Category: Analysis

PCS: Connecting the Dots #2. Showing Range

by Jacquelyn Thayer Range among PCS categories — and among marks assigned by individual judges within a category — may be the nitpickiest of topics to assess. Certainly numbers here are minuscule, with variations typically hovering around the 1-point range for both dance teams and pairs (despite the different factor applied to each category within…

PCS: Connecting the Dots #1.5 – A Pairs Pattern

by Jacquelyn Thayer Before proceeding to the next topic in our PCS series, let’s take a moment to look at the national ranking trends suggested in entry #1 as applied to our other discipline of interest — pairs. PCS and National Ranking: Pairs This analysis, it must be cautioned, does not take into consideration technical…

Previewing the 2014 Grand Prix Draft

With assignments for the 2014-15 Grand Prix series to be determined today and Friday, where can the top teams from Canada and the U.S. expect to book a trip? As a summary review, each host nation — the U.S., Canada, China, Russia, France, and Japan — may invite up to three home entries per discipline;…

PCS: Connecting the Dots #1. A Question of Ranking

by Jacquelyn Thayer Since its introduction under the International Judging System in 2004, the program component score (PCS) has in popular view functioned as a sort of equivalent to the previous system’s “second mark” — that score which weights the aesthetic qualities of performance, rather than difficulty and purity of technical content. This is something…

2013-14 Grand Prix in Review: Pairs

For U.S. and Canadian pairs, the Grand Prix offered up a rather mixed bag of results: while two Canadian pairs are once more Grand Prix Final-bound and closer in ranking than ever, established and up-and-coming national teammates are vying for their own opportunity. In the U.S., technical consistency is proving a key to success, and…

2013-14 Grand Prix in Review: Dance

The six events comprising this pre-Olympic Grand Prix series established more firmly than ever the central storylines for North American ice dance as the countdown to Sochi continues. By the numbers and more than a little data analysis, the key takeaways. 1. The Battle for First – No contest has been more discussed or more…

2013 Finlandia Trophy Post-Game Analysis

Finlandia Trophy featured return visits from two teams who last began their season there in 2011 — World silver medalists Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir and U.S. silver medalists Madison Chock & Evan Bates, who took gold and bronze at that year’s event and here caught gold and silver. The stakes for an early beginning…

2013 Nebelhorn Trophy Post-Game Analysis — Pairs

For the U.S. and Canada’s pairs entries, Nebelhorn Trophy marked a fresh start: both Lindsay Davis & Rockne Brubaker and Natasha Purich & Mervin Tran were new teams making their international debuts together, both men having sat out the 2012-13 season after unexpected splits from the partners with whom they competed at the world level.…