Subject: Competitive Figure Skating FAQ: Rules and Regulations
Date: 16 Mar 1996 17:12:02 -0500
Summary: This article is part of the FAQ list for (amateur) competitive
.figure skating.  This section covers rules governing the sport
.of figure skating.



                      COMPETITIVE FIGURE SKATING FAQ:
                      ===============================

                           RULES AND REGULATIONS
                           =====================

This article is part of the FAQ list for (amateur) competitive figure
skating.  This section covers rules governing the sport of figure
skating.

This FAQ list is posted monthly to rec.sport.skating.ice.figure.  Send
corrections and suggestions to loosemore-sandra@cs.yale.edu.

This file is available in both plain-text and HTML versions.  If you're
looking at the HTML version (using a browser such as NCSA Mosaic), you
can click on items in the table of contents to get to the appropriate
section.

You can get to the HTML version from the Figure Skating WWW Page at URL:

http://www.cs.yale.edu/homes/sjl/skate.html

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Table of Contents

  * [1] How is figure skating scored?
  * [2] Sometimes a judge gives marks that seem way too low.  Why is this
    permitted to happen?
  * [3] So exactly what are those rules for determining the placements
    from the ordinals?
  * [4] [Skater A] was ahead of [skater B] until [skater C] skated, but
    then their placements flipped!  How did that happen?  Aren't the
    rules unfair?
  * [5] What about rules for professional competitions?
  * [6] Are professional skaters allowed to compete in the Olympics?  Are
    amateurs allowed to be paid for skating?
  * [7] Why can't skaters do back flips in competition?
  * [8] What is the "Katarina Rule"?
  * [9] How do they decide which skaters get to go to the Olympics or
    world championships?
  * [10] Why was [well-known skater] not disqualified when she had
    trouble with her skate laces?
  * [11] How was [some skater] able to compete in both the World Junior
    championships and senior-level competitions in the same season?
  * [12] Why do the TV commentators keep patronizingly referring to women
    skaters as "ladies" instead of "women"?

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[1] How is figure skating scored?

    The singles and pair events each have two parts, the short program
    and the free skate.  In the short program (formerly called the
    original or technical program), the skaters must execute eight
    required elements (jumps, spins, and footwork sequences); there are
    mandatory deductions for failures, and skaters are not permitted to
    retry missed elements or insert extra elements.  In the free skate,
    there are no required elements, and falling or omitting elements
    counts against the skater only as far as it reduces the overall
    difficulty of the program, or if it disrupts the flow of the program.

    Skaters are given two marks.  The technical mark (for required
    elements or technical merit) is supposed to reflect the difficulty of
    the program and the clean execution of the elements.  The artistic
    mark (for presentation or artistic impression) is supposed to reflect
    the choreography, music interpretation, flow, and balance of the
    program, and other factors such as making good use of the ice surface
    and skating with speed and sureness.

    The two marks from each judge are added together and used to assign
    skaters comparative rankings, called ORDINALS.  (In the case of ties,
    the technical mark has more weight in the short program, and the
    artistic mark in the free skate.)  If you think of the judges' marks
    for a particular skater as forming a row of the scoring sheet, the
    ordinals are computed by looking at the columns; each judge's
    ordinals are assigned independently of the other judges.

    Then the ordinals from each judge are combined to determine the
    overall placements; the skater with the majority of first-place votes
    places first, etc.  There is a complicated procedure for breaking
    ties and determining placements when no skater has a majority of
    votes, but the marks from all the judges are NOT added together, nor
    are the high and low marks discarded.

    The placements from each part of the competition are multiplied by a
    weighting factor, and then added together to get the final placements
    in the competition.  The factor for the short program is 0.5, and the
    factor for the free skate is 1.0.

    Scoring for ice dancing is similar, except that skaters do two
    compulsory dances selected from a set that rotates yearly and an
    original dance to a rhythm that also changes each year as well as a
    free dance.  The weighting factors are .2 for each compulsory dance,
    .6 for original dance, and 1.0 for the free dance.

