Olympic preview part 1: figure skating FAQ.
I love the Olympics. I love the stupid pageantry of it, the strange sports being shown on prime-time TV, the patriotic outfits and politically correct mascots and people crying with their hands on their hearts when they hear their national anthems.
But most of all, during the Winter Olympics, I love that lots more people briefly care about figure skating.
If that's you, you should read on. Because this is part one of your viewer's guide. If that's not you, and you're just waiting around for the Kradam or the femslash or whatever, you should still read on, because my fandom is covered in rhinestones and full of girl power, and I think you would like it.
If all goes well, this will be a five-part series. Today's post is an overview of the sport in FAQ form, explaining the rules, structure, and scoring so you know what you're seeing. Over the next two weeks, I'll make four posts, one for each of figure skating's disciplines (pairs, men's singles, ice dance, and ladies' singles) to tell you who you're watching. I will link to them at the bottom of this post, and I will make this post sticky until the end of the Olympics.
Most of the time, I'm averse to having my nonfiction posts linked around, but in this case, feel free to pimp like hell, or to suggest communities where people might enjoy or benefit from this post.
annaalamode and sapience14 looked this over before I posted, for which I'm grateful.
What is figure skating? What isn't it?
There are a whole bunch of winter sports that take place on the ice - figure skating is only the sparkliest. Of the Olympic sports, curling is the only one played on the ice in shoes; it's kind of like shuffleboard with brooms and is strangely riveting. I probably do not need to tell you that ice hockey is a team sport played on the ice in skates. Speed skating, as the name implies, is racing in ice skates; there are a number of speed skating events, including long-distance and sprint events, different kinds of tracks, and relays. Ice hockey, speed skating, and figure skating all use different, specialized ice skates. You can't figure skate in speed skates. I have played hockey in figure skates but do not recommend it.
So what's figure skating? It's artistic ice skating. It incorporates elements of ballroom dance, ballet and modern classical dancing, and gymnastics, sometimes to an extent that people accuse it of not really being a sport. But it also requires an insane amount of stamina, balance, flexibility, and core body strength. Figure skaters jump higher relative to their bodies than professional basketball players do. Figure skating is physically demanding and far more difficult than it looks, and most of the top competitors definitely act like it's a sport.
What are the four flavors of figure skating in the Olympics?
I mentioned above that Olympic figure skating has four disciplines: pairs, men's singles, ice dance, and ladies' singles. (I am listing them in the order of competition at the 2010 Olympic Games and will do so consistently throughout these posts.) There are other disciplines of figure skating, but they are not represented at the Olympics.
Jeremy Abbott of the USA skates in men's singles, but he has competed in every discipline except ladies'. Arguably.
At the Olympic level, skaters only compete in one discipline. In the past, some skaters have competed at the Olympics in more than one, but the different demands of each discipline mean that the vast majority of skaters don't have the time or money to train in more than one to the extent necessary to qualify for the Olympics. Many skaters try several disciplines when they're coming up in the sport and then choose the discipline in which they're having the most success and/or fun.
As a result, each Olympic competitor in figure skating only has one chance to earn a medal. Behind the glitter lie some phenomenally high stakes.
Men's and ladies' singles - pretty self-explanatory. What are the differences, other than the obvious?
As is probably self-evident, the two singles disciplines are individual sports: a lone swan takes the ice and is scored on his or her quality of swanning. It is also probably obvious that singles is divided by sex. The very best female skaters in the world could probably compete with the men and have the scores to prove it, but as in most sports, there are benefits to the sex divide. Male skaters have more physical power and strength than female skaters, so they are expected to do more difficult jumps. They are also expected to have more stamina than women, so their programs are longer. Female skaters, on the other hand, are expected to show more flexibility than men.
Requirements for the two singles disciplines are therefore similar but not exactly the same. In both disciplines, there are two rounds: a short program and a free skate. In the past, there used to be more difference between the two, but it's safe to think of them as a first and second round of skating. In the short program, the focus is on getting a smaller number of technical elements exactly right, whereas in the free skate, stamina (both mental and physical) is more of an issue. It is very possible to build up enough of a lead in the short program to win, even if others do marginally better in the free skate.
What are the requirements for men's and ladies' singles?
Both men and women are expected to do exactly three jumping passes in the short program. Women can do up to seven jumping passes in the free skate, and men can do up to eight. (Everyone does the "maximum" unless they screw up.) A jumping pass is almost always either one jump by itself or a combination, which is two or three jumps with no steps in between. In the short program, exactly one jumping pass must be a combination, and in the free skate, up to three jumping passes can be combinations. (Again, everyone does all three unless they make a mistake.) In both programs, the skaters are expected to do a variety of different jumps and are penalized for doing the same jump too many times.
Men and ladies are required to do three spins in the short program and three spins in the free skate. There are specific guidelines about what kinds of spins are required and what kinds earn the most points, but if you're a casual fan, you probably won't be able to tell the difference. A spin should be fast and stay tight on one spot on the ice, and the skater should hold each position for as long as possible. Skaters are rewarded for spinning in positions that show off their flexibility and strength, which means a lot of contortionism.
