This spins out of a discussion over in one of the fan threads, about whether for women it's worth attempting a Triple Axel or not. It got me thinking that, while the IJS scoring system's technical ratings maintain uniform values for jumps across the different genders, it seems to me like this significantly undervalues the Triple Axel in the context of women's skating.
How many women have done a Triple Axel in competition? Nine? It's much rarer in women's skating than quads are in men's skating, yet the scoring system doesn't really reward the women who can pull it off.
It seems to me that that's a scoring issue no matter whether you think the TES scoring system should be primarily about rewarding the difficulty of a jump or about incentivizing skaters to push the boundaries of the sport. Because if the dearth of 3As is really that only a handful of women in the sport can do one, then that level of skill should be reflected for the ones who have actually managed it. Whereas, if the 3A could be more widespread but isn't because most ladies don't think the risk/reward ratio is remotely adequate, than the scoring system isn't providing enough incentive.
How many women have done a Triple Axel in competition? Nine? It's much rarer in women's skating than quads are in men's skating, yet the scoring system doesn't really reward the women who can pull it off.
It seems to me that that's a scoring issue no matter whether you think the TES scoring system should be primarily about rewarding the difficulty of a jump or about incentivizing skaters to push the boundaries of the sport. Because if the dearth of 3As is really that only a handful of women in the sport can do one, then that level of skill should be reflected for the ones who have actually managed it. Whereas, if the 3A could be more widespread but isn't because most ladies don't think the risk/reward ratio is remotely adequate, than the scoring system isn't providing enough incentive.