How to Read a Figure Skating Scorecard

After every skater finishes their program at an ISU competition, officials publish a document called a protocol (also called a judges' details sheet or scoring sheet). It is the full, transparent record of every scoring decision made during that performance.

A protocol is a detailed table that breaks the final segment score down to its smallest components. Anyone can download protocols from the ISU results website within minutes of a performance and verify exactly how each judge scored each element.

Protocols exist for both the Short Program (or Rhythm Dance in ice dance) and the Free Skating (or Free Dance). The segment score shown on the protocol is added to the other segment's score to produce the skater's total score, which determines their final ranking.

Understanding protocols is the fastest way to move beyond "why did the commentator say that was controversial?" to understanding precisely what happened in the judging room.

At the 60th ISU Congress in June 2026, the ISU Figure Skating Technical Committee confirmed new program requirements for singles that take effect in the 2026-27 season. They change which elements appear on a Free Skating protocol — the Short Program and the worked example below are unaffected.

Fewer jumps in the Free Skate. Singles Free Skating now allows a maximum of six jump elements (down from seven), one of which must still be an Axel-type jump. On a protocol this means one fewer jump row in the TES panel of a free skate.

A choreographic spin replaces a leveled spin. The Free Skate now contains three spins: a combination spin, a flying spin, and a new choreographic spin (a minimum of three revolutions on one or two blades, with as many changes of foot as the skater chooses). Like the choreographic sequence, the choreographic spin is not assigned a level — it appears on the protocol without a level number (as ChSp1) and is judged on GOE only. This is why a 2026-27 free skate shows one graded, leveled spin fewer than before.

The Euler no longer counts as a jump element. A single Euler (1Eu, formerly the half-loop) can still be used once to connect two listed jumps inside a combination or sequence, but it no longer counts as one of the executed jump elements — on the protocol it acts purely as a connecting jump rather than a scored jump of its own. A jump type may still be repeated at most three times.

The Scale of Values now lists four choreographic elements in one block. ISU Communication No. 2786, in force 1 July 2026, replaces Communication 2707 and gives each of them a fixed base value. Three of the four are new to the 2026-27 season; the fourth, the choreographic sequence, has been on protocols for years and its value moved.

The trailing 1 is not a level. ChSp1, ChPSp1 and ChPLi1 follow the pattern ChSq1 has always used: the digit belongs to the element code, not to a Level of Difficulty. Choreographic elements are not levelled at all, so on those rows the technical panel calls the element and nothing else — the level column stays empty and the base value is identical for every skater in the field.

On these four rows the GOE column does not follow the 10% rule. For every other element the Scale of Values moves the score by 10% of the base value per GOE grade, which is why a 3A row (8.00) shifts by 0.80 a grade and a 3T row (4.20) by 0.42. The choreographic rows use a flat 0.50 per grade instead, so −5 is −2.50 and +5 is +2.50 whether the row is worth 3.50 or 4.50. A ChSp1 at 3.50 therefore ranges from 1.00 to 6.00 and a ChPLi1 at 4.50 from 2.00 to 7.00 — a wider band in points, a narrower one as a share of the element.

One arithmetic change outside the choreographic rows: the repeated solo jump. When a skater performs the same triple or quadruple twice as a solo jump in the Free Skating, the second one is flagged +REP and scored from a reduced base value. Through 2025-26 that reduction was to 70%; from 2026-27 it is 80%. A second solo 3Lz reads 4.72 on a 2026-27 protocol where it read 4.13 last season.

Quintuple jumps now have their own rows. Every quintuple except the Axel is listed at 14.00 (11.20 with <, 9.50 with <<); the quintuple Axel has no value. Quints are not permitted in the Short Program and, in the Free Skating, only as individual jumps — never inside a combination or a sequence. Step sequences moved too: a StSq4 is worth 4.10, up from 3.90.

The rest of the protocol is unchanged: the TES + PCS − Deductions structure, the −5 to +5 GOE scale, the trimmed-mean calculation, and the special symbols all work exactly as described below. For how GOE itself is applied to each element, see our guide to figure skating GOE.

Every ISU protocol is divided into three main scoring panels, plus a header with the skater's name, starting number, nation, and rank.

Panel 1 — Technical Element Score (TES) This is the top section of the protocol and contains one row for every technical element the skater performed. Elements are listed in the order they were executed during the program. The TES total is the sum of all individual element scores.

Panel 2 — Program Component Score (PCS) Directly below the TES panel, this section shows the three program components that measure the overall quality and presentation of the performance. Each component is scored by all nine judges on a scale of 0.25 to 10.00.

Panel 3 — Deductions A simple row near the bottom showing any point deductions applied to the segment, most commonly for falls, but also for time violations, costume violations, and illegal elements.

Final Segment Score Formula:

Segment Score = TES + PCS − Deductions

For example: TES 42.18 + PCS 31.75 − Deductions 1.00 = Segment Score 72.93

The TES panel is a table where each row represents one technical element. Reading left to right across a single row tells you everything about how that element was scored.

Column 1 — Element Number A sequential number (1, 2, 3...) showing the order in which the element was performed.

Column 2 — Element Abbreviation The ISU shorthand for the element. For example:

• 3Lz = Triple Lutz
• 3A = Triple Axel
• CCoSp4 = Change-Foot Combination Spin, Level 4
• StSq3 = Step Sequence, Level 3
• 2A+3T = Double Axel combined with Triple Toe Loop

Symbols or flags (like <, e, !, x) may appear after the abbreviation — see the Special Symbols section below.

