Reviewing the Top two Finishers in the Free Dance Portion of the Olympic Team Event

We received an email request to explain the levels of the top two finishers in the Olympic Team Event Free Dance. We have tried to explain the calls for the levels from what we can see in the videos available to the public. Here is the breakdown of the scores: 

http://www.sochi2014.com/en/figure-skating-team-ice-dance-free-dance 

The various turns you will see in these step sequences have been discussed in this entry:

http://icedanceanalysts.blogspot.ca/2013/11/to-everything-turn-turn-turn-turns-in.html

Let's have a look at the step sequences for these two teams, keeping in mind that the judges are looking for distinct edges (they have to be sure the skater is on the required edge--edge quality is accounted for in GOEs):

We'll first look at the requirements for the circular and diagonal step sequences for the free dance, both of which are done in hold.

Here is the circular step sequence for the team that finished first in this segment of the event, Meryl Davis/Charlie White for which they received a level 3.

Davis /White likely did not receive credit for their rocker. Davis’s blade goes flat on the entry edge when it should remain a right forward outside edge throughout. 

Here is their diagonal step sequence for which they received a level 4:

In the diagonal, White placed his blade on a flat for the exit edge of the first choctaw (beginning of diagonal step sequence) instead of a right back outside edge. We are surprised they received credit for this turn.

On the rocker, it appears Davis’s blade was barely on a right forward outside edge for her exit edge. 

Let's have a look at the lift requirements.

They struggled in transitioning into the rotational portion of this lift, but that would affect GOEs as they still completed the requirements for a level 4 for the first part of the combination lift. The main problem occurs on White’s rotations for the second part of this lift. After 5 rotations, White stops his rotation and therefore does not complete the 6 rotations necessary from the lifting partner for a rotational lift to be deemed level 4. We were surprised they received a level 4 for this lift. 

Virtue/Moir had a bit of a struggle getting into the straight line lift, which resulted in lower GOEs. They did however meet the requirements for a level 4 straight line lift, with Virtue leaning out forwards with her support point being her leg and Moir transitioning from a spread eagle (on a straight line) to a one foot position. The creative/difficult entry is Virtue’s “significant transitional movement…to reach and establish the desired pose”. 

Let's have a look at their circular step sequence for which they received a level 3:

In the circular step sequence, perhaps the panel felt that Virtue did not show a distinct enough forward outside edge which is required as the exit edge for this choctaw. 

And here is their diagonal step sequence for which they received a level 2:

In the diagonal, we believe it was Virtue's counter (entry edge) and her choctaw (exit edge) in the first section of the sequence that caused them to go down to a level 2.

On the counter, perhaps the technical panel felt Virtue didn't hold the right back inside long enough for the entry edge.

On the choctaw, it appears Virtue places her blade on a bit of a flat or barely an outside edge before quickly leaning onto the right back outside edge that is required for this choctaw.

What did you think of the ice dance portion of the team event? Let us know in the comments section!

What's in a Step Sequence?

More precisely, what’s in a level 4 step sequence? 

Let's take a look back at the ISU Handbook for Ice Dance Technical Panels 2013 for the criteria the Technical Panel uses in assigning a level to this element.

Types of difficult turns: 

Double Twizzle, Bracket, Rocker, Counter, Choctaw, Outside Mohawk “skated on distinct and recognizable edges and in accordance with the description in Rule 604”. 

The one-foot turns have been bolded. 

Extra Features (specifically for the Not Touching Step Sequence): 

Spread Eagle, Lunge, Shoot the Duck, Ina Bauer, Toe Steps, Dance Jump, or a combination of those, not exceeding one measure of music.

How are GOEs Determined for this Element?

Let's have a look at the criteria the Judges use in determining the appropriate GOE for this element.

We have selected an example of a step sequence performed by Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir that we feel is the strongest execution of this element. They have elected to do a midline sequence for their Not Touching Step Sequence. Although they received a perfect score for this element at Skate Canada (a level 4 and maximum GOEs from all but one judge, whose mark was discarded in the final score), we have selected their version of this element from the 2013 Grand Prix Final, for which they also received a level 4 and many GOEs of +3.

