#quad salchow

[projectcatzo]

As hype as it is reading Medalist and watching everyone pull off triple axels and quad combination jumps and skate all these complex flawless routines, I just have to ask: where are these elusive elementary schoolers who can pull all this off? Show me the timeline where there are 11-year-old girls who can master a quad combination jump on a whim when most world-class competitive adult men don't even include them in their programs. I'm being serious, please tell me where they are, I'll start watching novice skating competitions if this is what I'm missing out on

[bapwoo]

Oh my. Hold up... I'm gonna spray some holy water on that ice

[vriendenboekjes]

finally the haterisms i need

[harocat]

Oh no Ilia’s program going around means all these people are jumping in with wrong facts about figure skating.

[thisthisthisandthis]

joined just in time for belinda to roast moris’ least horrific free of the season!

[amakumos]

anyways this is gonna be the angsty sibling to kiss and cry

[ruruumin]

hi!! I came across you and I thought your work is really amazing!! This is my first time asking something like this haha but for everything a first :) I really love figure skating and I was wondering if you could make a oneshot or any headcannons of the reactions of blue lock characters haha (mostly rin nagi and sae)! (sorry if I made some mistakes, English is t my first language)

ice, ice, baby!

₊˚ ᗢ blue lock various x figure skater! reader.

⤷ what kind of relationships rin, sae, and nagi (separate) would be in.

itoshi rin

“if you’re going to do something, do it with your entire heart.”

rin met you when he was only ten years old. you were his next door neighbor with a feverish dream to become the best figure skater in the world. although it may have been one of the loftiest dreams anyone might hear, he believed in you the same way you did for him. and together, he will see you perform all over the country, with him in arms waiting.

so when a cold rainy day comes and the two of you were walking home together under a shared umbrella, he wanted to say something. but you beat him to it. standing in front of your door, you turned around and smiled, saying only two things: i will be leaving to russia tomorrow morning to train with a new coach. 

this first part came as a no brainer to him, of course you would leave. just as sae did a few months ago, you were beginning to flap the wings you were blessed with. however, the second part was what kept him on his toes, heart punching up to his throat: and i love you, rin.

after departing in the morning, he would stay up late to watch your performances on television. even when he had early practice, it was complete habit to see you on screen. your presence on the ice was unmatched by many of your cohorts in russia. cold and calculative, yet free flowing. like a confident stream you graced the fields with a polished play. alongside a perfectly timed quad axel, it placed you right at the top of the world.

the ultimate power couple. when you’re at the kiss and cry, you’ll say his name to the camera before blowing a kiss. meanwhile, whenever he scores a goal, he’ll raise his fist in a catching motion, bringing it up to his lips as he hides his faint smile behind his hand. your performances will always be dedicated to each other and it drives the press mad (rightfully so). 

when you return to japan, he’s the first person that you see at the airport. in only a matter of seconds, with his extremely long legs and speed, he is wrapping his arms around you tightly, inhaling your scent as he lays his head on your shoulder. 

he would immediately take you back to all your favorite places. during your time away, he had taken a multitude of pictures and sent you dozens of instagram reels of cafes. now that you were here in his arms, it made going to them all the more real (or maybe not, with you sitting in front of him, enjoying a mont blanc and latte, it feels like the perfect dream). 

sleeping in the same bed as him had never felt any better. while you knew him to be a drooler, you would have never expected him to be clingier than a koala. he is keeping you flushed against his chest the entire night. if you think about getting water, he will follow you with arms tangled with yours. 

itoshi sae

“i’ll carve my name into ice while you all watch in awe.” 

the only other person with the same amount of arrogance as him was you, a rebellious teenager he found on the streets of spain. you tried to pickpocket him on his first day in the country. instead of reporting you to the police, he asked you one simple question that changed the trajectory of your life: if you had the chance to do anything, what would it be?

some people viewed you as a lost cause in the figure skating world. having started extremely late compared to your other peers, your name was rubbish and caked in dirt. however, it never stopped sae from coming to see you after every practice, watching as you practiced your spins and salchows underneath the dim lights of the arena with a coach he’d hired. to him, you were a diamond in the rough that just needed a push.

he didn’t think much about your relationship until it was late at night. you were walking back with him to a hotel, face covered with masks to avoid intruding paparazzi. it started off with small talk, like family and friends (you learned he had a very cocky but sweet brother back in japan), but it quickly diverged into something more intimate that had the two of you walking into his room with intertwined pinkies.

when it came time to perform in the qualifying rounds, you had plunged the stadium with wails and tears. overcoming the country’s beloved skater by a wide margin, you stood above everyone, head raised high as you pointed up to the cameras, hardening your gaze as you mouthed sae’s name. you must have known he was watching from the corners of the locker room. 

the world of figure skating was going to change with you, a new generation skater that rose from nothing. 

sae feels immense pride when it comes with you. even though there were many curve balls thrown in your direction, whether it be from bad press or his persistent fanbase, the smile you hid beneath the covers reassured him that you were going to stick it out. nothing in the world could compare to the happiness you felt when you were with sae. because with him, you knew you could do anything.

dates typically consist of fancy meals or sightseeing trips. he isn’t particularly drawn to these activities himself, but what motivates him is the thought of treating you to something new. whether it be a pretty dessert from down the street that costed an arm and a leg, or seeing the stars as you walk along the beach, he’ll dedicate a huge chunk of his income to letting you see the world in its fullest.

matching photocards on the back of your phone cases. sae uses a clear one so he can flip his phone around and stare at you before every game. while some think he’s admiring your smile (as beautiful as it is), he’s actually sees you as the perfect rival to his games. although you were both in different sports, the two of you constantly pushed each other to your limits, showing the world what it means to be the very best. 

