Is Figure Skating A Sport?

February 24, 2010 5:00 pm     Posted in Buzz, Reality  Sara C - Fordham g+ page

Figure skating: the marquee event of the Winter Olympics. Characterized by grace, agility, skill, charisma and intense facial expressions, figure skaters capture the hearts of fans around the world once every four years. Top skaters can earn more than $5 million in endorsements and grace more magazine covers in a year than Gemma Ward.


By Sara C

There’s no question that the spectacle of figure skating is enchanting, but given recent criticism of its methods– is it a sport?

A sport should require athleticism, of which figure skating has plenty.  Training for figure skating requires hours of strength training and conditioning. The skills executed in programs, from jumps to spins to spirals, are not easily acquired. Take away the glittery costumes and lilting music, and figure skating programs appear grittier and tougher.

But athleticism means nothing if there isn’t an objective and regimented manner to determine winners. At the moment, all competitions operated under the International Skating Union (including the Olympic Games) adhere to a scoring system that assigns points for the difficulty of skill and the quality of their execution.  But consider that in this year’s men’s singles division at the Olympics, Evan Lysacek captured the gold medal despite his failure to attempt any quadruple jumps (the most difficult skill to execute). Other skaters, including silver medalist Evgeny Plushenko, successfully landed quadruple jumps. Some argue that Lysacek’s win is fair, because artistry should be just as crucial to scoring as difficulty, while others believe the Olympic champion should be someone who performs to world-class standards, quad jumps and all.

Essentially, there are concerns about the validity of the scoring system for this very problem. The fact that a skater like Lysacek can go home with a gold medal without having performed the most technically difficult program sends a message to young skaters that you can train as hard as you can to be the most technically proficient as possible, but the subjective evaluations of the judges are the only key to gold.  The result is that figure skating rests precariously between sport (such as skiing) and art (such as ballet).  There is definitely a competitive and athletic component to figure skating, but it also has a subjective quality, one that emphasizes certain skaters at certain times for certain reasons.

Despite these concerns, figure skating is and will remain the marquee event of the Winter Olympics. There will always be something charming about girls who achieve celebrity and world-class validation before they are even old enough to drive. There are few among us who can’t relate to childhood dreams of becoming an Olympic (or Super Bowl, or World Series) champion, and the thrill of watching it happen in a visually pleasing manner is timeless. In the moment a young skater recieves her gold medal, the quarter-turns and point-deductions and quadruple jumps all melt away.

As such, figure skating may not be a sport–but does it matter?

21 Comments on "Is Figure Skating A Sport?"

  1. skating fan says:
    Wed, 24th Feb 201012:33 pm 

    As someone who used to skate, in my opinion while jumps and spins are definitely difficult to learn and master, so is the artistry. It seems like there's always such a fine line between the top competitors, and this isn't the first time artistry has pushed someone into gold…i'm pretty sure michelle kwan got the silver cause tara lipinski was rated better due to that, not positive though. I think it proves that a skater needs to be well-rounded, and since it is scored by half artistry and half technique, just because you do all the crazy jumps and don't feel the music as well or interpret as well doesn't mean you should automatically win. I don't think this makes figure skating any less of a sport, just a more complicated one to judge. Don't even get me started on the artistic scoring of ice dancing…frustrating… lol

  2. Alexandra says:
    Wed, 24th Feb 201012:42 pm 

    Just because the scoring system is messed up doesn't make its categorization as a sport questionable…it might make people think twice about why someone is good at it or not, but I don't think anyone is saying it's not a sport.

  3. L says:
    Wed, 24th Feb 201012:45 pm 

    But Lysacek actually DID preform a more technically difficult program than Evgeny Plushenko; the technical side is, in fact, where he won his points and thus the gold (they were tied in artistry).

    There is more to technical difficulty that simply landing a quad jump; Lysacek put in more jumps after the mid point (which, given that the skater is exhausted then, is MUCH harder), had highly complicated entrances to his jumps, and did MORE jumps and jump combos. And those jumps that he did have he landed much cleaner than Evgeny Plushenko). In fact, what Lysacek proved was that technical difficulty cannot be measured based simply on the number of rotations in air as many believe. Indeed, there is a subjective nature to figure skating scoring, but I believe you will find that it is much less arbitrary than you might think. Quality beat quantity, in this case.

    (In case you were wondering, I'm speaking as a former figure skater who had a better idea of what to look for than the average viewer. ^_^)

  4. Kyrstin says:
    Wed, 24th Feb 20101:23 pm 

    L is right, Lysacek matched Plushenko's technical score because of the amount of jumps in the second half of his program. He won because his artistic impression marks were much higher (which he deserved, he skaked wonderfully).

    As a former skater, I disagree with the way the new scoring system works, because I don't think putting a jump in the second half of the program should get you any more points. Being a Plushenko fan for years and putting more merit in the quad like I do, I still think Plushenko is a better skater. However, Lysacek performed better under the system's rules.

