Since ISI’s recreational concept for ice skating competitions was developed to encourage “participation, not elimination,” several parts of our judging system also have been adapted toward that goal.
One reason so many different types of events are offered at an ISI competition is that each competition event has been developed to improve one specific part of the skater’s total development.
For example, besides technical events like Pre-Alpha through Delta and Freestyle, there are other individual events like Spotlight, Artistic and Interpretive that develop the skater’s performance skills. Footwork and Stroking are specialized events that can improve all other program routines.
Among the partner events are Couples, Pairs, Dance, Jump & Spin and Couples Spotlight.
Team events include Family Spotlight, Production, Synchronized, Kaleidoskate and Pattern.
The more different types of competition events that skaters can participate in, the more medals they will win and the more they will develop and improve ALL of their future skating skills. With the additional experience from doing many different events, they will become better and more well-rounded skaters.
Comparative Judging
When there are two or more entries in an event, only comparison judging is used. That means the judges will compare the performance of the two skaters for each specific judging criteria and then give the better performance a higher numerical score.
For most events, the judges are judging “apples with apples,” so they are judging the quality of each maneuver performed and not only the overall performance or program routine.
Sometimes it’s still possible for there to be a tie because each judge is judging different criteria for most ISI events.
Skating Against the Book
When there is only one entry in a category or event, they are said to be “skating against the book.” The skater or team will not automatically receive first place just for showing up. They must receive an average of 80 percent of the total scores possible from all three judges to get first place.
If there are required maneuvers in the program, such in as Pre-Alpha through Delta or Freestyle programs, the judges must score each maneuver. If one maneuver is lower than 80 percent but the next one is higher than 80 percent, the averageis still above the 80 percent requirement for first place.
If there are no required maneuvers in the program, the judges will look at the overall performance and evaluate each judging criteria. Again, the total average for all three judges must be above 80 percent for first place.
Medals and Trophies
For all ISI national events, every skater in every event receives a medal for each performance.
If the skater’s name is not listed in the first through fifth place result boxes, it will be listed at the bottom right-hand side as sixth place. All skaters on that list will receive a sixth-place medal. The sixth place name order is a random list, not in actual placement order.
All large event teams (Synchronized, Production, Kaleidoskate and Pattern) will have on-ice awards. Each skater receives an individual medal and the team receives a trophy for the top five placements.