    For the 1995-1996 season, the compulsory dances are the Silver Samba,
    Westminster Waltz, and Tango Romantica; and the original dance rhythm
    is the Paso Doble.  For the 1996-1997 season, the compulsory dances
    are the Golden Waltz, Yankee Polka, and Rhumba, and the original
    dance rhythm is the Tango.

    If you are really curious, you can computer programs that implement
    the scoring rules at URL

    http://haskell.cs.yale.edu/sjl/skate/score/score.html

[2] Sometimes a judge gives marks that seem way too low.  Why is this
permitted to happen?

    First of all, remember that the marks given by a judge to a
    particular skater are meaningless compared to the marks given by
    other judges --all that matters is how THAT SAME JUDGE ranks the
    skater compared to the other competitors.  Sometimes a judge
    consistently marks all skaters a few tenths lower than the other
    judges without giving them significantly different ordinals.

    Because the competition results are determined by a majority vote of
    the judges, an individual judge can rarely influence the outcome of a
    competition by ranking a skater much higher or lower than is really
    appropriate.  Furthermore, the referee of the competition is required
    to report instances of questionable judging, which can lead to
    disqualification of the judge in question for future competitions.
    (And in extreme cases of national bias, the ISU has been known to ban
    ALL judges from a particular country.)  So judges actually have
    little motivation to try to deliberately manipulate the results of
    the competition.

[3] So exactly what are those rules for determining the placements from
the ordinals?

    First, make sure that you read the above discussion and understand
    what ordinals are, and how they are computed from the judges' marks.

    For each competitor, the lowest-numbered place for which that
    competitor has a majority of votes from the judges is determined.
    Ordinals a skater gets for lower-numbered places carry over in
    determining majorities for higher-numbered places.  For example, if
    there are 7 judges and a skater was given 2 first-place ordinals, 2
    second-place ordinals, and 3 third-place ordinals, this skater would
    have a majority of 4 for second place.

    Then, the placements are determined by applying these rules:

      * A skater that has a majority for a lowered-number place places
        ahead of any skaters whose majority is for a higher-numbered
        place.

      * Among skaters who have a majority for the same place, a skater
        that has a larger majority (i.e., more votes) places ahead of the
        others.

      * To break ties among skaters who have the same majority for the
        same place, add together the ordinals (not the marks!) from all
        the judges who voted with the majority.  The rulebook calls this
        the TOTAL ORDINALS OF MAJORITY, or TOM for short.  Do this for
        each of the tied skaters.  A skater with a smaller TOM places
        ahead of skaters with a higher TOM.

      * If skaters are still tied with the same TOM, then the ordinals
        given to each of the tied skaters from ALL the judges are added
        together.  This is called the TOTAL ORDINALS or TO.  A skater
        with a smaller TO places ahead of skaters with a higher TO.

      * If skaters are still tied with the same TO, they remain tied;
        they are both given the same placement in that phase of the
        competition.

[4] [Skater A] was ahead of [skater B] until [skater C] skated, but then
their placements flipped!  How did that happen?  Aren't the rules unfair?

    There are two possible ways this could happen.

    In the first case, it's possible for the positions of skaters in the
    standings for a particular competition phase (e.g., short program or
    free skating) to change.  Here's an example.  Suppose that after
    skaters A and B have skated, the ordinals look like this:

      
        A   1  1  1  1  1  2  2  2  2
        B   2  2  2  2  2  1  1  1  1
      

    At this point, skater A has a majority of votes for first place, so
    is ahead of skater B.  Now suppose skater C skates, and the ordinals
    are like this:

      
        A   1  1  1  1  2  3  3  2  2
        B   2  2  2  2  3  1  1  1  1
        C   3  3  3  3  1  2  2  3  3
      

    Now, what has happened is that no skater has a majority of
    first-place votes.  In this case, the winner of this competition
    phase is the skater with the most votes for first OR second place --
    in other words, skater B.

    The second situation where such flip-flops occur has to do with the
    weighting assigned to the different phases of the competition.