    There's no reason for this question of whether figure skater is a sport, though. Lots of other Olympic events are judged (diving, gymnastics, etc). It just seems arbitrary to someone who doesn't know what they're looking at.

  5. Raleigh says:
    Wed, 24th Feb 20102:49 pm 

    Both L and Kyrstin are right. Plushenko's jump landings were all shaky, whereas Lysacek's jumps were solid. Plushenko may have done the quad, but that was all it seemed he had to beat Lysacek.

    There has been debate about whether the new scoring system takes away the artistry of the sport. Just look at Rachael Flatt versus Mirai Nagasu at the National Championships. Flatt's program was good but Nagasu's was so much more entertaining to watch. But Nagasu's jumps were underrotated and therefore placed her second. This debate always seems to pop up with the new judging, but for now we figure skaters just have to be able to work with it as best we can. =)

  6. cait says:
    Wed, 24th Feb 20106:19 pm 

    Kyrstin, you're wrong. A simple look at the protocols showed that Plushenko and Lysacek had the SAME program components (performance/execution, skating skills, choreography, transitions, etc). Lysacek won because his TECHNICAL elements were higher. Plushenko may have done a quadruple, but his landings were shaky. It's always better to do a clean triple than a bad quadruple–your Grades of Execution (the judge's marks for each jump, spin, footwork sequence, etc) will be much higher, therefore your program will be technically stronger. Additionally, L is right–there is a 10% bonus for doing your jumps after the midpoint in the program. Lysacek thoroughly used this technique, whereas Plushenko front-loaded his program and recieved no additional bonuses.

    As a figure skater (13 years) and member of Team USA, I have to say that skating is obviously a sport.

    "The fact that a skater like Lysacek can go home with a gold medal without having performed the most technically difficult program sends a message to young skaters that you can train as hard as you can to be the most technically proficient as possible, but the subjective evaluations of the judges are the only key to gold."

    Finally, I was offended by this. Lysacek's win is a triumph for perfection over attempts. I remember when I used to compete in Intermediate–I had solid doubles and was competing against girls with horrible, dangerous, shaky triples. It is best to do what you can and do it well. Furthermore, THAT IS NOT THE MESSAGE IT SENDS TO YOUNG SKATERS. Figure skating is a sport of points, and Evan Lysacek was MORE technically proficient. A quadruple jump is not the only part of a program! Footwork sequences, spin combonations, and moves in the field are JUST AS IMPORTANT.

    Ugly, mediocre quadruples aren't everything in figure skating–please consult a professional skater before claiming that Plushenko's program was more "technically difficult," but Lysacek's was more "artistic"–this was not the case AT ALL, as a simple look at the protocols would have revealed.

  7. Ricki says:
    Thu, 25th Feb 20105:24 pm 

    Nobody has addressed the artistic element. Skating is judged on both technical merit and artistic impression (choreography and interpretation, if I'm not mistaken). Sorry folks, but artistic impression is not sport, it's art. Skating is no different than ballet, but would you call ballet a sport? Not in my book. I'm not questioning the athletic aspects — skaters (and dancers for that matter) that perform and compete at a professional level are clearly athletes — but the subjectivity of the artistic element removes it from being a sport, in this chick's opinion. Disclosure: 1 daughter a dancer/gymnast. One daughter a soccer player. Athletes? Yep.

  8. ex-skater says:
    Mon, 1st Mar 20102:36 pm 

    everything about Lysacek’s program was harder, he spaced his jumps out through the program, Plushenko threw all of his jumps at the beginning of his program, it takes much more skill to be able to hold the momentum to land jumps all the way through your program rather than getting them out of the way as Plushenko did, also every element is awarded a certain amount of points, and a skater can get “bonus points” for clean landings and such, a quad is barely worth more than a triple, and Plushenko was bobbling his landings while Lysacek landed clean and steady. Lysaceks’s artistic footwork was also far more intricate and earned more points.
    maybe as a former figure skater I am biased to the judging system, but it is not a jump competition, the skaters don’t get a minute to throw their hardest jumps, they get over four minutes to complete a artistic program.

  9. LoveUSA says:
    Mon, 8th Mar 20102:47 am 

    US citiszens,how you can't see the difference between the sportsman of genius like Plushenko and another mediocre skater (what's his name again?…) boring and safe? ( I only agree his oily hair was so-o-o artistic.) After reading all of comments here I realy start to believe that the famous american obesity have already affected your american brains. Definitly, stop to eat hamburgers and drink soda! The consequences already irretrievable.

  10. Flycat says:
    Mon, 8th Mar 20103:22 am 

    There is no reason to discuss it again & again, it too simple: if Lysacek is technicaly the best skater there is no question HE MUST BE ABLE TO PERFORM a QUAD. HE CAN NOT. HE NEVER COUlD (If we resume Evan's explanation:" It is too dangerous for me to do it.) All others skaters on the podium or near the podium (Dambiel n°4)attempted the quad,it is so curious that the best one, the olympic champion DID NOT. Conclusion is simple & plain: Lysacek IS NOT THE BEST skater, HE DID't DESERVE THAT GOLG and SHAME TO JUDGES!

