2019 Judging and Tech calls discussion | Page 8 | Golden Skate

2019 Judging and Tech calls discussion

macy

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2011
Thank you for the explanation.
It seems like there is controversy about if it really matters to the quality of the jump or should effect the GOE then?

it seems so, or whether it should be credited as a "real" flip or lutz. if you find ISU jump instruction videos or definitions of what the jumps are (i believe i have quoted USFSA before, but don't want to go digging again), you won't find anything about full blade assist or prerotation. people are looking into it way, way too deep and scrutinizing every single millisecond of a jump, when they forget judges judge in real time.

ok i lied, i had to find another post of mine since i basically started re-writing it here.

"ok, here is some clarification on this "full blade takeoff" and "prerotation" stuff...i think some of us are taking it a little too literally.

from the USFSA website on definitions of flips and lutzes-

FLIP JUMP - A toe-pick-assisted jump taken off from the back inside edge of one foot and landed on the back outside edge of the opposite foot.

LUTZ JUMP - A toe-pick-assisted jump taken off from a back outside edge and landed on the back outside edge of the opposite foot. The skater glides backward on a wide curve, taps his toe pick into the ice, and rotates in the opposite direction of the curve. The jump is named for its inventor, Alois Lutz.

https://www.usfsa.org/story?id=83964...ureskatingatoz

so let's break this down...in the eyes of the judges, a toe pick assisted jump only means using your pick on the correct foot to do the jump. it literally means putting your toe in the ice and that is it- which is what every single skater does when performing these jumps. it does not specify staying high on your pick all the way through the take off- there is a shift of weight required to get in the air, meaning not everyone stays as high up like a select few, like Yuna. it does not mean one skater has bad technique over the other, or one is wrong, nor does it matter with gaining or losing GOE. the only thing that matters whether it's called a flip or lutz are the takeoff and landing edges and whether or not your pick was in the ice.

note there is no definition of "full blade takeoff/assist" or prerotation, because they are made up terms.

from the ISU website on a cheated takeoff-

A clear forward (backward for Axel type jump) take-off will be considered as a downgraded jump. The toe loop is the most commonly cheated on take-off jump. The TP may only watch the replay in regular speed to determine the cheat and downgrade on the take off (more often in combinations or sequences).

https://isu.org/figure-skating/rules...s-2018-19/file

the first part literally means very obviously taking off backwards when going into an axel, such as somehow whipping your blade around backwards before getting into the air. it simply wouldn't be something you could get away with, and i have never seen *anyone* do this in the 20 years i've been involved in the sport, anywhere.

a toe loop with a cheated takeoff, or a toe-axel, is commonly seen at the lower levels due to incorrect teaching of the jump. this is when the skater literally turns forward with their entire body, picks facing forward, and then jumps, hence the "axel" part. in a toe loop, it's literally a toe assisted loop jump. you pick backwards, and the non-picking foot follows through on an outside edge, hence the "loop." again, you *can't* get away with doing a toe axel in high level competition because it is something so obvious you can see it even if sped up.

people are taking all of this way, way too literally, when these definitions are the only things the ISU and judging system use when looking at whether a jump is a jump."


now hopefully back to the lovely Russian ladies :)
 

ancientpeas

The Notorious SEW
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 11, 2014
:eek:topic: Her name is actually Alysa, not Alice. It's not the same name, so just calling her Alice can be confusing. It took me a minute to figure out who you meant.

As for comparing the quads, I won't get into that.

Oh.. Thanks Snow White. I had no idea who Alex65 meant. I was thinking and thinking and thought maybe there was a Russian lady whose name translated from Russian to Alice who was Jr. that I had not heard of.

I think my point was comparing the quads of Anna and Alexandra and any of the other ladies who do quads is probably more fair than comparing them to Boyangs. Just as comparing Liza's 3A to Yuzuru's is probably not helpful.
 

pearly

Record Breaker
Joined
Sep 1, 2017
I've actually seen a protocol and performance where the TC called four triple Loops (and invalidated two of them, of course). Two of them were real loops, the other two were a very poor or cheated (not getting into the skater's intention) Flip and Lutz.

As for prerotation, the real term (I'm sure you know this) is cheated take off which results in a downgrade, but only if visible at regular speed.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Well..the ISU must feel Sal are harder because they have more point value in the IJS. Just as the flip has less value than the lutz.

