I did my quiz on the jumps because I wanted to look at them as impersonally as possible: I wanted them to be judged by how they were performed, regardless of who performed them. I’m a fan too, I know the risk of seeing only what I want to see, so I needed a look from the outside. Surely some of you will have recognized at least some skaters, sometimes even with black and white the costume is identifiable, and some gestures are really characteristic.

Let’s see what came out, with the awareness that mine is a small blog anyway and the number of responses limited. In addition, there was a technical problem on the rotations quiz. I solved the problem only the day after posting the quiz, thanks to the explanation of a person on twitter, so surely some people who wanted to answer have not been able to do it. This, I think, was the hardest quiz. I have seen the jumps in motion, I have seen when the skater has touched the ice. You have only seen screenshots, and it is not easy to understand the inclination of the skate, the presence of snow, the angle of the knee… and generally in my images the landing takes place in the second or third screenshot, because I wanted to make you see the trajectory, but not having warned you of the detail, I don’t know how many realized it. Let’s see what your impressions were.

Jump 1

4T in the 4T+1E+3F combination executed by Yuzuru Hanyu in the FS of Skate Canada 2019. The jump was judged fully rotated, GOE marks from +4 to +5, final GOE +4.07.

Your votes:

56 toe loop (75.68%),

6 salchow (8.11%)

4 flip (5.41%)

7 lutz (9.46%)

1 axel (1.35%)

I didn’t check left-handed skaters, another thing I didn’t warn you about, so you also had to understand the direction of rotation from the images. However the identification was mostly correct.

9 no prerotation (14.52%)

44 acceptable (70.97%)

9 excessive (14.52%)

As for the rotation

50 fully rotated (86.21%)

8 q (13.79%). In the 2019-2020 season there was no q rule, so for those who voted in this way the jump should have been called underrotated.

We and the judges more or less agree on the evaluation of the jump. Since it is a combination in the GOE assigned by the judges, evaluations on rhythm and other landings also come in, something I ignored. Actually this jump didn’t interest me. I inserted it (as I inserted other jumps) to confuse the you, so as not to make it clear which jumps really interested me.

Jump 2

3Lz executed by Hanyu in the FS of the Grand Prix Final 2019. The jump was judged fully rotated, no call on the edge, GOE marks from +2 to +4, final GOE +1.60.

Your votes:

1 toe loop (1.54%)

64 lutz (98.46%).

It would be nice to always have this shot to evaluate flip and lutz. Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea if the ISU used a few more cameras.

21 no prerotation (33.87%)

40 acceptable (64.52%)

1 excessive (1.61%)

Whoever voted excessive was wrong to push the button, right?

Jump 3

In some cases the image I posted for my quiz is different from the one I post now because I cut the screenshots after the transformation of the photo in black and white. This is the 4Lo executed by Hanyu in the SP of the 2017 WC. The jump was judged fully rotated, GOE marks from +2 to +3, final GOE +2.43.

8 salchow (13.33%)

51 loop (85.00%)

1 flip (1.67%)

No problem to understand that this is an edge jump, and mostly correct answers.

6 no prerotation (10.91%)

45 acceptable (81.82%)

4 excessive (7.27%)

If we already knew that Hanyu’s jumps are a skating textbook, you’ve just confirmed it.

Jump 4

4T in the 4T+2T executed by Morisi Kvitelashvili in the FS of 2022 WC. I did the screenshot from this tweet. The jump was judged fully rotated, GOE marks from 0 to +3, final GOE 2.04.

4 toe loop (6.67%)

53 salchow (88.33%)

2 loop (3.33%)

1 flip (1.67%)

According to Kvitelasvili, if we look closely we realize that he lifts the skate a little. It is we who are distracted, because for an overwhelming majority this is a salchow. Now, I have read comments on the fact that if he has learned an incorrect technique, modifying it is very difficult. I do not care. If we forgive him for the incorrect technique, passing off one jump for another, we should also accept flips from the outside edge and lutz from the inside edge, because skaters that have learned them like this aren’t able to correct their technique.

