Tag: program components

A Program Component Score Guide for the Olympic Viewer

by Jacquelyn Thayer Olympic figure skating commentators tend to keep the sport’s coverage in a classic 6.0 mindset: there is a technical elements mark, obviously used to score things like jumps and twizzles, and an “artistic” or “presentation” mark — meant to score something less definable, based heavily on subjective emotions and tastes. It’s true…

PCS: Connecting the Dots #9. Mixed Doubles

by Jacquelyn Thayer This Grand Prix ice dance team-by-team analysis has been expanded from recent Snapshot Stats features on Two for the Ice on Tumblr. CHOCK & BATES vs. WEAVER & POJE A pair of world medalist teams in an oft-unsteady position: Madison Chock and Evan Bates ceded the U.S. national title to Maia and…

PCS: Connecting the Dots #6. GOEing Somewhere

In this PCS series as in all analytical articles, it has generally been TFTI’s aim to provide some deeper insight into the numbers presented — related or not to on-ice performance. But in the matter of Grades of Execution in this first half of the 2015-16 season, our mission may have failed. It should first,…

PCS: Connecting the Dots #4. The Weight of the Worlds

While our previous entries have focused exclusively on the question of PCS, an overall evaluation of fall results has prompted a secondary question: what relationship, if any, exists between the role of PCS and that of the ostensibly more objective TES? *Note: Deductions when present have been added back to total scores to allow for…

PCS: Connecting the Dots #3. Where We Stand

As the Grand Prix series concludes prior to the Final, the establishment of a field in the absence of the world-leading dance teams of the previous quad has begun to emerge. To that end, a review of the development, from last season through most recent international competitions, of PCS as assigned to those senior American…

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. 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…