Winter olympic 2010 Vancouver

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Olympic champion Shaun White of the USA, throws himself onto teammate and bronze winner Scott Lago of the USA after the men's snowboard halfpipe final at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010.

 

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Gold medalist Shaun White of the U.S. celebrates in the finish area after his second run in the men's halfpipe finals on Cypress Mountain at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, February 17, 2010.

VANCOUVER, BC - FEBRUARY 18: (L-R) Peetu Piiroinen of Finland celebrates winning the Silver, Shaun White of United States Gold, and Scott Lago of United States Bronze during the medal ceremony for the Men�s Halfpipe on day 7 of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics at BC Place on February 18, 2010 in Vancouver, Canada.​

 

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WHISTLER, BC - FEBRUARY 18: The Olympic flame burns prior to the start of the medal ceremony on day 7 of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics at Whistler Medals Plaza on February 18, 2010 in Whistler, Canada.

WHISTLER, BC - FEBRUARY 18: Members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police pose for a photo under the Olympic flame prior to the start of the medal ceremony on day 7 of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics at Whistler Medals Plaza on February 18, 2010 in Whistler, Canada.

VANCOUVER, BC - FEBRUARY 18: The public enjoys great weather near the Olympic flame in downtown Vancouver on day seven of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics on February 18, 2010 in Vancouver, Canada.

FEBRUARY 18: Police officers patrol the streets of downtown Vancouver on day seven of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics on February 18, 2010 in Vancouver​

 

[singveld]

figure skating man FREE

Gold Evan Lysacek - USA
Silver Evgeni Plushenko - Russia
Bronze Daisuke Takahashi - Japan

Well, Evan beat Evgeni without the quad. What is wrong with Evan Lysacek, his costume is hideous. His short and free costume is almost the same, all black, no detail no nothing. He is from a third world country? no money to spend on costume.

The standard of men skating has drop since 2002. 2002 is the height of men figure skating. Evan Lysacek will not even get any medal if he skate today in 2002 salt lake city. The men event is very forgettable, now i just have to wait for the ladies.

GO ladies go.

 

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USA's Evan Lysacek, bottom, and Jeremy Abbott sign autographs for fans after practice at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Monday, Feb. 15, 2010.

USA's men's figure skater Evan Lysacek left, is watched by his coach Frank Carroll, right, during a practice session at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010.

Former figure skater Michelle Kwan, a special correspondent for ABC's Good Morning America, interviews Evan Lysacek's mother Tanya, , at P&G Family Home in Vancouver, British Columbia, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010.​

 

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Evan Lysacek costumed by top American designer Vera Wang
By Maggie Hendricks

Vera Wang's name is synonymous with wedding dresses, but she is just as likely to have designed a gorgeous ice-skating costume. Her latest creations are worn by U.S. skater Evan Lysacek, who will skate for gold during tonight's men's free skate.

Wang, once an elite skater herself (who still takes to the ice), worked with Lysacek to make his costumes for both his long and short programs this season. She was impressed with Lysacek's line and how that could be enhanced by simple clothing with thoughtful embellishment.

"He has a beautiful line and he's learned to use that line and I think he was very conscious of me wanting to preserve that line." The costumes for both programs are black, "a sleek and sexy color," [Lysacek] says. "It was exciting and really cool that she took so much interest and really took pride in this project and took it on full steam."

Lysacek's costumes make him stand out from his competitors. The other men in the top three after the short program, Russia's Evgeni Plushenko and Japan's Daisuke Takahashi, wear more traditional figure-skating costumes. Among the top Americans, Jeremy Abbott wears costumes that resemble street clothes and Johnny Weir goes over the top, while Lysacek's costumes emphasize his artistry but remain sleek.

That was Wang's plan, and this isn't the first time she's transformed skating costumes. In addition to her own experience as an ice skater, she has worked with America's best figure skaters before. It was Wang who designed Nancy Kerrigan's iconic costume from the 1992 Olympics, as well as costumes for Michelle Kwan.

Lysacek has a few different costume options for tonight's long program, and he may opt to change from the outfit he's worn for previous long programs. The top he wore for Tuesday's short program was not the same as the shirt he wore for the short at the U.S. championships.