Here is the protocol from this event. 

Here is a video of the step sequence only:

Below we have broken the step sequence down into its component parts. We have provided gifs slowed to 40% of the original speed for each turn.

They begin the sequence with Virtue performing a left forward inside counter turn and Moir performing a right back inside counter. That means that Virtue is traveling clockwise on a left forward inside entry edge and turns her blade counter-clockwise to exit on a left back inside edge traveling in a counter-clockwise direction; Moir is traveling clockwise on a right back inside entry edge and turns his blade counter-clockwise to exit on a right forward inside edge traveling in a counter-clockwise direction.

They move into a transitional step (dance jump) which is followed by a left forward inside open choctaw for Virtue and a right forward inside choctaw for Moir. That means that Virtue has a left forward inside entry edge, then brings her right foot forward and exits on a right back outside edge; Moir has a right forward inside entry edge, then brings his left foot forward and exits on a left back outside edge.

They then move directly into a double twizzle, with Virtue turning clockwise and Moir turning counter-clockwise.

They use a transitional step (toe step) into a left forward inside counter for Virtue and a right forward inside counter for Moir. Virtue is traveling clockwise on a left forward inside edge and turns her blade counter-clockwise to exit on a left back inside edge traveling in a counter-clockwise direction. Moir is traveling counter-clockwise on a right forward inside edge and turns his blade clockwise to exit on a right back inside edge traveling in a clockwise direction.

They then use a transitional step in which they change direction and enter into a left forward outside swing Mohawk. They enter on a left forward outside edge, swing the free leg forward, and exit on a right back outside edge.

They each stay on the right foot and move from back inside to back outside edge before changing feet into a toe step turn which they exit on right back inside edges that curve clockwise. They then take one toe step into right forward inside brackets, the first turn in their one-foot turn section. They enter on right forward inside edges traveling counter-clockwise, turn their blades clockwise, and exit on right back outside edges traveling counter-clockwise.

They each stay on one foot and change over to right back inside edges (that travel clockwise). These right back inside edges are their entry edges for their next counter turn. They each turn their blade counter-clockwise to exit on right forward inside edges traveling counter-clockwise.

These right forward inside edges traveling counter-clockwise become their entry edges for their rocker turns. Each turns their blade counter-clockwise to exit on right back inside edges traveling clockwise.

They complete the one-foot turn section with double twizzles entered into on right back outside edges.

Some general notes on this step sequence:

They enter into it from dance steps. They have chosen a mirror pattern where they part and then converge in the first section and a matching pattern for the rest of the step sequence. Note the difficult transitional steps between the outside Mohawk and the third counter. Also note how they exit their final double twizzle on right forward inside edges and each stay on one foot to decelerate at the end, gently sliding into a stop, after which they immediately pick up their speed. The long, sweeping curves of their blades (entry and exit edge curves), the deep knee bends, the stability of their blades, the stability of their upper bodies as their knees are doing the work, and the effortless speed they maintain throughout this element make this element worthy of excellent GOEs.

How to Read (and Understand) a Protocol

The protocol is available after each segment of the competition and will tell you how each judge scored each element and aspect of the program. Each element will appear in the left column with the level the technical panel has assigned to it. The Base Value that has been decided upon in the Handbook forTechnical Panels appears under “Base” followed by the GOE awarded by each judge. For the pattern dance element, the key points are indicated with “Y” (for a key point achieved) and “N” (for a key point missed) and “T” (for a key point achieved but with one or more steps/edges not being held for the required number of beats).

So what do all those strange combinations of letters mean? 