Just a tiny bit, though. The base value for a triple toe is 4.20 and for a triple Salchow is 4.30. Over ther years the successive revisions of the Scale of Values have brought the base values closer together. I think it varies from skater to skater as to which is harder. Sometimes (I believe?) beginning skaters learn a Salchow first and then progress to a toe loop, and for other skaters it is the other way around.

Kristi Yamaguchi hated the Salchow and often flubbed it (and in fact, doubled it at the 1992 Olympics). Nancy Kerrigan did not like the loop and was hard pressed when this jump came up as the required jump or combination in the short program. (Yuna Kim, Michelle Kwan and quite a few others shied away from the loop, too, but this was for another reason -- it was hell on your hip joints and ligaments).

On the other hand, evidently Dick Button thought the loop was easier than either the toe-loop or Salchow -- his first ever triple jump was the triple loop.

As for the difference in base value between the flip and the Lutz, I think this shines a spotlight on the importance of being strict on edge calls. The reason a Lutz earns a higher base value is because of the counter-rotation caused by holding a deep outside edge all the way to launch. If you flutz -- that is, if you release the counter-rotation prematurely by rocking over toward the inside at the last moment -- well, you did an easier jump and should not get the full base value.

Strangely, however, when it comes to quads, both men and women find the quad Lutz easier than the quad flip. Hardly anyone has a quad flip in his/her arsenal, but quad Lutzes seem to be a dime a dozen these days.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
:eek:topic: Her name is actually Alysa, not Alice. It's not the same name, so just calling her Alice can be confusing. It took me a minute to figure out who you meant.

But still, I think it is a variant of same name , Alice, Alysa, Allison, Alicia, etc. If you translate a name back and forth between languages it comes out different. Just ask Alena Aliona Alyona Алёна Kostornaia. Alex65 didn't mean any harm.
 

Pantsu

On the Ice
Joined
Sep 12, 2019
from the ISU website on a cheated takeoff-

A clear forward (backward for Axel type jump) take-off will be considered as a downgraded jump. The toe loop is the most commonly cheated on take-off jump. The TP may only watch the replay in regular speed to determine the cheat and downgrade on the take off (more often in combinations or sequences).

https://isu.org/figure-skating/rules...s-2018-19/file

the first part literally means very obviously taking off backwards when going into an axel, such as somehow whipping your blade around backwards before getting into the air. it simply wouldn't be something you could get away with, and i have never seen *anyone* do this in the 20 years i've been involved in the sport, anywhere.

a toe loop with a cheated takeoff, or a toe-axel, is commonly seen at the lower levels due to incorrect teaching of the jump. this is when the skater literally turns forward with their entire body, picks facing forward, and then jumps, hence the "axel" part. in a toe loop, it's literally a toe assisted loop jump. you pick backwards, and the non-picking foot follows through on an outside edge, hence the "loop." again, you *can't* get away with doing a toe axel in high level competition because it is something so obvious you can see it even if sped up.

people are taking all of this way, way too literally, when these definitions are the only things the ISU and judging system use when looking at whether a jump is a jump."[/I]

That seems to me like the only reasonable explanation. Since it doesn't make sense to consider all prerotated jumps as "cheated". I remember watching JGP this year and Ted mentioned that one of these jumps was called at the competition
 

Alex65

Final Flight
Joined
Aug 11, 2018
Country
Russia
:eek:topic: Her name is actually Alysa, not Alice. It's not the same name, so just calling her Alice can be confusing. It took me a minute to figure out who you meant.

As for comparing the quads, I won't get into that.

Oh.. Thanks Snow White. I had no idea who Alex65 meant. I was thinking and thinking and thought maybe there was a Russian lady whose name translated from Russian to Alice who was Jr. that I had not heard of.

......

Oh .. you have to forgive me. My English .. it just does not exist, unfortunately.:slink:
 

NadezhdaNadya

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 22, 2017
I've actually seen a protocol and performance where the TC called four triple Loops (and invalidated two of them, of course). Two of them were real loops, the other two were a very poor or cheated (not getting into the skater's intention) Flip and Lutz.

As for prerotation, the real term (I'm sure you know this) is cheated take off which results in a downgrade, but only if visible at regular speed.
Thank you. And Anna's "4 lutz" (hahaha) should have been downgraded. She prerotated 270 degrees. :)
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Either way, the ultra-fixation with slowing down jumps and analyzing the tiniest parts of them baffles me. ...

To me, it would be possible to make videos showing proper and improper technique which would be interesting and informative.

What turns me off, though, is that these videos are never made by figure skating enthusiasts with the goal of educating fans. Instead they are made by unkind partisans for the purpose of ridiculing and demeaning particular skaters that they have an irrational dislike of.
 

