Interview With Christopher Mabee

If you love watching men's figure skating and live in Canada, you most definitely know the name Christopher Mabee. A medallist on the Novice, Junior and Senior levels at the Canadian National Championships, Christopher has represented Canada on both the Junior and Senior Grand Prix with great success and competed at the World Junior Championships, the Four Continents Championships (where he won the silver in 2006) and the World Championships in 2007. I was in the rink when he skated to a silver medal at the 2007 Canadian Nationals here in Halifax and can attest to the fact of him not only having a wonderful performance but competing in a very deep field. Jeffrey Buttle won that year, but in finishing second Mabee outskated Emanuel Sandhu, Shawn Sawyer, Patrick Chan, Joey Russell, Vaughn Chipeur, Kevin Reynolds, Bryce Davison and a who's who of great Canadian skaters. Now skating on the high seas as a professional skater with Willy Bietak Productions, Christopher took the time to reflect on his competitive career, talk about skating professionally, homophobia in figure skating, men's skating in Canada and much more:

Q: During your skating career, you were a Novice, Junior and Senior medallist at the Canadian National Championships and competed at the World Junior Championships, Four Continents Championships, World Championships and on both the Junior and Senior Grand Prix, winning the silver medal at the 2006 Four Continents Championships ahead of well known skaters like Matthew Savoie and Michael Weiss. What are your proudest and most special memories from your eligible skating career?

A: Well, after you put it all out there I guess I would have to say I am proud of all the accomplishments I achieved over my competitive career! A couple of my proudest moments probably come from the National Championships in Canada. I feel like I always had my best skates in front of a Canadian audience. 2005 was a year of changes. I made a coaching change during the off season and then returned back to Lee Barkell and Doug Leigh because it wasn't working out. Then I was injured before the Junior Grand Prix final. Going to Nationals and performing probably one of my most emotional performances and in my hometown was such a great moment. The only other one would have to be after the 2006 long program where I really thought I had skated well enough to make the Olympic team. To recover after falling from 3rd to 8th after the short program and then to come back with a solid free skate really showed me what I was made of.

Q: Looking back, would you change about your skating career if you had to do it all again?

A: I am not sure what I would change. Honestly, I wish I would have loved the gym more and didn't make it seem like such a chore. I wish I knew then what I know now. I find I am a much more consistent performer now being older, but that's about it.

Q: You competed under both the 6.0 and IJS system. How hard was adjusting to a new way of skating and a new way of being judged? Which system do you think was/is the fairest to skaters and audiences?

A: Adjusting to the new system was interesting to say the least. I had a hard time understanding the importance of the small points adding up and I don't even think I full got it even when I removed myself from competitive skating. The new system changed skating. I find the new system has made skating seem busy. Choreographers like David Wilson, Lori Nichol and Jeffrey Buttle have been great at finding the balance of pleasing the judges and not making their skaters look chaotic or frantic. I like how everything has value, but I feel like with all the strategy it is making it hard for the audience to connect with skaters on emotional level. I feel like we are getting closer to what it was like before the system change but it will need more time. I think the 6.0 system was easier for the audience to understand and to relate to. As for what is fair, we are speaking about a judged sport. I would like to see some judges called out for stupidly high numbers when the other judges go low. Same with the calling of the events. Last year at the Grand Prix Final, I saw some stuff where I had no idea what the panel saw. For me it was just weird. In general, I don't care what the numbers are. I just want to watch good skating and see that being rewarded and I think/hope the audience would want the same thing.

Q: You worked with some of the best coaches and choreographers in the skating world during your career - David Wilson, Lori Nichol, Doug Leigh, Lee Barkell, Paul Wirtz... What did you take from working with each of these people that really helped you develop as a better skater?

A: Well, each person I have worked with has been so different and I have definitely learned something from everyone. With Paul Wirtz, I never went to a competition unprepared. He always had me trained and ready to go. Doug Leigh and Lee Barkell taught me proper technique on my jumps. With David Wilson, he showed me another side of skating that I didn't know was there and really pushed me to try something new. Lori Nichol showed me the importance of connecting with the choreographer and showed me that you can have fun and get stuff done too. I can always remember having a great time with Lori anytime we got together. In this new aspect of my career, I have had the opportunity to work with Sarah Kawahara who taught me a lot about playing a character and telling a story. Christopher Nolan gave me a new appreciation for the simple things in skating like a pointed toe, clean lines, and simple skating. I have been really lucky to have worked with such talented people.

Q: In 2006, you finished 4th at the Canadian Championships, missing a trip to the Winter Olympics by one spot. I can't even imagine. How did you get over that and how can skaters perservere when the going gets tough?

A: Well, it wasn't easy. The hardest part was training for the Four Continents Championships which were only a few weeks later. I have a great support system and they really helped me through that time. During the Olympics I enjoyed a drink or two while watching it. I spoke a lot with my sports psychologist, and she really helped me get through the emotional trauma that happened with being so close to making it to Olympics. It wasn't until the end of the Grand Prix events where I finally feel like I got over it and could focus on what I needed to do. I think the best thing you can do in moments like that is really communicate with your support team (family, coaches, close friends). Don't hold it in, just be honest with yourself and about how you feel.

Q: You turned professional in 2008 and have done some touring, both with Disney On Ice and Royal Caribbean. Where are you currently performing and is professional skating what you thought it would be? What do you love the most about it?

A: As of right now, I am in between contracts. I am currently working for Willy Bietak Productions on Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. Professional skating is more than what I thought it would be. When I came into professional skating I was in a time in my life were I was broke and needed money. I had no idea when I started that it would reignite my love and passion for the sport. I love being able to skate without the pressure. I obviously still have a lot of expectations for myself but being able to perform in front of an audience without pressure is such a freeing feeling.

Q: Is skating professionally something you see yourself doing long term? 

A: I didn't expect to be skating this long. I have been working for Willy Bietak Productions for nearly 5 years now and it has been great. I am treated really well and have no intentions of completely stopping in the near future, but we will see how my body holds up in the upcoming years.

Q: If you hadn't been a figure skater, what other talent do you think you would have pursued this far in your life?

A: I am not sure if I would have been involved with sports but if I was it probably would have been diving or gymnastics but that would mean I would need to love the gym... so maybe not!

Q: What's one thing most people don't know about you?

A: Something that most people don't know about me... My life is pretty much an open book. When I retired from competitive skating I was severely in debt. I was over $30,000 in debt and worked really hard and saved my money I was making to get out of it. As for random things people wouldn't know, I am a horrible tourist. I might go see what's important but I really just like finding interesting restaurants and having a good meal with great wine. That is what travel has become for me.

Q: Who are three figure skaters or teams (past or present) you could sit and watch perform all day?

