Breaking Down the Elements: Program Components Singles and Pairs

Program Components
The judges award Program Component marks on a scale from 0.25 to 10 with increments of 0.25 to express the overall presentation and technical mastery of figure skating. The Program Component Score (PCS) is calculated and factored by specified percentages.

In ladies, men's and pairs skating, the following five components are scored in the short program and the free skate. 
 
Skating Skills
Definition: Overall skating quality: edge control and flow over the ice surface demonstrated by a command of the skating vocabulary (edges, steps, turns, etc.), the clarity of technique and use of effortless power to accelerate and vary speed.

Criteria:

• Balance, rhythmic knee action and precision of foot placement
• Flow and effortless glide
• Cleanness and sureness of deep edges, steps, turns
• Power/energy and acceleration
• Mastery of multi-directional skating
• Mastery of one-foot skating
• Equal mastery of technique by both partners shown in unison (pairs only)

Transitions/Linking Footwork & Movement
Definition: The varied and/or intricate footwork, positions, movements and holds that link all elements. In singles and pairs, this also includes the entrances and exits of technical elements.

Criteria:

• Variety
• Difficulty
• Intricacy
• Quality (including unison in pairs)
• Balance of workload between partners (pairs only)  

Performance/Execution
Definition: Performance is the involvement of the skater/couple physically, emotionally and intellectually as they translate the intent of the music and choreography. Execution is the quality of movement and precision in delivery. This includes harmony of movement in pairs.

Criteria:

• Physical, emotional and intellectual involvement
• Carriage 
• Style and individuality/personality
• Clarity of movement
• Variety and contrast
• Projection
• Unison and "oneness" (pairs only)
• Balance in performance (pairs only)
• Spatial awareness between partners - management of the distance between partners and management of changes of hold (pairs only)

Choreography/Composition
Definition: An intentional, developed and/or original arrangement of all types of movements according to the principles of proportion, unity, space, pattern, structure and phrasing.

Criteria:

• Purpose (idea, concept, vision)
• Proportion (equal weight of parts)
• Unity (purposeful threading)
• Utilization of personal and public space
• Pattern and ice coverage
• Phrasing and form (movements and parts structured to match the phrasing of the music)
• Originality of purpose, movement and design
• Shared responsibility in achieving purpose (pairs only)

Interpretation
Definition: The personal and creative translation of the music to movement on ice.

Criteria:

• Effortless movement in time to the music
• Expression of the music's style, character, rhythm
• Use of finesse* to reflect the nuances of the music
• Relationship between the partners reflecting the character of the music (pairs only)

*Finesse is the skater's/team's refined, artful manipulation of nuances. Nuances are the personal artistic ways of bringing variations to the intensity, tempo and dynamics of the music made by the composer and/or musicians.

Factoring the Program Components

Ladies, Men and Pairs
In the ladies, men and pairs events, the five program components used are factored equally, then added together. The factored sum of the program component marks is called the Program Components Score. The idea behind factoring is to make the program components score level with the technical score, hence granting equal importance to each. Since the perfect program components score is always 50, this number is factored to roughly equal what each discipline is capable of scoring in the technical score. For example, in the ladies short program, women today are capable of scoring around 40 in the technical score. So the program components are factored by 0.8, lowering the 50 down to a 40, leveling the importance of the technical score and the program components score. In the men's free skate, men today are capable of scoring around 100 in the technical score. So the program components are factored by 2.0, raising the 50 up to 100, and again leveling the technical score and the program component score.
 
The following chart illustrates how each discipline factors program components in the junior and senior divisions:

Discipline	Short Program	Free Skate
Ladies	0.8	1.6
Men	1.0	2.0
Pairs	0.8	1.6