Globetrotter

Medalist
Joined
Jan 17, 2014
Just a tiny bit, though. The base value for a triple toe is 4.20 and for a triple Salchow is 4.30. Over ther years the successive revisions of the Scale of Values have brought the base values closer together. I think it varies from skater to skater as to which is harder. Sometimes (I believe?) beginning skaters learn a Salchow first and then progress to a toe loop, and for other skaters it is the other way around.

Kristi Yamaguchi hated the Salchow and often flubbed it (and in fact, doubled it at the 1992 Olympics). Nancy Kerrigan did not like the loop and was hard pressed when this jump came up as the required jump or combination in the short program. (Yuna Kim, Michelle Kwan and quite a few others shied away from the loop, too, but this was for another reason -- it was hell on your hip joints and ligaments).

On the other hand, evidently Dick Button thought the loop was easier than either the toe-loop or Salchow -- his first ever triple jump was the triple loop.

As for the difference in base value between the flip and the Lutz, I think this shines a spotlight on the importance of being strict on edge calls. The reason a Lutz earns a higher base value is because of the counter-rotation caused by holding a deep outside edge all the way to launch. If you flutz -- that is, if you release the counter-rotation prematurely by rocking over toward the inside at the last moment -- well, you did an easier jump and should not get the full base value.

Strangely, however, when it comes to quads, both men and women find the quad Lutz easier than the quad flip. Hardly anyone has a quad flip in his/her arsenal, but quad Lutzes seem to be a dime a dozen these days.

And I think a 4R is even rarer. When it comes to quads, my suspicion is that it is probably the hardest to do a 4R as it is the toughest to gain speed into a curved loop entrance. Always had this nigging suspicion that a 4R ought to be worth more in points than a 4F.
 

Baron Vladimir

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 18, 2014
To me, it would be possible to make videos showing proper and improper technique which would be interesting and informative.

There is not definition of proper and improper technique, beside the definition of the jumps themselfes, defined by take-off and the landing (and curve they left on the ice). We can say that proper technique on a jump is the one which satisfied all the core bullets, so jumps judged with +3 GOE, or the one judged higher with +4 and +5 are most likely the jumps with proper technique. Similar with that, jumps judged with 0 or negative GOE are the ones not done with proper technique most likely. Because of the GOE they are judged with, they must be lacking in some of the following criterias: poor take off (-2 or -3 GOE), unclear or wrong edge (-1 to -4 GOE), weak landing as it is bad body position, wrong edge, scratching (-1 to -3 GOE), under-rotated or downgraded jumps (-1 to -4 GOE). Now, if someone in the panel of judges thinks the edge is unclear or jump is lacking in rotation, he/she should deduct from positives even the sign ! or < is not given for the jump. For example many jumps are lacking in rotation on the landing (but not enough to be called UR in the system) and panel of judges should deduct -1 or -2 for it. Exactly the same deduction is applied for UR jumps (jumps which are lacking that amount of rotation to be called by the system as UR), the only difference is that panel of judges see that sign and all the judges will deduct because of it. The same is with no clear edge without or with the ! given by the tech panel. (There can be jumps of course done properly but which ended with a step out, fall, touch down or the ones with long preparation and they won't be judged with that high GOE).
 

rollerblade

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 12, 2014
And I think a 4R is even rarer. When it comes to quads, my suspicion is that it is probably the hardest to do a 4R as it is the toughest to gain speed into a curved loop entrance. Always had this nigging suspicion that a 4R ought to be worth more in points than a 4F.

If by 4R, you meant quad loop... then yea, I agree. Seems like Hanyu is the only one doing that jump on a "regular" basis.
 

macy

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2011
To me, it would be possible to make videos showing proper and improper technique which would be interesting and informative.

What turns me off, though, is that these videos are never made by figure skating enthusiasts with the goal of educating fans. Instead they are made by unkind partisans for the purpose of ridiculing and demeaning particular skaters that they have an irrational dislike of.

the ISU has a jump instruction DVD showing simulation of single jumps. here is one i found for the lutz

https://twitter.com/chiburahakkai/status/1020616883257540608?lang=en

i found this off a google search (i believe one also came up from the same twitter account for a salchow) but all other search results were fan made videos/manuals. i have no idea if the DVD is available for sale anywhere.
 

gkelly

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
the first part literally means very obviously taking off backwards when going into an axel, such as somehow whipping your blade around backwards before getting into the air. it simply wouldn't be something you could get away with, and i have never seen *anyone* do this in the 20 years i've been involved in the sport, anywhere.

