In the last days, several journalists have noticed Feng Huang’s presence in Beijing, and the fact that a judge suspended for national bias after the PyeongChang Olympic Games can judge the Beijing Olympic Games is a cause for indignation. It is also for me, however, unlike many of them, I know very well that Chinese judges are not the only ones to have problems of national bias, and in my small way I tried to make people understand the seriousness of the problem. Since I’m nobody, ignoring me was easy. True, my blog is not important, but I know with certainty that several journalists, but also several figure skating judges, have read some of my posts. Results? Zero. Now one of the journalists who was outraged by the Chinese judge asked him to indicate if, in our opinion, there is any problem that deserves to be investigated, and to bring him the evidence.
The first request to provide him with information:
The second request:
I wrote to him, and this is the email I sent.
Good morning Mr. Schad,
I saw your tweets in which you asked for something to investigate and some proof about figure skating judges and decided to reply to you. Some people on twitter have already given you my name, and I have already replied to you with some links, but since you have published your email, I have decided to write a more complete reply, in the hope of having clear articles capable of highlighting the gravity and breadth of the problem, which does not it is limited to a single nation. I apologize for my English, I learned the language as a self-taught, and as an adult, and my grammar is not the best.
I am not a journalist. I was a freelance for a few years, then I returned my card and now I take care of other things. But I know figure skating from watching it, reading a lot and talking to so many people. Obviously you don’t have to take my word for it, you can do all the checks you need on your own. When I quote a book I always indicate the page number, a lot of articles are available online, and I explained how I made my statistics, so anyone can do them again. Upon request, I can also provide a copy of the file on which I have created a specific statistic. What I write is verifiable and replicable by anyone, it need only the time and the will to do it. I think I have always been clear in making it clear where what I wrote is a fact and where an opinion is, but in case of doubts I have no problem clarifying the point. My blog is written in two languages, partly in Italian and partly in English. An automatic translation into English is quite understandable, even if the technical terms of the discipline are sometimes translated incorrectly.
For ease of consultation, I have divided the links into different sections, but my posts sometimes overlap or intertwine with each other, so there may be repetitions, also because I tried not to take any previous knowledge for granted. This is not my whole blog, only most of the posts related to figure skating judging.
To prevent your inbox from sending my email to spam due to the presence of numerous links, this email does not contain any. I will shortly send a second email with the links. If you don’t find the second email in your inbox, you know you need to check spam.
This is my second email, with all the link that I promised in my first mail some minutes ago.
HISTORY
For context, let’s start with a little history. I relied on a series of books to trace the history of figure skating from its origins to today. I didn’t focus on the champions but on the worst episodes, to make it clear why a skating fan struggles to fully trust the judges’ judgment. The books I have used are:
- Mary Louise Adams, Artistic Impression. Figure Skating, Masculinity, and the Limits of Sport, University of Toronto Press, 2011
- Sonia Bianchetti Garbato, Crepe nel ghiaccio. Dietro le quinte del pattinaggio artistico, Libreria dello Sport, Milano, 2005 (this book was published also in English with the title Cracked Ice)
- Christine Brennan, Inside Edge. A Revealing Journey Into the Secret World of Figure Skating, Scribner, New York, 1996
- Dick Button, Push Dick’s Button, 2013
- Joy Goodwin, The Second Mark. Courage, Corruption, and the Battle for Olympic Gold, Simon & Schuster, New York, 2004
- James R. Hines, Figure Skating. A History, University of Illinois Press, 2006
- Jon Jackson, On Edge. Backroom Dealing, Cocktail Scheming, Triple Axels, and How Top Skaters Get Screwed, Thunder’s Mouth Press, New York, 2005
- Ellyn Kestnbaum, Culture on Ice. Figure Skating & Cultural Meaning, Wesleyan University Press, 2003
- Kelli Lawrence, Skating on Air. The Broadcast History of an Olympic Marquee Sport, McFarland Company, Inc., Publishers, Jefferson, North Carolina, 2011
- Steve Milton, Skate Talk. Figure Skating in the Words of the Stars, Firefly Books, Buffalo, New York, 1997
- Steve Milton, Figure Skating’s Greatest Stars, Firefly Books, Buffalo, New York, 2009
- Alexei Mishin, The Secrets of the Ice, Laurea Media, 2021
- Joan Ryan, Little Girls in Pretty Boxes. The Making and Breaking of Elite Gymnast and Figure Skaters, Grand Central Publishing, New York, 2018
- M.G. Piety, Sequins & Scandals. Reflections on Figure Skating, Culture, and the Philosophy of Sport, Gegensats Press at Smashwords, 2014 (the most important text of this book can be read online: https://www.thesmartset.com/article11080703/)
- Beverley Smith, Figure Skating. A Celebration, McClelland & Stewart Inc., Toronto, 1994
I have read numerous other texts, related to the world of figure skating or psychology and sociology, but I don’t think a list can be really useful. The only text that is important for me to point out, and which I believe all skating judges should study, is Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow.