Let’s clarify one point. Whenever a skater receives a gift, another skater is damaged. Applying the rules does not mean being unfairly strict with the skater who makes a mistake, but wanting justice for everyone.

This is a salchow, and as such it should be included in the jump count under the Zayak rule. Can Kvitelashvili do only one type of quadruple? So he will do only one, many skaters make only one. There are also those who do not do any, and it is not that they are given an extra rotation on one of their jumps because they are so nice.

2 no prerotation (3.70%)

25 acceptable (43.60%)

27 excessive (50.00%)

I wonder if anyone would change their judgment on pre-rotation, knowing this is a toe loop and not a salchow, but that’s a question I won’t ask.

Jump 5

4F executed by Nathan Chen at the 2022 National Championship. The jump was judged fully rotated, no call on the edge, GOE marks from +4 to +5, final GOE +4.87.

2 toe loop (3.57%)

1 salchow (1.79%)

1 loop (1.79%)

44 flip (78.57%)

7 lutz (12.50%)

1 axel (1.79%)

Identification mostly correct.

2 no prerotation (4.00%)

33 acceptable (66.00%)

15 excessive (30.00%)

Jump 6

4Lz from the 4Lz+3T combination executed by Alexander Samarin in the FS of 2021 NHK Trophy. The jump was judged fully rotated, no call on the edge, GOE marks from +1 to +4, final GOE 3.29.

Unfortunately in this case the video on which my screenshots are based has disappeared, I cannot take other screenshots than the ones I had done at the time.

3 salchow (4.92%)

16 loop (26.23%)

12 flip (19.67%)

28 lutz (45.90%)

2 axel (3.28%)

Such a low percentage of correct votes – we are below 50% – makes me doubt that the skater’s technique is not exactly correct, yet there are two judgese who have managed to assign a +4 to this jump. I would like to know how they did it.

7 full rotated (17.07%)

24 q (58.54%)

9 underrotated (21.95%)

1 downgraded (3.13%)

Jump 7

4T executed by Kvitelashvili in the SP of the 2021 Rostelecom Cup. The jump was judged fully rotated, GOE marks from +1 to +3, final GOE 2.44.

1 toe loop (1.89%)

34 salchow (64.15%)

12 loop (22.64%)

4 flip (7.55%)

2 axel (3.77%)

Kvitelashvili again.

13 acceptable prerotation (30.23%)

30 excessive (69.77%)

and for the rotation

13 full rotated (32.50%)

23 q (57.50%)

3 underrotated (7.50%)

1 downgraded (2.50%)

Jump 8

4Lz executed by Vincent Zhou in the FS of 2021 SA. The jump was judged fully rotated, no call on the edge, GOE marks from +3 to +4, final GOE +3.45.

4 toe loop (7.84%)

9 flip (17.65%)

38 lutz (74.51%)

I have neglected Zhou. Maybe I should look at him more closely. I took these screenshots at the last moment because when I was uploading the photos I realized that in my numbering there was no jump number 8, but I was tired and it shows. The angle isn’t the best for identifying the jump, and the black and white makes it more difficult, but I didn’t have the energy to check another jump.

4 no prerotation (8.89%)

2 acceptable (4.44%)

39 excessive (86.67%)

Jump 9

3Lz in the 3Lz+1Lo+3S combination executed by Jason Brown in the FS of the 2013 Internationaux de France. The jump was judged fully rotated (I know, I didn’t asked about rotations, I didn’t watched the landing), no call on the edge, GOE marks from 0 to +1, final GOE +0,60.

27 flip (54.00%)

3 lutz (6.00%)

20 flat edge (40.00%)

Most of you have seen an inside edge (I see an inside edge too, so I’m not blaming you). Many are in doubt. Very few have seen an outside edge. How is it that for the technical panel this was a correct lutz, that doesn’t deserved at least a call of flat edge?

Jump 10

4F in the 4F+3T combination executed by Nathan Chen at the 2019 GPF. The jump was judged fully rotated, no call on the edge, GOE marks from +4 to +5, final GOE 5.03.

12 flip (24.00%)

1 lutz (2.00%)

37 flat edge (74.00%)

GOE +5.03. Perhaps the evaluation of the flip and lutz edges is a bit rough and the ISU should take some action. ISU, do you want fair competitions, right?

