From: cass@netcom.com (Diana Tenery-Fisher)
Subject: Re: US National Championship results!
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest) 
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1993 20:34:32 GMT

clin@eng.umd.edu (Charles Lin) writes:



>   I'm sure this is in the most recent skating FAQ, but here goes the question
>anyway.   Watching the women's US Nationals (they conveniently replace the men's
>with basketball.   For some reason--ratings, I suspect, skating is routinely
>pre-empted in favor of something else), the top skaters usually are given
>some favor.   For example, Kwaikowski seemed to have more trouble making
>her landings than say, Bobek.   Yet, she scored higher technically.  It
>seems that once you have been in the business a while, and skate well, the
>judges are willing to bump your scores higher, and a new, untested skater
>lower.   Hence, Kerrigan might win because she may never have a chance
>of winning a Nationals again (though unlikely, since this occurs every
>year), and yet despite a fall, she still gets outstanding scores.   This
>kind of scoring seems to apply to sports like synchronized swimming, as well.
 
 I am not sure if this is the reason, but competitive roller-skating uses
an 'ordinals' system to determine winners of events. When the event is
completly finished, each judge gives each competitor a rank. (not a score)
So each judge can give only one 1st place, one 2nd place, and so on. So
as they are scoring each person individually, they have to take into
account skaters they havent seen and the 'probable' job that that skater 
will do. To be honest, I am not sure if figure skating uses the same 
scoring system. (I have gone to ice-skating competitions at the St. Mortiz
rink in Dublin Ca - home of Kristi, Brian, etc. and they used this system
of judging.) I dont know if it is used at the higher level competitions
though. And it has always kind of made me wonder how the 'number
score' given at the end of each performance plays into all of this. I have
seen 2 different competitors get the same number score from the same
judge (say a 5.9, etc.) So, you got me there... :) 

-diana


>    Of course, I am hardly an experienced spectator, so perhaps there were
>artisitic merits that I failed to see in Kerrigan's routine that elevated
>her above the others, but I get the feeling that this is not true.

>    Right now, I'm not sure who the top people in the skating field are.
>Americans usually fare poorly in the pairs, and it looks like that they may
>fare not well again.   It seems all the good technical skaters go to singles
>while the Russians don't have a top female singles skater, and only one top
>male skater that I can recall, but always do well in the pairs.   The Russians
>usually fare well in the ice dancing, and pairs.   The Americans is women's
>singles, and men's singles (though, not lately).   If anyone has a list
>of who is considered tops in the various categories, I'd like to see it.  I
>assume Usova and Zhulin and Rakhamo and Koko(?) are tops in ice dancing.
>I have no clue who's tops in ice pairs.   Women's, umm, I don't know.
>Surya Bonaly is still skating.   There's Lou Chen, and Yuka Sato.  Of course,
>there's Kerrigan, and Lisa Ervin looks promising.  Any others?  I have no idea
>who's in the men's.

>--
>Charles Lin
>clin@eng.umd.edu
-- 
______________________________________________________________________________
                                'It is only with the heart that one can see
Diana Tenery-Fisher  o/~         rightly. What is essential is invisible
cass@netcom.com                  to the eye'  -  The Little Prince    *143SKB*