I’ve summarized the history of figure skating in its less edifying episodes in thirteen posts:
https://sportlandiamartina.link/2020/10/11/di-giudici-giurie-e-giudizi-equi/ (Introduction)
https://sportlandiamartina.link/2020/10/12/di-giudici-giurie-e-giudizi-equi-2/ (1882-1936)
https://sportlandiamartina.link/2020/10/13/di-giudici-giurie-e-giudizi-equi-3/ (1947-1956)
https://sportlandiamartina.link/2020/10/14/di-giudici-giurie-e-giudizi-equi-4/ (1958-1967)
https://sportlandiamartina.link/2020/10/15/di-giudici-giurie-e-giudizi-equi-5/ (1968-1976)
https://sportlandiamartina.link/2020/10/16/di-giudici-giurie-e-giudizi-equi-6/ (1977-1988)
https://sportlandiamartina.link/2020/10/17/di-giudici-giurie-e-giudizi-equi-7/ (1989-1994)
https://sportlandiamartina.link/2020/10/18/di-giudici-giurie-e-giudizi-equi-8/ (1995-1998)
https://sportlandiamartina.link/2020/10/19/di-giudici-giurie-e-giudizi-equi-9/ (1999-2000)
https://sportlandiamartina.link/2020/10/20/di-giudici-giurie-e-giudizi-equi-10/ (2002)
https://sportlandiamartina.link/2020/10/21/di-giudici-giurie-e-giudizi-equi-11/ (2002-2007)
https://sportlandiamartina.link/2020/10/22/di-giudici-giurie-e-giudizi-equi-12/ (2010)
https://sportlandiamartina.link/2020/10/24/di-giudici-giurie-e-giudizi-equi-13/ (2014)
In some cases I have read the books that I have listed above after writing the posts dedicated to the history of skating, so I have dedicated to those books some specific posts:
Christine Brennan: https://sportlandiamartina.link/2020/10/26/christine-brennan-inside-edge/
Jon Jackson’s book contains so much that I have dedicated several posts to him. He talks about past episodes, but some of the judges he cites are active even now, and in some cases I took a cue from him to analyze recent episodes:https://sportlandiamartina.link/2020/12/03/intorno-a-on-edge-di-jon-jackson/
An interview to Jackson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6C9LULf8po
Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow:
The previous post dedicated to Kahneman’s book was in Italian, this is in English. I repeat some considerations, not all of them, and add new ones: https://sportlandiamartina.link/2021/02/07/tinking-fanst-and-slow-by-daniel-kahneman-an-ipothesy-on-a-way-in-which-can-work/
Again in Italian: https://sportlandiamartina.link/2021/03/18/ancora-su-pensieri-lenti-e-veloci-di-daniel-kahneman/
The Second Mark: https://sportlandiamartina.link/2021/04/07/the-second-mark-by-joy-goodwin-and-by-sviatoslav-babenko-and-alfred-koritek/
Little Girls in Pretty Boxes: https://sportlandiamartina.link/2021/08/12/joan-ryan-little-girls-in-pretty-boxes-1/
Push Dick’s Button: https://sportlandiamartina.link/2021/09/02/push-dicks-button-1/
Mishin’s books: https://sportlandiamartina.link/2021/09/17/alexei-mishin-the-secrets-of-the-ice/
SOME ARTICLES (CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER)
These articles are the past. In many cases they tell episodes that have now ended, with competitions whose result, for better or for worse, has been fixed forever. So why read them? First to understand. They talk about judges from different nations, because everyone likes victories and there are many people who don’t mind cheating. They talk about different types of cheating, judges helping their fellow countrymen, agreements between judges from different nations, more subtle ways to influence judges, and who knows what to look at sees that these mechanisms are working. even now. This is why it is important to read these articles, especially those of M.G. Piety. The 2007 one is extraordinary, but the 2014 ones are also very interesting and help to understand many mechanisms of the judging system and the way in which competitions are falsified. And if in 2014 Piety was talking about speed, now we can talk about the number of quadruples, the general concept is the same.