Men's skaters are required to do two footwork sequences in each program, and ladies are expected to do one. Ladies are also expected to do a spiral sequence in each program, which is when they skate for several seconds on one foot with the other leg extended and look really pretty. Footwork and spirals are technical elements, not just artistic ones, and they are much harder than they look.
Korean ladies' skater Kim Yu-Na helpfully demonstrates the meaning of "spiral sequence."
The jumps! Explain more about the jumps.
Most of the jumps you'll see in the Olympics will be triple jumps, which means the skater goes three times around in the air. Some of the men can do quadruple jumps, or "quads," which go around four times. Most men can do a triple axel, but most women cannot. (The exceptions to this are the Swiss men's skater Stéphane Lambiel, who will probably only do double axels, and the Japanese ladies' skater Mao Asada, who will almost definitely attempt a triple axel.) A double jump goes around twice; you'll see a lot of double axels in ladies' and other double jumps as part of combinations. If a skater does a double (or, worse, a single) by itself, it's usually a mistake.
Daisuke Takahashi of Japan in midair.
There are six kinds of jumps that you'll see in the Olympics. The axel is the most difficult. It's the only jump in which the skater takes off while skating forward, and therefore most casual fans can tell it apart from the other jumps. Three jumps - the toe loop, flip, and lutz - are toe jumps, which means the skater takes off by digging her toe pick (the spiky part at the tip of a figure skate's blade) into the ice and using it as a lever. You will probably not be able to differentiate among these three jumps as you watch. Two jumps - the salchow (pronounced "sow-cow") and the loop - are edge jumps, which means the skater takes off from the flat of her blade. These two jumps will look similar to you as you watch. The toe loop and salchow are the easiest ways to jump.
Okay, singles I get. What about pairs and ice dance? Bastard stepchildren, right? How are they even different from one another?
Nope. Amazing athletic feats in their own right. Totally worth watching.
Ice dance and pairs tend to get lumped together because they're both team events with two skaters to a team, one male and one female. But they're quite distinct as disciplines. Pairs is a lot like singles, except with two people skating: pairs do jumps, spins, and footwork comparable to those of singles skaters. But since there are two of them, they can also do other neat tricks, like lifts and throws.
Ice dance, on the other hand, is all about precision and speed. Skaters may not jump, and they only have to do one spin. A lot of ice dance is adapted from ballroom dance, and up until about ten years ago, ice dance really looked a lot like ballroom. However, the Code of Points (the "new" scoring system that's not so new anymore - more on that later) and the overall evolution of the discipline have made ice dance more and more athletic.
Maria Mukhortova and Maxim Trankov of Russia demonstrate that the jokes about crotch lifts in pairs are literal.
Pairs and ice dance teams both do lifts, but the lifts look really different. Pairs lifts are all about strength and drama: the man can lift the woman over his head with one hand in her crotch and therefore usually does. Dance lifts are about artistry and intricacy, as well as the woman's flexibility and the man's balance and stability. The man is required to keep his hands below his head and to do turns or a position that's difficult to balance; the woman is often expected to strike a difficult pose and/or change positions.
So pairs and ice dance are always one man and one woman? That seems kind of heterosexist.
Well, yeah. But the differences in size, strength, and flexibility between men and women do give the teams more versatility. It's just how the sport works. I think there are same-sex pairs and dance at the Gay Games. If you're still skeeved, comfort yourself with the fact that male figure skaters are frequently not-so-secretly fond of each other.
Are pairs and ice dance teams usually couples off the ice?
That used to be very common but is less and less so. Several of the top pairs teams are off-ice couples, most notably the Chinese skaters Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo, who are married. I can't think of any current top ice dance teams who are romantically involved with each other. Two top teams are sister and brother. Most teams are very close - best friends or "skating soul mates" - but the hugging and kissing is theater on the ice and strictly platonic off the ice.
Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo: actually married for real. And what a gorgeous lift.
Enough with the gossip! Explain what the pairs have to do.
Like singles, pairs consists of a short program and a free skate. Pairs teams have a variety of required elements. They must do side-by-side jumps - easier jumps than singles skaters do, in general, but performed in unison. They also do throw jumps, in which the man lifts the woman and releases her into a jump. Lifts, as I discussed above, are dramatic and may go high above the man's head. Pairs do side-by-side spins with changes of position as well as dance spins, in which the skaters spin while holding onto each other. They have to do a synchronized footwork sequence in both programs and a spiral sequence in the free skate. The most distinctive pairs move is the death spiral, in which the skaters make a sort of human compass: the man pivots in place while holding the woman's hand, and she stretches out to trace a large circle around him, often leaning back so low that her hair grazes the ice.
In addition to executing these elements cleanly, pairs skaters should relate to each other on the ice and have some kind of chemistry, even if it's "just friends." They should skate close together and stay synchronized in all of their movements.