A: John Curry! I am currently obsessed with a pro performance or exhibition he did where he skated to "Carmen". I just think it is a brilliant piece of choreography. Michelle Kwan, which doesn't need an explanation. I can't think of another person but I YouTube constantly looking for inspiration. I love when I can get goosebumps from watching a performance and that makes me want to skate.

Q: In response to Skate Canada's 2009 campaign to make figure skating more "masculine", Elvis Stojko told the Toronto Sun "if you're very lyrical and you're really feminine and soft, well, that's not men's skating. That is not men's skating, ok? Men's skating is power, strength, masculinity, focus, clarity of movement, interpretation of music." What are your thoughts on this and do you think homophobia within the sport is still an issue?

A: Well, first off everyone has their opinion on what men's skating should be. I feel like Skate Canada was maybe trying to promote skating as more than spandex and sparkles and let the people who are maybe a little close minded towards having their sons join skating know that it is more than just going out and looking pretty. It takes hard work to get to where you want to be. Regarding what Elvis said (and no offence to him or what he said but) to me Elvis was always just an athlete and not an artist. Men's skating needs a mix of both. I think it is important to respect each individual skater and what they bring to skating. There is no need to define what men's skating should be. It is what it is and we should be so happy to have such a variety of skaters. Homophobia is and will continue to be an issue. As long as everyone continues to stand up for what is right (gay or straight) then it will get better. We have to support the people who are not getting support they need.

Q: What are your thoughts on the current state of men's skating in Canada and worldwide?

A: Having the opportunity to watch Nationals last year I would say men's skating is looking really good. We have some great up and comers, and our current top guys are so strong. Mike Slipchuk (the Skate Canada High Performance Director) has such a strong development program and having such a talented group of guys coming, I am looking forward to watching them develop and be successful. I just hope they can survive the growth spurts and be the next big thing in men;s skating. From what I saw last year... loads of potential!

Q: Who do you think are the skaters to watch going into the 2014 Olympics in Sochi?

A: Denis Ten, Evgeni Plushenko (if he can make it to olympics), Gracie Gold, Kaetlyn Osmond... All Canadian pairs teams... they are all looking so good! Scott and Tessa... I am really interested to see what they are going to come out with this year. I loved "Carmen" and loved watching the piece evolve last season.

Q: What do you love most about being on the ice?

A: The sound of a perfect landing.

Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.

Interview With Filip Stiller

If you look at Sweden's geographical location, you would just assume it was always winter and people were always skating. Although Ulrich Salchow won the Olympic title the first time figure skating was contested at the Olympics - the SUMMER Olympics - in 1908 and a record 10 World titles, Sweden has not been a superpower in the skating world although it has produced some extraordinary, fabulous skaters. One of those skaters is Filip Stiller, who won 3 National titles and represented his country at the Junior World Championships, European Championships and World Championships. Now retired from the skating world, Stiller took the time to talk about his skating career, skating in Sweden, the current flock of men's competitors, his current career in radio and much more:

Q: You're a 3 time Swedish National Champion and have also competed at the Junior World Championships, European Championships and World Championships, as well as both junior and senior international competitions. What are your best and worst memories from your competitive skating days? What did you learn the most from them?

A: The best memory I have competition wise was when I, as a substitute for Kristoffer Berntsson, went to the Olympic qualification competition in 2001 in Zagreb. No one really expected me to even be close to getting a spot for Sweden but I skated clean in both programs and managed to qualify a spot for Sweden! I still remember the feeling when I had finished my free skate. I was jumping up and down on the ice! A lot of the guys that I managed to beat there were much more experienced and had placed quite high at several championships. Up until then, I had not really done any great international competitions so it was a huge confidence boost to realize I could do it. Unfortunately, Sweden decided not to send anyone for the Olympics in 2002, but it was still a great competition. Another great memory, for a totally different reason, was from the Nordics in Asker, Norway way back in 1996 when I was 13. There was a bus ride with all the Swedish skaters going to the train station, where we were all so tired and silly from the competition stress, we broke down laughing at absolutely everything anyone said. The worst memories are related to being put in second over and over to Kristoffer Berntsson, my good friend and rival over many years. During the junior years I was technically stronger but would still not beat him at Nationals even when I skated clean. He was more polished than me which the judges preferred. Later in our careers (in December 2002), Kristoffer withdrew from Nationals due to illness but was still picked over me for Europeans in Malmö, Sweden. He had landed the triple axel in competition and I hadn't. It was still such a hard blow. Overall, the pressure and agony that you feel while coming up to a competition is what I miss the least. Before my last Nationals, I had a lump in my stomach for two weeks prior to the event.

Q: Sweden is rich in skating history. The very first Olympic men's champion in figure skating, Ulrich Salchow, was from Sweden and your country has also produced some excellent skaters over the years - Catarina Lindgren, Peter Johanson, Kristoffer Berntsson, Joshi and Viktoria Helgesson, Adrian Schultheiss and yourself among them. How popular is skating in your country and has it gained popularity in recent years?

A: It is still very far behind many other sports, but there has definitely been a huge change over the last years. This has been following the success of Viktoria Helgesson, Joshi Helgesson, Adrian Schultheiss, Kristoffer Berntsson, and recently Alexander Majorov. Viktoria Helgesson (especially) has risen as a star in a way that I have never seen any Swedish figure skater do before and it makes me so happy. The Swedish Figure Skating Association now even has sponsors! That was impossible to get just ten years ago. In the media, there has always been a tradition to show figure skating championships on TV because the sport is beautiful and fun to watch. Now the interest has escalated with the success of our skaters. SVT (for example) had excellent viewing ratings during the European Championships in Zagreb in January. However, in Sweden, the most important sports in media I would say are soccer, ice hockey, riding, golf, skiing, and track.

Q: If you were going backpacking across Europe and could only take one book, one CD and one movie, what would they be?

A: My sister has been going on and on about Steve Jobs autobiography... maybe I would bring that. The CD would definitely be my countryman Avicii's amazing album "True" and I'd bring Lord of the Rings - Return of the King, because I love fantasy/sci-fi and that would keep me busy for at least three hours at a time.

Q: You are currently involved in journalism and radio. Who do you work for and what do you find the most rewarding about writing?

A: I currently work for national Swedish Radio as a reporter and news reader. The part I like the most is that I get to learn so much about the world thanks to my job. I don't necessarily have in-depth knowledge about everything, but at least I know a little about everything. I know how to find out the information that I need. And feeling that you have a pretty good idea on what's going on in the world is a rewarding feeling.

Q: When was the last time you were on the ice and can you ever see yourself getting back into competitive skating?

A: It was this spring when a friend came to visit and we went skating outdoors in Stockholm. I borrowed hockey skates because I didn't have my own with me! Before that, my sister and I skated a couple times in a rink nearby and it was good fun. Competitive skating? No... for numerous reasons. I'm too old, too heavy, too injured, and don't want to feel the pressure and agony of competing and trying to reach my goals again. Shows however, are not out of the question. I will always love to skate and perform. For now, I am focusing on my career as a journalist.