nagi seishiro

“there is no point in anything if you aren’t going to have fun.” 

he wasn’t interested in figure skating until he came across one of your performances on youtube. it was really early into middle school when he started watching you. one of the reasons why he started was because you skated to a lot of his favorite songs from video games he liked. the second reason was because you looked like you were having fun. 

unlike most figure skaters he’s seen, you made the sport look enjoyable (he thinks everyone else looks extremely constipated when they’re too focused). with a beautifully confident smile, you danced across the ice, performing triple axels and a perfect biellmann spin. you skated as if you truly loved this sport, and this was the selling point for him (maybe this is when he started to be called a certified fanboy).

when he arrived to blue lock, the first thing he wanted to win back was his phone so he could keep up with your recent uploads. even when you aren’t posting something figure skating related, your miniature q&a sessions were entertaining enough to keep him awake for the rest of the night, much to reo’s dismay (he wanted to sleep early for once).

the best thing reo had gifted him were a pair of tickets to see you perform at one of the biggest skating rinks in the country. nagi was almost shaking in his seat in excitement, eyes wider than saucers when you stepped into the arena with the prettiest outfit known to man. you blew kisses and waved to the audience, giving them your signature smile. you suddenly stopped in your tracks to deliver a long kiss in nagi’s direction, something that sent him into an early cardiac arrest.

your relationship with him blossoms after seeing him at the local convenience store. the two of you had awkwardly reached for the same cup noodle. even though you were dressed in a simple, oversized black hoodie and a mask that hid half of your face, he easily recognized you by the sound of your voice. nagi’s phone would have dropped to the ground if it wasn’t for you catching it midway. when the screen lights up with a picture of you as his wallpaper, you smile and type in your number, throwing his phone back to him as you take the cup noodle and leave.

you and him would text consistently. after every practice he would immediately rush over to his phone to see if you had left any messages. expect a lot of back and forth photos. nagi’s pictures consisting of things he saw that reminded him of you while you sent him photos of yourself at practice or a recent choreograph. 

imagine how shocked your youtube fanbase is when you show up with your 6’3 boyfriend who barely shows up on camera because hes too tall for your tripod. you’re teaching him how to ice skate and although he started as a wobbly giraffe, he easily picked up a lot of tricks. he might not be the best at doing jumps but his footwork was impeccable (you like to tease him about switching careers but he lazily replies with his face in your shoulder about how much work it’ll be). 

[luxyue]

knife boots — part i.

xiao x reader, figure skating au

masterlist | next

➥ NEW VOCAB ❝ quad ❞ any four revolution jump

i. this is why they say don't meet your idols

The Wednesday 6:00 AM session is the best, in Xiao's opinion. There's usually nobody there, maybe Shenhe and occasionally Ganyu or Keqing. It's specifically reserved for international competitors, so everyone knows their way around the ice—including how to stay out of each other's way. Xiao can run through his program as many times as he needs, without popping a jump just because an inexperienced skater got in his way.

Not that he pops his jumps very often. Or at all. He might fall sometimes (no, he doesn't), but if he starts one, he'll see it through no matter what.

It's now 6:31 AM, and Xiao finishes working on his step sequences. He moves on to freestyle, deciding the rest of the session will be spent on jumps. Maybe just a spin or two at the end if he has time.

He starts with his triple salchow. The first triple he learned, just like everybody else does, and it has been loyal to him ever since. Running through the rest of his triples is a formula that's stuck to him like glue. Toe loop. Loop. Flip. Lutz. Axel. Then repeat, but as quads this time. Easy as pie. All goes well, and he's about to do the final one, his quad lutz.

That is, until you walk in.

With a slam, he falls hard. Literally.

Zhongli glances over with slight concern, before going back to converse with you.

No, it's not that your looks particularly catch his eye or anything. Of course not. But it's you, Y/N L/N. Someone nobody has seen or heard from in three whole years. What are you doing here of all places, with his coach no less?

Whatever, he thinks, deciding to mind his own business considering there's only 5 minutes left on this session. Ice time is expensive. But it's too late, Zhongli and him make eye contact.

"Ah, Xiao! Good morning. Could you please come here for a second?"

Well, it's not like he could say no, so he skates over to the boards, although begrudgingly, where Zhongli seemed to be showing you around.

"This is Y/N. Although I believe you've seen her before, haven't you?"

Of course Xiao has seen you before. At the Grand Prix Final, then at Four Continents, and finally at Worlds. But that was all three years ago, and he hasn't seen you since.

"I have. A while ago," he responds.

Zhongli smiles. "Well, you have plenty of time to get acquainted now. Y/N will be skating here with us from now on."

Skating with—wait, what?

"I thought she skated for Snezhnaya?"

"Used to. But um, not anymore," you speak up for the first time, and Xiao looks over at you, as if seeing you for the first time, finally registering your presence. His brows furrow in confusion.

"Actually, I've invited Ms. Y/N to skate for Liyue this season." Zhongli adds for you.

Xiao doesn't know what to think of this. How.....strange. Snezhnaya wasn't known for letting their best skaters go, after all. "And they allowed it?" Xiao asks, the question directed at you.

"Allowed would be a generous term to use," you say sheepishly, "but let's just say they didn't have much of a choice."

Xiao gives you a look of skepticism, not quite sure what to think, but in the end, chooses to say nothing.

Zhongli clears his throat. "Ahem, well, I'll leave you two to acquaint yourselves. Y/N, feel free to get on the ice at any time." As he leaves, you shoot him a glance that obviously screams help me, but he doesn't notice. Typical Zhongli.

It's just you and Xiao now. Great.

