By Garrett Lucash
Following is a brief analysis of the free programs skated at the 2019 Eastern Sectional Championships in the Intermediate Girls event. The purpose of the analysis is to determine what skills might be necessary to place top 4. We will also look at the group as a whole to see what trends exists, how skaters maximize their scores, and opportunities for skaters to hypothetically separate themselves in the future. The discussion is broken down into an analysis of jumps, spins, step sequence, and component scores.
Jumps
There were 18 double axels (2A) and 43 triple jumps attempted in the event. The average base value (BV) for the event was 31.23 points for jumps which ranged from 20.18 (12thplace) to 43.97 (1stplace). All top 4 scored above 30 points for jump BV.
Overall, jump Grade of Execution (GOE) total in the event was negative (average -2.15) but this is considered a developmental level meant to reward skaters with bonus points (discussed later) for attempting harder skills. The highest total jump GOE was 1.61 (4thplace) who performed 3 triples (2 triple salchows and 1 triple toe) and two 2As. The lowest total jump GOE score was -7.91.
Intermediate level skaters are awarded a 1 point bonus for double axels (2A) and triple jumps attempted, a 2 point bonus if double-triple combination is performed, and a 3 point bonus for a triple-triple combination jump. The 1stplace skater took advantage of these bonuses for a total of 8 bonus points (3 from a triple-triple combination). Second place earned 6 bonus points, 3rdplace 5 bonus points, and 4thplace 3 bonus points. The bonus points compensated for under-rotated jumps (especially the 1stplace skater) and negative GOE scores.
Skaters are awarded a 10% bonus for jump passes performed in the second half 
of the program. This is when the legs are tired and the jumps are harder to execute. All skaters except for one received 3 10% bonuses. Many of the skaters placed their two
2-jump combinations and even their 3-jump combination in the second half to maximize the bonus.
Spins
Total spin BV is much more limited as there are only two spins in the Intermediate Free Skate program. Two skaters earned a 6.5 point BV (CCoSp4, 3.5 BV + FSSp4, 3.0 BV) and many others who did not opt to perform the flying sit spin performed a level 4 layback (LSp4, 2.70 BV) with their CCoSp. 5 skaters were only awarded one level 4 spin (most likely not because they did not try two but rather that they missed a feature in the performance).
Total spin GOE for the event was positive, but lower than expected. Three skaters stood out from the group scoring 1.68, 1.84, and an impressive 2.36 (1stplace) for spin GOE total. The average for the whole event was about 1 point with no skaters receiving a negative spin GOE total.
Step Sequence
The Intermediate level allows for up to a level 2 step sequence (StSq2) which limits the range in BV for this category to a maximum of 2.6. Eight skaters were awarded level 2, and 4 skaters were awarded level 1 (1.8 points) for step sequence.
Step sequence GOE was positive for the event with a high GOE of .73 (the skater was awarded 2s and 3s from the judges) and a low of .14.
Component Scores
At the Intermediate level, Skating Skills, Performance, Composition, and Interpretation of the Music are factored into the Component score (Transitions are not scored). Component score totals were above 30 points for each of the top 9 skaters (30.18, 6thplace – 34.02, 4thplace). There appears to be no standout component in the event.
Final words
The Intermediate level allows for much opportunity to earn bonuses and, accordingly, is a developmental level. This level encourages skaters to take risks and gain experience performing harder skills such as double axels, triple jumps and combinations with triple jumps. Of course, there is a psychological factor to consider as in, does performing a harder skill in competition with (perhaps) less success (but still a reward for trying) nurture negative psychological associations (e.g. low self-efficacy beliefs) with performance in the future. This should be considered at an individual level as there are sure to be different associations from different individuals and different contexts, some more or less extreme than others. Look for upcoming blogs that discuss this in greater detail. See below for scoring charts.
