MentalPolyphonics

Five judges produce a score for air and a score for form. Air is covers the takeoff, height and distance and is scored out of 2 points (why height and distance are not objectively measured, I have no idea). Form is the body and skate position in the air, scored out of 5 points. The air and form scores of each judge are added together, then the high and low scores are discarded.

Two judges score the landing out of 3 points. The average of the two scores is multipled by 3.

For example, Zongyang Jia got 6.1, 6.4, 6.5, 6.6 and 7.0 for his first jump’s air+form. His combined air+form score = 19.5. He got 2.6 and 2.6 for landing. His landing score = 7.8.

Air+form and landing are added together and multiplied by the degree of difficulty. The difficulty is based on breaking the jump into components. The latest scoring seems to give extra difficulty for twists done earlier, but this Ski Federation manual is almost right.

Aerials ramps are so steep that you can only start with a back-flip, so every jump starts with the word “back” (difficulty = 2.0).

All Olympic-class jumps are done in the layout position because the smaller profile means you can twist faster. So the simplest jump is a “back lay” (difficulty = 2.05).

All male Olympic jumpers do triple-flip jumps. Five people in the world have done quadruple-flips, but the risk of landing on your head makes it illegal in competition (aerials has a lot of safety regulations). Each flip is divided by a dash, so the simplest Olympic-class jump is a “back lay – lay – lay” (difficulty = 3.3)

For each flip, you can do from 0 to 3 twists. One twist is described as a “full”, two as a “double full”, three as a “triple full”. I wish more competitors did half, 1.5 (a “rudy”) and 2.5 (a “randy”) twists to mix things up. Thomas Lambert is the only qualifier who regularly does half twists, such as his “back half – randy – full” (difficulty = 4.525).

Most competitors do a total of 4 twists over 3 flips: a quadruple jump. The 2002 gold medal was won with a quintuple jump but Anton Kushnir (DNQ), Jeret Peterson and Warren Shouldice are the only people who have done 5 twists in competition this season (not always successfully). The most difficult jump ever is a “back double full – full – double full” (difficulty = 5.0).

Let’s face it: figure skating is not the most masculine sport. Unlike all the rest of the Olympic skaters, Johnny Weir acknowledges this fact. Men’s figure skating should be campy. Johnny might be the first major skater to take the sport ironically, the way that Lady Gaga takes her music.

As to the obvious question of his (and every other figure skater’s) sexuality, Johnny responds: “There are some things I keep sacred. My middle name. Who I sleep with. And what kind of hand moisturizer I use.”

Johnny designs his own costumes (just like Lady Gaga) and is going to be retiring from figure skating to pursue a fashion career. I was particularly amused by his short program costume:

Unfortunately, Johnny doesn’t have the technical ability to get an Olympic medal. (Although Elvis Stojko thinks Evan Lysacek doesn’t either.) I wish there was more of a market for this kind of performance:

Olympic athletes are perfect storms of obsessive disorder and genetic abnormalities. These deviants are entertaining and politically useful, so corporations and governments enable their obsessions. Athletes are aesthetically pleasing: not just when they’re performing or undressing, the emotional rollercoaster of their lives is beautiful*.

I enjoy the Olympics, but to be honest I don’t really care about the individual athletes; I don’t find their performances nor their lives aesthetically pleasing. I like knowing about the sports: statistics, standings, judging, history and all other trivia. What I find most entertaining about the Olympics is all the stuff that goes on around the athletics.

The Tyee has been writing up both sport and non-sport highlights for every day of the Games. They’re quite balanced considering The Tyee’s lefty cred. Given that CTV and other mainstream media aren’t covering the protests and the Cultural Olympiad, I think this is a must-read for everyone who wants to know what’s happening in Vancouver.

* Am I confusing virtue with aesthetics here? Discuss.