Q: Looking at the current field of men's skaters vying for medals in Sochi, who are the skaters to watch? If you were still competing, who would be the scariest to compete against?

A: I'd say to watch out for Javier Fernandez and Yuzuru Hanyu. If they can get it all together they will be very hard to beat. The question is if they can get it all together in one competition when it all matters. I hope so. Scariest to compete against? Well I don't know about scary, but Patrick Chan is such a brilliant skater artistically. He is so incredibly hard to beat just because of his sheer skating skills and musicality. There was one skater who I actually thought was scary for real and that was Yannick Ponsero, but only because his speed across the ice was unbelievable and I'd be terrified to crash in to him.

Q: Skating takes a lot of talent and also a lot of nerve. How did you manage to stay on top of the mental game of competitive figure skating?

A: I had specific technical pointers of every jump in the program that I would think about. Like, going in to the first combo I'd think "Right arm BACK, right arm BACK, right arm BACK!" The preparation - the crosscuts before each jump - is what decides a lot, so I made sure I knew exactly what I had to think, no matter where my brain was going.

Q: Two of your main rivals at home during your skating career were Adrian Schultheiss and Kristoffer Berntsson. What are your thoughts on their skating and what was competing against them like on a national level?

A: Kristoffer meant a lot to me during my career. He was the main reason I pushed myself so hard to become better, and I have him to thank for a lot of my progress. I always looked up to his classic skating with great lines, with good speed throughout the whole programs. In the beginning of his career he was so shy and it was hard for him to show his emotions on the ice and then, as he got more mature, he transformed in to one of the most entertaining skaters in the business. That was impressive. I will never forget his free skate at the 2007 Tokyo Worlds. Competing against him was both the worst nightmare and the best thing ever. It was a nightmare because he always seemed to compete at his best when I was the only real opponent... for example at Nationals. That was where it all mattered. I could beat him at international competitions, but in the end, that didn't matter in the long run. It was a dream competing against him because he was a fantastic friend. He was always very respectful and so easy to be around. There was one international competition where we had both spent a lot of time lying in our beds in the hotel room, feeling sick from the competition pressure and all the nerves, and I particularily remember realizing when we talked about it afterwards that he was the only other person in the world who knew exactly how it felt to go through all this. That is why I think we became close friends. I still see him, his wife and two kids when I visit Gothenburg and I am happy to have him as my friend. Adrian came to my club during the last couple of seasons of my career, and we got along very well too. He is one of the biggest natural talents in figure skating that the world has ever seen, according to me. It was unbelievable to see how big his progress was, even if there were others who worked harder. It was fantastic to see how he handled the pressure of going to the Olympics and skating as well as he did. It is so sad the injuries put a stop to his skating.

Q: Who are your three favourite skaters of all time and why?

A: Alexei Yagudin because he had the power, the skating, the jumps, and the charisma of a champion but could still be graceful. He kept developing the sport with his moves. Truly my number one. Number two would be Patrick Chan, because of a flow and knee bend that I could only dream about. I still can't see him land a quad without secretly sighing "Aaaaaah!" Thirdly, Michelle Kwan, because she embodied what "grace" is all about. Especially in the earlier years, her programs were packed with content, and she made a huge impact on the figure skating world.

Q: What's one thing about you most people don't know?

A: Most people don't know anything about me to begin with! When I was 11 years old, I was on a game show here in Sweden called "The Hunt For The Red Ruby", where my parents had to answer questions in a studio in Stockholm and I had to try and find rings and eventually also a ruby in different locations in Istanbul, Turkey. The more questions they answered, the more clues I got. I did find the ruby in the end and we won some money and a trip that we took to North Carolina in the U.S.

Q: What do you love most about skating more than anything?

A: The fact that there aren't two skaters who can do anything exactly the same. Every skater jumps differently. Every skater skates differently. Every program can be done differently. There is an endless array of creating figure skating moves. I also love the sport because of the excitement and unpredictability that the sport holds: nothing is for certain, a wrong thought can make even a champion miss an relatively easy jump.

Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.

Spotlight On Olga Markova

At the risk of sounding like some old prospector of yesteryear spinning yarns by a campfire... "do you know what's wrong with figure skaters today? They've lost their spunk!"... Not that I recall any old prospectors picking figure skaters' spunk as a hot campfire topic of conversation, but you know what I mean girl. In a different time (not so long ago) there used to be a lot more skaters that were serving up individuality and their own bold style; showcasing something unique that you couldn't quite put your finger on. One of those skaters that I don't quite feel has ever been recognized fully for her one of a kind style on the ice was St. Petersburg, Russia's Olga Dmitriyevna Markova.

When the Soviet Union finally collapsed on December 26, 1991, figure skaters from former Soviet countries went through a very uncertain time. The last Soviet Figure Skating Championships were held in Kiev, Ukraine in 1992 and the skaters competing went on to represent not the Soviet Union but a "Unified Team" consisting of six of the fifteen former Soviet republics (Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Armenia) at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. Former Soviet republics Estonia and Latvia fielded their own competitors at those Games. With the Soviet Union being such a super power for years, there was certainly an adjustment period for those new republics, particularly in ladies figure skating. When Natalia Lebedeva turned professional in 1990, Yulia Vorobieva (who later competed for Azerbaijan) was the best finisher at the 1991 World Championships. At the 1992 World Championships, many skaters who had competed under the "Unified Team" at the 1992 Olympics went on to represent the Commonwealth Of Independent States at the 1992 World Championships. Of the ladies representing that team at the 1992 World Championships, Tatiana Rachkova was the best finisher, in 13th place. There was certainly room to grow for these skaters.

Olga's short program at the 1993 European Championships

A lot happened in a year. By the time the 1993 World Championships rolled around, there was no more "Unified Team" or "Commonwealth Of Independent States" being represented. Competitors skated under the flag of their own republic. Russia, the Ukraine, Latvia, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Lithuania, Belarus and Uzbekistan all fielded their own competitors. While the young Ukrainian orphan Oksana Baiul stole the show and won her first world title seemingly out of nowhere, Russia's Maria Butyrskaya had a rough skate at those World Championships and failed to even advance from the Qualifying Rounds. With coveted spots at the 1994 Winter Olympics on the line, she effectively took a spot away from the Russian ladies skaters in Lillehammer with her less than stellar performance. That same year, Olga Markova finished 4th at the first Russian Figure Skating Championships held since 1915.

