Judging Changes Are Not Bad--as a Starting Point

“You say you want a revolution, well you know we all want to change the world.”

The Beatles

“Don’t you know, they’re talkin’ ‘bout a revolution. It sounds like a whisper.”

Tracy Chapman

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If we’re talking about a revolution in figure skating judging, then let’s talk about a real one. I must say I was initially very excited about Ottavio Cinquanta’s reform proposal, but I wonder if it goes far enough. I realize that we are talking about preliminary ideas, but the core philosophy of skating judging is being questioned here, and if we are truly ready for a fundamental restructuring--and by the looks of this past week we’d better be--let’s get it right.

I want to say up front that 99% of the figure skating judges I’ve known are simply trying to do their best within a system. My father has been a judge for more than 30 years, and he does it out of sheer altruism, to give back to the sport and to encourage children who are coming up in the ranks.

It’s difficult to be a judge, and it takes years to reach the level of an Olympic judge. The work is volunteer, and it takes an incredible amount of time, energy and even money to reach the Olympic level. Having said that, I have a few comments on the proposal and recent actions to investigate the judging issues here:

* Does it matter if we have nine or 14 judges, and what about computer selection? I think the idea of having 14 judges with seven randomly selected by computer to eliminate bloc judging works on one level, but it fails on several others. It does eliminate the possibility of predicting precisely who the judges are and therefore finding one corrupt judge to pay off or make a deal with.

But if the federations want to fix the judging, there are four more judges to work on. Also, how much less transparent will the sport be when there is no flag beside the judge’s score? It was the booing that caused the French judge to want to confess. The judges need to be accountable to those watching, including the skaters and coaches, in real time.

* What about tracking the scores of judges to watch for trends? This is the only way to get a clear picture of a judge’s ability against an objective standard, and to detect incidences of bias. I applaud statistical tracking of judges’ scoring, as long as representatives of the sport’s key stakeholders can analyze the data and, together with officials from the International Skating Union, make decisions based on that information on a regular basis.

* I challenge the ISU to go after judges and federations who are making the deals, and remove the perpetrators. They are stealing deserved medals from athletes, plain and simple. If the clock that was timing the speedskaters was broken and giving the wrong result, it would be thrown out instantly, and so should corrupt judges.

The ISU needs to follow through on its investigations of alleged vote fixing in the pairs and dance events in Salt Lake City and remove and punish those involved in any fixing. They took the Olympic oath as did the athletes, and they should be expelled from the sport for a few years to think about their responsibility to the careers of the young athletes whose future livelihoods depend on the results of these competitions.

Never underestimate the powerful role played by the skating federations in selecting the judges, and their desire to keep their jobs. In many cases, they have worked for 30 or more years to reach their rank, and they do not want to leave their positions of authority. Many enjoy the power, but most are motivated by the love of skating.

* The ISU should take the countries out of the judging mix altogether. In order to truly reform the world of skating judging, the ISU must take the federations out of their powerful role and select judges who know no country’s affiliation, and who are ready to have their judging monitored to assure they reach a fair result every time. They need to be accountable only to the ISU and to key stakeholders in the sport, including their peer judges--the skaters and coaches--just as linesmen and referees are in the NFL, NHL, NBA and major league baseball.

* The ISU should consult the athletes and coaches, as John Nicks, Sasha Cohen’s coach, has suggested. These are the key stakeholders in the sport, whose careers and livelihoods are determined by the outcomes of ISU events. Skating is a profession, and the only credentials that are bankable are the Olympics and the World Championships. Just as football, basketball, baseball, hockey and tennis all have professional judges judging professional events, so should skating.

* Begin rewarding the best judging, not just based on agreement. In skating, judges are rewarded for their agreement with colleagues, not for making great decisions when the circumstances are tough. The corollary to this is that judges are fearful of the negative role that disagreement can play in their careers. This is why they often go in with a predetermined placement, because they know their peers will make the same decision, and they will live to see another year of travel and good treatment. Also, when judges agree with their peers, they are protected from having to defend their positions in brutal judging meetings.

* The ISU needs to make sure that the basics of sport are not lost as we add up scores for triples and quad jumps. Adding up all the jumps and other elements is an impressive way to change the system, but the ISU needs to include skating techniques in the difficulty and execution marks, including some measure of speed across the ice, basic techniques of stroking, spinning, carriage and form. These elements may seem insignificant, but the sport will be lost if it becomes even more strictly about adding up all the tricks.

I welcome the revolution, but let’s make sure to get it right.

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Figure skater Paul Wylie won a silver medal at the 1992 Olympics.