I still don't get how that's different from ice dance. Maybe if you explained the requirements.
Ice dance requirements are very different from those of the other three disciplines. For one thing, ice dancers have to perform three programs. The first is the Compulsory Dance, in which skaters are given a set pattern of steps, and everyone in the competition does the same dance. (Watching a full competition's compulsory dances is mind-numbing and not recommended for newbies.) The second round is the Original Dance, for which competitors are given a theme or category of dance to perform. This season's theme is folk/country dance. Other than the set theme, the Original Dance functions much like the short program does in other disciplines. The third round of ice dance is the Free Dance, which is much like the other disciplines' free skate.
Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the USA, who have been holding hands on the ice so long that they used to get kooties from it.
One of the big requirements for ice dance is that the skaters have to stay in physical contact for almost the entire program. There are a variety of holds - arm/body positions - and the skaters need to maintain them clearly and switch among them smoothly. This is a big part of what makes ice dance difficult: teams have to stay synchronized, maintain speed, do difficult steps, and look pretty while literally dancing cheek to cheek.
Ice dance teams perform two lifts in the original dance and four lifts in the free dance. Dance lifts are supposed to be "elegant" rather than "acrobatic," and lifts above the head are not allowed. In both programs, skaters have to do two footwork passes (sometimes called step sequences in dance): one in which they are holding onto each other and one in which they are not touching. In the free dance, teams have to do a dance spin, a spin in which they are holding onto each other. The most distinctive ice dance element is the twizzle, a chain of straight-line turns on one foot, which the skaters perform while not touching. Twizzles are a whole lot harder than they look, and you might see a few stumbles on them.
Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada show you exactly how high an ice dancer's hands are allowed to go in a lift.
You have implied that there is some kind of "system" by which skaters "score," and that it's a hot mess.
Actually, I've heard that the gay bar scene in Vancouver is pretty fabulous.
No, seriously. In the past, skating was scored on a scale from 0.0 to 6.0, with a 6 awarded for a perfect performance. Those of us who minored in math can see problems in this already, but things really got screwed up in the 2002 Olympics, when it became clear that judges were trading favors with each other and also using the murkiness of the system to favor the skaters they liked better. As a result, the International Skating Union, which is the international governing body for the sport (and about which I have some negative feelings not relevant to this FAQ) came up with a new scoring system, the Code of Points. Many skaters, commentators, and fans feel that the CoP is arbitrary, overly technical, and "ruining the sport." I am in the minority as one of its defenders: I think it clarifies what's expected of the skaters and increases the athleticism of the sport. That said, I don't think it's solved the corruption problems at all, and the point values for some elements don't seem to accurately reflect the difficulty of those elements. If you see or hear bellyaching about whether the CoP is fucking up figure skating, I suggest covering up your ears and singing loudly, because the "controversy" is far less interesting than the sport itself, and 6.0 ain't never coming back.
So how does this Code of Points work?
It's a lot simpler than the commentators would have you think. The panel of judges consists of two groups: technical specialists and judges. The technical specialists watch each skater's performance, both as they're skating and on instant replay/slo-mo immediately afterward, and determine what the skater did on the ice. For jumps, they figure out the type of jump and how many times around the skater went. For spins, footwork, lifts, death drops, and twizzles, there are various levels of difficulty - 1 is the easiest, 4 is the hardest - and set criteria for determining which level they are. The technical specialists figure out the levels for these elements.
Each required element is worth a certain number of points. This is called a "base value." For example, a triple lutz is worth 6 points.
Then, the judges each make a determination about how well the elements were executed. This part of the score is called the Grade Of Execution. An absolutely perfect jump, spin, etc. will earn 3 extra points for being just that awesome - so a really, really good triple lutz is worth 9 points. An average triple lutz is worth 6, its base value. A really crappy triple lutz - if the skater falls, for instance - is only worth 3 points. So there's an incentive to not just do the elements, but to do them as well as possible. Each judge assigns a GOE for each element, ranging from -3 to +3, and those are averaged. ETA: The technical elements score is the sum of the values of every element a skater does.
Whatever those numbers mean, Rachael Flatt of the USA is happy about them.
The skaters also have a second set of marks, the Program Components, and this is where the ambiguity and corruption can set in. But it's also really important to have them, since part of the sport is to be artistic and to make difficult connecting moves between elements. There are six five categories of program components, and each judge scores each skater on a scale of 1-10. Each judge's score is averaged with the others.
The Technical Elements Score is added to the Program Components Score, and that's the skater's score for their program.
I am SO CONFUSED.
Every skater is required to do certain kinds of moves in his or her program. Each of those moves is worth a certain number of points. The judges figure out what kind of moves the skater did and how well she did them, and that's the first part of the skater's score. The second part of the score reflects how well the skater performed overall: was she fast and graceful, and did she do difficult and interesting things in between her required moves? Add the two together for the total score.
Who has two thumbs and is Canadian national champion? Patrick Chan!