What he wears tonight will even be a surprise to Wang.

"I have no idea what he's going to wear at the Olympics. He's worn all of them at least once. No skater goes into the Olympic year without wearing their costume once. The costumes are not about Vera Wang. They are about me translating Evan Lysacek."
Even with her Fashion Week show having happened just two days ago, Wang has traveled to Vancouver and will be there to cheer on her muse.

 

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1. Vera Wang was inducted into the United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2009 for her fashionable contributions to the sport.
2. Vera Wang designed this outfit that Nancy Kerrigan wore during a Winter Olympic exhibition in Hamar, Norway, in 1994. The neon yellow dress with a pale-pink beaded bustline is was one of Wang's favorites because it took Kerrigan out of her usual comfort zone as a sophisticate.
"Neon is extremely active," the designer said. "You think of it for a cyclist or football or a swimmer. It has a feel of modernity and techno."
3. Kerrigan also wore this white outfit with black illusion sleeves designed by Wang during the 1994 Olympic Games. It's a trick the designer also uses on the red carpet to create a sexy, suggestive silhouette without baring much skin. The clean lines and geometric vibe also were purposeful. "I thought it made her look tougher," she explains.

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4. At the 1998 Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan, Michelle Kwan made what Wang calls a "gutsy move" by wearing this periwinkle stretch-velvet dress. It was a look reminiscent of Dorothy Hamill.
"It's a bit retro to go that simple," Wang says. "It was a statement of confidence. Dresses had gotten so ornate."
5. Irina Slutskaya of Russia might have been trying to channel Dorothy Hamill in her glittery, red dress during the 1996 games in Turin, Italy, but Wang says only the dark, short hair captured the former gold medalist's spirit. Slutskaya's jewels are more traditional for a later generation than Hamill, who favored outfits that were sleeker and understated.

During the 1976 games at Innsbruck, Austria, Dorothy Hamill let her moves, not her sparse pink outfit, make the statement, Wang says. The lower neckline, however, did show off her hair, which Wang describes as "the wedge haircut that inspired the country."

 

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7. The midnight-sky blue combo that Shizuka Arakawa of Japan wore at the 2006 Olympic Games in Turin "isn't my taste," says Wang. Though it was showy, it made Arakawa look like a risk-taker - which might have been the primary intention all along, according to the designer.

8. Italian Carolina Kostner wore a snowflake-covered outfit in 2006 that employed the sheer-illusion look that Wang likes for the ice.
"She has a more womanly, mature style but this outfit brings her youth and whimsy," Wang says.

 

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9. American Sasha Cohen is a chameleon when it comes to her costumes, Wang says. "You never know what Sasha is up to...One minute she's 'Carmen,' the next minute she's Gisele."
The designer says Cohen was probably intimately involved in the creation of the ombre-blue dress covered with sequins worn in Salt Lake City in 2002 - she is for all her outfits.

10. Even better than the blue ensemble, Wang says, was this red number with a sunburst-yellow hemline, also from the 2002 Salt Lake City games.
"That dress was very beautiful," she added.

11. Ukrainian skater Oksana Baiul liked "a lot of everything" on her dresses, and a frilly pink outfit from 1994 was no exception, Vera Wang says. The fringe, the fur trim and the beads were all very much part of a trend of the Eastern Europeans of that time.

The metallic trench coat - and umbrella prop - that Japan's Midori Ito wore in Albertville, France, in 1992 might make more sense if you heard the accompanying music, Wang says. "Was it 'Singing in the Rain'? It must have been."
The outfit is unusual for the Olympic ice, the designer acknowledges, but skaters are also under pressure to try new things.

 

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VANCOUVER, BC - FEBRUARY 18: Daisuke Takahashi of Japan competes in the men's figure skating free skating on day 7 of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics at the Pacific Coliseum on February 18, 2010 in Vancouver, Canada.

Japan's Daisuke Takahashi reacts after performing his free program during the men's figure skating competition at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Thursday, Feb. 18, 2010.

Daisuke Takahashi reacts after receiving his scores.

