Legitimate Or Illegitimate Judging

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Legitimate or Illegitimate Judging?

Some viewers of ice skating say judges score on a reasonable basis, but the majority

sees the system as completely unacceptable. It is only safe to say “reasonable” because there

are many different cultures in the world that do not think exactly like Americans. Nor do

they have the same taste. In that sense, they observe with a diverse pair of ordinary eyes.

These eye magnets do not intentionally, but habitually judge on what they believe is gold-

medal material. Are judges still considered the innocent ones when caught on tape giving

sketchy glances to one another?

The difference of opinion and style of judging, is based primarily on background.

Artistry is huge in some cultures, but not so significant in others. Obviously, it also varies in

style from country to country. Russian and Eastern Europeans tend to lean more towards

ballet and presentation, while many Westerners feel that flawless lifts, jumps, and twirls are

essential. Many judges like to see figure skaters having “control” over their routine. Some

traditional judges have backgrounds in music or theatre, meaning they are more inclined to

look into those areas. Others will look at it athletically, and others feel that expression,

drama, technique, or “edge,” and emotions have a lot to do with performance. Gracefulness

as well as compatibility with movements and music are imperative to ice skating. Almost all

judges look at the degree of difficulty of a routine. Though a skater may have much to offer,

certain judges will only watch for specific moves, techniques, appearances, presentation, etc.

This can be a huge disadvantage to the skater.

The history of vote tampering in figure skating began in 1908 at the London

Olympics when figure skater Nikolai Panin, of Russia, had recently dealt Swede Ulrich

Salchow his first loss in s...