Xiao used to be your favorite skater of all time. You admired him greatly, not just because of his jumping capability, but because of the grace and artistry he carried himself with. The way he flew across the ice was simply captivating, and every skater would give anything to have his talent and skill. Not to mention he's.....insanely attractive.

And now, you finally get to meet your idol in person. Just not in the way you expected.

"I don't know what you're doing here, but in Liyue, skating is skating," he says, suddenly breaking the silence.

You look up at him in confusion. "What else would it be?"

"I'm saying we don't need the drama that happens in Snezhnaya," he says curtly.

You do understand what he means, and he isn't completely wrong. Snezhnaya had built a reputation over the years, known not only for their superb skaters, but for the drama amongst their students and coaches as well. But, to suggest you would cause drama, just because you had represented Snezhnaya?

"So the rumors are true," you say.

Xiao raises an eyebrow. "What rumors?"

"That you're an ass."

He blinks at you once, and twice, then three times. "What?"

"You're not exactly known for being a ball of sunshine, I mean."

He looks at you as if he can't believe you just spoke to him that way. "And that's not my job. I'm being paid to be a good skater," he says.

"Right, I forgot. Because you don't have to worry about a good reputation like the rest of us," you murmur.

He narrows his eyes at you. "And what do you mean by that?"

"Everyone loves you. Nobody would ever write an article about your bad attitude because frankly, your ever-growing fanbase could care less." You refer to Xiao's immense fame, both in Liyue and the rest of Teyvat. There was no discussing figure skating without discussing Xiao, because simply put, he was the best anyone had ever seen.

"I don't need advice from you of all people on that," he says curtly.

Wow. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

"You went a single season before you caused one of the biggest scandals of our sport. And now? You're irrelevant. Do me a favor and don't walk in here acting like you're better than everyone from now on. Last I checked, you haven't won a thing in two years. Get over yourself."

Xiao steps out of the rink, snaps his skating guards on in two quick motions, and storms off.

...

It's only 7:49 AM, but you're done. Wiped out. Dead. Deceased.

You try a triple salchow, the easiest triple jump. You could do it without a thought before. You make your turn as straight as possible, and launch into it—

You fall.

Get over yourself.

Whatever, salchows were never your favorite anyway.

Skipping over toe loops, because who needs those, you move on to triple loop. You have a love-hate relationship with loops, but before your two-year break from the sport they were starting to grow on you.

You fall again.

You haven't won a thing in two years.

Nope. No way. Xiao's words will not be getting to you. No matter how much you used to idolize him.

Triple flip time. Flips are your favorite, so this has to work.

It in fact, does not work.

You're irrelevant.

Shaking your head, you get up. It's probably a bad idea, but you go for it anyway.

Skating on a backwards outside edge, you draw your foot back and reach, picking into the ice. You spin once, twice—

You went a single season before you caused one of the biggest scandals of our sport.

You slam into the boards.

Okay, ouch. That's gonna leave a bruise, and as much as you hate to admit it, Xiao's words were eating away at you. They were harsh, yes. But deep down, you knew that everything he said was, in some way, true.

"Y/N L/N? Is that you?"

Lifting yourself off of the ice, you peek your head over the boards and see a boy with fluffy light blue hair and matching eyes in a fascinating shade of blue, full of curiosity.

"Oh...hi?" Shit, what was his name again? Something with a C? Ummm—

"I don't know if you really know me....we never formally met, but I'm Chongyun," he says quietly.

"Chongyun! Of course I remember you, you were one of my favorite skaters on junior!" you exclaim.

Hearing this, his pale skin turns a deep red. "M-me? Really? But you're like, one of the best skaters to ever exist..."

"Yeah...well...I only did senior for one season, haha. I don't think that's enough to say I was one of the best," you say sheepishly.

Chongyun shakes his head in disagreement. "No way! After all, how many other skaters can land that many triple axels and quads in one program?"

Xiao can.

The mention of triple axels and quads makes you flinch.

"Sorry...did I say too much?" he lowers his head.

"No, of course not! It's just..." you don't finish.

"What is it?"

"To tell you the truth, I can barely land a triple right now. I've barely touched my skates in the last two years. Zhongli agreed to let me skate here, and even represent Liyue...but how am I supposed to do that when I can't even land a triple salchow?" The gravity of your situation is hitting you now. Your comeback to the sport would not be as easy as you had envisioned.

Chongyun seems to think for a moment, processing everything that you just told him. "Well...at one point, landing quads was a piece of cake for you. I think that if you can do that, then you can do anything." He looks at you with determination.

You smile. "Thanks Chongyun. I'll definitely try my best."

After all, what else could you do?

[rikeijo]

Today’s translation #838

Yuri!!! on Life, official guidebook, Programs

On love ~Eros~

Eros = something so attractive, that you lose the ability to think rationally, because of it. When Yuuri thought about what that is to him, the answer that he came up with was 'katsudon'. But then, the costume that Victor wore, when he became the Junior Champion, that was created to represent both male and female, made Yuuri realize that the artistic expression of 'the most beautiful woman in the town, that provocatively charms men' is a good fit for him. In the starting position, he faces down, and then while spreading his arms, he makes everyone set their eyes on him. A seductive smile leads to a step sequence, that is Yuuri's strong suit. The audience becomes entranced with elaborate series of turns and his edge work, with uses a lot of toe, as an accent, as well as the nimbly movements of his arms. The composition of the program is a high difficulty one - change foot spin after flying sit spin, and all the jumps are in the second half of the program. To get more GOE (points for presentation), the entries to the jumps are also creative - triple axel after a spread eagle, and quad salchow after an ina bauer. The combination of quad toe loop + triple toe loop that has a half-sitting position entry is something that only somebody with physical strength like Yuuri can do. The program, which tells the story of how the woman entrances the man, manipulates him, and at the end of the program leaves him with no feeling of attachment left, to move on to another man, together with the passionate melody of Jin Oki's flamenco guitar, charms everyone, who is watching with its visuals and sounds. One more thing to focus on is how the artistic expression changes with each new episode.

