:medal":
I barely remember the 6.0 era, due to age. A short while back, the US Ladies thread was discussing Hughes’ win at the SLC OWG and how Kwan needed only one change in ordinals to take the gold — and I admit, I wasn’t as familiar with the intricacies of tiebreakers and how placement was ultimately determined in the 6.0 system as I am with CoP. I have somewhat clearer memories of the early years of CoP, in which many skaters were transitioning from ordinals to CoP, and how little difference was visible at first, but my actual memories of skating come from the CoP-era. (And figures? I wasn’t even gestating when they were phased out! [emoji23])
That being said, I’ve watched plenty of 6.0-era skating, and it’s hard to shake CoP standards. I was actually educating my boyfriend on the history of skating and when we were watching Witt’s Carmen, I remarked that it was so hard not to apply the new rules — I was calling insufficient revs on spins, lack of features, etc., mostly out of force of habit. But even in my time as a skating fan, rules have changed and judges have become more willing to award +3 GOEs, so watching 6.0 skating is like watching older CoP skating when three 2As were allowed in the free or the men had two step sequences, or, ugh, the spiral sequence was mandatory. And if the skating is truly engrossing, I’m not likely to think of it in numbers.
That being said, it is fun to consider how different skaters would have fared under GOE 1.0, GOE 2.0, etc. Tonya Harding, for example, probably could have amassed a durable enough TES lead that anyone hoping to beat her in PCS would have needed to keep the TES margin down. (Harding’s Lutz was insane.) Kwan’s PCS would have been fodder for epic flamewars. Et cetera.
But I have a hard time really judging skating outside the context of its era — transitions may be the currency of our era, but they weren’t thought about nearly as much a decade ago. Does that mean a jump that satisfied all the expected criteria for the time and was flawless otherwise doesn’t deserve a +5 because the skater isn’t performing transitions that weren’t even thought of as necessary back then? What skaters were asked and expected to do has changed so much. Yuna’s 3Lz is forever the gold standard for me, even if she didn’t have crazy transitions in and out.
One of those French judges, a lady, was terrified about what would happen to her if she didnt do "their" bidding. She confessed to US Judge Jon Jackson who then wrote his famous book that made me even more cynical...dont read it unless YOU want to be a cynical old person! 
I loved seeing this wonderful program again. It looks so different to see them doing double jumps. And how wonderful is it that he lifts her and she doesn't do the obligatory "grab the blade" thing. They were SO magical! I have no doubt that if they were competing in today's system, they would raise their tech. Now I have to watch the 1988 Calgary FS!I just watched a High Definition youtube of Katia and Sergei at '94 Lillihammer, two of my favorite skaters....I was just curious as to how it, the performance, would hold up in this era of very complex lifts.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkIK-JTI7Ls
I think their best performances still stand the test of time — which is the most you can ask of older skates. And in terms of “performance art,” I think 6.0 was all about creating those kinds of moments. Not to say we haven’t seen programmes of equal artistic caliber under CoP, but the more skating becomes about quantifying levels and features and skaters are forced to add elements to check those boxes, the harder it becomes to enjoy the impact of an element, such as a lift, rather than checking The Box and/or to see if a team added the necessary frills for the levels (i.e., points). There are some lifts from the 6.0-era that would be considered “basic” under CoP, but a well-executed lift right on the music in which I’m not worried about someone falling or checking for the number of features ... I miss those.
https://youtu.be/_lwp-T8-dus]TRIPLE LUTZ DOUBLE TOE![/URL] You don’t miss everyone heading to the Lutz corner at the start of their SP?
The Russian AND the Canadian team.I became very cynical about figure skating scoring under the old system, and the peak was the SLC OWG. Who won the pairs again?
I actually remember that — my mother had Today on when I’d eat breakfast for school, and that kept me updated on the drama. It was amazing.
That said, for me M/D also made Magic. Not with their jumps, but with their commitment to the music, the interpretation, the way they build the intensity of their skating right along with Rachmaninoff. I'll never forget the thrill of first seeing what they do beginning at 4:12. I feel their power and share their passion, every time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMGwRapz2do
I never did understand that move on Sergei's knees, lifting Katia that way. I still don't. But in general, I don't like self-referential programs; it's just me.
I'm not really debating whether the judges got it right. I just am obsessed with those two programs, in part because everything G&G did so well was almost diametrically opposite to everything that M&D did so well. I probably should have led with this: I'm a true G&G fanatic; I only started watching figure skating at all because of them. Those two pairs teams, and those two programs in particular, are a case study in the idea that figure skating is about emotion and personal preference, and there really is something for everybody.
And I think both teams, and both skates, stand up well, whatever system one uses for evaluating them.
