There's always a tension:
The intangible qualities, qualitative qualities, wholistic impact of a whole program, etc., are often what makes a performance special, makes it transcend the technical sport, not only for fans but also for judges.
But they are the most subjective aspects being evaluated, and there will be more disagreements between judges, between fans, and between judges and fans as to which performance was best in these areas.
Speedskaters and other officials from other sports may want figure skating to downplay the qualitative, subjective aspects of the scoring. Many skaters and coaches may also want to downplay those aspects and focus on the more objective technical feats that no one can deny if they are in fact executed.
Meanwhile, others in the skating community and skating fan community want to reward the qualitative, artistic, and wholistic areas more, and of course some skaters (often beloved of fans) want to emphasize those areas of their own performances.
How can more rewards for these aspects be built into the rules without making the scoring overly subjective and subject to judges' personal preferences?
(Assuming the absence of national bias, which brings in a whole other confounding factor.)
The intangible qualities, qualitative qualities, wholistic impact of a whole program, etc., are often what makes a performance special, makes it transcend the technical sport, not only for fans but also for judges.
But they are the most subjective aspects being evaluated, and there will be more disagreements between judges, between fans, and between judges and fans as to which performance was best in these areas.
Speedskaters and other officials from other sports may want figure skating to downplay the qualitative, subjective aspects of the scoring. Many skaters and coaches may also want to downplay those aspects and focus on the more objective technical feats that no one can deny if they are in fact executed.
Meanwhile, others in the skating community and skating fan community want to reward the qualitative, artistic, and wholistic areas more, and of course some skaters (often beloved of fans) want to emphasize those areas of their own performances.
How can more rewards for these aspects be built into the rules without making the scoring overly subjective and subject to judges' personal preferences?
(Assuming the absence of national bias, which brings in a whole other confounding factor.)