The ones relating to 2018 are also very interesting. They tell us how it is possible to see in advance which judges are biased, and they gives to us the names of several judges who are still judging. Some of them are currently in Beijing. Therefore these articles can help you understand, and be a starting point for further investigation.
I close the section with the last of my posts from the series dedicated to the history of figure skating. In this post, with a comment in Italian that I think is worth reading, I have collected all the judges’ suspensions that I have found from 2010 onwards. In many cases there are links to the official documents of the ISU, in some cases to articles that have dealt with the matter.
From Jon Jackson’s The Second Mark:
OVER EASY FOR SURYA BONALY THE SKATING HAS NEVER BEEN THE HARD PART
JOHNETTE HOWARD, March 06, 1995
Video Babenko and Koritek, World Championship 1999
SKATE JUDGE’S PENALTY HALVED TO AVOID LEGAL FIGHT
By Philip Hersh, Chicago Tribune, March 16, 2000
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2000-03-16-0003160131-story.html
Skater Bernadis had death threat before attack
By Deseret NewsMar 31, 2000
https://www.deseret.com/2000/3/31/19556169/skater-bernadis-had-death-threat-before-attack
Suspension slashed for skating judge
BEVERLEY SMITH, PUBLISHED MARCH 3, 2000
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/suspension-slashed-for-skating-judge/article4160915/
So, they’re all gay, right?
Former U.S. figure skating champion Rudy Galindo talks about the Salt Lake Olympics, the sport’s effeminate image and the reactions to his coming out. And no, they’re not.
By KING KAUFMAN, PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 22, 2002
https://www.salon.com/2002/02/22/galindo/
OLYMPICS: FIGURE SKATING; Hughes’s Gold Draws Russians’ Ire
By Michael Janofsky, Feb. 23, 2002
Skating Judge Alleges More Misconduct
By Amy Shipley, April 9, 2002
Skating Union Did Little to Clean Up Salt Lake Mess
L.A. TIMES ARCHIVES, MAY 4, 2002
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-may-04-sp-olycol04-story.html
ISU Removes Referee From Women’s Event
BARRY WILNER, March 20, 2003
https://www.theintelligencer.com/news/article/ISU-Removes-Referee-From-Women-s-Event-10504965.php
Nationalism in Winter Sports Judging and Its Lessons for Organizational Decision Making
Eric Zitzewitz, First published: 06 January 2006
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1530-9134.2006.00092.x
Sequins & scandals: Why figure skating’s popularity is in freefall. And no, it ain’t just the costumes.
BY M.G. PIETY, 11/08/2007
Wanted man: ‘Little Taiwanese’ and his big role in an Olympics scandal
By John Barr and William Weinbaum, ESPN, April 18, 2008
They Saw a Triple Lutz: Bias and Its Perception in American and Russian Newspaper Coverage of the 2002 Olympic Figure Skating Scandal
Elena V. Stepanova, 28 July 2009
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2009.00503.x?eissn=1559-1816
Skating judges, again, scrutinized
By SCOTT REID, Orange County Register, February 10, 2010
Judges accused of bias against European figure skaters
BEVERLEY SMITH, VANCOUVER, PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 10, 2010
Olympic judge’s remarks touch off figure skating controversy
Reid Cherner, Feb. 10, 2010
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gameon/post/2010/02/olympic-judges-remarks-touch-off-figure-skating-controversy/1#.Yf62yd9KiUn
Plushenko videos raise Russian ire
Christine Brennan, 11 feb 2010
https://www.pressreader.com/usa/usa-today-us-edition/20100211/283515087060586 and https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/brennan/2010-02-10-evgeni-plushenko-videos_N.htm
Olympian Johnny Weir criticizes U.S. skating judge
Kelly Whiteside, Feb. 11, 2010
Is Figure Skating Fixed?
A new study suggests that efforts to keep Olympic judges honest have only made them more crooked.
BY RAY FISMAN, FEB 11, 2010
Why is the Imakunaga document? ~ What happened inside the ISU after the Salt Lake City Olympics?