Short Program, planned composition:

step sequence, change foot camel spin, flying sit spin, 3A, 4S (4S+3T in the GPF), 4T+3T (4F in the GFP), combination spin

[seimei-chsq]

remember when being able to land even one quad was a huge deal? remember when we had the whole skating skills vs quad revolution debate. remember when half the reason yuzuru even went to the tcc was because javier had a pretty solid quad salchow. remember when performing a high tech element didn’t automatically grant you a high score because being able to balance athleticism and artistry was half the challenge. remember when figure skating was fun.

[alexseanchai]

the third jump in "Stammi vicino" Aria is a triple axel, and so is the first jump in the jump combo after the quad salchow, yes? what's the rest of the combo, do we know? all the other jumps in the program, the announcer names, but not these

[bapwoo]

I'm emotional. Happy for both Rion and Wakaba 😭❤

[gogogogolev]

Senior men's final results and Stephen's free skate protocol from 2024 Skate Ontario Sectional Series August. Congratulations to Stephen on winning gold.

It appears Stephen is planning to start this program with 3 different quads - loop, toe, and Salchow. Coupled with the two triple Axels, it's a technically ambitious program. Skated clean it would have a base value of 88.30 with all level 4 elements. Which is nuts. But that is what it takes to be a top skater, so what he's planning is definitely necessary. Please don't injure yourself with this tech content.

We must also acknowledge all the level 4 elements. Stephen is reusing this program but has refined it to improve on it. I hope he's able to show this program skated to its full potential.

I regretfully could not go in today but I am happy Stephen skated a full competition in the summer. He last did that in 2019. That gold medal should give him a little confidence boost heading into this season. The Granite bros are back and have swept the podium.

Now on to high performance camp.

[kodanshamanga]

NEW Kodansha Digital:

⛸️Medalist, Vol 9⛸️ By TSURUMAIKADA

❄️Tsukasa joins the All-Japan Novice meet. In it, Hikaru Kamisaki—the student of Olympic gold medalist Jun Yodaka—dominates with a quad toe loop, followed by a triple axel to round out the show.

[ravenonice]

Scoring in Yuri on Ice

or the IJS Scoring System prior to 2018

I made a guide like this before but I wanted to rewrite it since I found some flaws and want to add more resources and stuff for both YoI fanfic authors and fans who just want to understand scoring in figure skating a little better maybe :)

Disclaimer: I am only human. This guide is most likely flawed. But the ISU doesn't seem to understand their own scoring most of the time either so does it really matter? Please tell me if I have wrong information on anything or explained it wrong/confusingly. ^^

The International Judging System (IJS) has been used in figure skating and ice dance competitions since 2004. It replaced the prior 6.0 system which awarded two marks on a scale to 0 to 6, one for technical merit and one for presentation.

Some of the "older" skaters in YoI, e.g. Viktor, Chris and Yuuri, still skated under the 6.0 at some point. If you place the start of the story in 2015/16, then Viktor skated under the 6.0 for his whole Junior career and the switch was made around when he started skating in seniors.

But we are not here to talk about the 6.0.

Scores given within the IJS consist of 2 parts: The Technical Element Score (TES) and Program Component Score (PCS), which are then combined to make up the Total Segment Score (TSS).

A score sheet from a competition (in this case short program) looks like this:

So let's break that down, shall we?

Technical Element Score (TES)

The TES is about the technical elements in a program, such as jumps, spins, step and choreographic sequences.

In the Short Program there are 7 required elements which can be skated in whatever order:

A double or triple Axel

one triple or quad jump

a jump combination

one spin with a flying entry

a camel or sit spin with just one change of foot

a spin combination with just one change of foot

a step sequence

Single jumps don't recieve any points at all, but do count as a performed element. That means if a skater "pops" a jump, meaning they open up to early and only perform a single rotation, they can't just try again.

The short program is 2min 40 secs long +/- 10 secs

The Free Skate is more...well...free. But there are also restrictions.

A total of 12 elements have to be performed:

7 jump elements. One has to be an Axel jump.

Three spins. One has to be a combination, one has to be a single position and one has to have a flying entrance

One step sequence

One choreographic sequence

Different to the short program, you get points for single jumps. Though those are hardly ever performed on purpose.

The Free Skate is 4 minutes and 20 secs long +/- (now it's 4 min).

Every Element has a Base Value (BV). That meas the performed element is guaranteed those points minus deductions and plus the Grade of Execution (GOE).

Base Values

In Figure Skating there are 6 jumps which can be performed with up to 4 roations at the time being. I will list them with the according base values and with the according abbreviations.

Toe Loop:

1T =0.4pt - 2T =1.3pt- 3T = 4.3pt - 4T = 10.3pt

Salchow:

1S = 0.4pt - 2S = 1.3pt - 3S = 4.4pt - 4S = 10.5pt

Loop:

1Lo = 0.5pt - 2Lo = 1.8pt - 3Lo = 5.1pt - 4Lo = 12pt

Flip:

1F = 0.5pt - 2F = 1.9pt - 3F =5.3pt - 4F= 12.3pt

Lutz:

1Lz = 0.6pt - 2Lz = 2.1pt - 3Lz = 6pt - 4Lz =13.6pt

Axel:

1A =1.1pt - 2A= 3.3pt - 3A = 8.5pt - 4A = 15pt

Those values are for prior to 2018 and correct in the context of YoI, the Base Value of the quads and 3A are now a little lower.

-> Why is the Axel worth so much more?

