The "New Judging System"

I went to two seminars this past week on the "New Judging System."

One of the seminars was given by Figure Skating Coach and 2003 World Team Member, Ryan Jahnke. He gave a first-hand account of the "New Judging System," since he experienced it as a competitor. Ryan explained how important it is to do all moves well in order to get a good technical score.

Those who attended Ryan's seminar learned that this system is not "new" anymore since its been around for a few years now.

What the "New Judging System" really is called is the ISU Judging System for Figure Skating. Now, when you attend a figure skating competition, you will see many officials including two Technical Specialists who identify the elements the skater is performing. The people who are Technical Specialists are people that were very good skaters. Some of the Technical Specialists are former World Competitors.