SUNDAY, APRIL 4, 2010 (In Japanese, but readable with the automatic translation)
https://watarigarasu.blogspot.com/2010/04/isu.html
How ski jumping gets Olympic judging right (and figure skating gets it wrong)
By Eric Zitzewitz, February 12, 2014
Why Has US Ladies Bronze Medalist Mirai Nagasu Been Shut Out of the Olympics?
BY M. G. PIETY, JANUARY 14, 2014
Yet Another Olympic Figure Skating Judging Scandal
BY M. G. PIETY, FEBRUARY 13, 2014
Can Olympic Ice Skating Sink Any Lower?
BY M. G. PIETY, FEBRUARY 18, 2014
Ashley Wagner slams Olympic figure skating judges, calls for change
February 20, 2014
Figure skating official: ‘I’m not hiding anything’
By BY PHIL HERSH, TRIBUNE OLYMPIC BUREAU, FEB 21, 2014
What Happened With the Ladies in Sochi?
BY M. G. PIETY, FEBRUARY 21, 2014
Brennan: Official says judges slanted toward Adelina Sotnikova
CHRISTINE BRENNAN, USA TODAY Sports, Feb. 21, 2014
Olympic Figure Skating Controversy: Judging System Is Most to Blame for Uproar
MERI-JO BORZILLERI, FEBRUARY 22, 2014
A Whole New Set of Questions About Adelina Sotnikova’s Allegedly Rigged Gold Medal Win
What isn’t going to help Sotnikova’s gold-medal legacy are the new images of her hugging one of the people responsible for her score, a look at how her compatriot was generously scored, and the questions about whether or not mistakes on her jumps were overlooked. By Alexander Abad-Santos, FEBRUARY 24, 2014
Olympic figure skating judging complaints rejected by ISU
By Nick Zaccardi, Jun 5, 2014
Olympic Figure Skating Controversy: Judging System Is Most to Blame for Uproar
MERI-JO BORZILLERI, FEBRUARY 22, 2014
A Whole New Set of Questions About Adelina Sotnikova’s Allegedly Rigged Gold Medal Win
What isn’t going to help Sotnikova’s gold-medal legacy are the new images of her hugging one of the people responsible for her score, a look at how her compatriot was generously scored, and the questions about whether or not mistakes on her jumps were overlooked. By Alexander Abad-Santos, FEBRUARY 24, 2014
https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2014/02/whole-new-set-questions-about-adelina-sotnikovas-allegedly-rigged-gold-medal-win/358425/Suspended once, International figure skate judge under investigation again By Philip Hersh, December 20, 2017 http://www.globetrottingbyphiliphersh.com/home/2017/12/19/figure-skating-judge-ethics-investigation
Skate judge under investigation resignd; status of inquiry uncertain. Was Spanish Olympic dance selection affected?
By Philip Hersh, December 30, 2017
Think Olympic figure skating judges are biased? The data says they might be.
The unique rules for figure-skating judges make suspect scoring inevitable, and statistics suggest judges give higher marks to skaters from their own countries.
By Mary Pilon, Andrew W. Lehren, Stephanie Gosk, Emily R. Siegel and Kenzi Abou-Sabe, Feb. 6, 2018, Updated Feb. 6, 2018
Top-Level Figure Skating Judges Consistently Favor Skaters From Their Home Countries. Now Many Of Those Judges Are At The Olympics.
At the top levels of the sport, judges give higher marks to figure skaters from their own countries, a BuzzFeed News data analysis has shown — in some cases, affecting the final results. And 16 of the judges who most consistently gave a boost to their own country’s skaters will be in Pyeongchang this week, deciding the course of Olympic history.
By John Templon and Rosalind Adams, BuzzFeed News Reporter, Posted on February 8, 2018
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/johntemplon/the-edge
Figure skating lets judges who break the rules return to judge another day
There are no lifetime bans for figure-skating judges who break rules, even for repeat offenders, and even for for a judge who tried to rig an Olympic event.
By Mary Pilon, Andrew W. Lehren and Emily R. Siegel, Feb. 8, 2018
U.S. judges give U.S. skaters higher marks at PyeongChang Olympics
The data from the 2018 Winter Games shows that American judges are just like everybody else — they give better scores to figure skaters from their own country.
