ISU Comm

2020-21 Well Balanced Program Requirements

Typically at this time of year, the ISU publishes a new Communication containing Well Balanced Program Requirements for the upcoming season. According to the recently published Decisions of Council in Communication 2312:

Synchronized Skating: The requirements for the Well Balanced Short and Free Programs for all categories will not be changed.

In other words, the required and optional Elements in Short and Free Programs will be the same as last season. The Communication goes on to say that some changes have been proposed for the Scale of Values, Levels, and GOE for all disciplines. These will be communicated at a later date.

Communication 2312 also discusses:

  • The postponement of the 2020 ISU Congress to Spring 2021
  • Dates and locations for synchro Challenger Series events

2019-20 GOE and PCS Guidelines

When I posted about the new technical requirements communication earlier, I missed seeing that the 2019-20 GOE and PCS Guidelines have also been published. This communication replaces 2190 from last season.

As with the technical requirements, I’ll post a summary in the next few weeks. The most important changes to note for now are:

  • Three (3) Key Aspects instead of five (5).
  • New criteria for achieving +4 or +5.

 

New GOE scale video: What the judges will be looking for

The ISU has released a webinar that provides a great overview of how the new GOE scale will be applied. Previously, judges awarded a GOE from -3 to +3 for each element a team executed. Starting this season, judges will award GOEs from -5 to +5 in all disciplines.

An official communication containing more details is expected to be published soon. In the meantime, check out this 27-minute video.