For the past few seasons, we have witnessed the evolution of figure skating as it continues its emphasis on jumping. Those triple axels and quads are quite difficult to master, especially in competition. But we have also seen a backlash of the conversation by skating icons and also the ever-popular writer for our sport, Phil Hersch.
“In an attempt to rebalance the athletic and artistic sides of figure skating, the sport’s technical committee for singles and pairs is submitting a proposal with sweeping changes for consideration by the International Skating Union at its biennial congress this June in Thailand.
“The proposal comes at a moment when the jump revolutions in men’s and women’s singles skating have created a huge competitive imbalance in favor of skaters doing the most difficult jumps – quadruples for men, quads and triple Axels for women.”
—Phil Hersh for NBC Sports, February 2020
We now have the opportunity to prepare our skaters for this potential shift which will increase the importance of artistry and all aspects of component marks. It is the hope of many that we can now place increased emphasis on long beautiful lines, artistic interpretation and sharing more of a skater’s emotions and joy on the ice.