You Be The Judge

By Alice Park and Julie Rawe

This week, as the figure-skating competition shifts to the women's event, the focus will be on the judges as much as the skaters. How do they make their decisions? Unlike in other sports, technical prowess counts for only so much. Winning is largely a matter of style. Evaluating the finer points of a skater's presentation, such as poise and emotive display, is subjective territory. But it could mean the difference between gold and silver, as Nancy Kerrigan learned in 1994, when judges ranked her flawless performance at Lillehammer behind Oksana Baiul's slightly flawed but more exuberant and stylish one.

Skaters can also get tripped up by a judge's cultural bias, with scores dividing along geopolitical lines. Russian and Eastern European judges, with their deep association with ballet and theater, tend to prefer skaters with classical styles, while Westerners are more receptive to contemporary moves. And prejudging is practically a requirement. Judges are encouraged to attend practices to see what the skaters can do. When they start judging, however, they reserve their highest marks for whoever they think will be the best skater--dampening prospects for early performers. Tricky jumps and graceful lines are still crucial, but in skating, luck and whim may carry the day.

--By Alice Park and Julie Rawe

THE SPIRAL

--WHAT IT IS Gliding in a continuous arc on either the inside or outside edge of one skate with the other leg extended behind. Variations include grabbing the free leg with one hand or switching edges in midglide (which is considered more difficult to do)

--WHO DOES IT BEST The exquisitely flexible Sasha Cohen, left, dips forward in a textbook Charlotte spiral while skating backward with her legs in perfect vertical alignment. Michelle Kwan does her own version of the Charlotte, as well as a signature change-of-edge spiral sequence that almost takes her from one end of the rink to the other

--WHAT JUDGES LOOK FOR A long fluid line and the ability to hold the edge

THE LUTZ

--WHAT IT IS A jump in which skaters glide on the back outside edge of one skate, kick off from the toe pick of the other and land on the edge of that skate. The rotation forces the upper body to turn in the opposite direction from the hips when entering the jump, making the move more difficult for women than for men to perform, since they have less upper-body strength to fight the lower body's rotation

--WHO DOES IT BEST Irina Slutskaya is powerful enough to hold the outside edge entering the jump, while Sasha Cohen probably turns more quickly in the air

--WHAT JUDGES LOOK FOR The most important aspect of a good Lutz is a clean outside edge on the takeoff. The U.S. women, including Kwan, above, tend to "flutz," or fudge it by shifting from the outside to the inside edge just before launching into the air. Sarah Hughes has been particularly penalized for this flaw, and to correct the problem, she does not enter the jump with as deep an outside edge

ARTISTRY

--WHAT IT IS Choreography, interpretation of music, speed in stroking and spinning, and coverage of the ice

--WHO DOES IT BEST Russian Maria Butyrskaya weaves music and moves into cohesive programs. Kwan also brings grace and maturity that are popular with fans and judges

--WHAT JUDGES LOOK FOR Anything, from skaters' costumes and facial expressions to their connection with the music and the audience, is fair game. Good use of the entire ice surface, with elements scattered around the oval, is also important

COMBINATION JUMP

--WHAT IT IS Two or more jumps strung together with no steps in between. Top women pull off combos involving three midair revolutions per jump

--WHO DOES IT BEST Last year Irina Slutskaya, right, landed an unprecedented triple-triple-double. The Russian powerhouse and American medal contenders Sarah Hughes and Sasha Cohen all perform more difficult combinations than perennial favorite Michelle Kwan, who is planning a triple toe-triple toe. Hughes plans to launch two triple-triple combinations in her long program

--WHAT JUDGES LOOK FOR Flowing from one jump into the next is critical. Landing at a dead stop not only loses points, but also makes it harder to launch into the next jump. Edge jumps, such as the flip, Salchow and loop, which take off from the blade edge rather than the toe pick, require more technical skill, and earn higher marks for the increased difficulty

THE SPINS

--WHAT THEY ARE Twirls on the ice performed at high speed in varying positions

--WHO DOES THEM BEST For women, the layback spin is the showpiece, and both Hughes and Cohen are flexible enough to lean back with shoulders parallel to the ice while stretching their free leg into a perfect "attitude" position, up and away from the body

--WHAT JUDGES LOOK FOR In the layback, an arched back and well-placed free leg with the knee and foot parallel to the ice. Points are deducted for spins that are not centered or for failure to complete the specified number of rotations. In the short program, judges start counting the required eight turns once the skater assumes the full layback position. In the long program, the preparatory windup rotations are counted toward a total of six turns. Combination spins, in which the skater changes body position and sometimes even the spinning foot, are required elements in the short program.

In addition to the individual spins, pairs skaters also perform spins in which they are entwined as one. Here, judges reward innovative positions and quick, tightly placed twirls