Olga's free skate at the 1994 European Championships

The following year (without a trip to the Lillehammer Olympics to contend for) Olga Markova made a bold statement, winning the Russian national title ahead of Butyrskaya and a young "upstart" named Irina Slutskaya. She went on to compete at the 1994 European Figure Skating Championships, where she claimed the bronze medal with an outstanding skate, placing ahead of Butyrskaya, Tanja Szewczenko, Krisztina Czako, Anna Rechnio, Marina Kielmann, Laetitia Hubert, Marie-Pierre Leray and even 2 time Olympic Gold Medallist Katarina Witt. That same year, she made her debut at the 1994 World Figure Skating Championships, where she finished a very respectable 10th. The following season, Olga Markova was all business. Despite finishing 2nd at the Russian Championships, she earned the silver medal right behind Surya Bonaly at the 1995 European Championships and seemed poised to challenge for the gold at the 1995 World Championships in Birmingham, England when she delivered one of the finest skates of her career and finished 2nd in the short program, right behind Nicole Bobek.

Olga's short program at the 1995 World Championships

Her performance in the short program at the 1995 World Championships was set to "Harlem Nocturne", and to those who aren't familiar, I'd have to put to this in my top ten list of the best short programs I've seen under the 6.0 system. In silver and black, she landed a gorgeous triple lutz/double toe combination, footwork into a triple loop and a fine double axel in a program peppered with strong spins, avant garde choreography and a spectacular spiral sequence to boot, replete with Natalia Bestemianova's famous "Besti squat", a move that Markova often included in her programs. Although only 5'2", there was something about Markova's long legged style that you couldn't quite put your finger on. She presented herself in such a way that it was almost like watching Lisa-Marie Allen, who was 5'10". The extension of her arms and free leg made her look statuesque; her icy glare reached the back row. Even after her best skates, she barely cracked a smile. She was all business. She returned for her "Miss Saigon" free skate without the same consistency she showed in her short program and dropped to 5th overall when favourites Lu Chen and Surya Bonaly rebounded after minor mistakes in their short programs.

Olga Markova's free skate at the 1996 Champions Series Final

The following three seasons proved disappointing for Markova. Establishing herself in the 1994/1995 season as a skater to beat proved a difficult 'act to follow'. Injuries and inconsistency seemed to plague her. Despite hanging on and qualifying for the Champions Series (Grand Prix) Final the next two season, she failed to ever reclaim her Russian National title. She missed the World Championships altogether in 1996 and when she returned in 1997, she finished a disappointing 12th. During the 1997/1998 season, she showed some promise of perhaps playing spoiler at the 1998 Russian Figure Skating Championships when she finished 3rd at the 1997 Cup Of Russia ahead of Surya Bonaly and Nicole Bobek, but a 9th place finish at the 1998 Russian Figure Skating Championships effectively ended her eligible career.

Olga's short program at the 1997 European Championships

Turning professional, she went on to finish 2nd at the 1998 World Professional Championships in Jaca, Spain ahead of Canada's Liz Manley and to compete at the Miko Masters competition in France and the American Open Pro Figure Skating Championships as well. When her performing career ended, she choreographed for skaters such as World Junior Champion Kristina Oblasova and coached Mexico's Adrian Alvarado and Russia's Sofia Biryukova. She currently acts as one of Russia's ISU Technical Specialists in singles skating.

What I think really made Olga such a standout skater in her era was so much more than "the jumps". Even evident after she started struggling with the consistency of her jumps following the 1995/1996 season was this larger than life quality to her skating, this dramatic flare and intensity that made each of her performances so enthralling from an artistic standpoint that to watch her performances now - even pushing 20 years later - there's a timeless quality to her skating that you can't help but appreciate. If you look at not only Olga but other ladies skaters of the era like Laetitia Hubert, Vanessa Gusmeroli and Surya Bonaly who took risks and weren't afraid to be a little different on the ice, you see the clear lesson to the ladies of today. All four of these ladies reached the top five in the world, all by daring to be a little bit different from the flock. As difficult as it is to maintain individuality and still fit in the many, many, many expectations both technically and transition wise in the IJS system, there's still room to be creative. All it takes is the RIGHT music, the RIGHT choreographer and the RIGHT attitude.

Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of the figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.

Interview With Shawn Sawyer

Every so often a skater comes along that is simply too good for anything competitive figure skating can offer. Their skating is simply bigger than any confines you can put on it. Early in his eligible career, Shawn Sawyer won the Canadian Novice and Junior title. He went on to win 4 medals on the Senior level at the Canadian Figure Skating Championships from 2005 to 2011 and represent Canada at the World Junior Championships, Junior and Senior Grand Prix events, the Four Continents Championships, World Championships and Winter Olympic Games. Not bad for a skater from one province over (Shawn is originally from New Brunswick and now lives in Quebec)! Although his competitive career was nothing short of very impressive, it only took watching one of his programs (even early in his career) to know that Shawn had something extremely special that couldn't be judged by 6.0's, GOE's or PCS scores. His edge control, beautiful spins, flexibility, creativity, interpretation of music and dramatic flair on the ice all were things that really made him stand out as a skater that had so much more to offer than any quad or list of triple/triple combinations and footwork sequences many other skaters would reel off. Turning professional after his silver medal win at the Canadian National Championships in 2011, Shawn has shared his gift with a whole new generation of skaters through his work as a choreographer. He has toured all over North America as one of the biggest audience favourites with Stars On Ice and performed as a professional skater in countless shows including Holiday Festival On Ice and Celebration On Ice, dazzling fans with his backflip, signature spirals, Biellmann spin, Cantilever, triple jumps and edgy and innovative choreography. One thing about Shawn's skating that resonates with me personally is that he's exactly the kind of skater I would have loved to have been (and aspired to be). To me, things like hydroblading, spirals, flexibility, moves in the field, interpreting music and finding unique and interesting variations and ways of doing things were more interesting and exciting than any jump. It was my absolute pleasure to have chance to interview Shawn and ask him about his connection with Toller Cranston, his eligible career, how he comes up with his programs, his future and much, much more:

Q: The first time I saw you skate was on Toller Cranston's special in the 90's. You were only young but it was very apparent that you had something VERY special. How did your skating attract Toller's attention and what has your friendship been like over the years?

A: As Toller said, he discovered me but as a young skater I had no clue who he was so in a way we discovered each other! We did not spend much time together prior, during and after the show but we connected on such a level that whether we spend time together or not it would not change our strange relationship. I say strange because after the show everyone pointed out our resemblance and decided he was my real father. I was OK with that! I have learned a lot from the few words that he carefully mentioned to me... but those are secret!

Q: Who are your three favourite skaters of all time?

A: My three favourite skaters of all time are of course Toller Cranston, Kurt Browning and Michelle Kwan. I don't think I need to explain that answer!

Q: You have won the Canadian Novice and Junior men's titles and four Senior medals at the Canadian National Championships from 2005 to 2011. What do you consider your proudest moments in your competitive career?