    Suppose these are the overall standings after skaters A and B have
    skated their free programs:

      
        A  1*0.5 + 3 = 3.5
        B  4*0.5 + 2 = 4.0
      

    Assume skater C skates next, and gets marks that put her in third
    place in the free skate ahead of skater A.  Since skater A has
    dropped a place in the free skate, this allows skater B to move ahead
    in the overall standings, like this:

      
        A  1*0.5 + 4 = 4.5
        B  4*0.5 + 2 = 4.0
        C  5*0.5 + 3 = 5.5
      

    Sometimes the rules can be confusing or counterintuitive, but that
    doesn't necessarily mean they're "unfair".  The confusing situations
    generally arise only when there is no clear consensus among the
    judges anyway, and any other way of computing the results would
    probably have a different set of flaws.  As it is, the current
    scoring rules are the result of years of experience and refinement,
    and are unambiguous, consistently applied, and understood and
    accepted by the judges, coaches, and the skaters themselves.

    Also, for a disinterested analysis by professional statisticians of
    the ordinal-based scoring system used in figure skating, check out an
    article called "Rating Skating" by Gilbert Bassett and Joseph Persky,
    in the Journal of the American Statistical Association, Sept. 94, Vol
    89 #427, pp. 1075-1079.  Their conclusion is that the system DOES
    work extremely well.

[5] What about rules for professional competitions?

    In general, there AREN'T any rules -- each competition seems to have
    its own format and judging system.  Most of the pro events are
    invitation-only, and often skaters are guaranteed large appearance
    fees in addition to the announced prize money.

    Pro-am ("open") events use the basic amateur (ISU) scoring system
    outlined above but typically permit some relaxation of the rules
    regarding the length and content of the free skating program.  For
    example, vocal music and movements such as back flips that are
    normally not allowed may be used in these events.  The format of
    these events is still evolving.

[6] Are professional skaters allowed to compete in the Olympics?  Are
amateurs allowed to be paid for skating?

    The policy of the international governing body for skating, the ISU,
    has been that any skater who takes part in a competition that is not
    sanctioned by the ISU (or one of its national governing bodies, such
    as the USFSA) loses eligibility to compete in future "amateur"
    events.  It used to be that the loss of eligibility was considered
    permanent, but after the 1992 championships, the policy was changed
    to allow professionals to be reinstated if they stop participating in
    the banned activities.  At the same time, it was decided to allow a
    wider range of competitions to be sanctioned -- for example,
    competitions where both eligible and ineligible skaters compete for
    prize money.

    As of April, 1995, the ISU has stopped allowing professionals to
    reinstate.  Many people consider reinstatement to be a failed policy
    because it has not had the intended effect of bringing all skaters
    back into ISU-sponsored competitions on a permanent basis.

    Aside from the matter of sanctioned competitions, the dividing line
    between amateur and professional status has otherwise become very
    blurred -- so-called amateur skaters can still be paid for doing ice
    shows, competitions, endorsements, TV appearances, and the like.  It
    is more accurate to refer to their status as "eligible" than
    "amateur".

[7] Why can't skaters do back flips in competition?

    Basically, because the consensus in the skating community is that
    back flips aren't really a skating move, and that if they were
    allowed in competition, the character of the sport might change in
    ways that are seen as undesirable.  The same reasoning applies to
    other forbidden moves, such as pair-skating moves where the man
    swings the lady around by her feet, or lifts above the shoulder in
    ice dancing.

[8] What is the "Katarina Rule"?

    This refers to the guidelines for skaters' costumes that were adopted
    after Katarina Witt showed up at the 1988 European championships
    wearing a skimpy showgirl costume trimmed with feathers.  (Many
    people were dismayed by the increasing emphasis on theatrical
    costuming and displays of pulchritude, rather than athleticism.)
    Ladies are now required to wear skirts and pants "covering the hips
    and posterior".  Men cannot wear clothing that is sleeveless or that
    exposes the chest.  A more recent rule change requires men to wear
    trousers and not tights.  Clothing is also supposed to be free from
    "excessive decoration", such as feathers that can come loose and
    create a safety hazard on the ice.

