I for one would be in favor of a rule that punishes the entire fiels of women's skating if they can't do all the jumps. It is kind of ironic that the CoP was supposed to reward (indeed, require) a "balanced program," yet presents many opportunities to load up on points doing just what you do best
D: I would be for a rule that
rewards skaters who do all 5 triples, but not one that punishes skaters who don't. In order to reach a competitive score under the COP, skaters are already required to showcase a vast variety of high level skills in not just jumps but footwork and spins and transitions. The variety of high level skills each skater display these days under the COP is overwhelming compared to what the top skaters did under 6.0. I definitely don't think the COP lacks incentive in getting skaters to show diversity in skill.
If anything, I'd rather the COP dial it back, and not just in jumps, either. I would rather see skaters display different skills and technique that they do best on their path to victory, than have all the skaters attempt similar convoluted spin positions and footwork. To me, penalizing skaters for not doing all 5 backward takeoff triples would be akin to punishing skaters for not doing both the biellmann and I-spin. The system already inherently rewards skaters who can do all 5 triples (they're the only ones who can do a 7 triple program). The skaters who can't are already at a disadvantage. Both devaluing the double axel and limiting it was too much, especially when 3/3 combos remain unrewarded.
Perhaps we can think of the rules as warning the skaters, you'd better learn all your jumps first before you start in with the advanced tricks like triple-triples.
I cannot disagree more with that philosophy. Skills such as triples or quads are already vanishingly rare. Only a tiny, tiny percentage of skaters who try will ever learn a fraction of those skills. This is a very very far cry from requiring skaters to do basic footwork and single jumps before they can pass a level test. To require skaters to stick to a strict, regimented ladder of achievement before they can display one high level skill or another would severely handicap many skaters. Just think of the past skaters it would harm:
Midori Ito is the greatest female jumper, undisputed. But she was a lipper. Should she be forbidden from doing her 3axel just because she didn't do a real 3flip?
Or how about her heir, Mao Asada. Mao has done the most ratified triple axels of any female skater ever, but we all know full well she is a flutzer. Should she be discouraged from doing the 3axel until she lands the 3lutz?
Or on the men's side, you have Stephane Lambiel. The guy can fire off quads no problem, but his 3axel was never quite there. Should he have to put off his quads if he doesn't land the 3axel (this would have likely taken away all chances he had of winning any major titles)?
Or Miki Ando. Back when she became the first woman to land a quad, the quad salchow, she didn't exactly start with the supposedly easier quad toe (in fact the quad salchow seems to be more doable for women). And at that point, she was a lipper, too.
I could go on. Tim Goebel was a flutzer. I think Plushenko and Yagudin are lippers.
The fact is, learning all the triple jumps properly is absurdly rare, and doing so doesn't guarantee great proficiency at even more advanced skills or better skating all around. At that level of skating, why not just reward skaters for what they do really well, and let them have a shot at victory even if they vary it up.
Now, that's a first.
