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| Did the judges get it right? |
Conversations are still going on about the scoring at the 2018 U.S. National Championships. There's a lot of talk regarding the fairness of the judges in the scoring of the women's event, especially as it relates to Ashley Wagner. However, I didn't only feel as though the judging was fishy with Ashley; I thought all of the scores of the top 4 would benefit from a re-scoring. So that's what I did...I took the top 4 finishers at this year's nationals and judged their performances.
Note: Unlike actual judging where GOEs and component scores from each judge are averaged, I calculated these scores based on a single grade of execution score and a single component score. Therefore the scores may be a tad higher or lower than they would be if a range of scores were calculated instead of one.
Short Program
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| Score Details |
The winner of the SP is Mirai Nagasu. The difference in the score I got and what the judges gave her wasn't too much. I came up with 73.31 compared to 73.09 she received from the judges. The TES came out to be very close (41.31 vs 41.90) but I had Mirai higher in PCS by nearly a point (32.00 vs. 31.19). Mirai wasn't the life of the segment with her performance but she did put forth a much stronger effort to emote and feel her music and choreography, especially in the step sequence and I don't think the judges gave her enough credit in that area. However, overall I did agree with her score.
In 2nd place (and this may shock some people, but lemme explain) is Karen Chen. I'll pause here for your expletive filled reaction to this... Yes, Karen Chen comes in 2nd in my scoring. I was surprised too especially seeing as how I thought she was over-scored in the SP. Interestingly enough, my score (69.34) is right on the money of what the judges gave her (69.48). Karen lost points on her opening combo and she dropped several levels in her non-jump elements as well which also cost her points. Still, all in all it was a very strong performance for her. Her spins were amazing (+3 on the layback, +2 on the others) and besides the combo, her other jumps were strong. As far as the PCS go, I came up with 33.80 which is the exact same score the judges gave her. Karen is strong across the board in PCS but she did not earn the highest PCS from me...she almost did though.
In 3rd place is Bradie Tennell. Obviously this is one of the areas the judges and I are going to differ quite a bit. I came up with 68.74 for Bradie versus the record-breaking 73.79 she received at nationals. Essentially the judges went cray-cray with Bradie's scores giving +2s and +3s on nearly every element...I was a bit less enthusiastic in my scoring. I gave +2 to Bradie's combo, axel and final spin, +1s to her other spins and steps, and 0 on her 3L. Her technical score of 37.94 was second in my scoring. Thanks to the piling on of GOE, Bradie's technical score from the judges was 40.88. Another big change in my scoring is in PCS. Bradie earns 30.80 for her performance vs. 32.91 from the judges. She was solid in skating skills (8.00) and her overall performance/execution (8.25); however, her choreography (7.50) and interpretation (7.25) were the weakest of the top 4. There's a distinct lack of maturity and polish to Bradie's skating and they are areas she needs to work on. My scores actually reflect that...the judges chose to ignore it completely.
At nationals Ashley Wagner placed 5th behind Angela Wang who placed 4th (67.00). With my scoring, she places 4th. Ashley ends up with 68.04 versus the 65.94 she received at nationals. This is another area where the scoring is very different. My TES for Ashley came out to be about a point higher (34.04 vs. 33.00). She messed up on the combo which cost her but she made up points with her axel, 3L (both +2) and her step sequence (+3). Ashley got all level 4s on her spins but lost a bit on her step sequence which was level 3. Beyond the mistake on the first element, the rest of the program was great for me. Ashley brought the energy, the sass and the fun to her performance and, in my opinion, helped to make up some of the ground she lost on the first element. She ended up with 34.00 for PCS versus the 32.94 she received from the judges. To me, her PCS was far too low. I gave Ashley 8.25 in skating skills, 7.25 in transitions, 9.00 in performance/execution, 8.75 in choreography, and 9.25 for interpretation. I think those are very fair scores for what she put out.
Free Skate
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| Score Details |
Bradie comes in 2nd behind Mirai. With the exception of the under-rotated 2A-3T and her final 3L, all of Bradie's other jumping passes received +2s in GOE. She's a strong jumper and I definitely wanted to reflect that in the scores. She also received +2 on her step sequence which I thought she gave good energy to. Her other non-jump elements were solid, ranging from 0 to +2 in GOE. Bradie ended up with 72.42 in TES compared to the 76.01 she received from the judges. That huge score was due to the large amount +GOE. The judges gave away the +2s and +3s like they were on clearance and that resulted in a much higher TES for Bradie. In terms of PCS they were also very generous with her marks. Again, this is where the judges took liberties with the scoring. Bradie's PCS ranged from mid 8s to 9.00...which is completely ridiculous. She's a strong skater; however, there's a very juniorish feel to Bradie's skating in comparison to the other top women in this event...yet that was not reflected in the scores at all. The judges gave Bradie 69.71 in PCS, the highest of the event, while my scoring resulted in 63.20. I gave Bradie 8.00 in transitions, 8.25 in skating skills and performance/execution, and 7.50 in both choreography and interpretation. To me, Bradie's scores from the judges were blatant favoritism and maneuvering. I believe they over-scored her to make sure she landed in 1st place.
