Figure skating has always been a real chore to judge. It's akin to competing in ballet, where each competitor must literally create a new four to five minute dance routine that must include certain classical positions. Add to this the artistry, then complicate it further by including a partner in the act.

Any judge that feels 'pressure' from his/her position at the table should be excused from the ranks. This is not a place to second-guess fellow judges. The event under review is the event that is currently on the ice. No work should ever go 'home' with the judge, and no baggage should ever come in with the judge.

But that's the perfect world of competitive pairs skating that will be a long time in coming.

As for speed-skating, that should be open and shut. The first to the finish line wins. The trouble is that it’s all conducted on a small oval track. Incredibly small, considering the speed of the skaters. Collisions must be expected on such a course. A larger track, possibly even in a continuous straight track, might be the work-around here.

I recall back in the 70s, when I was skating pretty regularly, my mother inventing an interesting maneuver on the ice. She called it the sitzmark. And now it would appear you've come up with a triple axis.

Cheers,
Dan