Ask the Ice Moms: How Do You Respond to Unfair Judging?

The reader who sent in this question wanted to remain anonymous. It’s a touchy subject – I understand and respect her desire for anonymity.

I’d love to have your moms’ and Advisory Board’s input on a situation we encountered at a competition.

Recently, some of our club members participated in a competition that was some distance away from our home rink.  Our perception is that our skaters got “home towned” pretty badly with some of the judging.  There were several incidences that we noticed where a host club skater was ranked 1st or 2nd by a couple of judges even though they failed to complete one or more required program element(s).  In two separate events, our skaters, who skated well, were ranked last in their events by one particular judge, even though a full half of the other skaters (from the host club) in the group had falls on required elements.  We noticed, on the results sheets, that this particular judge consistently ranked out-of-town skaters lower than host club skaters, as compared to the other officials.

In one of the events, one of the host club skaters bobbled or two-footed all of her landings and still got 2nd place.  She was so miffed that she didn’t win, that she wouldn’t even pick up her medal (there’s another blog topic for you).

We always tell our skaters that different judges perceive thing differently and all you can do is skate your best.  Our skaters are old enough to understand how the ranking system works and are able to see obvious unfairness when they receive rankings of 1, 1, 1, 2, 6 for a particular event.  I overheard another parent complaining to a competition organizer about the judging, which is something that we wouldn’t do.  Do you have any more advice on how to handle this situation in the future or are we doing the right thing by playing up the great skating and not making a big deal about what one particular judge thinks?

From S.L., mom to a high-school-age figure skater and a long-time figure skating club board member

I don’t have a lot to offer because calling the judges on it won’t help but, really what the mom did is best if her skater wants to continue to compete in the area (because these judges will come back). It would be nice if we had a comfort level to (professionally/tactfully) talk to the chief referee. Ask the referee to watch an event to see what she thinks, or show her the results and see if she has a conclusion. My daughter stopped competing mostly because of judging (was judged for her size by 80-90% of them).

There should be a forum to discuss certain situations like this. Unfortunately because of parents who think their child is better than anyone else (we have one of those), this kind of forum would be abused. Well, here we are, back to not being able to do anything. I probably would not compete at that competition again.

From Pairs Mom, mom to a male skater who was one half of the winning intermediate pair from last December’s Junior Nationals competition.

I see this as an issue that the coach should be dealing with.  As always, you should discuss this with your coach FIRST and then if they feel the same or want an explanation. The coach can always speak to the referee about the judging, etc. or whatever else the coach disagrees with.When competing under the IJS system, I believe this is called a “grievance” and the coach fills out the paperwork or discusses it with the referee, etc.,  who then decides if they will approach the judge.  Honestly, in all the cases where I’ve seen this happen, the complaint goes nowhere; however, when competing for ordinals, it can be a different story altogether.

Every judge should be “approachable” as well as willing and able to share her opinions and explain her rankings.  I just think it is best for the coach to be handling this and then reporting back to you.

Our coach will tell the skaters that a judge is just a person with an opinion but what REALLY matters is what I say (meaning the coach) and how YOU feel about your program.  Sometimes things go your way and sometimes they don’t.

Good luck and I hope that this does not hinder in any way your skater’s desire to compete.  Think of it as writing an essay or research paper for school and not getting the grade that you feel that you deserve and the teacher is not able to explain the grading procedure.  Our coach actually elected not to send skaters to a competition where a similar situation was happening and we have not competed there for the past five years.

From Sk8nLn, Mom to a 9-year-old pre-pre figure skater

I have seen this several times at competitions; however, dd’s coach has always emphasized the personal best. Sometimes we go to a competition knowing this is the pattern of judging because we have been warned, but the biggest piece is knowing this is for the skater’s growth and personal experience.  Xanboni posted a good piece this week on competitions and it was a good reminder to put things in perspective and the relative importance as the new season begins.  So I would say yes, you are doing the right thing by encouraging great skating and sportsmanship.

From Xan, who runs the excellent figure skating blog Sk8nLn mentioned (Xanboni!), is mom to a current ice show skater who also had competed at Junior Nationals, is an adult skater, and is also a figure skating coach. When she’s not doing blogging about figure skating, she’s blogging about scones (SconeDay) or cooking from her garden (Mahzeit).

You will make yourself insane trying to second guess judges. Don’t do it. Shrug your shoulders and move on.  So many things can affect the judge’s scores. Especially at lower level and club competitions, first of all, you have a huge range in experience and ability of judges (yes, some judges are better at judging than others, just as some people are better at singing, or skating or whatever) so you can have scores that are all over the map. Maybe one judge looked down and missed a quick fall and recovery (remember, at the lower levels they’re still skating 6.0, so no technical specialist to call the elements). Maybe one judge counted features in a spin, and another didn’t (in the 6.0 system, features in a spin aren’t as important, because no levels). Maybe the judge giving 6.0s is an idiot. Or, gosh, maybe her skaters didn’t skate as well as the kids who better them.