| Placement | Total Segment Score | Total Element Score | Total Program Component Score | Total Double Axels | Total Triple Jumps | Total Spins Level 4 | Total Spins BaseValue | Total Spins Goe | Total Spins Score | Total Jumps BaseValue | Total Jumps Goe | Total Jumps Score | Total StepSeq BaseValue | Total StepSeq Goe | Total StepSeq Score | Skating Skills panel score | Performance panel score | Composition panel score | Interpretation of the Music panel_score |
|
1 |
87.20 |
53.70 |
33.50 |
1.00 |
6.00 |
2.00 |
6.20 |
2.36 |
8.56 |
43.97 |
-1.95 |
42.02 |
2.60 |
0.52 |
3.12 |
4.75 |
4.35 |
4.80 |
4.45 |
|
2 |
83.73 |
50.97 |
32.76 |
1.00 |
5.00 |
2.00 |
6.20 |
1.68 |
7.88 |
38.71 |
1.26 |
39.97 |
2.60 |
0.52 |
3.12 |
4.40 |
4.80 |
4.65 |
4.75 |
|
3 |
69.56 |
37.62 |
32.94 |
1.00 |
4.00 |
2.00 |
6.20 |
1.84 |
8.04 |
31.14 |
-4.52 |
26.62 |
2.60 |
0.36 |
2.96 |
4.65 |
4.50 |
4.60 |
4.35 |
|
4 |
79.75 |
46.23 |
34.02 |
1.00 |
4.00 |
2.00 |
6.50 |
1.01 |
7.51 |
35.11 |
1.49 |
36.60 |
1.80 |
0.32 |
2.12 |
4.70 |
4.70 |
4.80 |
4.75 |
|
5 |
68.71 |
37.05 |
32.66 |
2.00 |
2.00 |
2.00 |
6.20 |
0.79 |
6.99 |
28.04 |
-1.15 |
26.89 |
2.60 |
0.57 |
3.17 |
4.65 |
4.30 |
4.45 |
4.45 |
|
6 |
71.71 |
42.03 |
30.18 |
2.00 |
3.00 |
1.00 |
6.00 |
0.36 |
6.36 |
32.12 |
1.61 |
33.73 |
1.80 |
0.14 |
1.94 |
4.40 |
3.90 |
4.25 |
3.65 |
|
7 |
68.10 |
37.76 |
30.84 |
2.00 |
3.00 |
2.00 |
6.00 |
0.71 |
6.71 |
30.79 |
-2.76 |
28.03 |
2.60 |
0.42 |
3.02 |
4.35 |
4.20 |
4.35 |
4.05 |
|
8 |
66.90 |
36.66 |
31.74 |
2.00 |
3.00 |
2.00 |
6.50 |
0.75 |
7.25 |
27.62 |
-1.54 |
26.08 |
2.60 |
0.73 |
3.33 |
4.40 |
4.35 |
4.50 |
4.40 |
|
9 |
65.43 |
35.15 |
30.78 |
1.00 |
4.00 |
1.00 |
6.10 |
1.01 |
7.11 |
28.01 |
-2.17 |
25.84 |
1.80 |
0.40 |
2.20 |
4.35 |
4.05 |
4.40 |
4.10 |
|
10 |
61.50 |
33.64 |
28.36 |
2.00 |
4.00 |
1.00 |
6.10 |
0.89 |
6.99 |
31.54 |
-7.91 |
23.63 |
2.60 |
0.42 |
3.02 |
4.00 |
3.80 |
4.00 |
3.80 |
|
11 |
54.67 |
28.65 |
27.52 |
1.00 |
5.00 |
1.00 |
5.90 |
0.80 |
6.70 |
27.50 |
-7.67 |
19.83 |
1.80 |
0.32 |
2.12 |
3.95 |
3.50 |
3.85 |
3.65 |
|
12 |
56.30 |
29.02 |
27.28 |
2.00 |
0.00 |
1.00 |
6.00 |
0.48 |
6.48 |
20.18 |
-0.45 |
19.73 |
2.60 |
0.21 |
2.81 |
3.85 |
3.80 |
3.75 |
3.60 |