I have done it, in my own practice when I was working on axels and checking the tracings afterward. Sometimes the forward edge would curve into the circle, but sometimes it would actually turn on the ice and make a scraped three-like tracing so that I was really on the back inside edge before I took off. Which would make it a single salchow.

And when I was working on double salchow at one point I was turning a BI three on the ice before taking off from a FO outside edge so it was really an axel.

I never tried either of those jumps in competition, though.

I have seen at least one other adult make one of those errors in competition (I forget whether it was axel->single salchow or double salchow->axel, probably the latter) and the tech panel was indeed confused about how to call it. Long reviews for that program!

At the elite level, no.

There have been a few men who skidded the takeoff of their triple axels so much that according to the marks on the ice the blade was traveling sideways or more backward than forward by the time they left the ice, but there was no gliding backward edge. So this would deserve a "poor takeoff" penalty in IJS and certainly not the "good takeoff" positive bullet point. But would still have been called as an axel.
 

Roast Toast

Medalist
Joined
Apr 13, 2017
Toe-axels as defined by the ISU should pretty much never be seen at the elite level, no. It's a very unintuitive way to jump. The classic example people usually point to is this combo by Mai Asada: https://youtu.be/-PcNa89WPaQ?t=4m4s

As you can see, she is not even prerotating on the ice, just straight up placing her foot forward as if she was stepping up into an axel.
 

ruga

Final Flight
Joined
Oct 20, 2017
Oooh so that's what it means. In real time it really looks odd, no wonder ISU addressed it. And basically ISU has no rules against prerotation as far as I understand? Pretty much everyone has 180° PR on +T, S and Lo, more than a half of the skaters on flips and lutzes as well, but their height and distance often suffer. I doubt that ISU will consider 90< PR to be an error as so many skaters will have to change their technique completely.
 

gkelly

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Rotating on the way up is normal technique for triples and quads, often including while the blade is still in contact with the ice but unweighted.

Expecting the skater to get all the way off the ice before rotation even begins was desirable for elite skaters doing doubles, but not practical for higher rotations.
 

macy

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2011
There have been a few men who skidded the takeoff of their triple axels so much that according to the marks on the ice the blade was traveling sideways or more backward than forward by the time they left the ice, but there was no gliding backward edge. So this would deserve a "poor takeoff" penalty in IJS and certainly not the "good takeoff" positive bullet point. But would still have been called as an axel.

there was a guy i grew up skating with who was actually taught a skid takeoff to a 2A. there weren't any rules against it back then, and i haven't heard of any at this point. i don't think he was ever dinged for it in competition either.

Rotating on the way up is normal technique for triples and quads, often including while the blade is still in contact with the ice but unweighted.

Expecting the skater to get all the way off the ice before rotation even begins was desirable for elite skaters doing doubles, but not practical for higher rotations.

:agree:
 

Happy Skates

Final Flight
Joined
Feb 18, 2019
Toe-axels as defined by the ISU should pretty much never be seen at the elite level, no. It's a very unintuitive way to jump. The classic example people usually point to is this combo by Mai Asada: https://youtu.be/-PcNa89WPaQ?t=4m4s

As you can see, she is not even prerotating on the ice, just straight up placing her foot forward as if she was stepping up into an axel.

Its not unintuitive, in fact many young skaters will jump this way when they first begin, I'd say its more intuitive than a normal toeloop. Its just drilled out of skaters at a young age, because coaches know how big of a no-no it is. Toe-axels are what the ISU has in mind when using the term pre-rotation. Because the skater is literally rotating pre placing their blade on the ice.
 

Baron Vladimir

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 18, 2014
Oooh so that's what it means. In real time it really looks odd, no wonder ISU addressed it. And basically ISU has no rules against prerotation as far as I understand? Pretty much everyone has 180° PR on +T, S and Lo, more than a half of the skaters on flips and lutzes as well, but their height and distance often suffer. I doubt that ISU will consider 90< PR to be an error as so many skaters will have to change their technique completely.

If pre-rotaion is that excessive that skater started the rotation even before the blade hit the ice (like in the example we got) the jump will be judged as << by the tech pannel. In other cases skaters may start the rotation while blade is still on the ice and those kind of jumps are usually judged with lower GOE (0-2) instead to get +3 or +4 GOE otherwise, because like you said points for height and distance most likely wont be awarded in that case, as the points for good take-off, and some of the judges may even deduct -2 from positives for poor take-off.
 
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