Further, there is no such thing as hometown advantage in a club competition, which is what this mom seems to be describing (Basic Skills comps have only 2 scores/judges, not 5). When you need that many judges (we’re talking upwards of 25 for a typical weekend-long competition), you have to pull from quite a distance. Unless you’re several states apart, it’s likely that there were judges from the guest’s club or area as well. (You can find out, because competitions are required to post who the judges are, if not to associate them with specific scores.)

Judges, even at small club competitions, go through extensive training, on their own time, which they pay for themselves. It does an incredible disservice to their dedication, to the governing council, and to figure skating in general to assume deliberate bias (i.e. cheating). Hometown bias happens because judges know those skaters, not because they favor those skaters. Also, does this mom *really* know what the required elements are, and can she *really* recognize the standard on which they’re judging them? Or is she guilty of a little hometown bias herself?

You want to teach your kids good sportsmanship? Don’t talk about the judging at all. If a kid asks how that could happen, shrug your shoulders, say “I dunno, bizarre innit” and ask who wants ice cream. If you don’t make a big deal out of it, it won’t be a big deal.

First of all, when you’re at a competition where it seems that the judges are giving high marks to skaters who don’t include required elements in the program, or the flip side of this, who are doing moves from a higher level that are illegal in that level, it may not be the fault of the judges.

I asked a judge about this very subject when one of my students didn’t place well, and the skaters on the podium all included (and were given credit for) elements in their programs that shouldn’t have been allowed at that level.

The judge told me that the competition chair had not given them a list of elements that were or were not allowed at that level, so they just judged the skaters on the programs as they saw them.

They can only judge a certain way if they are told in advance what is and isn’t allowed, and according to the judge I spoke with, often they are not.Anyone who knows me knows that I will fiercely defend the judges. These judges are unpaid volunteers who end up spending their vacation time to go to competitions, and frequently, spend their own money to get their training and travel expenses to have the opportunity for trial judging. I admire and greatly appreciate their dedication to the sport.

We do need to keep in mind that the judging is subjective, and the judges are human.

I think that sometimes, it might be possible that if a judge is familiar with a skater, and the judge knows how well the competitor skates in general; the judge might just give them the benefit of the doubt. However, all of the judges that I know try to be very fair, and I think that they do a remarkable job!

We also need to realize how difficult it can be to judge a comptition at a basic skills level. Everyone is doing (or should be doing) the same elements. One skater will be better at one thing, and another skater will be better at another. There may not be a clear-cut winner. Also, some judges might look for different things when determining the scores they give.

Sometimes it might just seem like the judges are favoring a certain club, when it might just be that the coaches of that club keep their skaters on a lower level than they should be at so that they have a better chance of winning.

Stinky, yes, but it happens.

From Sk8rMomp, mom to an intermediate-level male singles skater

I’m so sorry that your group felt this way.  It’s not fun anytime and especially after making the effort to go to a far-away competition.I agree that focusing on your skaters performance as well as “We always tell our skaters that different judges perceive thing differently and all you can do is skate your best” is a great way to handle this.

I encourage parents to really walk the talk and believe what they are saying.  Maybe this will help someone a little:

1)In a situation like this I think the first priority is to take care of your kids.  How you talk to them about this will likely set the tone for their future competitive careers.  Be very circumspect in your language.  This is one time that you really and truly want to think before you speak and if you are emotional, you might stall the talk until you are better under control.

If you child hears you or the coach blaming the competition’s outcome on the judging and calling attention to the unfairness of it all, or complaining about other skaters not doing the elements, and that your skater got robbed, then it IMHO it sends the wrong message.  No one will ever be able to control how a judge sees and scores something.  It is not under your control.  There might be legitimate reasons why someone who misses an element is still scored higher then someone who skates a “clean” (to the audience) program.  Witness the senior-level controversies in almost all events.

In order to survive in this judged sport, a skater needs to understand this early on and focus on what they CAN control and that is how they skate.  Goals should be set going into the competitions, even at lower levels so that the focus is on what they can do and control.  “I will skate with speed through my whole program.”  “I will focus on one element at a time.”  “I will approach my jumps with confidence.”  “I will skate better than I did last competition (with specifics).”  It makes the skater focus on themselves.  Takes the focus off of what the judges do and how other skaters skate.

Examples of poor goal setting would be: i.e. “I will get first place.”  “I will get a level 2 on my footwork.”  “I will beat so and so.”  These are wishes, not goals. They are not under the skater’s control. Sure, they are great if they happen, but the stars have to align themselves first.