I thought that skater was awesome, but his scores weren't so high, and then the guy who skated after him fell on his ass and got higher scores. What is going on?
Sometimes, skaters who are delightful to watch have easier technical content than skaters who are boring and a drag. If a skater tries to do something really hard and falls, he might earn more points for that than his competitor who does something easier and looks beautiful.
There are a number of ways to lose points that are hard to see while a skater is skating on your TV. Judges frequently take away points when a skater doesn't go all the way around on her jumps, or when she takes off for her jumps incorrectly. If you hear the commentators talking about "underrotation" or "edge deductions," that's what they're referring to. Dance teams sometimes get deductions for lifts that last too long. Some people feel like these deductions are nitpicking, while others feel that they encourage skaters to perfect their technique.
And of course, there's a one point deduction for falling on your ass.
Why do skaters fall on their asses so much?
Because figure skating is hard. A triple jump goes really high in the air and spins around, and a skater is expected to land on one foot on a narrow blade on slippery ice with thousands of people watching.
Skaters are most likely to fall on jumps, but every once in a while a skater will trip over her feet during footwork or lose control of a spin.
Are all the programs set to music? Are there rules about the music skaters can use?
All skating programs are performed to music. Singles and pairs music cannot have lyrics, but lyrics are allowed in ice dance so that they can find music that fits their theme. There are various bullshit arguments about why lyrics are not allowed, but it does force the skaters away from questionable pop music.
Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto of the USA, performing the compulsory dance, for which everyone skates to the same (awful) music.
Cranky old skating fans will complain about certain pieces of music that are overused. Enjoy your newbie status, which will keep you from bellyaching about how Mirai Nagasu's Carmen pales in comparison with Katarina Witt's.
Do skaters do the same programs for every competition?
Skaters usually do the same programs for one season and then get new ones in the summer when they have time to eat cheese and learn choreography. So the skaters have "broken in" their programs by now and know them well, as do the fans. Competitive figure skating programs have to include a lot of very specific things (see above), so it's expensive and time-consuming to choreograph one.
This is all very interesting, but I'm really just here for the sequins. Talk about costumes!
I applaud your attitude. Figure skating is pretty much unique among Olympic sports in that skaters wear individualized, over-the-top costumes rather than team uniforms. Some skaters, especially men's singles skaters who are trying to act butch, have said they'd prefer a uniform, but glittery spandex is just their cross to bear. In theory, costumes should reflect the character and theme of a program as well as a skater's personality and style.
Johnny Weir of the USA is also mostly here for the sequins.
So when's the skating on TV?
There's a very swanky official site for these Olympic Games, and this is the schedule and results page. Here's a rundown of the skating schedule, with all times local for Vancouver (Pacific Standard Time):
Sunday, Feb. 14 - 4:30 PM: Pairs short program
Monday, Feb. 15 - 5:00 PM: Pairs free skate
Tuesday, Feb. 16 - 4:15 PM: Men's short program
Thursday, Feb. 18 - 5:00 PM: Men's free skate
Friday, Feb. 19 - 4:45 PM: Compulsory dance
Sunday, Feb. 21 - 4:15 PM: Original dance
Monday, Feb. 22 - 4:45 PM: Free dance
Tuesday, Feb. 23 - 4:30 PM: Ladies' short program
Thursday, Feb. 25 - 5:00 PM: Ladies' free skate
Saturday, Feb. 27 - 4:30 PM: Exhibition gala
If Miki Ando weren't going to Vancouver, she'd be watching the Games on NBC. She's from Japan, but she trains in New Jersey.
If you live in the United States, most of the coverage will be on NBC and its affiliated cable networks. The official site has schedules and information. There will be complete coverage online as well, for which you have to sign up. That's kind of hidden on the site. Go to the Video page and scroll down; there should be a link in the right sidebar.
Canadian coverage will be on CTV. This is CTV's official Olympics site. I'm pretty sure you guys have access to online video as well.
Residents of other countries are going to have to figure things out on their own, I'm afraid.
I want to know more things!
The NBC, CTV, and official Olympics websites, linked above, have hours of information, videos, and blatant marketing. IceNetwork, which is affiliated with US Figure Skating, also has news and athlete profiles. Most of the other skating sites I read are for skating dorks, not for beginners.
I'll be posting a "what to watch" guide for each discipline, in which I'll give more information about the skaters, including photos and YouTube.
I have other questions!
You should ask in the comments!
ETA 2/13: I've started making preview posts for each discipline, with photos, video, and information on the top skaters. I'll add links as I post them.
Olympic preview part 2: Pairs
Olympic preview part 3: Men's Singles
Olympic preview part 4: More Men's Singles
Olympic preview part 5: Ice Dance
Olympic preview part 6: Ladies' Singles
ETA 2/17: Several people are frustrated that their local coverage doesn't show the full standings very often or explain how the scores added up. NBC is actually doing a great job of that in their online coverage. While an event is in progress, you can go to the Figure Skating Results page and click on the link to the event. It should give you scores and rankings in real time, including a list of what scores each skater got for each element. This should work even if you're not a US resident.
