--- smc413@... wrote:
> Shenanigans and dumb scoring structures aside, I think I am more
> convinced than ever that this event is unjudgeable. Without having
> seen these 3 dances, I'm wondering what are the possible
> explanations> for Fusar-P/Mar's results here? I guess it's either
F-P/M stumbled> their way through 3 out of 3 dances here or they have
been getting> consistently overmarked for the last 2 seasons.

Or, both could be partially true.
I think last year, and to a lesser extent the year before, they
benefitted by skating closer to the best that they're capable of with
(in the case of both OD and free dance in 2000 and OD in 2001)
particularly good material, while other teams who may be superior in
an absolute sense skated less than their best and/or with weaker
material and were thus not demonstrably superior on those occasions.
And then winning more or less by default against weak performances
from Lobacheva & Averbukh and Bourne & Kraatz in fall 1999 and
against Anissina & Peizerat at Euros 2001 gave them momentum both to
skate more confidently themselves (and those teams to second guess
themselves thereafter) and showed off what they do do well, so that
judges who might be inclined to promote them for political reasons
would feel more justified in doing so, and judges who didn't
necessarily want to proclaim them the best skaters were at least
willing to give them the highest marks by default when other teams
earned deductions.

Unless they had a
> lot more major errors than their competitors, there is something
> seriously wrong that this couple has been winning everything in
> sight> for a year & a half (including both their GP events this
fall) only> to> suddenly be placing 3rd & 4th with the same dances
against the same> competitors.

Well, they hadn't gone up against the Canadians or the French yet
this season. Did they compete against Drobiazko & Vanagas? I forget.
So you can only go back to last year for comparisons.

Hazel said they looked undertrained, and I agree; I thought so
particularly when we first saw them this season at Nation's Cup. They
seem to be in somewhat better shape now, but not as close to peak
form this week as the teams they lost to.

In other words, the judges could be judging what they're seeing all
along, but what they see can be affected by
1) how well each team happens to be skating each week;
2) what they want to see because of their own preferences and
loyalties (i.e., bias, but not *necessarily* involving dishonesty,
although sometimes that may come in also);
3) what they expect to see based on recent past performances and
results.

1) would reflect actual objective differences in what the skaters put
on the ice; 2) and 3) would be differences in the mindsets of the
individual judges. And since different judges can have different
mindsets, the composition of the panel can have a significant effect
on the results if the overall abilities of the teams are comparable,
but with different strengths and weaknesses.

-Ellyn

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