  11. Georgia Miller says:
    Mon, 19th Jul 201012:36 am 

    i love to see women that is doing some figure skating , they are really beautiful and gracefull.:,*

  12. :P to the evil perso says:
    Sun, 29th Aug 201011:18 am 

    I am girl and yes, perhaps figure skating is a more shall we say graceful sport but that doesn't mean all male figure skaters are gay for gods sake. Do you really think that a male figure skater who is surrounded by strong, beautiful, athletic women all the time is more gay than perhaps… a male hockey skater who changes in a dressing room in front a load of stinking dudes then goes out onto the ice and they all slap each other butts when they score?

  13. This article is ridi says:
    Wed, 27th Oct 20106:20 am 

    Ok. You said that Lysacek didn't perform as difficult maneuvers as Plushenko – That is true. HOWEVER, he loaded his program with difficult elements such as triple-triples and triple axels AFTER the half-way mark of his program, giving him extra points. Plushenko front-loaded his program, Lysacek back-loaded it. The amount of strength and endurance required to do a triple axel so late in the program is greater than or equal to the amount of energy to do a quad right at the start.

    And about athleticism? Are you kidding me? Figure skating is one of the most intensive-traning sports there are. You need to have strong legs. strong arms. strong abs. you need to be flexible. AND, while doing all of this you need to look beautiful. Have you ever seen cross country runners? When they're running a 5K they don't look beautiful. Their faces are contorted with the effort and they're panting. I've run cross country before – in fact, I was on my school's JV cross country team. Running 5 miles can not even COMPARE to training for skating. I can say from first-hand experience that running a few miles is so much easier than skating a few hours. Figure skaters must be just as athletic as cross country runners – but they also have to add beauty. That's something unique to figure skating and gymnastics.

    FIgure skating is also so much harder to learn. Before freshman year, the most I had ever run was exactly 1 mile for gym class and skating training. But after I decided to join my school's cross country team, I was running 5 miles, no problem after a mere week of training. If you think skating is easy, go take lessons for one week and tell me what you can do. Marching across the ice? Bunny hops? I doubt you'll even get that far. So before you start talking about how skating "isn't" a sport, go try it. i dare you.

  14. iceman says:
    Thu, 17th Mar 201112:20 am 

    think about it, if your daughter is in gymnastics, it is an olympic sport and i am sure it is judge on artistry and techincal execution as well… try putting on a pari of skates and jump, if you land after 3 rotations then maybe just maybe you can say that it is not a sport… by then you would have broken bones, torn ligaments, snap tendons or maybe even paralazye so dont tell us figure skating is not a sport… you are so oblivious to the training and hard work any of these skaters go through and the sacrifices…

  15. iceman says:
    Thu, 17th Mar 201112:25 am 

    the arrogance caused him to lose the gold!!! it is about skating smart not just jumping… plus plusenko had no transitions, his jumps were so shakey!!! WHat you on about… he didnt deserve it, his time has passed move on get over yourself… the judges were doing the right thing, can't believe anyone would say he deserved the gold, he was so arrogant to even step on the the first place and step down, yes right step down plushenkoko you dont deserve it…!!!

  16. Rebecca says:
    Thu, 2nd Feb 20125:48 pm 

    well duh figure skating is a sport. what else could it be? it's is actually one of the hardest sports and the world and people who say it's not a sport or it's easy tick me off because here's the top ten hardest sports.
    1. gymnastics
    2. swimming
    3. water polo
    4. dirt biking
    5. horse back riding
    6. figure skating
    7. competition cheerleading
    8. golf :/
    9. pole vaulting
    10. bull riding
    take that stupid soccer players who think your so athletic when you're not!

  17. Manna Kin says:
    Sat, 24th Mar 201210:38 pm 

    Figure skating is not a sport. It is a competitive physical activity.

  18. Breanna Shearin says:
    Sat, 19th May 20125:04 pm 

    Here's the exact definition from dictionary.com: An activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others.
    Figure skating requires physical exertion and skill.
    An individual/pair/team compete(s) against each other- Olympics, competitions
    IT'S A SPORT

  19. Virginia says:
    Thu, 26th Jul 201212:02 am 

    Anyone who questions if it is a sport doesn't understand that it isn't easy just because they make it look easy. Its just like dance, which is an art but also a sport in my mind, the goal is to make it look graceful and easy, the reality is it takes a lot more work.

  20. Scott Freeman says:
    Wed, 20th Mar 20139:53 pm 

    Obviously, figure skating is a sport – albeit a relatively more graceful one. A sport doesn't have to be highly physical to be considered as such.

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