But most of all, during the Winter Olympics, I love that lots more people briefly care about figure skating.
If that's you, you should read on. Because this is part one of your viewer's guide. If that's not you, and you're just waiting around for the Kradam or the femslash or whatever, you should still read on, because my fandom is covered in rhinestones and full of girl power, and I think you would like it.
If all goes well, this will be a five-part series. Today's post is an overview of the sport in FAQ form, explaining the rules, structure, and scoring so you know what you're seeing. Over the next two weeks, I'll make four posts, one for each of figure skating's disciplines (pairs, men's singles, ice dance, and ladies' singles) to tell you who you're watching. I will link to them at the bottom of this post, and I will make this post sticky until the end of the Olympics.
Most of the time, I'm averse to having my nonfiction posts linked around, but in this case, feel free to pimp like hell, or to suggest communities where people might enjoy or benefit from this post.
annaalamode and sapience14 looked this over before I posted, for which I'm grateful.
What is figure skating? What isn't it?
There are a whole bunch of winter sports that take place on the ice - figure skating is only the sparkliest. Of the Olympic sports, curling is the only one played on the ice in shoes; it's kind of like shuffleboard with brooms and is strangely riveting. I probably do not need to tell you that ice hockey is a team sport played on the ice in skates. Speed skating, as the name implies, is racing in ice skates; there are a number of speed skating events, including long-distance and sprint events, different kinds of tracks, and relays. Ice hockey, speed skating, and figure skating all use different, specialized ice skates. You can't figure skate in speed skates. I have played hockey in figure skates but do not recommend it.
So what's figure skating? It's artistic ice skating. It incorporates elements of ballroom dance, ballet and modern classical dancing, and gymnastics, sometimes to an extent that people accuse it of not really being a sport. But it also requires an insane amount of stamina, balance, flexibility, and core body strength. Figure skaters jump higher relative to their bodies than professional basketball players do. Figure skating is physically demanding and far more difficult than it looks, and most of the top competitors definitely act like it's a sport.
What are the four flavors of figure skating in the Olympics?
I mentioned above that Olympic figure skating has four disciplines: pairs, men's singles, ice dance, and ladies' singles. (I am listing them in the order of competition at the 2010 Olympic Games and will do so consistently throughout these posts.) There are other disciplines of figure skating, but they are not represented at the Olympics.
Jeremy Abbott of the USA skates in men's singles, but he has competed in every discipline except ladies'. Arguably.
At the Olympic level, skaters only compete in one discipline. In the past, some skaters have competed at the Olympics in more than one, but the different demands of each discipline mean that the vast majority of skaters don't have the time or money to train in more than one to the extent necessary to qualify for the Olympics. Many skaters try several disciplines when they're coming up in the sport and then choose the discipline in which they're having the most success and/or fun.
As a result, each Olympic competitor in figure skating only has one chance to earn a medal. Behind the glitter lie some phenomenally high stakes.
Men's and ladies' singles - pretty self-explanatory. What are the differences, other than the obvious?
As is probably self-evident, the two singles disciplines are individual sports: a lone swan takes the ice and is scored on his or her quality of swanning. It is also probably obvious that singles is divided by sex. The very best female skaters in the world could probably compete with the men and have the scores to prove it, but as in most sports, there are benefits to the sex divide. Male skaters have more physical power and strength than female skaters, so they are expected to do more difficult jumps. They are also expected to have more stamina than women, so their programs are longer. Female skaters, on the other hand, are expected to show more flexibility than men.
Requirements for the two singles disciplines are therefore similar but not exactly the same. In both disciplines, there are two rounds: a short program and a free skate. In the past, there used to be more difference between the two, but it's safe to think of them as a first and second round of skating. In the short program, the focus is on getting a smaller number of technical elements exactly right, whereas in the free skate, stamina (both mental and physical) is more of an issue. It is very possible to build up enough of a lead in the short program to win, even if others do marginally better in the free skate.
What are the requirements for men's and ladies' singles?
Both men and women are expected to do exactly three jumping passes in the short program. Women can do up to seven jumping passes in the free skate, and men can do up to eight. (Everyone does the "maximum" unless they screw up.) A jumping pass is almost always either one jump by itself or a combination, which is two or three jumps with no steps in between. In the short program, exactly one jumping pass must be a combination, and in the free skate, up to three jumping passes can be combinations. (Again, everyone does all three unless they make a mistake.) In both programs, the skaters are expected to do a variety of different jumps and are penalized for doing the same jump too many times.
Men and ladies are required to do three spins in the short program and three spins in the free skate. There are specific guidelines about what kinds of spins are required and what kinds earn the most points, but if you're a casual fan, you probably won't be able to tell the difference. A spin should be fast and stay tight on one spot on the ice, and the skater should hold each position for as long as possible. Skaters are rewarded for spinning in positions that show off their flexibility and strength, which means a lot of contortionism.
