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I’m always evaluating.
I’m always, you know, counting spins
I’m always checking position.
During the last Olympics we had this penalty jar.
My daughter said any time you talk about skating
you have to put a dollar in,
when we went on vacation.
Going to attempt the triple Lutz.
We’re looking for the edge.
He goes in on a back outside edge
and he’ll pick in with his right foot.
And he fell there so
the judges must reduce by three.
I’ve been judging for almost thirty years.
Multiple competitions a year, multiple weeks.
This year alone I’ve already put in over 50,000 miles,
in three months, across the world.
When you’re watching skating there’s a number things
that we look at and one is the technical elements.
Like the Axel
Salchow. Toe loop.The loop.The flip The Lutz.
Sit spin. Camel spin. Layback spin. Biellmann. Flying spin. Death drop
How many transitions are there?
How are they skating to the music?
How’s their choreography?
What their speed is like.
Their power, their acceleration.
Are they able to skate in both directions?
Are they able to skate on one foot?
So all of this comes into
play in the components that we mark.
He’s got the take-off, which is a forward outside edge.
See his position in the air?
He’s straight but he’s a little bit off.
Not quite straight, like if you’re spinning something
and it’s a little bit off it’s kind of wobbly.
As a judge you absolutely cannot show have any emotion whatsoever.
It’s really hard at times because you want to give that smile
when they put out this amazing performance.
And sometimes you’re rooting for the skater who’s not having a good day
and you want to let them know, but you can’t.
Because it could be considered bias towards one skater over another.
She’s constantly in character,
emotionally, while performing the difficult turns.
It’s a tough sport because you have two chances,
or one weekend,
or two days out of an entire year.
that everything is coming down to.
And it’s only fair for us as judges to give them every opportunity
to be fairly marked and fairly scored with what they put out that day.