Michell Kwan, 24, wan the ninth single tiles of the U.S. Figure Stating Championships on Saturday, January 15. She saw the 6.0s flash across the scoreboard and acknowledged that she was a little wistful. Kwan has won nine U.S. titles and five world championships.
Mark Ziegler reports, for all her skating accomplishments, nine national and five world championships, Kwan has yet to skate under the new international judging system. Her debut figures to come in March at the World Championships in Moscow, where the new scoring format will be in place, and her relative success or failure may be a key factor in her decision on whether to skate at the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy.
The new system is similar to gymnastics, wherein an international panel compiles a "code of points" that assigns a specific value to each element. A triple Axel, for instance, is worth 7.5 points; the easier triple Lutz fetches 6.1. Judges rate how well a skater executes each maneuver in addition to "program components" such as choreography and musical interpretation, and a computer spits out a total score. (Source: Mark Zieler, Union-Tribune, Jan 17, 2005)