Men's skaters are required to do two footwork sequences in each program, and ladies are expected to do one. Ladies are also expected to do a spiral sequence in each program, which is when they skate for several seconds on one foot with the other leg extended and look really pretty. Footwork and spirals are technical elements, not just artistic ones, and they are much harder than they look.
Korean ladies' skater Kim Yu-Na helpfully demonstrates the meaning of "spiral sequence."
The jumps! Explain more about the jumps.
Most of the jumps you'll see in the Olympics will be triple jumps, which means the skater goes three times around in the air. Some of the men can do quadruple jumps, or "quads," which go around four times. Most men can do a triple axel, but most women cannot. (The exceptions to this are the Swiss men's skater Stéphane Lambiel, who will probably only do double axels, and the Japanese ladies' skater Mao Asada, who will almost definitely attempt a triple axel.) A double jump goes around twice; you'll see a lot of double axels in ladies' and other double jumps as part of combinations. If a skater does a double (or, worse, a single) by itself, it's usually a mistake.
Daisuke Takahashi of Japan in midair.
There are six kinds of jumps that you'll see in the Olympics. The axel is the most difficult. It's the only jump in which the skater takes off while skating forward, and therefore most casual fans can tell it apart from the other jumps. Three jumps - the toe loop, flip, and lutz - are toe jumps, which means the skater takes off by digging her toe pick (the spiky part at the tip of a figure skate's blade) into the ice and using it as a lever. You will probably not be able to differentiate among these three jumps as you watch. Two jumps - the salchow (pronounced "sow-cow") and the loop - are edge jumps, which means the skater takes off from the flat of her blade. These two jumps will look similar to you as you watch. The toe loop and salchow are the easiest ways to jump.
Okay, singles I get. What about pairs and ice dance? Bastard stepchildren, right? How are they even different from one another?
Nope. Amazing athletic feats in their own right. Totally worth watching.
Ice dance and pairs tend to get lumped together because they're both team events with two skaters to a team, one male and one female. But they're quite distinct as disciplines. Pairs is a lot like singles, except with two people skating: pairs do jumps, spins, and footwork comparable to those of singles skaters. But since there are two of them, they can also do other neat tricks, like lifts and throws.
Ice dance, on the other hand, is all about precision and speed. Skaters may not jump, and they only have to do one spin. A lot of ice dance is adapted from ballroom dance, and up until about ten years ago, ice dance really looked a lot like ballroom. However, the Code of Points (the "new" scoring system that's not so new anymore - more on that later) and the overall evolution of the discipline have made ice dance more and more athletic.
Maria Mukhortova and Maxim Trankov of Russia demonstrate that the jokes about crotch lifts in pairs are literal.
Pairs and ice dance teams both do lifts, but the lifts look really different. Pairs lifts are all about strength and drama: the man can lift the woman over his head with one hand in her crotch and therefore usually does. Dance lifts are about artistry and intricacy, as well as the woman's flexibility and the man's balance and stability. The man is required to keep his hands below his head and to do turns or a position that's difficult to balance; the woman is often expected to strike a difficult pose and/or change positions.
So pairs and ice dance are always one man and one woman? That seems kind of heterosexist.
Well, yeah. But the differences in size, strength, and flexibility between men and women do give the teams more versatility. It's just how the sport works. I think there are same-sex pairs and dance at the Gay Games. If you're still skeeved, comfort yourself with the fact that male figure skaters are frequently not-so-secretly fond of each other.
Are pairs and ice dance teams usually couples off the ice?
That used to be very common but is less and less so. Several of the top pairs teams are off-ice couples, most notably the Chinese skaters Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo, who are married. I can't think of any current top ice dance teams who are romantically involved with each other. Two top teams are sister and brother. Most teams are very close - best friends or "skating soul mates" - but the hugging and kissing is theater on the ice and strictly platonic off the ice.
Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo: actually married for real. And what a gorgeous lift.
Enough with the gossip! Explain what the pairs have to do.
Like singles, pairs consists of a short program and a free skate. Pairs teams have a variety of required elements. They must do side-by-side jumps - easier jumps than singles skaters do, in general, but performed in unison. They also do throw jumps, in which the man lifts the woman and releases her into a jump. Lifts, as I discussed above, are dramatic and may go high above the man's head. Pairs do side-by-side spins with changes of position as well as dance spins, in which the skaters spin while holding onto each other. They have to do a synchronized footwork sequence in both programs and a spiral sequence in the free skate. The most distinctive pairs move is the death spiral, in which the skaters make a sort of human compass: the man pivots in place while holding the woman's hand, and she stretches out to trace a large circle around him, often leaning back so low that her hair grazes the ice.
In addition to executing these elements cleanly, pairs skaters should relate to each other on the ice and have some kind of chemistry, even if it's "just friends." They should skate close together and stay synchronized in all of their movements.
I still don't get how that's different from ice dance. Maybe if you explained the requirements.
