The Time I Tied with a Team that Scored Higher Than Me

The International Judging System is supposed to make ties much less common than they were when the 6.0 System was used. Still, there are rare cases of when two skaters have the same technical element score, program component score, and total segment score, resulting in a complete tie. The experience that I've had with one specific tie is one that I think is pretty unique to what others have seen, so I thought I'd share my story.

At the 2016 Lake Placid Ice Dance Championships, my partner, Anna, and I were competing at the intermediate level for the second year in a row. The first dance we competed was the European Waltz, which, after our skate, I thought went pretty well. At that event, for some reason, they did not announce scores immediately after each program, so we did not know our placements until our critiques with the judges and when the final results were posted. Once I looked at our final placements, I saw that our friends Olivia and Dillon got fourth place in the European, just like we did. (Liv and Dillon if you're reading this, you're the winds beneath both my wings.) I looked at the detailed scores and saw we both got a score of 12.38 for that dance, with a technical score of 8.40, but Anna and I got 9.28 for component scores, while Liv and Dillon got 9.29. somehow, we still tied for that dance.

To explain how American Pattern Dance scores are calculated, the technical and component scores are added together, and the sum is multiplied by 0.7. The new number is rounded to the nearest hundredth, and the total segment score is finalized. Knowing this, I realized that when our scores were each added up and rounded, they equaled the same number. Since our technical scores, which I believe would have been used to settle the tie, were also equal, there was no rule to determine that we should be separated in placement, so we both ended up in fourth place.

With this in mind, I think it would be a good idea for US Figure Skating to reevaluate how ties are settled when the total score for the segment is factored. The possibility of technical and component scores should be reflected in the rules of this situation. That way, placement can be more fairly awarded in this scenario.

I don't think I have even seen a tie in which the two scores are not exactly the same, so I thought this would be an interesting story to share. If you've ever seen anything like this before, let me know! I'd love to see what other crazy ties have occurred in the IJS.

That's all for now. Happy Sunday!

-TJ