 

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Evan Lysacek of the U.S. crosses his fingers after his routine during the men's free skating figure skating competition at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics February 18, 2010.​

 

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VANCOUVER, BC - FEBRUARY 18: Evan Lysacek of the United States reacts as he sits in the kiss and cry area after he competed in the men's figure skating free skating on day 7 of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics

(L-R) Silver medalist Evgeni Plushenko of Russia, gold medalist Evan Lysacek of the U.S.and bronze medalist Daisuke Takahashi of Japan pose at the podium​

 

[singveld]

Vera Wang design for figure skating suck cock

Quote:
Evan Lysacek costumed by top American designer Vera Wang

Vera Wang's name is synonymous with wedding dresses, but she is just as likely to have designed a gorgeous ice-skating costume. Her latest creations are worn by U.S. skater Evan Lysacek, who will skate for gold during tonight's men's free skate.

Wang, once an elite skater herself (who still takes to the ice), worked with Lysacek to make his costumes for both his long and short programs this season.

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She should stick to the wedding dresses business, and not to make hideous costume.

 

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Lysacek not true champion: Plushenko

Olympic men's figure skating gold medalist Evan Lysacek is not a "true champion," his predecessor and Vancouver runner-up Yevgeny Plushenko has told Russian media.

Plushenko, hoping to become the first man in almost six decades to win back-to-back titles, lost to the American by 1.31 points on Thursday.

"You can't be considered a true men's champion without a quad," the 27-year-old told Russian state television RTR.

Lysacek did not attempt a quadruple jump, considered the most difficult in figure skating, in either Tuesday's short or Thursday's free programs, instead wowing the judges with artistry and exquisite footwork.

"For someone to stand on top of the podium with the gold medal around his neck with just doing triple jumps, to me it's not progress, it's a regress because we've done triples 10 or even 20 years ago," Plushenko said.

"Just doing nice transitions and being artistic is not enough because figure skating is a sport, not a show," he said.

"Of all the men who had competed tonight, only two -- myself and (Japan's) Takahiro Kozuka (who finished eighth) -- were able to land a clean quad.

"Later, when I saw Kozuka I shook his hand and congratulated him, saying 'Well done'. I also have a lot of respect for (Japan's bronze medalist) Daisuke Takahashi for trying to attempt a quad. That's a sign of a (future) champion."

PLUSHENKO ROBBED

Plushenko, who came out of a 3-1/2-year retirement last month, said he was a victim of prejudicial judging.

"I did a great short program but didn't get the marks I deserved. When I asked why they told me I was skating early and they had to retain top marks for the last group," he said.

"Then, in the free program I was the last to skate, did everything clean and still didn't get the marks. That's prejudice. I thought I had done enough to get the gold but the judges gave it to someone else."

Most Russian TV analysts and commentators said Plushenko was robbed of a deserved gold by the judges.

When Plushenko walked into the RTR studio in Vancouver, host Alexei Popov presented him with a symbolic medal.

"You already have one gold and one silver so here's a platinum medal for you," Popov told the skater. "You are the real champion."

Another commentator called the decision scandalous, in the same mold as judging controversies at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.

"We'd seen this before. In 2002 Irina Slutskaya unfairly was placed second in the short program so that Sarah Hughes could get a better shot at winning the gold," Alexei Vasilyev said.

Russia's Slutskaya, a favorite for the women's title in Salt Lake City, finished second behind American Hughes.

Incensed by what they thought was poor and biased judging, the Russians filed a protest, arguing Slutskaya had skated as well as, if not better than, Hughes. It was rejected.

"So what if Slutskaya lost?" asked the commentator.

"Who now remembers Hughes? Similarly, in a few years' time nobody will remember Lysacek while Plushenko would go down in history as one of the greatest of all time."

 

[singveld]

yeah man skating gone backwards, but the female gone forward, cannot ask for anything

The night they killed figure skating

By Elvis Stojko

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Sorry, Evan Lysacek.
You’re a great skater and all.
But that wasn’t Olympic champion material.

In Thursday night’s men’s free skate, Lysacek skated slow and his jumps weren’t close to the technical ability of defending Olympic champion Evgeni Plushenko.

How can you be Olympic champion when you don’t even try the quad? If you’re going to take the quad out, why not take out another triple axel and just have more of the other stuff so the International Skating Union can make it more into an “art” recital.