Column 3 — Info Flag A cell that may contain a flag set by the Technical Panel (not the judges). The most common is < (under-rotation) or << (downgrade). An asterisk * means the element is invalid and scores zero.

Column 4 — Base Value The point value assigned to this element by the ISU Scale of Values before any quality adjustment. If a second-half bonus x applies, the base value shown is already multiplied by 1.1.

Columns 5–13 — Individual Judge GOE Nine columns, one per judge, each showing that judge's Grade of Execution from -5 to +5. This is where you can see how unanimously or controversially an element was judged.

Column 14 — Trimmed Mean GOE The highest and lowest of the nine judge GOE marks are dropped. The remaining seven are averaged to two decimal places. This is the GOE value used in the calculation.

Column 15 — Final Element Score The base value plus the trimmed mean GOE converted to points. Because GOE is proportional to base value, a +3 GOE on a quad Lutz (base value 11.50) is worth far more than a +3 on a double Axel (base value 3.30).

Reading a row in plain language: If you see 3Lz with base value 5.90, individual judge GOE marks of +2, +2, +3, +2, +3, +2, +3, +2, +3, and a final element score of 7.33, you know the triple Lutz was well-executed, unanimously positive, and earned 1.43 points above its base value.

Below the TES panel, the protocol shows the Program Component Score (PCS) section. Since the 2022-2023 season the ISU uses three components, reduced from the previous five.

The Three Components:

1. Skating Skills — The foundation of skating ability: edge quality, power generation, ice coverage, multi-directional skating, and flow between elements.

2. Composition — How the program is structured and uses the ice: spatial use, pattern design, purpose and intentionality of movement, and the relationship between music and choreography.

3. Presentation — The delivery of the performance: musicality, timing, performance quality, expressiveness, and the ability to draw the audience into the program.

How PCS Is Calculated: For each component, all nine judges give a score from 0.25 to 10.00 in increments of 0.25. The highest and lowest marks are trimmed, and the remaining seven are averaged. That average is then multiplied by a factor that varies by discipline and segment:

• Men: 1.67 in the Short Program, 3.33 in the Free Skating
• Women: 1.33 in the Short Program, 2.67 in the Free Skating
• Pairs: 1.33 in the Short Program, 2.67 in the Free Skating
• Ice Dance: 1.33 in the Rhythm Dance, 2.00 in the Free Dance

The ISU republishes these factors every season (2026-27: Communication No. 2786 for singles and pairs, No. 2803 for ice dance). They were rescaled when five components were cut to three, so a three-component PCS still lands in the range readers were used to.

The three multiplied component scores are summed to produce the total PCS.

Example: A Women's Free Skating program where the trimmed mean for each component is Skating Skills 8.50, Composition 8.25, Presentation 8.75. Each is factored and rounded on its own: 22.70 + 22.03 + 23.36 = 68.09 points.

In practice, PCS scores tend to be correlated — a judge who rates Skating Skills at 9.00 will rarely rate Presentation at 6.00 for the same skater. However, notable gaps between components can reveal specific strengths or weaknesses a skater is known for.

ISU protocols use a set of standardized symbols placed after element abbreviations or in the info flag column. These are set by the Technical Panel (not the judges) and affect base values before judge GOE is applied.

Deductions appear at the bottom of the protocol and are subtracted from the combined TES + PCS total. They are separate from GOE — a fall costs points in two ways simultaneously.

Falls Every fall costs a deduction from the segment score, on top of the negative GOE the judges already gave that element. How much depends on the discipline.

In senior singles the scale climbs: -1.0 for the first and second fall, -2.0 for the third and fourth, -3.0 for the fifth and any further falls. Junior singles pay a flat -1.0 per fall. In pairs and ice dance, a fall by one partner costs -1.0 and a fall by both partners costs -2.0.

Time Violations If a program runs over or under its allowed time limit, a deduction is applied. Short programs and free skating have specific time allowances defined by the ISU.

Interruptions If a program is interrupted for reasons within the skater's control (e.g., a costume malfunction caused by the skater), a deduction may apply.

Costume and Prop Violations If a costume accessory falls to the ice, a -1.0 deduction is applied. Props are not permitted in most events.

Illegal Elements An element that is not permitted in the program (for example, a somersault) receives zero base value (shown with *) and may incur an additional deduction.

Important distinction: When a skater falls, the judges apply a large negative GOE (typically -5, reducing the element score by 50% of base value) AND the fall triggers a separate deduction from the segment total. These are independent penalties from two different parts of the judging system.

ISU protocols are publicly available and typically uploaded within minutes of each skater's performance.

Primary sources:

• isuresults.com — The ISU's dedicated results website. Navigate to the event, select the competition and segment, and look for 'Judges Details' or 'Protocol' links next to each skater's result. This is the most reliable source for all ISU-sanctioned events.

• isu.org — The ISU's main website links to results pages for major championships including the Grand Prix Final, European Championships, Four Continents Championships, and World Championships.

• National federation websites — Federations such as US Figure Skating (usfigureskating.org) and Skate Canada post results for their own national and international events.

• Competition-specific sites — Major events often have their own dedicated results pages that aggregate ISU data.

Protocols are published as PDF files and as interactive HTML tables depending on the platform. The PDF version is the official document; the HTML version is easier to read on screen but contains the same data.