Jump 11

4T executed by Shoma Uno in the FS of the 2022 OG. The jump was judged fully rotated, GOE marks from -2 to +1, final GOE -0,95.

26 toe loop (52.00%)

12 salchow (24.00%)

2 loop (4.00%)

4 flip (8.00%)

2 lutz (4.00%)

4 axel (8.00%)

At the take off

1 no prerotation (2.38%)

25 acceptable (59.52%)

16 excessive (38.10%)

For the rotation

3 q (16.67%)

14 underrotated (77.78%)

1 downgraded (5.56%)

Jump 12

4Lo executed by Uno in the FS of the OG 2022. The jump was judged fully rotated, GOE marks from +3 to +4, final GOE +3.45.

4 q (16.67%)

4 underrotated (16.67%)

6 downgraded (25.00%)

10 I needed other screenshot (41.67%)

In this case I am really sorry that the video has disappeared, and that I have taken too few screenshots to allow for an objective evaluation. As far as I’m concerned, when he lands he is facing forward, at best that jump is underrotated. It is not a small difference, between this jump and the previous one change the bronze medal. Not to mention the other marks, today I looked closely at the transitions of his short program and found an absolute emptiness. Figure skating really need objective evaluations because, as the marks are awarded now, too many medals go not to the better skaters but to those who the judges like more.

Jump 13

On the left there is a 3Lz, at least according to the technical panel, on the right there is a 3F (of the combination 3F+2T+2T). The jumps were executed by Evgenia Medvedeva in the FS of the 2019 WC. Both jumps were judged fully rotated, neither of the jumps received a call on the edge. For the lutz the GOE marks goes from +3 to +5, final GOE +2.11, for the flip the GOE marks goes from +1 to +3, final GOE +1.21.

37 both flip (82.22%)

1 both lutz (2.22%)

2 flip on the left, lutz on the right (4.44%)

5 Lutz on the left, flip on the right (11.11%)

Congratulations to those who managed to correctly distinguish the two jumps, even if one was executed incorrectly. I see two inside edges, you know what my answer would have been. +2.11 on a lutz with that edge is a truly remarkable score.

Jump 14

The first is the 4F (toe jump) executed by Uno in the FS of the 2022 WC. The jump was judged fully rotated, no call on the edge, GOE marks from +3 to +5, final mark +3.93.

The second is the 4Lo (edge jump) executed by Hanyu at the 2019 GPF. The jump was judged fully rotated, GOE marks from +2 to +5, final mark +4.05.

12 both edge jumps (the same jump) (27.91%)

9 both edge jumps (two different edge jumps) (20.93%)

1 the first is an edge jump, the second a toe jump (2.33%)

21 the first is a toe jump, the second an edge jump (48.84%)

The fact that so many people (almost the 50%) have judged the former to be an edge jump casts doubt on the correctness of the technique with which it is performed.

Jump 15

I don’t know where I managed to hide the montage I took the screenshot from for my question, sometimes I’m great at hiding things to myself. Luckily I had kept both jumps, so even if the editing is a bit different, I can show to you the jumps.

The first is the 3A executed by Chen in the SP of Skate Canada 2021. GOE marks from +2 to +3, ginal GOE +2.40.

The second is the 3A in the 3A+2T combination in the FS of the 2010 World Junior Championship. GOE marks from 0 to +2, final GOE +1.00.

7 both edge jumps (the same jump) (13.73%)

1 both edge jumps (but two different edge jumps) (1.96%)

29 two axel with two different take off (56.86%)

2 axel with the same take off (3.92%)

12 an axel and… I don’t know what to say… (23.53%)

Ok, I could not resist. I tried to be as impersonal as possible, not to make people understand what I thought, but in front of the backaxel I couldn’t resist. Someone at fifteen, when he was not yet the age to compete in the senior category, had a technique far better than that of a skater who in a few months would become the Olympic champion…

Nominally they are both axel, but by rules if at the take off the skater is going backwards the jump should be downgraded.

Of course, it is important to write the rules. But they are applied only if you want to do it, right ISU?