Figure skatingJudging changes part of new figure skating season

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Figure skating gets underway in earnest this weekend as skaters take the ice at the NHK Trophy for the first of six ISU Grand Prix events in Nagoya, Japan.  

It would seem at first glance that with the 2010 Vancouver Olympics behind us and the 2014 Sochi Olympics still some distance away that this will be a lukewarm season.  In my opinion, nothing could be further from the truth.

First things first. Typically after an Olympic season, the champions move on and the scramble is on to see who will become the frontrunners in the next quadrennial cycle.  In this case, three of the four world champions are staying in although seemingly not competing internationally until worlds.  The exceptions are Olympic pairs champions Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao of China, who have retired.  American Olympic men's champion Evan Lysacek has not announced his retirement and neither have women's champion Yu-Na Kim of Korea or ice dance champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada.

Competing on the Grand Prix circuit is the first step in starting to create the momentum needed for a skater to head to the front of the pack.  What will impact that momentum, as much as anything, is the changes to the judging system that have been introduced this year.

Welcome to the short dance

For the ice dancers, it's the introduction of the short dance, which replaces the compulsory and original dance segments.  The short dance is an interesting notion whereby the skaters are required to perform a sequence of the golden waltz compulsory dance as well as additional required elements to a maximum of 3:00 of music.

"Trying to figure out the rules is one thing, but then trying to anticipate how a panel has interpreted the same rules we have is the biggest challenge," says coach Carol Lane whose students, Canadian silver medallists Vanessa Crone and Paul Poirier are looking to build on their seventh-place finish at the 2010 world championships. 

Among the things they have had to consider is ensuring that the tempo for the golden waltz portion stays within the 61-63 beats per minute range in waltz time.  The "creative" portion of the short dance is required to include one "short" lift (six seconds or less in duration), one set of sequential twizzles and one midline "not touching" step sequence.  The music can either be the same as the waltz portion or one or two of quickstep, foxtrot or tango rhythms. 

The introduction of the short dance also removes the mathematical buffer that the compulsory dance segment offered as the first of the three dance portions.  The short dance is worth 40 per cent of the total score and will no doubt contribute to the ice dance competition being closer than we have seen in recent years.

New scoring tweaks in singles

In singles competition, there has been an adjustment to how jumps will be assessed which, depending on a skater's jumping strength, could be a factor. 

Take Olympic silver medallist and 2010 world champion Mao Asada of Japan as an example, who has struggled with a frequently downgraded triple Axel.

Under the new rules, jumps can be up to a quarter-turn under rotation and although the skater will take a penalty for the GOE or grade of execution, they will still be given credit for the completed jump.  In the case of a jump that's over a quarter but under a half-turn of under rotation, the skater will receive 70 per cent of the value of that jump. It's only at the point of exceeding a half revolution of under rotation that skaters receive a "downgrade" for their jump.  The downgrade penalty was much more severe last season and dogged Asada. 

Under today's rules, she would earn the base value of 8.5 points for a triple Axel for an almost fully rotated jump versus 3.3 for the same jump downgraded with the same degree of under rotation.  The ability to rack up those points with "almost" jumps could be a significant factor in singles competition this year.

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