    Other rules that are nicknamed after particular skaters are the
    "Zayak rule" (which restricts skaters from performing the same triple
    jump more than twice in a program) and the "Boitano rule"
    (reinstatement of professionals).

[9] How do they decide which skaters get to go to the Olympics or world
championships?

    The ISU allocates the slots to the different countries depending on
    the placement of their skaters at the previous year's world
    championships.  Basically, if a country placed a competitor in the
    top 3 (top 5 for pairs), they get to send three entrants in that
    division; if they placed a competitor in the top 10, they get to send
    2; and otherwise, they can only send one entrant.  Note that the
    slots are assigned to the countries, not the individual skaters who
    "earned" them at the previous competition; each country can send any
    skaters it wants to use up its slots.

    Because the number of skaters participating in these competitions has
    become very large in recent years (making it hard to judge these
    events), there is now a qualifying round competition in the singles
    events at the world championships to reduce the number who make it to
    the final round to a fixed limit of 30.  Skaters who placed in the
    top 10 the previous year are exempt from qualifying.  Skaters perform
    their long programs only in the qualifying round; the placements are
    used to seed the skaters for the skate order in the short program,
    but don't carry over into the final round.  There is also a cut made
    after the short program in the pairs and dance events, as well as
    singles, to further reduce the field to the top 24 for the free
    skate.

    There is no qualifying round competition at the Olympic games, but
    the ISU has instead strictly limited the number of skaters in each
    event (again, giving priority to countries whose skaters placed
    higher at the previous year's worlds).

    In the US, the teams for the Olympic games and world championships
    normally consist of the top finishers from the US national
    championships.  In theory, the selection committee is permitted to
    deviate from the consecutive order of finish, but in practice about
    the only time they do so is when a top skater from the previous year
    is unable to compete at nationals due to injury.

    In turn, skaters qualify to compete in the US national championships
    by skating in regional and sectional qualifying competitions.  Canada
    has a similar three-level hierarchy of qualifying competitions.

[10] Why was [well-known skater] not disqualified when she had trouble
with her skate laces?

    The rules specifically allow for situations where skaters have
    problems with their equipment or clothing breaking that make it
    difficult or dangerous for them to continue skating, as well as
    similar problems with their music or the ice surface.  Depending on
    the nature of the problem and how long it takes to fix it, the
    referee can either allow the skaters either to immediately pick up
    where they left off, or to reskate their entire program after all the
    other skaters in the group are finished.  The rules even allow for
    such restarts after accidents that are clearly the fault of the
    skaters (one such incident at 1996 US Nationals involved a pair
    skater who required first aid after being whacked in the nose in a
    collision with her partner.)

[11] How was [some skater] able to compete in both the World Junior
championships and senior-level competitions in the same season?

    The ISU doesn't actually recognize separate junior and senior
    divisions.  Instead, eligibility for the World Junior championships
    is based strictly on the age of the skaters.  It's not uncommon
    (especially among European skaters) to continue to compete at World
    Juniors after also starting to compete in senior-level international
    events.

    In USFSA-sponsored events, on the other hand, "junior" and "senior"
    refer to skill levels rather than age.  Skaters who have qualified at
    the senior level may still be selected to compete at World Juniors as
    long as they meet the age requirements.  Likewise, there are some
    juniors who are too old to be eligible for World Juniors.

[12] Why do the TV commentators keep patronizingly referring to women
skaters as "ladies" instead of "women"?

    "Ladies" is the official and traditional terminology of the ISU.
    Back in the old days, figure skating clubs were typically snobbish
    social organizations where the rich and well-connected could hobnob
    with one another, and it would have been a gross insult NOT to use
    the term "ladies" to refer to the kind of rich society women involved
    in the sport.  It's very similar to the elitist traditions
    surrounding country clubs and golf, another sport where women
    athletes are still referred to as "ladies".

    Nowadays, most people don't take the terminology very seriously,
    often using the term "ladies" with tongue planted firmly in cheek and
    an attitude of exaggerated reverence for the traditions of the sport
    that long predate contemporary notions of political correctness.

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Sandra Loosemore / loosemore-sandra@cs.yale.edu