Ice dance requirements are very different from those of the other three disciplines. For one thing, ice dancers have to perform three programs. The first is the Compulsory Dance, in which skaters are given a set pattern of steps, and everyone in the competition does the same dance. (Watching a full competition's compulsory dances is mind-numbing and not recommended for newbies.) The second round is the Original Dance, for which competitors are given a theme or category of dance to perform. This season's theme is folk/country dance. Other than the set theme, the Original Dance functions much like the short program does in other disciplines. The third round of ice dance is the Free Dance, which is much like the other disciplines' free skate.
Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the USA, who have been holding hands on the ice so long that they used to get kooties from it.
One of the big requirements for ice dance is that the skaters have to stay in physical contact for almost the entire program. There are a variety of holds - arm/body positions - and the skaters need to maintain them clearly and switch among them smoothly. This is a big part of what makes ice dance difficult: teams have to stay synchronized, maintain speed, do difficult steps, and look pretty while literally dancing cheek to cheek.
Ice dance teams perform two lifts in the original dance and four lifts in the free dance. Dance lifts are supposed to be "elegant" rather than "acrobatic," and lifts above the head are not allowed. In both programs, skaters have to do two footwork passes (sometimes called step sequences in dance): one in which they are holding onto each other and one in which they are not touching. In the free dance, teams have to do a dance spin, a spin in which they are holding onto each other. The most distinctive ice dance element is the twizzle, a chain of straight-line turns on one foot, which the skaters perform while not touching. Twizzles are a whole lot harder than they look, and you might see a few stumbles on them.
Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada show you exactly how high an ice dancer's hands are allowed to go in a lift.
You have implied that there is some kind of "system" by which skaters "score," and that it's a hot mess.
Actually, I've heard that the gay bar scene in Vancouver is pretty fabulous.
No, seriously. In the past, skating was scored on a scale from 0.0 to 6.0, with a 6 awarded for a perfect performance. Those of us who minored in math can see problems in this already, but things really got screwed up in the 2002 Olympics, when it became clear that judges were trading favors with each other and also using the murkiness of the system to favor the skaters they liked better. As a result, the International Skating Union, which is the international governing body for the sport (and about which I have some negative feelings not relevant to this FAQ) came up with a new scoring system, the Code of Points. Many skaters, commentators, and fans feel that the CoP is arbitrary, overly technical, and "ruining the sport." I am in the minority as one of its defenders: I think it clarifies what's expected of the skaters and increases the athleticism of the sport. That said, I don't think it's solved the corruption problems at all, and the point values for some elements don't seem to accurately reflect the difficulty of those elements. If you see or hear bellyaching about whether the CoP is fucking up figure skating, I suggest covering up your ears and singing loudly, because the "controversy" is far less interesting than the sport itself, and 6.0 ain't never coming back.
So how does this Code of Points work?
It's a lot simpler than the commentators would have you think. The panel of judges consists of two groups: technical specialists and judges. The technical specialists watch each skater's performance, both as they're skating and on instant replay/slo-mo immediately afterward, and determine what the skater did on the ice. For jumps, they figure out the type of jump and how many times around the skater went. For spins, footwork, lifts, death drops, and twizzles, there are various levels of difficulty - 1 is the easiest, 4 is the hardest - and set criteria for determining which level they are. The technical specialists figure out the levels for these elements.
Each required element is worth a certain number of points. This is called a "base value." For example, a triple lutz is worth 6 points.
Then, the judges each make a determination about how well the elements were executed. This part of the score is called the Grade Of Execution. An absolutely perfect jump, spin, etc. will earn 3 extra points for being just that awesome - so a really, really good triple lutz is worth 9 points. An average triple lutz is worth 6, its base value. A really crappy triple lutz - if the skater falls, for instance - is only worth 3 points. So there's an incentive to not just do the elements, but to do them as well as possible. Each judge assigns a GOE for each element, ranging from -3 to +3, and those are averaged. ETA: The technical elements score is the sum of the values of every element a skater does.
Whatever those numbers mean, Rachael Flatt of the USA is happy about them.
The skaters also have a second set of marks, the Program Components, and this is where the ambiguity and corruption can set in. But it's also really important to have them, since part of the sport is to be artistic and to make difficult connecting moves between elements. There are six five categories of program components, and each judge scores each skater on a scale of 1-10. Each judge's score is averaged with the others.
The Technical Elements Score is added to the Program Components Score, and that's the skater's score for their program.
I am SO CONFUSED.
Every skater is required to do certain kinds of moves in his or her program. Each of those moves is worth a certain number of points. The judges figure out what kind of moves the skater did and how well she did them, and that's the first part of the skater's score. The second part of the score reflects how well the skater performed overall: was she fast and graceful, and did she do difficult and interesting things in between her required moves? Add the two together for the total score.
Who has two thumbs and is Canadian national champion? Patrick Chan!
I thought that skater was awesome, but his scores weren't so high, and then the guy who skated after him fell on his ass and got higher scores. What is going on?
