Fan's Guide to Skate Canada Figure Skating Scoring Junior and Senior 2026-27

• Technical panel: one technical controller and two technical specialists working as a team. They identify each element and its level of difficulty, which sets the Base Value, and they identify falls and illegal elements. The technical panel applies the fall and illegal element deductions.
• Judges: each judge gives a GOE for every element and marks the three program components.
• Referee: an experienced judge who monitors the judging panel and applies time, costume and interruption deductions. A majority of the judges plus the referee apply costume and prop violation deductions.
• Review: if a panel member is unsure about an element, they call a review, the video is replayed (no more than twice), and the technical controller breaks a tie if the two technical specialists split.
• The referee and the technical controller must authorize the release of results and any later revisions.

Sources: Skate Canada, https://info.skatecanada.ca/index.php/en-ca/rules-of-sport/52-marking-of-skate-canada-competitions.html; ISU Technical Panel Handbook, Single Skating 2026-2027, https://isu-d8g8b4b7ece7aphs.a03.azurefd.net/isudamcontainer/CMS/Corporate-Site/Sports-Rules/Figure-Skating-Rules/Handbooks-Single-&-Pair-Skating/TP-HandbookSingles-26-27-15-July-2026-1784641784-3364.pdf

• The GOE is the mark a judge gives to rate the quality of an element. There are 11 GOEs, from +5 to -5. A GOE of 0 means the element scores its normal Base Value.
• Judges first count the positive features of the element to set a starting GOE: 1 feature for +1, 2 for +2, 3 for +3, 4 for +4 and 5 or more for +5. Then they reduce it for errors, and the result is the final GOE. If there is any mistake that requires a reduction, the starting GOE cannot be higher than +4. A fall is -5.
• The panel GOE is the trimmed mean of the judges' GOEs: the highest and lowest are deleted and the rest averaged (with fewer than five scores, all are used), rounded to two decimals.
• The element's score is its Base Value plus the panel GOE.

Sources: Skate Canada, https://info.skatecanada.ca/index.php/en-ca/rules-of-sport/52-marking-of-skate-canada-competitions.html; ISU Communication 2788 (Season 2026/27), https://isa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/2788-SP-Levels-and-GOE-2026-Updated-MAY-19-1779351385-9626.pdf (national federation copy of the ISU communication)

Skate Canada lists the jumps in order of difficulty: Toe Loop, Salchow, Loop, Flip, Lutz, Axel. Each is valued in the Scale of Values by its number of revolutions.

• Toe Loop: toe jump, natural rotation, taken off from a backward outside edge.
• Salchow: edge jump, natural rotation, taken off from a backward inside edge.
• Loop: edge jump, natural rotation, taken off from a backward outside edge.
• Flip: toe jump, natural rotation, taken off from a backward inside edge.
• Lutz: toe jump with counter rotation, taken off from a backward outside edge.
• Axel: edge jump, natural rotation, taken off from a forward outside edge. A single Axel has one and a half rotations, unlike other single jumps, which have one.

Jump elements are an individual jump, a jump combination or a jump sequence:

• Jump combination: two or more jumps where the landing foot of the first jump is the take-off foot of the next, with no change of foot or turn between them. One full revolution on the ice between the jumps keeps it a combination.
• Jump sequence: two or three jumps of any number of revolutions in which the second and/or third is an Axel-type jump, with a direct step from the landing curve of the previous jump to the take-off curve of the Axel jump.

Source: Skate Canada, Scoring of Skate Canada Competitions (glossary), https://info.skatecanada.ca/index.php/en-ca/rules-of-sport/52-marking-of-skate-canada-competitions.html

These signs are added by the technical panel to mark take-off or rotation errors (ISU Communication 2788, season 2026/27):

• q: missing rotation, landed on the quarter. The jump keeps its full original Base Value, and the judges' chart reduces the GOE by 2.
• < (under-rotated): the jump is worth the lower Base Value listed for under-rotated jumps in the Scale of Values. Judges reduce the GOE by 2 to 3.
• << (downgraded): the jump is valued as the same jump with one revolution less. Judges reduce the GOE by 3 to 4.
• e (wrong take-off edge on a Flip or Lutz): the jump is worth the lower Base Value listed for "e" jumps in the Scale of Values. Judges reduce the GOE by 2 to 4.
• ! (unclear take-off edge on a Flip or Lutz): the jump keeps its full original Base Value.
• *: a wrong element or one that does not meet requirements receives an asterisk and has no value.
• +REP: a repeated jump gets 80% of its value automatically, with no GOE reduction for that alone.