Plushenko had a great performance. His footwork was great and maybe his spins weren’t quite as good as Lysacek’s, but it wasn’t that big of a difference. He also had a quad toe triple toe that wasn’t even attempted by anyone else. He did both triple axels, so all the jumps were there.

But the judges’ scoring was ridiculous.

Because of it, the sport took a step backward. Brian Boitano did the same thing, technically, in 1988. There are junior skaters who can skate that same program.

And the judges’ scoring probably killed figure skating because kids now are going to see this and say, “Oh, I don’t need a quad. I can just do great footwork for presentation marks and do a couple of nice spins and make it to Olympic champion.” With that type of scoring, you don’t have to risk it. You can play it safe and win gold.

In what other sports do you have to hold back in order to win?

The International Skating Union has taken the risk out of figure skating and it makes me sick.

If Plushenko had made some mistakes, then sure, maybe Lysacek deserves gold. But when you take the risk out of skaters’ programs, it doesn’t compute to me.

And it’s not a personal thing. I like Evan. But when you compare performances and have an outcome like this, the sport is going backward. And it hurts me to say it because I love this sport. But the judges made a mockery of it by giving Lysacek the gold.

I don’t want to rain on anybody’s parade because it’s not the skaters’ fault. It’s the system. And the figure skating community wants to control who wins and who loses. And what it does is it makes the component score more valid than the jumps so it can control whatever it wants. And that’s exactly what happened Thursday night at Pacific Coliseum.

How can the sport be put back on the right path? I have no idea. I haven’t even thought about it. It’s not up to me. Because people at the ISU obviously seem to know what they’re doing. Well, they think they know what they’re doing.

For me, the outcome on Thursday night was disappointing.

A few more thoughts on the men’s free skate:

• I thought Daisuke Takahashi was awesome. He tried the quad and he had the guts to go for it, and he should’ve been ahead of Lysacek in that aspect.

• Johnny Weir was great. He should’ve been higher than sixth – above Patrick Chan, who was fifth. Weir outskated Chan. He might’ve skated a little bit slow but he went out there and did his stuff. I feel bad for him.

• People say I’m hammering certain skaters. I’m not. It’s the system I don’t like and if you say I am biased … I already said I am not a fan of Weir’s skating, but he skated well tonight and deserved to be ahead of Chan.

In addition, Takahiko Kozuka – my favorite skater – did not get the points he deserved. He skated great, had awesome spins, the best edges in the competition, was very close with the quad and did a ton of triples.

Figure skating gets no respect because of outcomes like this. More feathers, head-flinging and so-called step sequences done at walking speed – that’s what the system wants.

I am going to watch hockey, where athletes are allowed to push the envelope. A real sport.

 

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Winter Olympics - Vancouver's Unusual(worst) dressed list
As ever, some of the boldest sartorial statements have been made in the figure skating competition, which has been graced by the tears of a clown and the world's first Burberry braces.
Not to be outdone, the Japanese speed skating team apparently turned up with g-strings over the top of their suits, while in other events athletes used ponchos, boot polish and holographic swords to stand out from the crowd.

Presumably German figure skaters Robin Szolkowy and Aliona Savchenko were warned: "Don't wear that, you'll look like clowns."

Ski jumper Andreas Kofler pairs a salmon pink helmet with a yellow plastic poncho.

Kevin van der Perren was 12th in the figure skating short program. Skeleton Man?

French snowboarder Mathieu Crepel's moustache really is painted on.

Tomas Verner of the Czech Republic competes in the men's figure skating short program: Hello. Sailor.

Switzerland's Anais Morand and Antoine Dorsaz perform their pairs free program - Burberry on ice

Japanese speed skaters, gold costume with g-string effect.

The Norwegian men's curling team and their checkered pants - The blue, grey, white and red diamond-patterned golf pants were purchased from a California-based company conveniently called Loudmouth Golf, the same company that outfits PGA Tour pro Daly.

 

[singveld]

why the warlord descendant cannot afford new bootlaces?

he did not buy new bootlaces, because he cannot afford it? or it is his lucky bootlace past down by his ancestor.

