Harbin, China, August 15, 2025: Twizzles, choctaws, loops might sound like exotic sweets, but these different turns and steps in figure skating were all part of the seemingly arcane jargon used by ISU referee Huang Feng as he explained how an international referee would judge figure skaters in competition.
Young athletes and coaches at the OCA-ISU-CAIC Asian Figure Skating Youth Camp were given a run-through of the ‘Judging Rules’ by Huang on what was needed to impress the judges.
“You have to be conversant with the rules of figure skating if you want to score high with the judges,” explained Huang during a one-hour session which was keenly followed, especially by the coaches attending the nine-day camp.
With just three days to go before its conclusion, Huang will be one of the most-wanted instructors with his wide knowledge of the rules of the sport much sought after.
Areas covered on Friday, August 15, ranged from age requirements to programme requirements for athletes from novices and juniors to senior level.
Huang touched on the elements needed in each choreographed sequence – the number of jumps, spins and loops, change of foot and what was needed for each programme combination.
“The most important thing to remember is that referees are serious about calling falls. A fall in your routine will cost you one point,” Huang pointed out.
In the ISU rule book, a fall is defined as “loss of control by a skater with the result that the majority of his/her own body weight is on the ice supported by any other part of the body other than the blades, egs: hands, knees, back, buttocks, or any other part of the arm”.
Every word was lapped up by the coaches. For the students, especially the younger ones, things might have been a tad too technical. Yet, if they need to become a fully-fledged figure skater, they know they will have to know the rules.