Unlike the other jumps, a single Axel has 1 1/2 rotations, since, other than the all other jumps, it has a forward take off, but is landed backwards.

As of now, the quad Axel has only been landed succesfully by Ilia Malinin, a 18 y/o skater from the USA. He landed it for the first time in competition and got it ratified at the beginning of the 22/23 season at the US Classic, a challenger event that was freaking geoblocked so no one outside the US fucking saw history being made...

Prior to that, Yuzuru Hanyu trained the 4A intensely, and landed it in competition on two feet at the Japanese National Championships in 2021, but failed to get it ratified internationally at the 2022 Olympics because he fell.

But, as far as YoI canon goes, not even Viktor jumps a quad Axel. The extra half rotation makes that jump extremly difficult and was deemed impossible for a very long time. And while I encourage you to use the quad Axel as a story point and a goal for one of the characters, and think it can be very powerful, I highly discourage you from putting a quad Axel in your story lightly.

Euler Jump (a transitional half jump used in combinations to change the edge for take off): 1 EU 0.5 points

-> in YoI that would still be called a single Loop (because thats what it is basically...) and be marked as 1Lo! They changed the name in 2018.

I will try to make another post about the different jumps soon, but for now here is a guide for telling apart jumps!

Combination jumps:

For jump combinations the base values are simply combined. E.g.: A 3F+1Lo+3S combination has a base value of 10.1 points.

Reduction of Base Value:

An underrotated jump (<) will receive 70% of the Base Value, a downgraded jump (<<) receives the Base Value of the jump with one less rotation. If I am not mistaken the 70% Base Value rule also applies to jumps with a wrong take off edge (marked with "e"). Someone please corect me if I'm wrong, I couldn't find the information anywhere...

Repetition:

In the Short Program, each jump can only be executed once. That means that if a skater jumps for example a triple toe loop as a solo jump and as part of the combination, the second jump won't receive any points.

Further in the Free Skate, the "Zayak rule" is to be observed, meaning that from all triple and quad jumps, only two can be executed twice. The repeated jump has to be in combination! For example having a 4T and 4T+2T in your program is valid. But if you have two solo 4T the second one gets marked +REP and receives 70% of the base value.

This also means that if a skater falls on that combination with the repeated jump, it's extra bad. Because that means -1pt for the fall, negative GOE of course and the jump is only worth 70%...tough.

If a skater repeats a jump, it will often be refered to as "zayaked".

Jumps of the same type but with different amounts of rotation are not considered the same jump.

Extra jump elements exceding the 3 in the Short and 7 in the Free don't receive any points.

Spins:

For Spins there are 4 basic positions: Upright, Layback, Sit and Camel. A Combination Spin must include an upright, a sit and a Camel position.

You can get awarded up to a Level 4 for a Spin, depending on various features such as a difficult entry, difficult change of position, visible increase of speed....

I will explain Spins and Spin Levels further in another post but here is a (very long...) list of values for different spins:

Upright Spin (USp):

USpB 1pt - USp1 1.2pt - USp2 1.5pt - Usp3 1.9pt - USp4 2.4

Flying Upright Spin (FUSp):

FUSpB 1.5pt - FUSp1 1.7pt - FUSp2 2pt - FUSp3 2.4pt - FUSp 4 2.9pt

Upright Spin with change of foot (CUSp):

CUSpB 1.5pt - CUSp1 1.7pt - CUSp2 2pt - CUSp3 2.4pt - CUSp4 2.9pt

Layback Spin (LSp):

LSpB 1.2pt - LSp1 1.5 - LSp2 - 1.9 - LSp3 2.4 - LSp4 2.7pt

Flying Layback Sping (FLSp):

FLSpB 1.7pt - FLSp1 2pt - FLSp2 2.4pt - FLSp3 2.9pt - FLSp4 3.2 pt

Layback Spin with change of foot (CLSp):

CLSpB 1.7pt - CLSp1 2pt - CLSp2 2.4pt - CLSp3 2.9pt - CLSp4 3.2pt

Camel Spin (CSp):

CSpB 1.1pt - CSp1 1.4pt - CSp2 1.8pt - CSp3 2.3pt - CSp4 2.6pt

Flying Camel Spin (FCSp):

FCSpB 1.6pt - FCSP1 1.9pt - FCSp2 2.3pt - FCSp3 2.8pt - FCSp4 3.2pt

Camel Spin with a change of foot (CCSp):

CCSpB 1.7pt - CCSp1 2pt - CCSp2 2.3pt - CCSp3 2.6pt - CCSp4 3.2pt

Sit Spint (SSp):

SSpB 1.1pt - SSp1 1.3pt - SSp2 1.6pt - SSp3 2.1pt - SSp4 2.5pt

Flying Sit Spin (FSSp):

FSSpB 1.7pt - FSSp1 2.0pt - FSSp2 2.3pt - FSSp3 2.6pt - FSSp4 3pt

Sit Spin with a change of foot (CSSp):

CSSpB 1.6pt - CSSp1 1.9pt - CSSp2 2.3pt - CSSp3 2.6pt - CSSp4 3pt

Spin Combination (CoSp):

CoSpB 1.5pt - CoSp1 1.7pt - CoSp2 2pt - CoSp3 2.5pt - CoSp4 3pt

Spin Combination with a change of foot (CCoSP):

CCoSpB 1.7pt - CCoSp1 2pt - CCoSp2 2.5pt - CCoSp3 3pt - CCoSp4 3.5pt

If you want to see good spins in men's skating, I highly recomend taking a look at Roman Spindovsky...ehm I mean Sadovsky ;D Here an example of a level 4 change of foot combination spin from him:

Step Sequence

A step sequence should have little two footed skating, a variety of different difficult turns and steps and cover the whole ice surface. Just as for spins, levels from base to 4 are awared depending on several factors that I will try to explain in a future post.