Ashley places 3rd in the FS. The jumps were a mixed bag for her, ranging from +2 to -2. I thought her opening jumps (2A, 3F-3T) were strong as was her final 3L (+2). Her under-rotated lutz received -2 and her 3L combo received 0. The combo wasn't completed as intended but the jumps she did execute were clean, thus I didn't feel negative GOE was warranted for the combo. Ashley received +2 on her step and choreographic sequences as well as her first combination spin. It was a solid but not great performance from her. Ashley earned 62.46 in TES which was right in line with the 62.25 she earned from the judges. I had her just slightly higher in PCS than the judges (68.80 vs. 68.00). Overall the total score I got (131.26) was very similar to what she received from the judges (130.25). I didn't agree with the scores Ashley got in the SP; however, I agree with the FS scores. The issue for me wasn't necessarily Ashley's scores...it was how others were scored in relation to Ashley.
Karen places 4th in the FS. I thought Karen presented herself very well and she sold the program as best as she could...but on paper, this was a disastrous performance. Three under-rotations, a downgrade and an edge call doesn't usually hold up for a medal in an event where other people skate better...but it did here. I gave Karen -2s for all of her under-rotations and a -3 for the downgraded 3S. Her 2A-1L-3S was very well-executed and received a +3 as did her choreographic sequence and her layback. In the end Karen earned 57.04 in TES vs. 59.53 from the judges. The judges were slightly more lenient with the under-rotations which made the difference in the TES. In terms of PCS I gave Karen 67.60 vs. the 69.58 she received from the judges. Karen was still strong in the competition which is why she places 2nd in my scoring in terms of PCS but I don't feel as though what she put out was worth nearly 70 points in PCS. My overall score (124.64) is significantly lower than the judges' score (129.11). Essentially, Karen got off very easy in terms of scoring. I'm completely baffled as to how 3 clean triple jumps still scored nearly 130 points...
Final Results
1st - Mirai Nagasu: Mirai wins the title in my scoring. She was very strong in TES and decently strong in PCS. That balance across both scores gives her the win.
2nd - Bradie Tennell: Bradie earns the silver medal. She delivered two very strong technical performances but her weaker PCS prevent her from coming out on top.
3rd - Ashley Wagner: Ashley wasn't her best...but she wasn't the worst either. She had issues in both programs but she turned in enough content to finish top 3.
4th - Karen Chen: Karen put forth a good effort. Her PCS were strong but she was far weaker than everyone else in the FS and that knocked her out of the top 3.
So that's my scoring for the 2018 U.S. National Championships. I feel as though Bradie was boosted to gold by a federation that is anxious position her as #1 before the Olympics. I don't blame them for wanting her on the team (I'm glad she's going) but they could have done it fairly. Bradie was obviously strong enough to make the team without the ridiculous scoring. Having scored it, I definitely believe Mirai was robbed of her 2nd title here. She had the highest base value of everyone and delivered her content as well as the 3A which added over 12 points to her score. Had they scored Bradie correctly in terms of PCS and GOE, Mirai would have won. Unfortunately she ended up as collateral in the mad dash to push Bradie to the front of U.S. skating.
I absolutely feel as though Ashley's scores were manipulated to keep her off of the team this year. She was very under-scored in the SP which hurt her chances in the FS. She wasn't flawless in the FS but she did enough to place 3rd in my opinion. I believe Karen skated okay...but Ashley was better overall. However, it's obvious the federation is looking forward. Despite her technical issues (and the fact she's a total headcase 80% of the time), Karen is immensely talented. It's possible that she will continue to compete for several years beyond Pyeongchang. On the other hand, Ashley is clearly at the end of her career and has not been doing that well over the past two seasons. The federation chose to throw their eggs into Karen's basket. I get it...but it doesn't change the fact that Ashley got screwed here.
Oh well. The judges' placements are set and so is the team. Despite my findings, I'm pretty hopeful for the team we're sending to the Olympics and to Worlds. Between the three of them, I believe a top 10 finish is possible for two of them at both events if they manage to skate well. I just hope that in the future the scoring in this sport will change for the better. Of course it's a foolish thing to hope for...I doubt if it will ever change. It's just the way of this "sport."
I'll have the European Championships review as well as a quick review for Canadian nationals next week!
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