A: My proudest moments in competition as a 4 time Senior National Medallist are my qualification to the Olympic Games and my farewell season of 2011 with my own crazy creation of the "Alice In Wonderland"/Mad Hatter long program. I was not much of an exciting competitor. I always did my job, looked focused and prepared but inside I just wanted to perform on a professional level. My Mad Hatter program was the perfect balance that I needed to meet my own criteria and those of the judging system.

Q: I know you are very busy with coaching, choreography and performing and I can't imagine you have a ton of free time! What do you most enjoy doing most when you have a little time to yourself? 

A: In my spare time, what I most enjoy is walking my Chinese crested dog and getting home to a nice glass of red wine.

Q: Between your Cantilever, backflip, spins and spirals, you're one of the most exciting skaters to watch! Are all of the flexible "tricks" like the backflip and Cantilever that you use to highlight your programs as scary as they look?

A: I include a lot of difficulty and risk to my performances with my many unique tricks. Yes, they are very hard and I do need to keep in perfect shape to perform them to my standards. I am very flexible but to this day I still stretch religiously every day. The backflip is SO much fun and I love the international response that i get from it. The Cantilever will be the number one reason if you see me in a wheelchair before my 30's. I like to innovate, transform and customize skating moves. Spins, jumps and field moves are a perfect way to showcase every skaters unique way of performing them. I just decided to bring them to a high risk level.

Q: Where is the most interesting place in the world you have visited and what is one place you haven't that you'd love to go?

A: The most interesting place I have visited is Puerto Rico. It was SO nice - warm and perfect! I really want to visit Australia, not only for the country but mostly for the never ending plane ride. I love flying!

Q: For starters, I just LOVE your skating and I adore your "Alegria" program... as well as the "Carmina Burana" butterfly program and the White Stripes programs you skated at this year's Stars On Ice here in Halifax. I was in the front row here my mother and we both just loved both program! Where do you get your ideas for your programs, how do you put together choreography and what are some of your craziest program ideas that you haven't skated to just yet?

A: When it comes to my concepts for my programs, it is very easy. I get ideas all the time, all day long. I let them flourish in my head and decide to try it or discard it. For every program you see me do, there are about ten programs that are discarded. I do take a monstrous amount of time preparing for them, but once I lay it down on the ice I feel confident and ready to show my new baby! I love to come up with new stuff all the time and skating allows me to create more and more ways to reinvent myself and my skating.

Q: Who are your three favourite singers and why?

A: My top three favourite singers are... number one... Amy Winehouse. Love every single note that came out of her fragile frame. Second, Lady Gaga, because like me she is nuts! Thirdly, Marilyn Manson... Shocking, extravagant and questionable.

Q: What's one thing about you most people don't know?

A: One thing people don't know about me is that I quit skating five minutes before each performance! I get really really, really stressed and I just want to kick my skates off and drive back home as soon as possible... but once I am on the ice I am the happiest person in the world!

Q: What are your plans for the upcoming year? Will we will see you back in Stars On Ice and other shows?

A: My plan for the upcoming season is to perform as much as possible! I hope to create new concepts and enjoy the time with my dog and my red wine!

Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of the figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.

Interview With Asher Hill

Canada has produced some of the best ice dancers that the world has seen... from Tracy Wilson and Rob McCall, Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz to the reigning Olympic Gold Medallists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. Like in the U.S. right now though, Canada has an extreme depth to its ice dancing field. One team that's in that top group of skaters vying for a trip to Sochi is Kharis Ralph and Asher Hill. In three consecutive years, they won the national Pre-Novice, Novice and Junior titles and went on to compete at the 2008 World Junior Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria where they placed in the top ten. Since then, they have competed on the Grand Prix circuit and at the Four Continents and World Championships. Skating from everything from traditional African folk music to Gershwin, Michael Jackson and Freddie Mercury, Ralph and Hill have proved not only to be a strong team technically but a standout team artistically as well, a team unafraid of taking risks choreographically. For the last five seasons, they have ranked in the top 5 in Canada as Senior ice dancers and they hope to make the jump to the podium this season. It was my absolute pleasure to chat with Asher about the changes they've made to their training during this Olympic year, traveling around the world, the 2010 Winter Olympics and much more. You'll love his wonderful sense of humour!:

Q: With your partner Kharis Ralph, you won the 2008 Canadian junior title and have gone on to represent Canada internationally at the World Championships, Four Continents Championships, the Junior World Championships and both junior and senior Grand Prix events. What are your proudest or special moments from your competitive career?

A: I have been so fortunate to be able to travel around the globe and represent my country! There have been so many great moments through out our skating career. For me, Worlds in Nice was definitely a huge highlight. Mostly because as a child I always imagined myself being called on to ice at a World Championships and hearing the announcer say "Representing Canada". It still gives me so much pride and happiness. Also, competing in both Korea and Japan for the Junior Grand Prix Final was a pretty awesome experience as well.

Q: With your program choices, you always seem to go in unconventional directions, choosing African folk music and Freddy Mercury's music (for instance) within recent years. How do you and Kharis select your music and how involved are you in the choreographic process?

A: Well, Kharis and I are both very involved with the music selection. We pretty much just pitch a genre we may want to do for each year and just start the grueling process of music research. We do, although, make sure to keep a completely open mind to any music that may peak our interest, even if its not in the particular area we were thinking. For example, this year 3 days before we went for choreography we decided to do a complete 180 with the music. We were literally choosing music as we were choreographing with Julie Marcotte and it made the process really fun and completely different. This year for our free dance, we went to Montreal to work with Julie. She really involved us in the process and really worked with our emotions and feel for the music. Because she hasn't worked with us, she didn't know our limitations and just had fun with us. It was amazing and I would love to work with her again.

Q: You have placed in the top five in the senior level for the last five years at the Canadian National Championships. What are your goals for this season and what improvements have you made in your skating to try to reach the podium this season?

A: Getting a medal at Nationals has been our goal for the past few seasons. It always escapes us. This year, we are really pushing ourselves to get that medal and a trip to the Olympics. Trying to compete as much as possible, we started working with our ballroom coach as soon the program was finished. We are leaving no stone unturned. For me, I really wanted to work on improving the way I deal with things emotionally and try and as many negatives into positives as possible. We have such strong teams here in Canada so it not to going to be easy, but I have faith in our ability. All we can do is put our best foot forward everyday and improve in every little way possible.

Q: Who are your three favourite skaters of all time?

A: My three favourite? That's really tough... Daisuke Takahashi, Tessa and Scott, and Pang and Tong. There way too many skaters but thats all that came to mind.

Q: How would you describe your ultimate 'day off' away from the ice? What would you do and where would you go?

