Figure skating takes just as much athleticism as (if not more than) hockey, but it throws in the added requirement that the athleticism must look effortless. Now that Figures are out of the mix, skaters are left with two phases of competition:
* Short Program (a.k.a. Technical Program)--it lasts about 2-½ minutes * Long Program (a.k.a. Freeskate)--it lasts 4 minutes
The short program, usually worth about 1/3 of the overall score, consists of a group of required elements the skater can execute in any order to the music of his choice. At the elite level (the level shown on TV just about every weekend throughout the winter), the men and women have three jump requirements, three spin requirements and two footwork requirements. Failure to execute any one of these requirements results in mandatory deductions in score. To add to the stress, skaters are not allowed to retry a botched jump in the short program; once it is done, it is done. The short program is considered a nerve-wracking, do-or-die situation, since one missed element can drop a skater out of contention for a medal.
The long program, typically worth about 2/3 of the overall score, provides a bit more flexibility. There are no set requirements, although most of the top women today include six or seven triple jumps, several spins and even some triple-triple combinations. Most competitive men do the same, and have recently been attempting quadruple jumps in their Freeskates. You'll learn more about this terminology later. All that you need to know now is that the top echelon of skaters will try to stuff as many tough jumps as possible into their long programs so they can earn brownie points.
After each program, a skater receives two sets of scores:
* The Technical Mark (also called the First Mark) is for required elements (in the Short Program) or technical merit (in the Long Program). It reflects the difficulty of the program, as well as the clean execution of all the spins, footwork and jumps.
* The Presentation Mark (also known as the Second Mark) reflects the choreography, flow and balance of the program. It is also a measure of the skaters' ability to interpret their chosen music, make good use of the ice surface and skate with speed, sureness and effortless carriage.
These scores range from 0.0 to 6.0. The 6.0s are extremely rare (even Olympic gold medalists rarely get 6.0s), so you'll more often see scores ranging from 4.8 to 5.8 for the top skaters. It is important to remember that, while some of these aspects are subjective (such as judging how well a skater interprets her music), there still are specific guidelines. For instance, a properly executed jump means that the skater takes off on the correct edge, and a properly executed spin means that the skater maintains the correct form throughout the spin.
By the way, if all of this jargon is getting confusing, don't worry--it will soon be so clear to you that your friends will weep with envy. OK, maybe not, but it will still be cool for you to know.
