhenya is doing for example. If they reward higher for jumps, i bet we will see a different effort from her in jumps.
It is about the rewarding effort where it is due with great clarity and accountability. Instead of going oh... that is sort of a +2. When one's +2 and another's +2 are clearly not equal consider one clearly requires more risks, difficulty and effort than the other, and one is advantaged by their petite frame that has more to do nature than nurture in a performance sport.
I believe the judging was set up (or at least they tried) to advantage all kinds of skaters and that ideal setting cannot exist, you can't assign 8 separate judges to look for 8 bullet points, also having more other judges in the technical panel to look for under rotations, edge calls and so on. There is a simpler way to achieve that much-desired transparency and that is to abolish anonymous judging. That would bring at least some transparency but they don't want that so why would they turn the judging into something even more complicated than it already is.
That is not possible under COP, where absolutes numbers place a limit on how exceptional skaters can be rewarded in PCS and GOEs. So you agree asking 8 separate judges to look for 8 bullet points is not only impractical but unreliable. Where -2 and -1 are rarely used, so the range of value is, even more, smaller. My view is each judge can actually be trained in specialisation in at least 2 or 3 bullet points, and they share the burden for all 8 bullet points for the whole panel, looking at no more than 2 bullet points each. No judges know what the other judges are marking, so it makes collusion even harder. Then the totality of quality in its various degrees is tallied and factored according to the difficulty of the jump. Harder combos should be rewarded better in GOEs than easiest combos because it requires more effort and risks. Each should be proportionally rewarded.
Yes abolish anonymous judging is great, but under Speedy and Lakernik, I'd be very surprised to see that happen. They only want to do it now, because they are worried Russia will no longer benefit from it and could be a victim of it, so I have no sympathy at all. In anycase, the continuous undermark of Asian's young skater's PCS is so artificially contained vs the European counterparts, it is hard not to notice and be puzzled by them.
I also disagree with "let's give Boyang more bonus for jumping the 4Lz because he's the only one doing it" or "let's give Ashley's difficult 3/3 combinations bonus points because nobody else is executing them" - this is even more confusing, what exactly is Ashley executing that is more difficult than everyone else's 3-3?
Yet some people have no problem with giving extra points for Mao doing her 3As? Make your mind up
Whether you disagree with it or, it is the way the judges have always reward the progress of the sport, it is precisely of 4lz, his reputation has improved over time, and Adam is adamant (yeah for puns!) about laying one down in all his recent fs. It is also the primary reason to justify Plushy's legendary status.
Ashley's 3/3 reward is about personal breakthroughs IMO. It should be rewarded, however, minuscules it is, even in the form of +1 or -1. Just as if Mao managed to correct her technique on the lz. Otherwise, what is the point for training for it, and work so hard on it? What does progress mean exactly?
Anyway this is getting way off topic but I believe small jumpers (Satoko) getting half the GOE points big jumpers (Pogorilaya, or Mao herself on a good day) is enough. Everyone skated clean or almost clean at Worlds and everyone saw what happened. Satoko finished 5th, nowhere near the podium and much less near the 1st position everyone was fearing. Had Satoko received Evgenia, Ashley or Anna's jump GOEs, she would have been on the podium because she had one UR in the SP and a clean FS.
OT but relavent. Satoko shouldn't be with 2.5 points close to Anna or Gracie with her 3lz3 but she is. The separation from them says quality of jumps are no longer important, and it is no more than tick box system. Here are some points variances.
WC2016 SP
Satoko's 3lz3t 11 points
Anna's 11.7
Elena's 11.5
Gracie's 11.6 (FS)
Just for fun
Yuna's WC 2013 3lz3t 11.50
Mao's ... nvm