But for you to get an idea of what a masterful Level 4 step sequence looks like, here is the step sequence from Yuzuru Hanyu's Rondo:

As for Base Value:

Basic Level: 1.5 points

Level 1: 1.8 points

Level 2: 2.6 points

Level 3: 3.3 points

Level 4: 3.9 points

Choreographic Sequence:

The Choreographic Sequence is only performed in the Free Skate, and includes choreographic elements such as spirals, lunges... I will also make a post introducing different choreo elements in (hopefully) the near future, but for now have this Choreo Sequence from Deniss Vasiljevs as an example!

Watch the video from 1:25min to roughly 2:00min (or watch the whole thing I highly recomend :D). Using this as an example out of spite because the judges are stupid and inavlidated it for some reason...idiots...

As for Base Value, there are no different levels for choreographic Sequences so, very short "list":

ChSq 2pt

Grade of Execution (GOE):

The GOE ranged from -3 to +3 prior to 2018. The panel of judges awards GOE depending on how well executed an element is.

But how is GOE awarded?

Both positive and negative aspects of a performed element are considered and then added in the end for the final GOE.

Jumps:

To receive +1 GOE, 2 of the following bullets must be achieved, for +2, 4 bullets and for +3 6 or more.

unexpected/creative/difficult entry (An example for that would be a back counter into an axel jump)

clear recognizable steps/free skating movements immediately preceding the element (My favorite example in Yuzuru's Twizzle exit from a 3A)

varied position in the air/delay in rotation (Remember when Yuri Plisetsky raised his arms during his jumps in the Grand Prix Final? That's what they mean with varied position in the air. Delay in rotation is pretty self explainatory I think. The skater needs longer to rotate, making it more difficult)

good height and distance

good extension on landing/ creative exit

good flow

effortless throughout

element matched to the musical structure (I just love when a skater lands a jump right when the music pics up mmmh chefs kiss)

Negative GOE is given for the following errors (It's too much to write down so here is a screenshot from the ISU Guidelines):

Spins:

To receive +1 GOE, 2 of the following bullets must be achieved, for +2, 4 bullets and for +3 6 or more.

good speed or acceleration during spin

ability to center a spin quickly

balanced rotations in all positions

clearly more than required number of revolutions (which is 3 is think)

good, strong position(s) (including height and air/landing position in flying spins)

creativity and originality

good control throughout all phases

element matched to the musical structure

Negative GOE is given for the following errors:

Traveling refers to a skater moving across the ice during a spin instead of staying in roughly the same space.

Step Sequence:

To receive +1 GOE, 2 of the following bullets must be achieved, for +2, 4 bullets and for +3 6 or more.

good energy and execution

good speed or acceleration during sequence

use of various steps during the sequence

deep clean edges (including entry and exit of all turns)

good control and commitment of the whole body maintaining accuracy of steps

creativity and originality

effortless throughout

element enhances the musical structure

Negative GOE is given for the following errors:

Choreographic Sequence:

To receive +1 GOE, 2 of the following bullets must be achieved, for +2, 4 bullets and for +3 6 or more.

good flow, energy and execution

good speed or acceleration during sequence

good clarity and precision

good control and commitment of whole body

creativity and originality

effortless throughout

reflecting concept/character of the program

element enhances the musical structure

Negative GOE is given for the following errors:

Calculating GOE:

The Panel of judges usually consists of 9 judges. The lowest and highest GOE mark are cut, then the average of the remaining 7 is used to determine the GOE points for that jump.

For example:

A skater executed a Triple Lutz with a base value of 6 points. The GEO marks from the judges were as followed: +2, +2, +3, +2, +1, +1, +2, +2, +2. The highest and the lowest mark get cut. The average of the remaining 7 is 1.86. To calculate the GEO you now take the base value and do the following: 6 x 18.6% = 1.116 so about 1.12 points. The total points awarded for that jump would be: 7.12points

For combinations the base value of the hightest valued jumps is used to determine GOE, not the combined base value of the jumps.

As for step and choreographic sequences you multiply the average by 0.5 to get the GEO.

Yay! Maths :D

Highlight Distribution:

Jumps performed in the second half of the program are awarded a 1.1 multiplier of the the base value. E.g.: A 3A performed in the second half has a base value of 8.8 points.

Yuuri takes advantage of that a lot.

Prior to 2018 there was no limit on how backloaded (term used to describe programms with a lot of jumps in the second half) a program could be. Technically all jumps could be executed in the second half. However that left programs empty and boring in the first half since the skaters were basically just stalling time.

Now the multiplier is only applied to the first jump in the second half of the short and to the first 3 in the second half of the free. I am not opposed to that rule. The ISU made a rule that made sense for once

Deductions:

Of course, points are deducted for mistakes or other rule violations.

Deductions are:

Falls:

First two falls -1pt each. Third and fourth fall -2pt each. -3pt each for each fall after that.

Interruptions:

If the performance is interrupted by the skater, they lose -1pt for >10 but <20 secs, -2pt for >20 but <30 secs and -3 for >30 but <40. -5pt if the program isn't resumed withing 3 minutes.

Time violation:

-1pt per 5sec (program either too long or too short)

Costume/prop violations:

-1pt

A costume violation would for example be feathers (real feathers are prohibited), or if, for women, a boob falls out or something.

Props aren't allowed all together.

Part of the costume falls off on the ice:

-1pt

Somersault type jumps (aka Backflip):

-2pt

Late start:

Skater doesn't take starting position within 30 secs -1pt

Program Compoment Score (PCS):

The PCS used to be about the 5 following categories and is awarded by each judge on a scale from 0 - 10 in steps of 0.25. 5.00 Would be "average". As you may already be able to tell...this is not a very reliable way to judge this. Yeah...

