The bigger point is that by using a SB list for these competitions, ISU IS comparing scores across competitions. If they really want to send the message that you shouldn't compare scores between competitions, they shouldn't provide lists of SB/PBs then.
Because by not getting payed you can't force them to relinquish their anonymity, You need them to show up right?
I think the question is does the ISU WANT to pay the judges
I'm not quite sure payment is a definite way to get the judges to relinquish their anonymity either though.
And while I'm definitely against anonymous judging too, it's not the perfect answer either. In this event we have 7 judges, and all of them went overboard with the scores. So you can pick any name of the judges list and say "he/she did a bad job/was biased" or something similar. Doesn't seem to bother the judges.
Do skaters get anything besides bragging rights for the Challenger Series/B events rankings?
Of course the ISU could punish a whole judging panel... at least until we run out of judges.
So you want to fine judges for bad judging - what is bad judging? We have an obvious case here, but how many cases actually are? Where do you draw the line for punishing someone for doing something wrong in a sport where it's quite impossible to find an objective right? Also, isn't the 'corridor judging' already seen as a problem? What if judges, mainly trying not to be punished, would start to go even more by expectations instead of what they really see on the ice?
And couldn't those fines be abused too, if the sport was so corrupt? I think I'll just go with the point I don't like the idea of fining the judges. Paying them? Yes, but not just to be able to take it away if someone disagrees with you. If a judge is obviously corrupt and part of a scandal, ban them, but take their money away and let them continue to judge makes it even more likely they'll get bribed, IMO.
Scores must be comparable? Yes, I also want it very much.
Let us compare - Kostner at Worlds-2014 and Sotnikova few days ago.
Both deserve high PCS, both have great titles.
Both skated SP good, and in FS both had 4 triples. Base value in FS is about the same - 47.43 Caro, 48.44 Adelina.
Total score is very close - 203.83 Caro, 203.89 Adelina.
Similar level of skaters, similar skating and mistakes, the same score.
We see - Italian at Worlds in Japan and Russian in Russia have the same scores for the same skating.
An article about "fake scores" in Saransk if anyone is interested:
http://www.championat.com/other/article-233050-turnir-po-figurnomu-kataniju-v-saranske.html
Sotnikova at Olympics was JrWorlds Champion and two-times Euro silver medalist. It is not "without any title".An Olympic panel saw Sotnikova as superior even without any title
Sotnikova at Olympics was JrWorlds Champion and two-times Euro silver medalist. It is not "without any title".
It was 2nd Senior season of Sotnikova and 12th Senior season of Kostner. So Sotnikova physically could not have so many titles as Kostner.
Very young Ladies won Olympics without many titles - Tara Lipinski for example, or Julia Lipnitskaia who won both SP and FS in Team Event.
An article about "fake scores" in Saransk if anyone is interested:
http://www.championat.com/other/article-233050-turnir-po-figurnomu-kataniju-v-saranske.html
Obviously, from translating the comments in Google Translate, the Russians don't think highly of the author and the so-called "score inflation"...
well putSorry, but I'm not buying what you're selling. This was an ISU sanctioned, international event. That it was scored as if it were some podunk local or internal competition is exactly the problem. As others have said, because it was a Challenger event, the skaters who received these very inflated scores will get an unfair boost on the SB list, likely passing skaters who earned their SB scores at more responsibly judged competitions.
I understand that figure skating is a sport judged by human beings, with a great deal of subjective evaluation involved. I don't get my panties in a wad every time a homey skater gets a little "thank you for hosting the competition" bonus. However, I believe the home cooking went too far at Mordovian Ornament. As a skating fan, I am very disillusioned that this sort of thing happens, that it is always swept under the rug, and that no one is ever held accountable. It makes me question why I even bother to follow the sport.
Sotnikova at Olympics was JrWorlds Champion and two-times Euro silver medalist. It is not "without any title".
It was 2nd Senior season of Sotnikova and 12th Senior season of Kostner. So Sotnikova physically could not have so many titles as Kostner.
Very young Ladies won Olympics without many titles - Tara Lipinski for example, or Julia Lipnitskaia who won both SP and FS in Team Event.
And Sotnikova has significantly better spins than Kostner at Worlds-2014.
Coming up : Sotnikova getting a new world record 155 with only 5 triples
1) Sotnikova had no major titles
2) Tara won a world championship the year before
3) Sotnikova was up against some of the greatest ever in the sport
4) Sotnikova and Lipnitskaya experience a rate of component inflation the likes of which have never been seen, and he had received some of the highest scores ever
The result cannot be defended and the scores at this competition cannot be defended.
Now come on Eladola be nice and not hyperbolic.
Were all of the judges at this event Russian?
I'm just wondering why they would conspire to give high scores to the Russian skaters at this minor event. Surely it wasn't to put them in the running for the top monetary prize of just over 5,000 USD.
No.Were all of the judges at this event Russian?