Scoring Competitions
Judges mark performances at competitions according to rules established by USFS.
Required Elements
- Jumps - height, ice coverage, technique, clean takeoff/ landing.
- Jump Combinations - all of the above with equality of both jumps.
- Spins - smooth entry/exit, strong controlled rotation, number of rotations, speed of rotation, centering.
- Flying Spins - all of the above for spins, height of jump, and the position in the air and on landing.
- Step and Spiral Sequences – difficulty of the steps, swing, carriage and smooth flow of the movement in character with music, pattern
- Difficulty of the Connecting Steps and Movements. Crossovers are not considered to be connecting steps.
- Speed – between elements and in the entry and exit of elements.
- Using the correct edge?
Technical Merit Marks :
- Difficulty of all the elements (jumps, spins, step sequences and particularly the glide, footwork and difficulty and variety of connecting steps). No individual element is given predominant importance; the program is evaluated as a whole. Excessive values cannot be assigned to elements especially when of poor quality.
- Variety, diversity of the jumps, spins, spirals and connecting steps.
- Speed between elements and in the entry and exit of elements. Cleanness and sureness, secure edges and flow.
- Poor technique such as ‘cheated jumps” (which are jumps in which part of the rotation is completed either before takeoff or upon or after landing, rotations on the ice instead of in the air) or wrapped jumps (where the knee is bent in the air and appears to be wrapped high around the skating leg) do not earn high marks.
Presentation Marks
Presentation marks are based on the harmonious composition of the program as a whole in conformity with the music.Movements suit the music, appropriate movements to match highlights of the music (including connecting steps), speed tension and expression of movements match intensity/tempo of music.
- Variation of speed, speed of movement changes with the pace and character of the music, using both long, sustained movements and short, sharp movements. Demonstrated ease of acceleration and deceleration with the tempo of the music.
- Utilization of space and the ice surface, not too much reliance on circular and straight line patterns. Highlights distributed over the entire ice surface. Balance overall program, not just designed for judges, sold to the spectators, all four sides to the arena are utilized. Entire body used to express music through up and down or side-to-side movements.
- Easy movements and sureness in time to the music. Balance, strength, rhythm, timing, flow all of good quality with effortless flow. Avoid skating on your toes and scratchiness, work for running edges.
- Carriage and style that is pleasing and in control of body movements.
- Originality and innovative movements are rewarded. Choreography that is inventive and reveals the character of the music. A judge is expected to be open-minded; they may not like the music, but must reward original interpretation of the music chosen.
- Expression of the character of the music is inspired from within. Express the love and feel of what you are doing. Demonstrate that you understand the music chosen. Use the entire body to interpret the music or theme. Use facial expressions. Keep expressions natural, not mechanical. Demonstrate conviction and feeling.
Skaters may ask a judge after a test or competition about their marks or can request a preview or critique of a program prior to a big competition and ask for suggestions on how to improve. Both the Judge and the Pro have an important role in helping the skater to progress in skill and ability. Figure skating does not have a numerical degree of difficulty that figures into scoring. Judges take relative difficulty of jumps into account when ranking skaters’ performance against each other. Toe pick assisted jumps such as the toe loop; flip and Lutz are not as difficult as the edge jumps: the axel, Salchow and loop.