Skating Skills:

Basically how good a skaters skating is. Can they skate with power and ease both forwards and backwards as well as clockwise and counter-clockwise? How clean and clear are the curves (edges) over the ice?

A skater should look effortless in their movement. Quick and easy, flowing over the ice with soft knees and ankles.

Their skating shouldn't be scratchy and noisy, resulting from pushing with the toe rather than the side of the blade.

Something you will often hear fans complain about or praise are edges. A Figure skate blade has two edges, outside and inside, and one sign of good skating skills is being able to go down deep on them. Look at Ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir for example. Edges so deep the side of the boot almost touches the ice. Beautiful!

Transitions:

The "in between" technical elements. You don't want to just skate between elements, you want to tie the program together with linking steps. Skaters idealy incorperate different steps and turns to make the programm seem seamless. You want there to be little (visible) prep time for the next element.

I will make another post regarding such steps and turns.

Performance:

This is one of the categories that is heavily dependent on the judges personal preference.

In this category skaters are judged based on their, well, performance... Are they emotionally, physically and mentally involved? Do they project the entire audience? Do they have good ice presence?

In the case of Yuri on Ice: this is where all the Katsudon, waterfalls, grandpas etc. come in. Yuuri seduced Viktor for those sweet PCS points haha xD

Composition:

In this category the placing of the elements across the ice surface are judged.

Idealy a skater should use as much of the entire ice surface as possible.

Then there's also questions such as if the spacing of the elements etc. has some sort of purpose. Is there a story told or idea conveyd? Does the movement match the phrasing of the music?

For this category, having a good choreographer comes in very handy ;)

Interpretation:

Again, heavily judge dependant...

Is the skater performing with their soul? Are they skating with music in the background or are they skating to the music, their movement matching the beats in it?

This is the "music" that Yuuri emits when skating according to Viktor! So this is something he is very good at and should receive high points in...if the judges actually do that is another question...

Calculation of PCS:

Very easy this time! It's just the average of the individual scores given by the judges. For the Free Skate the score is factored by 2.0, meaning it's doubled to balance it a little with the TES.

Further Resources:

Now this looks very overwhelming! But here are some pages to help you!

SkatingScores:

You can use this blank IJS sheet to easily calculate scores using the abbreviations I used in this post! They also are the best and biggest available data base for scores in figure skating and you can look up competitons and skaters here!

ISU Results:

If you want to find score sheets for a specific competition you want to reference, you can also quickly google "ISU results (competition)". For example, Grand Prix Final 2015:

There you can access the judges scores for the competion as pdfs.

So you want to watch figure skating?:

This blog is really helpful. They have various guides to figure skating as well, but be aware that they are of course up to date with the newest rules. But they also have a handbook with terms you will often hear and may want to use!

Further Notes:

Scoring in figure skating is highly controversial and in conversation with fans you will often hear terms such as over- and underscoring.

There is corruption, there is favoritism...you name it, figure skating probably has it...

If you want your characters to be upset about something in the sport, scoring is one of your safest bets.

You can have Yuuri's fans and probably Viktor too, be outraged by Yuuri's too low PCS, or the low GOE on his step sequence. Maybe they even rated that one a level 3 instead of the usual 4? Lot's of possibilities for frustration...

Another thing that is frustrating for Yuuri in particular is that jumps are worth so much more and make up a big chunk of the TES.

He is known for his intricate step sequences. But what does that matter if he can't get more than 5.4 points for it? And you rarely get full +3 GOE! The step sequence, which is such a vital part of a figure skating program and show cases such a varried skill set, is worth roughly the same as a triple flip max...

Sure there is the PCS, but here the judges are often biased, or simply don't know how to award points. It sometimes appears to be a bit arbitrary. Skaters who do a shit tone of cross overs suddenly get skating skill scores in the 9 point + range... It's bizarre.

Anyway...I hope you enjoyed this guide and find it usefull! I will try to get the other parts to this out as soon as I can!

And if you read this far: thank you <3 Have a lovely rest of your day and have fun writing!

[lilfishiefigureskates]

Finlandia Trophy Review

Men:

Yuma Kagiyama (Japan) Total Score 263.09 - 1st in short, 5th in the free. The short was absolutely breathtaking, but the free was very rough. However, it's been a while since Yuma has had a disaster skate so I'm glad he got it out of his system because he has the Grand Prix Final and JNats coming up quick!

Kevin Aymoz (France) Total Score 259.15 - 3rd in the short, 2nd in the free. Wayyyy overscored in the short, but it's very groovy and he moves so well to it. Free was okay, he went down on the first 4T but he kept it together. I still don't trust him tho.

Daniel Grassl (Italy) Total Score 258.55 - 6th in the short, 1st in the free. Why isn't his jumps getting rotation calls????? I really am not digging the Billy Elliot program. He doesn't have a lot of speed and there's a lot of music cuts and it makes the program feel like it goes on forever.

Sota Yamamoto (Japan) Total Score 249.91 - 4th in the short, 3rd in the free. I'm so sad he didn't make the podium. Both of his programs are so gorgeous. The 3A was very troublesome for him in this competition, as he went down on it in both the short and the free. I love him and that's all that matters. Can't wait to see him at JNats.

Lukas Britschgi (Switzerland) Total Score 246.7 - 5th in the short, 4th in the free. His short is very interesting, I just don't love the long voiceover, but that's just a personal preference. The free grew on me a little more. The music is very pretty, and I felt like I was traveling through space and time just a smidge.

Kazuki Tomono (Japan) Total Score 238.41 - 2nd in the short, 7th in the free. Great short program, but it's a shame that he fell apart a bit in the free. Both of his costumes are gorgeous. Japan's depth of field never fails to amaze me.