Figure skater Nobunari Oda dragged down by his bootlaces

VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Nobunari Oda's hopes of winning a medal in the Olympic men's figure skating competition came undone when he suffered a wardrobe malfunction midway through his free skate on Thursday.

Following a crash landing on the triple loop, memories of Tonya Harding's skating debacle at the 1994 Olympics came flooding back when Japan's Oda had to stop mid routine to sort out one of his bootlaces.

With the long laces trailing his boots on the ice, Oda skated up to the judges seeking permission to retie the offending piece of cord.

A voice over the loudspeaker announced to the bemused crowd: "The skater has three minutes to address the problem."

He went up to his coach and frantically tried to sort out his laces before stepping back on ice to complete the last third of his Charlie Chaplin program.


By then the damage was done and he finished seventh in the event won by American Evan Lysacek.

"It came untied, it's my fault, I feel guilty for myself for doing this. I will try to make sure it does not happen again," a dejected Oda, who had been lying fourth after the short program, told reporters.



VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Japan's Nobunari Oda stopped his free skate at the Vancouver Olympics with about a minute left because of a torn right skatelace.

Oda fell on a triple loop, then almost immediately stopped his program Thursday night and skated to the judging panel. He showed the shredded lace and was given three minutes to get it fixed.

Oda, in fourth place after the short program, then went to the sideboards, tied the lace in a strong knot, and resumed skating. The crowd gave him a huge ovation when he gave the judges a sign that he was ready to continue.

 

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(L)Russian skater Evgeni Plushenko's wife Jane Rudkovskaia (R) Evgeni Plushenko stretches during practice

Evgeni Plushenko of Russia sits next to his wife Yana Rudkovskaya after the men's short programme figure skating competition at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics February 16, 2010.

Russia's Evgeni Plushenko reacts after performing his free program during the men's figure skating competition at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Thursday, Feb. 18, 2010.

Evgeni Plushenko of Russia looks dejected in the kiss and cry area in the men's figure skating free skating on day 7 of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics at the Pacific Coliseum on February 18, 2010
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[singveld]

no one tell them that cold war was over, at least not in figure skating, the war rage

Winter Olympics 2010: Vladimir Putin weighs into figure skating debate
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has added his voice to furious backlash in Russia after Yevgeny Plushenko failed to defend his men's figure skating Olympic title with fingers now being pointed at the judging system in Vancouver.

"Accept my heartfelt congratulations," Putin said in a telegram sent to the skater and published on the Russian government website.

Anton Sikharulidze, chairman of the Russian parliament's sports and culture committee, also said Plushenko should have won the gold and not the silver.

"On the whole, Yevgeny was the stronger skater," Sikharulidze was quoted as saying by the RIA-Novosti state news agency.

Plushenko's wife demanded that Russian authorities publicly defend her husband who was relegated into second position by world champion Evan Lysacek despite the American's more conservative performance.

"This is a gross mistake by the judges," Plushenko's wife, Yana Rudkovskaya, told the Russia-24 television network. "We need to defend our sportsmen and protect their honour."

Plushenko has also slammed Winter Olympics judges and threatened to quit the sport.

"I am not prepared to skate well and lose," Plushenko complained, RIA-Novosti reported. "This is men's figure skating - not ice dancing," Plushenko said.

The Russian skater said his opening with a tricky quadruple-triple toeloop was not adequately scored by the judges who instead gave better marks to Lysacek though he did not include a quadruple jump in his programme.

Plushenko, who has won both Olympic gold and silver medals previously in men's figure skating, and who was favoured to take gold in Vancouver, said he may retire from competitive skating following his second-place finish.

Russia, usually near the top of the rankings in Olympic medals tables but this year not even in the top 10, is due to host the next Winter Olympics in its southern city of Sochi in 2014.

The state has attached huge importance to the Sochi games and Boris Gryzlov, speaker of parliament, said Thursday that the sports minister and Olympic committee chief would be called to explain Russia's performance in Vancouver.

Internet chat rooms meanwhile were bursting with acerbic exchanges of opinion on whether Plushenko or Lysacek deserved the gold medal, with many in Russia saying the United States "bought" the top men's skating prize.