A: Day off? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN!? I am not quite acquainted with that term. In this metaphorical world of days off I guess it would involve a nice sleep in followed by a nice big breakfast at Cora's. I would get two entrees (one of which must be a raspberry chocolate crepe) then go shopping for a new pair of Converse. I would probably be hungry again so it's Thai food or a huge burger! Then I'll probably go back home, lay in my bed and watch hours of horror movies and cartoons. I am very mature.

Q: Like Alexe Gilles who I also interviewed recently, you have a twin sister! What is your relationship with your twin like?

A: Yes, I have a twin sister. Her name is Acacia. She also used to skate. She competed at the Senior National level in free skating. I was better than her at that as well. My sister and I are very close. Qe were always together waking up in the mornings to go skating. In school, we were always in the same classes (even in high school - we may have abandonment issues!). As little kids, we used to have our own office skating competitions in her giant room. Between the two of us, we would be 20 different competitors. Each program would be at least 9 minutes long! We are still very close and she is very supportive. I know me making the Olympics would be a dream come true for her too.

Q: My sister and I totally did the same thing! Next question... while still competing as an ice dancer, you also competed on a national level (Novice and Junior) as a singles skater. Do you still enjoy singles skating and how hard was making the transition from doing both singles and dance to focusing on one discipline solely?

A: Looking back to when I did both disciplines... I could hardly believe it. The hours spent inside an ice rink were crazy but I loved doing it. I still love free skating because you have freedom of movement and you can make up things on the fly without affecting someone else. In fact, I actually competed last Februrary for my University at the OUACs in singles. I almost died doing a four minute program, but I had a great time. Focusing on one discipline wasn't hard at all. The hardest part was trying to figure out what to do with my spare time in the afternoon, but that void was soon filled with school.

Q: Who do you think are the greatest musicians of all time?

A: Freddie Mercury, Prince, Etta James and Micheal Jackson

Q: What's one thing about you most people don't know?

A: Is being black interesting? I do think its interesting to be a black figure skater. There aren't many of us in the sport so I do like to celebrate it! In terms of something people may not know about me, I have a really great memory but I can never remember names. I remember how I met you, the direction of the wind, and if Mercury was in retrograde... but when it comes to names I will always forget! I am also a cartoon fanatic (especially X-Men original 90's series and South Park). In short, I am a nerd.

Q: What have you learned most from competing internationally and what has been the strangest or most interesting thing you've seen in your travels worldwide?

A: Competing around the world has taught me to perform under pressure under any conditions and gave me a glimpse into different cultures. As for the craziest thing I have ever seen in my travel I think the Pearl Market in China was just insanely crazy - so much awesomeness in one building! I realized I am super good at haggling. Also the shopping districts in Japan blew my mind and also how progressive yet so in touch with older culture they were. The other stuff is completely classified... hahaha.

Q: What are your long term goals or plans in life and in the sport?

A: As for life, I have no idea really. I'm working on getting my coaching levels and finishing my degree. I would love to stay involved with the sport and maybe become a choreographer. We'll see where life takes me.

Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of the figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.

Interview With Craig Buntin

With partner Valerie Marcoux, Craig Buntin won his first Canadian National Championships in 2004. That same year, he won the bronze medal at the Four Continents Championships and placed in the top ten at the World Championships. Over the coming years with both Marcoux and later partner Meagan Duhamel (who is the current world bronze medallist with Eric Radford), Craig won 2 more Canadian titles, 6 medals on the ISU Grand Prix circuit, finished in the top 10 at the World Championships another 5 times and competed at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy. After retiring from competitive skating in 2010 after winning a final medal at the Four Continents Championships, Craig has founded a Montreal tea and coffee company, given TEDx Talks and become the first student to be accepted to do an MBA at McGill University without an undergraduate degree. We talked about the highs and lows of his skating career, his experiences since hanging up his skates, The Amazing Race, persistence and much more in this truly inspiring interview:

Q: You have won the Canadian pairs title 3 times and won 7 senior Canadian pairs medals with partners Meagan Duhamel and Valerie Marcoux, in addition to competing at the World Championships, Olympic Games and countless international competitions. What was your favourite performance or competition memory?

Q: If I had to put a top three together, I would probably say the following in no particular order... The 2004 Canadians long program in Edmonton: Val and I were really the underdogs coming into these nationals. We had moved to Montreal after a disappointing season the year before and had both been working full time jobs while training to support our dream. We knew this was a make or break competition for us as we were really at the end of our rope financially. I’ll never forget rounding the last corner, coming into our final lift and seeing the crowd standing on its feet. It was one of the greatest moments of my life... The 2006 World Championships short program in Calgary: By this time we were 3 time Canadian champions in our home country coming off of the 2006 Olympics. My family and very close friends that I grew up with in Kelowna made the trip out and were sitting about 4 or 5 rows up in a packed Saddledome. It was one of the best shorts we had done in years and despite the roaring crowd, I remember feeling as though my friends and family were the only ones in the building. It was the first time that many of them had seen us live so it was a very special for me... The 2008 World Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden: After Val retired in 2007, I had about 2 and a half years to find a partner and qualify for the 2010 games. I had driven about 3000 km across North America looking for a partner and, having found Meagan, I knew we had a shot. We worked so, so hard that season and managed to place 3rd at Nationals after only about 8 months together. We were thrilled. During the gala the next day, however I heard a loud ‘POP’ in my shoulder which I later found out was the sound of my labrum (a ligament) tearing. I needed surgery but the World Championships were only 3 months away. The next 3 months were spent running programs and learning to lift with my left hand – it was a painful winter. We got to Sweden and, despite the injury put down a clean long and placed 6th at our first World Championships. It was complete vindication.

Q: You and John Mattatall (who's from my home province of Nova Scotia - hayyy!) auditioned to compete on the first season of Amazing Race Canada, which is one of my favourite shows. Why do you think you would have made an amazing team?

A: Johnny and I unfortunately were not selected for the first season, but we’ll keep trying… they can only say no so many times! I think we’d be great because we are both capable of functioning with no sleep and constant laughter. I don’t know if we've ever not had a good time!

Q: Who are your all time favourite Amazing Race teams?

A: Definitely Tim Hague Sr. and Tim Hague Jr., winners of The Amazing Race Canada this year. Tim Hague Sr. has Parkinson's disease, as does my Mom so it was incredibly inspiring to see what he was able to accomplish.

Q: Where would you most want to visit if you made it on the show?

A: Nunavut.

Q: Pairs skating is a very dangerous but exciting sport. What is the scariest accident you've had on the ice?

A: In Novice, my partner's blade went through the side of my hand on a side by side flying camel. I was fortunate to have missed the tendons but the nerves were cut pretty badly. I still have no feeling in my right thumb. Other than that, I think I was actually pretty lucky throughout my career.

Q: If you could meet any famous person living or dead who would they be and why?