By Andrew W. Lehren, Emily R. Siegel and Mary Pilon, Feb. 22, 2018
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna850006
“If you give a lot of power, it will be misused.” Interview with the chief judge in figure skating
(Interview to Alexander Lakernik, Vice chairman of ISU. In Russian), Nov. 03, 2019
https://sport.business-gazeta.ru/article/235944
Suspensions: the official ISU documnents
NATIONAL BIAS
The topic I have spent the most time on is national bias. My approach is mathematical. I wanted to be objective, not be swayed by cheering for some specific skater, so I checked the scores and their deviation from the average. All the explanations of my method can be found in the introductory post, but in case something is not clear I can always clarify the details. My first explanation was in Italian:
When I started writing in English too, I wrote another explanation text. It is not a translation of the previous text, it is a new text, even if part of the explanations are the same in the two texts:
At first I concentrated only on Men Women and Pairs, ignoring Ice Dance, and on the judges of six nations: Canada, China, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States. Only later did I broaden my gaze to Ice Dance and to all nations. In the first period I looked carefully at the behavior of some judges. I wanted to do it with everyone, but I didn’t have the time.
https://sportlandiamartina.link/2020/11/05/national-bias-2/ (general look to the judges ofthe six nations)
After these first posts, I started to broaden my gaze. These are introductory posts:
Finally I went to look at all the judges, regardless of their nationality, in all the major competitions. What is important here is the introduction, because later I decided to publish these summaries again, adding the complete data, competition by competition.
For a while, I focused on the PyeongChang Olympic Games. Could the ISU have doubts about the correctness of those judges before the competitions took place? Would it have been appropriate to choose different judges?
https://sportlandiamartina.link/2021/01/08/national-bias-before-the-olympic-games/ (here I have published again all the summaries with some small corrections).
Finished the look on the Olympic judges, I passed to all the judges. I hope I have not made any mistakes, but the data are these, anyone can check them and report me if I have made a mistake, so that I can correct them. It is impressive to see how often judges help their fellow countrymen, how easy it would be to notice their misconduct, and how little this behavior is sanctioned:
The ISU Judging System was born, in theory, to ensure that competitions were judged objectively. In practice, like all systems, it can be manipulated:
The update on the national bias for the 2020-2021 season:
Possible agreements between the judges:
A more complete check:
The Beijing judges:
VARIOUS POST
Some of my posts are occasional, related to single competitions or to single judges. Some posts are dedicated to individual judges, even if sometimes I broaden the discussion.
Lorrie Parker (USA): https://sportlandiamartina.link/2020/07/29/lorrie-parker/
Sasha Martinez (MEX): https://sportlandiamartina.link/2020/08/03/sasha-martinez/
Walter Toigo (ITA): https://sportlandiamartina.link/2020/08/07/walter-toigo-e-la-finale-di-grand-prix-2019/
Ayako Shimode (JPN): https://sportlandiamartina.link/2020/12/27/ayako-shimode/ and https://sportlandiamartina.link/2020/12/28/ayako-shimode-2-a-precisation/
Philippe Meriguet (FRA): https://sportlandiamartina.link/2021/04/15/dedicated-to-philippe-meriguet/
Salome Chigogidze (GEO): https://sportlandiamartina.link/2021/06/03/salome-chigogidze/
Ritsuko Horiuchi (JPN): https://sportlandiamartina.link/2021/10/26/ritsuko-horiuchi-friend/
Michela Cesaro (ITA): https://sportlandiamartina.link/2021/11/10/su-michela-cesaro-e-limportanza-del-referee/
An explanation as to why I often distrust judges’ marks:
Other posts are dedicated to specific issues, or to individual competitions, or to the importance of propaganda in national championship:
Some technical questions about rules, competitions or technology:
World Championship 2021, Ladies: https://sportlandiamartina.link/2021/03/24/world-championship-2021-judges-for-the-ladies-competition/
WC 2021, Ladies and Pairs: https://sportlandiamartina.link/2021/03/24/world-championship-2021-judges-for-the-pairs-competition-and-original-marks-in-the-ladies/
WC 2021, Men and PCS: https://sportlandiamartina.link/2021/03/25/world-championship-2021-judges-in-the-mens-short-program-the-components/
WC 2021, Men: https://sportlandiamartina.link/2021/03/27/world-championship-2021-goe-in-the-mens-short-program/
WC 2021, Men: https://sportlandiamartina.link/2021/03/27/world-championship-2021-judges-for-the-mens-free-skate/
World Team Trophy 2021: https://sportlandiamartina.link/2021/04/15/judges-at-the-world-team-trophy/
I hope this material can be a starting point for serious press inquiries.
