Aired February 5,
2006
at 7pm
on CBC-TV
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WEB EXCLUSIVE: FIGURE SKATING FIRSTS
For decades, Canadian singles figure skaters have more than left their mark on
the sport in competition.
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The International Skating Union (ISU), which governs global figure skating,
unveiled a new judging system in 2002. The system had been in development
before the Salt Lake City Olympics and has since become mandatory for all
international competitions (including the 2006 Olympics in Turin).
EMPHASIS ON ARTISTIC SKILLS
The new rules shift the scoring emphasis from a focus on technical elements
to one that strikes more of a balance between the technical and the artistic.
Technical marks are combined with those for skating skills, transitions,
performance/execution, choreography and interpretation. It replaces the
historic "6.0" ranking system, familiar to those who've
ever followed figure skating. The new system is based on cumulative points.
In a competition, skaters perform a short skate – a programme of
no more than 2 minutes and 40 seconds in length – which requires
a specific set of components. They also perform a longer Free Skate (4 ½ minutes
for men, 4 minutes for women), which also has required elements. It is
worth two-thirds of a skater's total score.
SCORES AVAILABLE TO ALL
The other change is openness. Anyone –skaters, coaches, members
of the public – can have access to the scores. (see the
ISU
website 
)
The system, dubbed the Cumulative Point Calculation (CPC), was designed, in
part, by Dr. Patricia Benoit (a Ph.D. in mathematics), who is the former Director
of Strategic and Program Analysis for Skate Canada.
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