Aleksandr Selevko (Estonia) Total Score 214.15 - 8th in the short, 6th in the free. Meh

Vladimir Samoilov (Poland) Total Score 205.47 - 9th in the short, 8th in the free. In both the short and the free he absolutely nailed his first opening quad - the Salchow in the short, and Lutz in the free which is very impressive. However, after the first jump, he kinda fell apart in both programs. Needs to work on his consistency and PCS.

Camden Pulkinen (USA) Total Score 195.18 - 10th in the short, 9th in the free. Watching him continues to frustrate me. I just want him to do well, but he doesn't look that fazed that he isn't doing well. The music cuts in the free are weird. I wish he would just stay with the first song the whole time. Hopefully, he can get it together at US Nationals.

Maker Suntsev (Finland) Total Score 180.48 - 11th in the short, 10th in the free. "He is a samurai, and he is fighting for important things" lol. Yeah, the music for his free program has a lot going on, and yet he did not show a single emotion.

Valtter Virtanen (Finland) Total Score 166.25 - 12th in the short, 11th in the free. He's li37!?!?! And is a doctor!?!?! And has a child!?!?!? Good for him for going there and doing his thing in front of the home crowd.

Junhwan Cha (South Korea) WD - :(((( His ankle is bothering him again which is absolutely tragic. Maybe if the Korean federation didn't overwork their skaters he would be healthy. IDK why the judges are robbing him on his PCS. I love you Jun forever and always.

Women:

Hana Yoshida (Japan) Total Score 199.46 - 1st in the short, 2nd in the free. Both of her programs are a little weird but I like them for her. Went for the 3A in the free, but went down. So excited to see her at the Grand Prix Final!

Rino Matsuike (Japan) Toal Score 199.2 - 4th in the short, 1st in the free. She's just the free skate queen I guess. Who needs the short? JK, I need the short, because I love Moulin Rouge, and I want to see her skate it clean.

Lara Naki Gutmann (Italy) Total Score 198.49 - 2nd in the short, 3rd in the free. My creepy queen finally made the podium. I am actually so obsessed with the Squid Game program and the free is also very pretty. I love her so much.

Sarah Everhardt (USA) Total Score 191.17 - 3rd in the short, 5th in the free. Her jumps are great, but does not show a single emotion (sounds like someone else we know who is shaped by the same people lol). It's a little frustrating because I really like the Firebird program but it just feels like she is checking off the boxes as she goes through it. However, she is very young and has so much room to grow. SO excited to see her at US Nationals. She has the ability to shake things up a bit.

Ahsun Yun (South Korea) Total Score 187.68 - 5th in the short, 6th in the free. She surprised me (in a good way). The music in the short was a smidge fast for her but the costume was great. She also had a solid free, she had one boo-boo with the pop on the Lutz.

Lorine Schild (France) Toal Score 182.36 - 7th in the short, 7th in the free. She improved a lot from the Grand Prix de France which is great! However, neither one of her programs really stands out to me.

Niina Petrokina (Estonia) Total Score 178.66 - 11th in the short, 4th in the free. Struggled in the short again, but her free was pretty solid.

Mai Mihara (Japan) Total Score 174.74 - 6th in the short, 8th in the free. Her performance was pretty similar to her performance at Grand Prix de France. She keeps popping the 2F which is frustrating.

Lindsay Thorngren (USA) Total Score 170.64 - 8th in the short, 9th in the free. I'm glad that there was nothing on the ice to mess her up in the short, but she still went down on the 3Lz tho. 0A in the free was a shame

Janna Jyrkinen (Finland) Total Score 157.44 - 9th in the short, 11th in the free. Short was decent but fell apart in the free. Quite slow.

Nella Pelkonen (Finland) Total Score 155.22 - 12th in the short, 10th in the free. Only got a level 2 in the stsq because she didn't have twizzles. Did a good job of holding it together in the free, but she did pop the 3S.

Olivia Lisko (Finland) Total Score 153.67 - 10th in the short, 12th in the free. Had a decent short, but there were 2 pops in the free.

Pairs:

Deanna Stellato-Dudek / Maxime Deschamps (Canada) Total Score 207.44 - 1st in the short, 1st in the free. 10 points higher than Skate Canada! I hate the cover in the short, but I think I liked the water program a little more this time around. Still have some things we need to clean up tho. Idk how they'll fare against Miura/Kihara.

Maria Pavlova / Alexei Sviatchenko (Hungary) Total Score 184.21 - 3rd in the short, 2nd in the free. I am an absolute sucker for a Pirates of the Caribbean program! That aborted lift sure was scary tho. I do not vibe with the short at all.

Rebecca Ghilardi / Filippo Ambrosini (Italy) Total Score 181.59 - 2nd in the short, 6th in the free. I really like the short, and was disappointed that they changed the free from Phantom to Dracula. Free skate was quite rough, so I'm only gonna talk about the short. It was awesome and they were so dramatic. She was absolutely feeling it.

Ice Dance:

Lilah Fear /Lewis Gibson (Great Britain) Total Score 203.22 - 2nd in the short, 1st in the free. Them winning was not on my Bingo card, but I'm so glad that they won. Love the Beyonce program - especially the first half. I think they have too many cuts in their short.

Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier (Canada) Total Score 200.79 - 1st in the short, 4th in the free. A FALL!?!?!?!?!? Still hate the backless suit. And I don't really like her dress either.

Juulia Turkkila / Matthias Versluis (Finland) Total Score 196.6 - 3rd in the short, 2nd in the free. Listen, I was not expecting them to do well but they kinda slayed. I really liked the free. Her dress was great and the emoting was wonderful.