ICE SKATING: Master's of Figure Skating: Inconsistent Judging

Master's of Figure Skating October 12, 2000: Boise, Idaho Televised: October 25, 2000 on TNT

The Master's of Figure Skating is a "pro-am" competition. It tries to bridge the professional world of ice skating, which focuses on artistic and choreographic quality; and the amateur world of figure skating, the world that we see in the Olympics and the World Championships, which emphasizes technical prowess.

The competition consists of two parts: the short program, which contains the required elements we see in ISU (International Skating Union, which governs the amateur world of figure skating) competitions; and the interpretive program, which caters to the professional world, placing importance on artistry and performance.

The judging at this event, however, was erratic; some decisions were made based on professional criteria, and others were made based on amateur criteria. The two most controversial events were the men's and the pairs.

PART I: The men The men's event was led by three-time and reigning world champion, Alexei Yagudin. He started off very strongly in the short program, skating to music by Chopin. Draped in a dramatic red and black costume, Yagudin fired off a quad-double combination (the only quad of the short program). He followed that with a beautiful triple axel and a triple lutz. Yagudin's footwork was very quick, very complicated, and just amazing; he is considered one of the best in the world in footwork. Yagudin won the short program by a considerable margin.

Todd Eldredge tripled his quad attempt, and that dampered the rest of his program. Eldredge also touched his hand down on the triple lutz and fell out of his triple axel. He was lackluster and finished third in the short program.

The surprise of the night was Ilia Kulik, the Olympic Champion, who landed a triple axel-triple toe loop combination. He had not even completed one in the practices prior to the event. That's Ilia Kulik for you - totally unpredictable! Kulik, however, touched down on the triple lutz, and had a few minor errors on his spins. Overall, Kulik had a wonderful performance and it was enough to put him in second place.

Then came the interpretive program. This is a program that is NOT supposed to look like an ISU long program, which usually consists of choreography centered around jumps, especially quads (last year at the World Championships the winning program, Yagudin's, had two quads, one of them in combination with a triple toe loop). In fact, the number of triple jumps in the long program was limited to four. The program would be judged based on the choreographic effectiveness of the program - that is, it doesn't matter how difficult the move was, it had to fit with the music; and the integration of skating skill with the music.

Todd Eldredge was the first to perform. He skated to music from the "13th Warrior" soundtrack, his ISU competitive program for this season. Eldredge landed a quad - the first time he has completed a quad in competition. In doing this, Eldredge conquered a personal demon that has been plaguing him since 1996. He also landed two triple axels and triple lutz. However, his program mostly consisted of stroking around setting up for his quad or other jumps. There was little footwork and other in-between elements that would make this program a "performance" or an "interpretive program," instead of an ISU long program. Eldredge also ended the program with a combination spin that he has been doing - the exact same way - for the past 4 years, at least. Eldredge is an excellent spinner (one of the best in the world), but he has never demonstrated any creativity in his spins - they are always the same, and, in an interpretive program, this is not what the judges want to see.

Steven Cousins, who struggled in the short program, followed Eldredge with a fun, very entertaining program to music by the Artist Formerly Known As Prince. Cousins had said that after learning the choreography to this program, he discovered he had muscles he never knew he had! This was a program that was made for the enjoyment of the audience, and threw technical concerns to the wind. Perhaps this carefree spirit helped, because Cousins also landed the triple lutz that he fell on in the short program. However, Cousins was placed behind Eldredge.

Alexei Yagudin, the leader after the short program, was next. He skated to music from the movie "Gladiator." This is his ISU long program for the season, but Yagudin has two versions of this program: exhibition, and competitive. He used the exhibition version on this night. Yagudin skated through the whole program holding knives in his hands. This is very difficult because his arms always had some tension in them throughout the program, and Yagudin had to jump, spin, and do some very tricky footwork, holding these knives! Props of any sort are not allowed in ISU competitive programs.

Yagudin started out with a powerful triple flip, but stepped out of his triple axel. However, judges are not looking for technical prowess in the interpretive program. What they want to see is how the choreography interprets the music. And Yagudin did this very well. Instead of throwing in the most difficult triple jumps or a quadruple jump, which, judging from the short program, he was perfectly capable of doing, Yagudin did less difficult triple jumps and spent most of his time doing footwork and simulating fight scenes perfectly choreographed to the music. He did very little stroking around the ice, as Eldredge had done, and filled his program with "in-between" elements. The only time he stopped moving was to roll on the ice dramatically, when the music slowed.

Yagudin lost to Eldredge in a 3 to 2 split decision. Why? If Yagudin's performance was considered too much of an ISU long program, than Todd Eldredge's program was just as much, if not more, an ISU long program than Yagudin's was. It was evident that this event had been judged using technical criteria, instead of the artistic criteria.

Sure, Eldredge landed a quad (a noble achievement), but the fact that Eldredge was even attempting a quad in this interpretive free program demonstrated that he was not approaching the program with an interpretive or artistic mindset; he wanted to achieve technically, and land that quad. In fact, Todd even admitted that he just wanted to prove that he _could_ land that quad, so that his path to the 2002 Olympics could begin.

If any program of the night was a "true interpretive program," it was Ilia Kulik's program. Donning sunglasses and skating to "Rockit," by Herbie Hancock, Kulik was incredible. Like Yagudin and Cousins, he went into the interpretive program with the goal to show off his choreography. Kulik only had two triple jumps (one of which he stepped out of), but his program was packed with entertaining and innovative footwork. It went perfectly with the music. Kulik showed off his very limber body and his talent as a choreographer. This program was truly a professional program: creative, artistic, and extremely difficult not only to choreograph, but also to perform. This competition was a personal victory for Kulik. He had not competed that well in over a year.

So what did the judges do? They put Kulik in third place. Isn't that ironic? In a program that calls for innovative and music-appropriate choreography, expression, and performance, the winner is the one who completed a quadruple jump, and ignored the beautiful steps he could have put into it, if he had truly wanted to interpret the music.