The Flip is taken off from a backward inside edge and the Lutz from a backward outside edge.

Sources: ISU Communication 2788 (Season 2026/27), https://isa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/2788-SP-Levels-and-GOE-2026-Updated-MAY-19-1779351385-9626.pdf (national federation copy of the ISU communication); ISU Handbook for Referees and Judges 2026-27, https://isu-d8g8b4b7ece7aphs.a03.azurefd.net/isudamcontainer/CMS/Corporate-Site/Sports-Rules/Figure-Skating-Rules/Handbooks-Single-&-Pair-Skating/Handbook-for-Referees-and-Judges-2026-27-1779278300-9402.pdf

Spins, step sequences and similar elements are given a level of difficulty. There are five levels, from Base to Level 4. A higher level raises the element's Base Value.

• Features: a level comes from the number of features attempted. In Single Skating, Level 1 needs 1 feature, Level 2 needs 2, Level 3 needs 3 and Level 4 needs 4. The technical panel identifies the features and the level.
• Step sequence features in the 2026/27 list include: variety of difficult turns and steps (minimum variety at Level 1, simple variety at Level 2, variety at Level 3, complexity at Level 4), rotations in both directions, use of body movements for at least one third of the pattern, and two combinations of 3 difficult turns on different feet. A step sequence needs at least 2 difficult turns and steps on clean edges to reach Level Basic. If the variety requirement is not met, the level cannot be higher than Basic.
• Spin features include difficult variations, change of foot by jump, a jump within a spin, difficult entrances and exits, a clear change of edge, both directions in a spin, a clear increase of speed, at least 8 revolutions without a change of position, foot or edge, and windmills (3 in a row). In any spin, only two difficult variations count toward level features.
• What is a spin: in singles and pairs a spin needs at least three revolutions, and the minimum number of revolutions in a position is two without interruption. A spin with no basic position of 2 revolutions receives no level.
• A step sequence is not required to follow a particular pattern; the small-pattern reduction was deleted from the step sequence guideline for 2026/27, so judges evaluate the quality of the element.

Sources: ISU Communication 2788 (Season 2026/27), https://isa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/2788-SP-Levels-and-GOE-2026-Updated-MAY-19-1779351385-9626.pdf (national federation copy of the ISU communication); Skate Canada, https://info.skatecanada.ca/index.php/en-ca/rules-of-sport/52-marking-of-skate-canada-competitions.html; ISU Technical Panel Handbook, Single Skating 2026-2027; ISU Handbook for Referees and Judges 2026-27

There are three program components, each marked by every judge from 0.25 to 10.0 in 0.25 steps:

• Composition: the intentional, developed and/or original arrangement of all types of movements into a meaningful whole, using proportion, unity, space, pattern and musical structure.
• Presentation: the demonstration of engagement, commitment and involvement based on an understanding of the music and composition.
• Skating Skills: the ability to execute the skating repertoire of steps, turns and skating movements with blade and body control (including variety and clarity of edges, balance and glide, flow, and power and speed). In pairs, unison is part of Skating Skills.

Mark bands (ISU Communication 2788): 10 Outstanding, 9.75 Excellent, 9.00-9.50 or 8.00-8.75 Very good, 7.00-7.75 Good, 6.00-6.75 Above average, 5.00-5.75 Average, 4.00-4.75 Below average, 3.00-3.75 Weak, 2.00-2.75 Poor, 1.00-1.75 Very poor, 0.25-0.75 Extremely poor.

Serious errors: falls and mistakes that break the delivery of the program. With one serious error, each component is capped at 9.50. With two or more, the cap is 8.75. A fall by both partners in pairs counts as two errors.