A: Without question, Muhammad Ali. While his greatest accomplishments in and out of the ring have been widely documented, there was one interview that always inspired me. After being banned from boxing then finally allowed to fight again, he began a long and difficult comeback. While vying for a title shot, he had his jaw broken by a relatively unknown fighter named Ken Norton. After the fight, with his jaw wired shut, he was quoted as saying "the talk is that Ali is finished; he's washed up, but I have a big surprise for the whole world: The bee has not lost its sting and the butterfly still has its wings." At the time most people believed he was completely finished, but a year later he proved them wrong by taking the title from George Foreman, one of the hardest punchers in heavyweight history. The quote echoes in my mind whenever it gets difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Q: Of today's top skaters, who do you think has the best chance to be the next Olympic gold medallists in pairs?

A: When I was skating, the two pairs skaters that I most admired were Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov although, at the time, they were each with other partners. I was pretty excited when I heard they would be skating together and I don’t think they have disappointed. Plus, he’s completely nuts and I've always loved that about him! The other team that might surprise this year is Meagan and Eric. Having skated with Meagan and having trained in the same rink as Eric, I know these two are capable of miracles if they put the work in at home. From what I hear, their training has been very good over the summer so nothing these two do this year would surprise me. Olympics aside, I actually really can’t wait to see this year’s Nationals. Kirsten and Dylan have been constantly improving and I think they could be a real wild card this season. They're the team that, if given an inch, will take a mile.

Q: What was the experience of competing at the Olympics like?

A: Beyond words. twenty years of having one single goal, summarized in an instant by looking up, hearing your name, and seeing the Olympic rings. It was life altering.

Q: Canada is known for its tradition of great pairs skating in recent years - from Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini to Isabelle Brasseur and Lloyd Eisler and Jamie Sale and David Pelletier, among countless others, including yourself. What do you think makes Canada's pairs skating program so strong?

A: I think it is a combination of rich skating tradition, focused coaching and strong training centers. We still have a long way to go in supporting our athletes to the level that some other countries support theirs, but I think Canadian talent does a fine job of working, fighting, and clawing its way to the top. Since retiring, I have taken a position as a board member of AthletesCAN (the voice of Canada’s national team athletes) and on the Skate Canada Member Services Committee, so I’m hoping to play a small part in helping Canada’s next generation.

Q: You recently got married! Congratulations. What other exciting things have been going on in your life since you ended your competitive skating career?

A: Thanks! While skating, I started a company which I ended up selling last year. I also applied, and was accepted into the MBA program at McGill University despite not having an undergrad degree. I had been out of school for 12 years when I went back so it was pretty terrifying! I finished last year and I am currently looking to start the next chapter. It’s been a really fast, really crazy few years.

Q: What is the biggest lesson that figure skating taught you?

A: Embrace failure. In my career I lost many, many more competitions than I won. Each failure brought with it change and future success. I learned that the best measure of success is the speed at which you get up when you’ve been knocked down.

Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.

Break Out The Protractor, Calculator And Vodka: I'm Breaking Down Program Component Scores

You heard me right, it's time to break out the protractor, calculator and vodka! I'm breaking down Program Component Scores. In her 2009 article "Art Not Math: There's No 'Component Skating'", Monica Friedlander talked about Program Component Scores and how the aspects that quantify those scores vary so differently from judging the actual artistry or impact of the performance. "A closer look at the second mark," explained Friedlander, "reveals how little it does to measure art - not that anyone even claims it does so. After all, those who concocted the new system named the second mark, most creatively, 'component score'. What it actually assesses is a patchwork of randomly-selected categories that have little in common with each other and even less with our notion of beauty on ice." Friedlander raises an excellent point in this article, one that's certainly not new. Our concept of an aesthetic, of a magical performance or a magical skater is built in that moment, in that performance and in that skater's presence on the ice. If we break down the math and look at the Program Component Score categories, which are each evaluated out of a perfect 10 in increments, we really see how little artistry and the overall performance is factored into a skater's PCS scores and how judges have and will continue to allow room to use PCS scores as a way of justifying whatever placement they choose to rank skaters in. There's room to hide. Let's take a look at each of these categories:

SKATING SKILLS

Right off the bat, we see that the first category has NOTHING to do with presentation. If anything, it's judging something that's really far more difficult than any jump or spin (or damn close). A skater's overall skating quality and ability to control edges, steps and turns and use of "effortless power to accelerate and vary speed" tells us nothing about the skater's ability to present a program. "Skating Skills" were first introduced when I was skating long before the IJS system came to town here in Canada by CFSA (now Skate Canada) as a means to teach edge control and good footwork technique and mainly, as a replacement for patch (compulsory school figures). As you can see in today's program composition and the way skaters move from 3 jump combination with arm variation to haircutter spin, the long, deep, controlled edges and straight backs of school figure days are not what the "Skating Skills" program has taught today's skaters or what the majority are translating into their "skating skills". Furthermore, there's a lot of room to hide for judges here. If things like knee action, foot placement, glide, power, "sureness of deep edges, steps and turns" and "mastery of multi-directional skating" are what the judges are looking for, do you see a HUGE difference between skaters like Patrick Chan and Daisuke Takahashi for instance? I really don't. However, Chan earned more than a point higher than Takahashi in this department at the short program at the World Championships and almost a full point more in the free skate. If you look at the results of any competition, you can easily see how this is one area where judges can use PCS scores to 'correspond' to technical scores, especially the judging of footwork sequences.

TRANSITIONS

Time to break out the flash cards and check off another box. Keeping in mind that I'm referring to each of these categories as they relate to singles skating and not pairs or ice dancing (that's a whole other beast on Riedells we'll talk about another day). 'Transitions' as it relates to PCS scoring refers to the footwork, positions and movements that link elements. This includes the variety and difficulty of the entrance and exits of jumps and spins. They're all doing footwork into those triple flips. They're all performing convoluted steps and connecting moves in their program, as much as I wish they wouldn't. Again, this leaves room for judges to kind of they want but doesn't address the artistic impact, presentation or musicality of the skater.

PERFORMANCE/EXECUTION

Now, we're getting into something with some substance. Get out your protractors and graph paper... we're talking about performance/execution. Performance is defined as the involvement of the skaters physically, emotionally and intellectually in their music and choreography. Carriage, style and individuality, clarity of movement, variety and projection are all things being assessed in this category of the PCS mark. While this category does address a skater's actual performance ability on the ice, you have to question how this particular score is being evaluated. If you look at things like individuality and projection, you would assume that a skater or team who is putting on a show would be more rewarded in this category. Again, going back to last year's World Championships, which I'm using as an example, the German team of Nelli Zhiganshina and Alexander Gaszi's theatrical and very creative free dance earned a PE score of 8.43, the exact same score awarded to the American team of Madison Chock and Evan Bates, who placed two spots ahead of them in the free dance with a more traditional program. Their scores in 4/5 of the categories in the Program Component Scores (PCS) were equal or more than that of the Germans.

