ISU Communications re. Single & Pair Skating in 2026/27 season

[Sylvia]

Here's the first one for the upcoming season ... ISU Communication 2769 - SINGLE & PAIR SKATING - Guidelines for marking +GOE of Single and Pair Skating Choreographic Elements in Free Skating (positive aspects) from 2026/27 (3 pages; March 18, 2026): https://isu-d8g8b4b7ece7aphs.a03.az...w-Choreo-Elements-2026-27-1773846983-8356.pdf

Excerpts:

These guidelines are tools to be used together with the minus GOE charts. The final GOE of a performed element is based on the combination of both positive and negative aspects. It is important that the final GOE of an element reflects the positive aspects, as well as any possible reductions that may apply. The final GOE of an element is calculated considering first the positive aspects of the element that result in a starting GOE for the evaluation. Following that a Judge reduces the GOE according to the guidelines of possible errors and the result is the final GOE of the element.

[...]

NEW Choreographic Spin and Choreographic Pair Lift
1) element matches the music and reflects the concept/character of the program
2) creativity
3) effortless throughout
4) a highlight of the program
5) good controlled position(s) matching the music
6) intentional use of speed matching the music

Choreographic Spin (Rule 612 Single Skating)
A Choreographic Spin is a spin which enhances the choreography of the programand matches the music.A Choreographic Spin must have a minimum of 3 consecutive revolutionsexecuted on one or two blades, with any basic or non-basic positions allowed.Change of foot is optional and can be done several times during the spin. TheTechnical Panel identifies the Choreographic Spin and it will be confirmed oncethe 3 consecutive revolutions have been completed. If the Choreographic Spincannot be identifiable to the panel, the third performed spin will be considered asthe Choreographic Spin (Choreographic Spin confirmed). This element has a fixedbase value and will be evaluated by the judges in GOE only.

[...]

Choreographic Pair Lift (Rule 621 Pair Skating)
A Choreographic Pair Lift is a lift which enhances the choreography of the programand matches the music.Choreographic Pair Lift must be ascending and descending whilst moving acrossthe ice surface. It must have a minimum of 1 rotation.
The Choreographic Pair Lift does not have any limitations regarding the hold onentry or at any point during the lift. The lifting partner must have straight or almoststraight arm(s) above the head at some point during the lift. If the ChoreographicPair Lift is not identifiable to the panel, the third performed lift will be taken as theChoreographic Pair Lift (Choreographic Pair Lift confirmed). This element has afixed base value and will be evaluated by the judges in GOE only

 

[Sylvia]

ISU Communication No. 2770 - SINGLE & PAIR SKATING GUIDELINES FOR INTERNATIONAL NOVICE COMPETITIONS 2026/27 This Communication replaces 2699 (15 pages; March 18, 2026): https://isu-d8g8b4b7ece7aphs.a03.az...ovice-Guidelines-2026-27--1773847099-7438.pdf

 

[Aussie Willy]

There is a much greater emphasis on the use of the music now when it comes to judging which I am pleased to see.

 

[DynamicMutation]

Nice to see that you only need 2 essential bullets to go to higher GOE than +3. Achieving "Effortless"-related mandatory bullet is not always possible and yet now one can get +5 even if it was not performed effortlessly throughout.

 

[Aussie Willy]

Nice to see that you only need 2 essential bullets to go to higher GOE than +3. Achieving "Effortless"-related mandatory bullet is not always possible and yet now one can get +5 even if it was not performed effortlessly throughout.

I would have trouble getting to a +5 if it wasn't effortless because it does impact the overall quality. And that kind of goes together with commitment and body control. The first two points are what they are really trying to emphasis and I do like that. Particularly the music side of things. And I think skaters are getting better with using the music. The women's event at the Olympics I was so impressed with the way skaters used the music.

That does become the point of difference between the average and very good skaters.

 

[gkelly]

This applies specifically to the choreographic elements, right? As far as we know guidelines are not changing for the jumps and leveled elements.

 

[Aussie Willy]

This applies specifically to the choreographic elements, right? As far as we know guidelines are not changing for the jumps and leveled elements.

The communication is for Choreographic elements, but the emphasis on judging the use of the music as part of the element score is really being hammered with the judges. So even in spins and steps particularly, if the element doesn't match it then you are meant to reduce your GOE. Even if is the best spin ever.

 

[SakuraHere]

In other words they reduced the number of jumps and leveled elements and increased the number of non-level choreo elements with 1 BV score and 100 GOE.

 

[Firedancer]

At the men’s FS press conference, Ilia, Yuma and Shun all had comments against the proposed changes:

https://twitter.com/x/status/2038989227325587537

 

[barbk]

I would have trouble getting to a +5 if it wasn't effortless because it does impact the overall quality. And that kind of goes together with commitment and body control. The first two points are what they are really trying to emphasis and I do like that. Particularly the music side of things. And I think skaters are getting better with using the music. The women's event at the Olympics I was so impressed with the way skaters used the music.