Sources: ISU Communication 2788 (Season 2026/27), https://isa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/2788-SP-Levels-and-GOE-2026-Updated-MAY-19-1779351385-9626.pdf (national federation copy of the ISU communication); Skate Canada, https://info.skatecanada.ca/index.php/en-ca/rules-of-sport/52-marking-of-skate-canada-competitions.html

In Junior and Senior singles, the Base Value (but not the GOE) of certain jump elements in the second half of the program is multiplied by 1.1 to give credit for an even distribution of difficulty in the program:

• Short program: the last jump element performed in the second half.
• Free skating: the last three jump elements performed in the second half.

Each factored Base Value is rounded to two decimal places. The second half starts in the middle of the required time, without counting the plus or minus 10 seconds allowance. If a program is interrupted for up to three minutes, the 1.1 factor applies only to jump elements started in the second half but before the interruption.

Source: Skate Canada, Scoring of Skate Canada Competitions, https://info.skatecanada.ca/index.php/en-ca/rules-of-sport/52-marking-of-skate-canada-competitions.html

What counts as a fall: a loss of control by a skater with the result that the majority of their body weight is on the ice, supported by any part of the body other than the blades, for example the hands, knees, back, buttocks or any part of the arm.

What it costs:

• GOE: a fall on an element means a GOE of -5 from the judges.
• Deduction at Junior level (singles) and for Junior and Senior pairs: 1.00 per fall. In pairs, falls are counted per skater, and the ISU handbook treats a fall by both partners as two errors.
• Deduction in Senior singles: 1.00 for each of the 1st and 2nd falls, 2.00 for each of the 3rd and 4th, and 3.00 for each fall from the fifth.
• The technical panel applies the fall deduction and calls it with the element ("3F, Fall") or as "Fall outside" an element.
• A fall during a step sequence that includes a jump of more than one and a half revolutions is called on both elements, and each gets a -5 GOE reduction, but the deduction is 1.0 in total for one fall.
• Program components: falls count as serious errors, which cap each component at 9.50 (one serious error) or 8.75 (two or more).

Sources: Skate Canada, https://info.skatecanada.ca/index.php/en-ca/rules-of-sport/52-marking-of-skate-canada-competitions.html; ISU Technical Panel Handbook, Single Skating 2026-2027, https://isu-d8g8b4b7ece7aphs.a03.azurefd.net/isudamcontainer/CMS/Corporate-Site/Sports-Rules/Figure-Skating-Rules/Handbooks-Single-&-Pair-Skating/TP-HandbookSingles-26-27-15-July-2026-1784641784-3364.pdf; ISU Handbook for Referees and Judges 2026-27, https://isu-d8g8b4b7ece7aphs.a03.azurefd.net/isudamcontainer/CMS/Corporate-Site/Sports-Rules/Figure-Skating-Rules/Handbooks-Single-&-Pair-Skating/Handbook-for-Referees-and-Judges-2026-27-1779278300-9402.pdf; ISU Communication 2788

Yes. Skate Canada's rules set these deductions at Junior and Senior level:

• Program time violation: 1.00 for every five seconds the program is short or over time, applied by the referee.
• Part of the costume or decoration falls on the ice: 1.00 per program, applied by the referee.
• Costume or prop violation: 1.00, applied by a majority of the judges plus the referee.
• Illegal element: 2.00 per violation, applied by the technical panel.
• Interruption of up to 40 seconds: 1.00 for 11-20 seconds, 2.00 for 21-30 seconds, 3.00 for 31-40 seconds, applied by the referee.
• Three-minute interruption allowance: 5.00.
• Late start: 1.00 for 1-30 seconds late. A skater 31 or more seconds late is withdrawn.

If a program is interrupted for a reason not related to the skater, such as music problems, lights or a fire alarm, the ISU referee handbook says this should not affect the Program Components score.

Sources: Skate Canada, https://info.skatecanada.ca/index.php/en-ca/rules-of-sport/52-marking-of-skate-canada-competitions.html; ISU Handbook for Referees and Judges 2026-27, https://isu-d8g8b4b7ece7aphs.a03.azurefd.net/isudamcontainer/CMS/Corporate-Site/Sports-Rules/Figure-Skating-Rules/Handbooks-Single-&-Pair-Skating/Handbook-for-Referees-and-Judges-2026-27-1779278300-9402.pdf