When you have a goal (for a young child it can be the coach saying, today, your goal is to smile, have fun, skate your best, or skate with confidence, nail that bunny hop…etc) you can quickly redirect the child’s complaints about other skaters, the judges, the unfairness of it all.  Ask them if they met their goals, congratulate them and make them evaluate their skating.  This is also the time to commiserate with them.  Be honest and start to give them the tools they will need in the future when the competitions really get tough.  Things like: “Yes, you sure skated the best I’ve ever seen.”  “I know, it’s such a bummer that you didn’t place higher.”   “Sometimes we can’t understand what a judge sees.  They are looking for different things than what we think are good.”  “How did you think you skated?”  Get them to focus on their own performance, and not gripe about other kids or the judges.  It’s not productive.

2)  Talk to your coach away from your child and find out what the coach thought.  Usually the coach will be able to tell you why the other skater did so well even if they didn’t land any jumps (it will add to your education).  Often it’s their skating skills or technique, or presentation.  If the coach feels it necessary, they can set up a meeting with a judge to ask about what your skater can do to improve her/his scores for next time.  I understand that most judges are very willing to do this.  It is productive and focuses on the skater and what they can do to improve rather than being mystified.

3)  If there are truly concerns about a judge, then there are protocols to follow and your coach will know what to do.  It is not a parent’s responsibility to report this, it is the coach’s job.  So definitely let your coach know about the concerns and keep the evidence protocol sheets.

4)  One last thing is that I would make sure that the skater doesn’t say things like “oh, that judge doesn’t like me.”  To my skater, I really stress that judges are volunteers, they want to help skaters.  It’s not that they don’t like you; they are judging the way you did the elements in this one program, today.  Especially for tests, it helps the skaters to feel more confident if they don’t take the pass or re-tries as a personal blow, but rather the judges encouraging them to improve their skills.  It’s more sweet when the next time they get a pass from that judge with a high standard.

There are going to be many situations like this and the sooner the skater and parents get over it, the better.  A skater and parents who are so concerned about the medals will not last long in this sport because it just won’t be any fun.  Skating is a journey, just like life, ups and downs, what better way to teach life lessons.

From Josette, mom to a competitive preliminary-level figure skater

We’ve been to about twenty competitions so far – relative newbies in a competitive skating career – and yes, it seems there is always That Judge. Or even, we’ve learned, That Competition.

At this point, we’ve never complained, never officially questioned. I think that our fear is to become known as That Skater (or rather, for me to be That Skater Mom, lol.)

Even though competition judging is trying to become more and more objective, there is always going to be a level of subjectivity, even at the qualifying levels where techinical specialists are looking at edges and rotations on slow motion playback. From the get go, I think it’s important that skaters accept that this potential for perceived unfairness is part of the bargain they make when entering any competition. It doesn’t make the frustration of unfairness sting any less, but understanding that biased judging can and does happen validates the need for the oft-stated wisdom that there are more reasons to compete than the goal of getting a medal; the skater needs to have multiple measures of personal success in any competition.

I’m not saying this cliché of character building is easy or even always necessarily wanted…or that it doesn’t sometimes feel like sour grapes to hold up other goals as being just as important or fulfilling as a spot on the podium. Who wants to work hard, do well, but then end their competition with an extended philosophical exercise in self-realization in order to control the gamut of emotions from anger to upset because some judge scored based on who knows what…costume color or because she doesn’t like music in b flat major or because you’re from a skate club in Philadelphia and cheese steaks giver her agida. But the subjectivity in judging is the immovable piece in the game. I’m guessing that there possibly are times to complain out loud and times to officially wonder whether or not a certain judge had his glasses on…but, unfortunately, more opportunities to hone our skill of shrugging off someone else’s bias, even prejudice.

From Ice Mom, mom to Ice Girl.

I think having a discussion with the coach about the unfair judging is good and not going back to that competition the next year is good, too. Really, though, I look at times when the judging seems unfair as a learning opportunity.

Non-qualifying competitions and Basic Skills competitions are a figure skater’s opportunity to learn how to compete.

Practice is for learning how to figure skate. Competitions are for learning how to master nervousness, how to be a gracious winner, and how to be a gracious loser. It’s where a skater learns to switch her goals from winning first to holding that spin for a gazillion rotations.

Of course, I want judges to be fair. I want skaters to receive useful feedback about their hard work and for the best skater to win an event. But that’s not always the case. So, skater, what will you do about what you perceive to be unfair judging? Can you still have a champion attitude?

I also think that someone should figure out how to silence Ice Dad and Ice Grandma. My line is That’s not how this family acts doesn’t seem to work with those two. I had to distract them with Mexican food the last time they felt the judging was unfair. Now there’s a question for everyone: How to you manage grandparents and husbands who think the judging is unfair? Muzzles? Shock collars? I’m open to suggestion.

What about you? Have you ever had a situation where you felt the figure skating competition’s judges favored the home club’s skaters? Did you ever attend an event where you thought the judging was lousy? How did you handle it?