That does become the point of difference between the average and very good skaters.

Lifts that are labored should be downgraded even if they are complex.

I wish there was a more effective downgrade for slow & labored footwork, no matter how complex.

 

[kwanfan1818]

I think the man's footwork should be as important as the positions the woman makes in the lift and how much she smiles.

 

[Private Citizen]

I wish there was a more effective downgrade for slow & labored footwork, no matter how complex.

A time limit would be an easy(ish) solution, similar to the time limit for dance lifts. A sequence that goes on too long could either face a 1.00 penalty, and/or the judges could ignore everything after a specific point.

 

[Aussie Willy]

I wish there was a more effective downgrade for slow & labored footwork, no matter how complex.

The judges deal with the quality of it but I do think it is probably one of the areas that judges find more difficult. Mainly because you are dealing with an element that can take up to 45 seconds of a program and from start to finish can have so much variation in quality. So when watching the steps you are kind of going Yes No Hmmm Argh Ooooo Damn Nice.

 

[kwanfan1818]

A bit like almost every Pairs SBS spins and jump combos ever.

 

[barbk]

A bit like almost every Pairs SBS spins and jump combos ever.

Yup. I have found that the ice dance pairs spins are usually way more interesting and effective than the pairs skaters pairs spins.

 

[Private Citizen]

Yup. I have found that the ice dance pairs spins are usually way more interesting and effective than the pairs skaters pairs spins.

Isn't one of the proposals for next year that the pairs spin in the free skate will be unleveled? That's a good change if it gets approved.

The jump combo was already to be reduced to two jumps, effective next year.

 

[Karen-W]

Isn't one of the proposals for next year that the pairs spin in the free skate will be unleveled? That's a good change if it gets approved.

The jump combo was already to be reduced to two jumps, effective next year.

The spin element in the FS is being replaced by a new, unleveled choreo spin. We'll still have the lame pairs combo spins in the SP every other season since they're going to alternate between the SBS spins and the combo spin for the SP going forward. That was part of the package approved at the 2024 ISU Congress with delayed implementation until the 2026-27 season.

IIRC, yes, the jump combo for pairs has been reduced to two jumps and I believe the solo jumping pass has been eliminated, so there will be just one jumping pass in the pairs FS going forward. (ETA - I went back & looked over the proposals from the ISU 2024 Congress thread & I was wrong).

 

[Coco]

I think they should have a framework where the technical panel looks at the trees and the judges look at the forest, so to speak.

GOE bullet points that deal with with performance aspect of an element can be reallocated to a component. Remaining bullets should be limited to technique, dynamics (speed, height, distance, body position), etc. For pairs and dance there would be additional GOE criteria (synchronicity, etc.)

They'd never take this much control away from the judges, but I can dream.

 

[gkelly]

GOE bullet points that deal with with performance aspect of an element can be reallocated to a component.

The problem with that is that the components apply to the program as a whole, so there would be no way to reward individual elements specifically for their performance aspects.

Yes, elements that contribute positively to the performance can also contribute positively to the Composition and/or Presentation component, but that might get outweighed by negative aspects in the rest of the program.

For example, suppose that the skater has a really well-choreographed step sequence with lots of creative detail, and they perform it with great energy and nuanced expression of the music.

Maybe they even had a spin that showed creativity and musicality in relation to the program theme.

But only in those last two elements, after all the hard jumps were done. For the first 80% of the program, they ignored the music and didn't include much creativity or complexity between setting up the elements.

How do you reward them for the elements that did use the music and performance qualities positively in those elements while also penalizing them for not doing so throughout the majority of the program?

As of now, judges can just average that all out in the CO and PR component scores, and they could continue to do so. No one can really know for sure how much they were rewarding the good and penalizing the bad, and how much they were just defaulting to a mediocre score in general.

Wouldn't we want them to use the GOEs to reflect that that really was an excellently choreographed and performed step sequence, that was an exceptional use of choreography within an element (spin) that is usually just about achieving technical levels . . . and also, BTW, that choreo sequence in the middle of the program was really just a rest section to kill time before the big combination at the start of the second half and had nothing to do with the music at all?

Don't we want more information, not less, about the reasons some skaters score higher or lower?

Remaining bullets should be limited to technique, dynamics (speed, height, distance, body position), etc. For pairs and dance there would be additional GOE criteria (synchronicity, etc.)

Maybe someday speed, height, and distance could be objectively measured so we could rely on the measuring machines rather than humans to score those aspects.

Some aspects of body position (e.g., was the free foot at least hip height throughout the camel spin; did the sitspin sit low enough) are evaluated by the technical panel and affect the spin levels.

Other aspects of body position are aesthetic judgments, including body positions on jump takeoffs/air positions/landings. They're already subjective. So why allow judges to reflect those subjective judgments in the GOE, but not their thoughts about whether a position that didn't meet some pre-defined criterion was or was not an effective creative variation?