Sometimes, skaters who are delightful to watch have easier technical content than skaters who are boring and a drag. If a skater tries to do something really hard and falls, he might earn more points for that than his competitor who does something easier and looks beautiful.
There are a number of ways to lose points that are hard to see while a skater is skating on your TV. Judges frequently take away points when a skater doesn't go all the way around on her jumps, or when she takes off for her jumps incorrectly. If you hear the commentators talking about "underrotation" or "edge deductions," that's what they're referring to. Dance teams sometimes get deductions for lifts that last too long. Some people feel like these deductions are nitpicking, while others feel that they encourage skaters to perfect their technique.
And of course, there's a one point deduction for falling on your ass.
Why do skaters fall on their asses so much?
Because figure skating is hard. A triple jump goes really high in the air and spins around, and a skater is expected to land on one foot on a narrow blade on slippery ice with thousands of people watching.
Skaters are most likely to fall on jumps, but every once in a while a skater will trip over her feet during footwork or lose control of a spin.
Are all the programs set to music? Are there rules about the music skaters can use?
All skating programs are performed to music. Singles and pairs music cannot have lyrics, but lyrics are allowed in ice dance so that they can find music that fits their theme. There are various bullshit arguments about why lyrics are not allowed, but it does force the skaters away from questionable pop music.
Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto of the USA, performing the compulsory dance, for which everyone skates to the same (awful) music.
Cranky old skating fans will complain about certain pieces of music that are overused. Enjoy your newbie status, which will keep you from bellyaching about how Mirai Nagasu's Carmen pales in comparison with Katarina Witt's.
Do skaters do the same programs for every competition?
Skaters usually do the same programs for one season and then get new ones in the summer when they have time to eat cheese and learn choreography. So the skaters have "broken in" their programs by now and know them well, as do the fans. Competitive figure skating programs have to include a lot of very specific things (see above), so it's expensive and time-consuming to choreograph one.
This is all very interesting, but I'm really just here for the sequins. Talk about costumes!
I applaud your attitude. Figure skating is pretty much unique among Olympic sports in that skaters wear individualized, over-the-top costumes rather than team uniforms. Some skaters, especially men's singles skaters who are trying to act butch, have said they'd prefer a uniform, but glittery spandex is just their cross to bear. In theory, costumes should reflect the character and theme of a program as well as a skater's personality and style.
Johnny Weir of the USA is also mostly here for the sequins.
So when's the skating on TV?
There's a very swanky official site for these Olympic Games, and this is the schedule and results page. Here's a rundown of the skating schedule, with all times local for Vancouver (Pacific Standard Time):
Sunday, Feb. 14 - 4:30 PM: Pairs short program
Monday, Feb. 15 - 5:00 PM: Pairs free skate
Tuesday, Feb. 16 - 4:15 PM: Men's short program
Thursday, Feb. 18 - 5:00 PM: Men's free skate
Friday, Feb. 19 - 4:45 PM: Compulsory dance
Sunday, Feb. 21 - 4:15 PM: Original dance
Monday, Feb. 22 - 4:45 PM: Free dance
Tuesday, Feb. 23 - 4:30 PM: Ladies' short program
Thursday, Feb. 25 - 5:00 PM: Ladies' free skate
Saturday, Feb. 27 - 4:30 PM: Exhibition gala
If Miki Ando weren't going to Vancouver, she'd be watching the Games on NBC. She's from Japan, but she trains in New Jersey.
If you live in the United States, most of the coverage will be on NBC and its affiliated cable networks. The official site has schedules and information. There will be complete coverage online as well, for which you have to sign up. That's kind of hidden on the site. Go to the Video page and scroll down; there should be a link in the right sidebar.
Canadian coverage will be on CTV. This is CTV's official Olympics site. I'm pretty sure you guys have access to online video as well.
Residents of other countries are going to have to figure things out on their own, I'm afraid.
I want to know more things!
The NBC, CTV, and official Olympics websites, linked above, have hours of information, videos, and blatant marketing. IceNetwork, which is affiliated with US Figure Skating, also has news and athlete profiles. Most of the other skating sites I read are for skating dorks, not for beginners.
I'll be posting a "what to watch" guide for each discipline, in which I'll give more information about the skaters, including photos and YouTube.
I have other questions!
You should ask in the comments!
ETA 2/13: I've started making preview posts for each discipline, with photos, video, and information on the top skaters. I'll add links as I post them.
Olympic preview part 2: Pairs
Olympic preview part 3: Men's Singles
Olympic preview part 4: More Men's Singles
Olympic preview part 5: Ice Dance
Olympic preview part 6: Ladies' Singles
ETA 2/17: Several people are frustrated that their local coverage doesn't show the full standings very often or explain how the scores added up. NBC is actually doing a great job of that in their online coverage. While an event is in progress, you can go to the Figure Skating Results page and click on the link to the event. It should give you scores and rankings in real time, including a list of what scores each skater got for each element. This should work even if you're not a US resident.