NtMiSt=Not Touching Midline Step Sequence

NtDiSt=Not Touching Diagonal Step Sequence

NtCiSt=Not Touching Circular Step Sequence

MiSt=Midline Step Sequence

DiSt= Diagonal Step Sequence

CiSt=Circular Step Sequence

SeSt= Serpentine Step Sequence

StaLi=Stationary Lift

SlLi=Straight Line Lift

CuLi=Curve Lift

SeLi=Serpentine Lift

RoLi=Rotational Lift

RRoLi=Reverse Rotational Lift

Combination Lifts will include both lifts with a ‘+’ in between

ChLi=Choreographic Lift          Note: This lift is always assessed at level 1

Sp=Spin

CoSp=Combination Spin

STw=Synchronized Twizzles

1FS=Finnstep Section 1

2FS= Finnstep Section 2

How to Calculate TES

Here is an example from Skate Canada International 2013. In the first segment of the Finnstep, this team received credit for the first and third key points. A completed pattern with two key points translates to a level 3 for this element. All three key points were achieved on the second segment of the pattern, translating to a level 4 for this element.

So how do we get from a Base Value of 29.00 points to a total of 35.34 points? First, remove the highest and lowest score for each element (we have highlighted the highest in green and the lowest in yellow).

Element	Base	J1	J2	J3	J4	J5	J6	J7	J8	GOE	TOTAL
NtMiSt4	8.00	3	3	3	3	3	3	2	3	3.00	11.00
1FS3+YNY	6.00	2	2	2	2	3	2	2	2	1.00	7.00
2FS4+YYY	7.00	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	1.00	8.00
STw2	4.00	0	-1	1	1	1	0	2	-1	.17	4.17
RoLi4	4.00	2	2	2	3	2	2	3	3	1.17	5.17
TOTAL	29.00									6.34	35.34

Next take each judge’s GOE score and match it up to the corresponding value from the Scale of Values. Average these numbers and round to 2 decimals. Then add this average GOE to the Base Value, and you have the total value for that element.

Example #1: Let's look at the synchronized twizzles (STw) which was assessed a level 2. The Base Value is therefore 4.0 and the GOEs range from -1 to +2. The corresponding values from the SoV are listed in the right column. J# GOE SoV 1 0 0 2 -1 -0.5 3 1 0.5 4 1 0.5 5 1 0.5 6 0 0 AVE 0.17

Example #2:  Let's look at the rotational lift (RoLi4) which was assessed a level 4. The Base Value is therefore 4.0 and the GOEs range from +2 to +3. The corresponding values from the SoV are listed in the right column. J# GOE SoV 1 2 1 2 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 1.5 6 2 1 7 3 1.5 AVE 1.17

Adding this average GOE to the Base Value                    Adding this average GOE to the Base Value
we get: 4.00+0.17=4.17                                                 we get: 4.00+1.17=5.17                          
Thus, the element is worth 4.17 points.                           Thus, the element is worth 5.17 points.

                                       How to Calculate PCS

First remove the highest and lowest score for each category (we have highlighted the low in green and the high in yellow) and then average the scores for each category. This column of numbers is what you will always see on the protocol sheet but they are not the actual numbers that are used in calculating the PCS. For this, you need the factored scores.

To get those, you would next multiply the average for each category by its factor to get the factored score. The total PCS is the sum of all factored scores.

Category	Factor	J1	J2	J3	J4	J5	J6	J7	J8	Average  of Scores	Factored Scores
SS	0.8	9.50	9.50	9.50	9.25	9.50	9.00	9.25	8.75	9.33	7.46
TR	0.7	9.25	9.50	9.50	9.50	9.50	9.25	9.50	9.50	9.46	6.62
PE	0.7	9.50	9.25	9.50	9.75	9.25	9.00	9.25	9.75	9.42	6.59
CH	0.8	9.50	9.50	9.75	9.50	9.75	9.25	9.50	9.25	9.50	7.60
IN	1.0	9.50	9.50	9.75	9.75	9.50	9.00	9.50	9.50	9.54	9.54
TOTAL	4.0									47.25	37.82

For example, for the scores for SS you would toss out the scores from J3 and J8. Then average the rest of the scores, which will give you 9.33 (which IS displayed on the protocol sheet). Multiply that by a factor of 0.80 for a score 7.46 which is used in calculating the final PCS but is NOT displayed on the protocol.

Any additional deductions will be indicated below these sections on the protocol.