Anton Orekh, sports commentator with liberal Echo of Moscow radio station, struck a more sober note, but said few figure skating fans in Russia - Putin included - understood new scoring rules introduced recently.

"These rules to not encourage technical complexity in the programmes," Orekh said. "Our spectators, including the prime minister, are not experts in these rules and so this is incomprehensible to them," he added, referring to Plushenko's second-place finish.

 

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scoring system figure skating after 2002, numbers not art.

Judging Olympic figure skating: More numbers than art?

Under the new judging system, favoritism won’t play a part in determining the winner.

"If you're the favorite and you don't skate well, you're not going to win,â€

The new system, which has continually been refined since its introduction in 2005, emphasizes the athleticism of figure skating over artistic impressions – Johnny Weir’s pink ribbons notwithstanding. While superior artistry may be the tie-breaker between two skaters with comparable technical elements, it won’t compensate for a lack of difficulty in the routine.

Overall, both quad-jumpers like Pluschenko and artists like fifth-ranked Stéphane Lambiel of Switzerland seem pleased with the new system, which they say binds judges to criteria – closing the door on ambiguous “impressions” that leave room for too much subjectivity and even corruption, as at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.

But for skaters like Weir, infamous for plumage and theatrics, it has reduced inexplicable beauty to unfeeling calculation. And in that attempted justice, he sees a great injustice to the sport.

“It's something that's very difficult to balance – the sport of figure skating and the art of figure skating have basically become some kind of national math contest,” said Weir to reporters before skating to a disappointing fifth at US Nationals in January 2009, prompting a temporary retirement. “And this judging system is killing the sport as I grew up loving it and as the way I see the sport should be…. In my opinion, the art of figure skating is lost because of this judging system.”

Pure beauty – without secretly adding up pointsIt also may ruin the show for audiences who – especially at the Winter Olympics – are at the rink to see a good performance, not compare it with a check-list of elements they’ve never heard of.

"All the programs end up looking exactly the same because everyone is trying to put in the same level-4 tricks" to maximize their score, says Megan Marod, a figure skater and ardent fan in New York City. "Basically, it's now music playing while people do tricks."

Weir couldn’t agree more.

“I'm just longing for the day when you see that beautiful program that's clean, that you can really feel something from, and not be secretly adding up points in your head while you're watching it,” said Weir last year, complaining that even he couldn’t squeeze much artistry into routines jam-packed with necessarily technical elements. “I miss the days of when Michelle Kwan would skate a program and get perfect 6s, or when Alexei Yagudin would kind of breeze through this amazing footwork that maybe wasn't technically that difficult, but you got an emotion from it.”

But what the new International Judging System (IJS) does do is create a more level playing field. In 1998, for example, Michelle Kwan lost to Tara Lipinski’s solid but easier program with a bobble on a much more difficult routine. That won’t happen tonight. And that’s why even if a skater falls on the ice here at the Pacific Coliseum, he could still win gold.

"In the new system ... you can fall [on a jump] and still win. In the old system if you fall, you'd lose, it didn't matter if you were the best skater in the world," explains Marod. In the old system, "you could go out and hit your jumps but have poor spins and poor footwork and still win."

How the new system worksSo how does the new system work, exactly? According to US Figure Skating’s explanation online, the IJS involves two panels at an event: a technical panel and a judging panel. The technical panel identifies each technical element and its level of difficulty as the skater performs it. That leaves the judge free to focus on how well the element was performed – giving it a “grade of execution” of GOE score that ranges between -3 and +3. That GOE is then factored into the base value for the element.

To take US Figure Skating’s example:

The technical specialist identifies a jump as a triple Axel. The judge grades the quality of the jump and assigns a GOE of +1. The base value for a triple Axel is 8.2 points, and a GOE of +1 for a triple Axel has a value of 1.0 points, so the point value for the element is 9.2 points.

The judges, meanwhile, focus on five criteria: skating skills, transitions, performance/execution, choreography/composition, and interpretation.

The system has been modified every season since the 2005 World Championships. This year, the big change was to lessen the penalty for under-rotating jumps – a criterion that discouraged the top men from trying to land quads in competition, says Akiko Tamura, a Japanese journalist who has covered figure skating since 1993.