CHOREOGRAPHY

The choreography category of PCS judges the arrangement and choreography of the program itself, taking into account pattern and ice coverage, phrasing and form, originality of purpose, movement and design, idea, vision, proportion, unity, utilization of personal and public space... I'm going to go back to Monica Friedlander's article when I talk about the mathematical judging of choreography, which is completely open to interpretation: "The best computer scientist on earth could not program a machine to judge an impressionistic painting. After all, a child will draw a tree that looks much more like the real thing than Claude Monet's does. Yet most of us will still give the thumbs up to Monet." And let's be real here for a second. That's the problem with the way most judges are judging choreography as it relates to PCS. The choreography and program structure and concepts that skaters are presenting in their competitive programs is designed not to be that child's painting but to be the Monet. The constant recycling of tried and true music and choreography from skater to skater by the same choreographers in the same movement styles shows that a certain model is often rewarded by the judges and the skaters and choreographers are clearly dishing up "choreography" and not choreography because "choreography" is that Monet that will trump the child's painting in many judges eyes.

INTERPRETATION

As it relates to PCS, "interpretation" refers to the personal and creative translation of music to movement. Skaters are judged on effortless movement, expression of the music's style, character and rhythm and "use of finesse" to reflect nuances of the music. The problem I have here is not the subjectivity of these definitions but the fact that you see such variations in the scoring of musical interpretation. I'm going to go back to the free dance at Worlds again. Sara Hurtado Martin and Adrian Diaz Bronchud of Spain finished 19th out of 20 couples in the free dance at Worlds. Their interpretation score was the second lowest of any team in the competition... but if you really watch each dance and forget skating skills, twizzles, footwork, dance spins and even choreography and focus strictly on musical interpretation and expression of the music's style, character and rhythm and just step back and watch as a spectator as it relates to this particular free dance as compared to the others, lesbihonest... this does not make a heck of a lot of sense. Computer says no.

As Monica Friedlander said it best when she wrote, "but what does a pointed toe and beautifully arched back give you? What about a program skated with pathos, flow, deep edges, and a tingling sense of musicality? On a lucky day maybe a few extra points. Hardly worth killing yourself for. Everything else being equal or nearly equal, sure, every point counts. Competitions have been won or lost by less. But given the limits on the time and effort skaters can invest in their training, what would you rather focus on the most? Landing that quad even if it kills you, or making sure your body looks good while you do it?" And I think that's the bigger problem with PCS scores, bigger than the obnoxiously inflated scores you'd see sometimes when Patrick Chan went out and missed a ton of jumps and that "room" the judges had/have to use these scores subjectively to their end. It's that skaters and choreographers that are choreographing IJS programs aren't seeing the kind of rewards or an "EDGE" for the skaters in the PCS marks if that is the program's strength. Not only are the first 2 categories not even really related to presentation but more to skating skills themselves, the latter 3 often don't reflect in the marks the true nature of what we always see out there. Take a skater like Jeremy Abbott and his "Bring Him Home" free skate. At last year's U.S. National Championships, where he finished 3rd behind Max Aaron and Ross Miner, he did best both other skaters in PCS scores overall, but if you look at the margin in certain categories (especially from certain judges) it kind of makes you wonder how these scores are even being reached. I'm not talking about who has the highest PCS scores here, I'm talking about whose scores are close to that score. And that's in general.

The problem with IJS judging of presentation, artistry and "PCS" is that the moment and that magical program are often not being rewarded with that momentous, magical mark. A big part of that problem stems from the fact that judges are asked to evaluate each program and skater independently of one another. When it comes to PCS, it just doesn't make a lot of sense. Monica Friedlander put it very well: "As human beings we intuitively judge by comparing. We can look at a piece of paper and guess very accurately where the middle point is simply by comparing the two halves. But if we had to guess how many inches across the paper is, we’d not do nearly as well. Why are judges expected to do just that?" On her blog sk8maven, fellow blogger Terese raised another excellent point about PCS judging: "Yes, I understand that falls, step-outs, stumbles, etc. are already assessed lower marks in the TES (Technical Element Scores), but I don’t have to tell any of you who are reading this that multiple mistakes effect the flow and emotion of a program. That’s just the way it is. The PCS rules as written now theoretically provide a given skater with a relatively fixed mark from performance to performance, which I think is a mistake." There are clear flaws with the way PCS scores are reached that are glaringly obvious.

When I interviewed Allison Scott most recently, she reminded me that "6.0 is not coming back". But what those technical merit and artistic impression/presentation/composition and style marks did for skating was allow us to revel and share in those moments that the skaters and choreographers created. There was a connection between the performance and those marks given in the "kiss and cry" area that allowed us to step into that world of the competitor and feel a CONNECTION with them and their results in competitions. As Monica Friedlander eerily foretold in another 2009 article called "Kiss And Cry Drama Is Dead": "The silence of the audience is deafening, and not only because the arena is often empty. What exactly is there to get excited about? The drama of competition is over with the summary, monotonous announcement of one solitary, totally meaningless, ugly, incomprehensible global score: 127.3. Art has never been assessed in a more mechanical way. The skater, baffled as much as anyone, instantly gets up and vanishes behind the curtain, where he will have ample time to dry his tears or give free reign to his elation after the cameras have moved on to the next competitor. So why have a Kiss & Cry at all with a Code of Points scoring system? It’s so anticlimactic, it’s embarrassing to the sport. Its only purpose nowadays seems to be to show off the stuffed animals the skaters struggle to clutch onto while snapping their skate guards back on. Everything else happens so quickly, no one has time to either kiss or cry. Skaters, coaches, and audiences are equally perplexed and unemotional during the brief moments when the spotlight visits that little area between the ice and the backstage, where skaters sit down, listen to the score, and failing to understand it, get up and leave. Maybe we should rename it the Sit & Shrug. It’s us, the skating fans, who now cry. And so should those who dreamt up the new scoring system and who now see the fans, the networks, and the corporate sponsors walk into the sunset."

It's hard not to be pessimistic when you know someone's right and there's honestly nothing you can do about it. Evolution and change happens and has happened. 6.0's not coming back, figure skating won't be what it once was because Marie-Reine Le Baguette or whatever her name was ruined all of our fun and we're now being unwittingly turned into skating fans watching skating being scored like gymnastics. We don't and won't stop watching though, because we love watching figure skating. And there's something beautiful in that - it's like supporting a wayward child or a lost friend. Giving up on people and on anything isn't and shouldn't be easy, especially when we love them... even if we feel disheartened with or don't agree with the direction they are taking.

Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of the figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.