Elle dit qu'elle a plus de genou

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!