Skating System Calculator
Marks into places, places into a final order — and the rule that decided it
The Skating System does not add up scores, because adjudicators never give any. It works on majorities. A couple is placed at the lowest place where more than half the panel put them at that place or better — that is rule 5, and rules 6 to 8 handle what happens when two couples reach that majority together. Rules 9 to 11 then combine the five dances: lowest sum of places wins, and ties are broken by counting places and, if that fails, by going back to the marks themselves. This calculator runs both halves. Switch between one dance and the final summary, and every couple shows the rule that put it where it is.
Places per dance → final order (rules 9–11)
Enter the couple's place in each dance. The sum of places runs DOWNWARD — lower is better.
| Couple | Waltz | Tango | Viennese Waltz | Slow Foxtrot | Quickstep | Sum | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 1 | |||||
| 2 | 9 | 2 | |||||
| 3 | 16 | 3 | |||||
| 4 | 19 | 4 | |||||
| 5 | 26 | 5 | |||||
| 6 | 28 | 6 |
- 1. Couple 1 — R9 decided it: lowest sum of places
- 2. Couple 2 — R9 decided it: lowest sum of places
- 3. Couple 3 — R9 decided it: lowest sum of places
- 4. Couple 4 — R9 decided it: lowest sum of places
- 5. Couple 5 — R9 decided it: lowest sum of places
- 6. Couple 6 — R9 decided it: lowest sum of places
Learn more
How a place is actually decided
Start with one dance. Each adjudicator has placed every couple from first to last. Nobody has given a score, so there is nothing to average.
Rule 5 — majority. Walk the places from the top. For first place, count how many adjudicators put each couple first. The couple with a majority takes it. If nobody has a majority at first place, look at how many put each couple first or second, then first, second or third, and so on. The first couple to reach a majority takes the place being decided.
Rule 6 — the larger majority. Two couples can reach a majority in the same column. Then the one with more marks in that column goes ahead.
Rule 7 — the lower sum. Still level? Add up the marks — but only the marks that make up the majority, not every mark the couple received. This is the single most misread rule in the system, and a calculator that sums all marks will quietly disagree with the protocol.
Rule 8 — no majority. If no couple reaches a majority in a column at all, the column produces nothing and the count moves on. A place can therefore be decided several columns later than you would expect.
Rules 9 to 11 — the summary. Add each couple's places across the dances. Lowest total wins (rule 9). If two couples tie on the total, count how many places each has at or better than the position being decided (rule 10). If they are still level, the decision goes back to the marks (rule 11).
Reading the output
Every row shows the place and the rule that produced it. That label is the point of the exercise: rule 9 means a clean lowest total, rule 10 means the totals were level and counting separated them, rule 11 means it went all the way back to the marks. When a couple stays at a shared place, the system says so instead of inventing an order.
One invariant catches people out. A shared place is written as a fraction — two couples sharing second and third are both on 2½. That value is then read differently depending on the operation: it counts as third when you are counting places, and it enters as 2.5 when you are adding them. It is not a rounding convenience; the rules say it explicitly, and it is why a protocol can show halves in the sum column.
What this tool is and is not
It runs the same functions that place couples in a live JudgeMate competition, so the arithmetic here is the arithmetic there. The rule numbering follows the classic Skating System as published in federation worked examples, which is what scrutineers check protocols against.
What it is not: JudgeMate is not certified scrutineering software. Competitions sanctioned by WDSF have required certified software since January 2013, and we neither hold that certification nor claim it. This calculator, and the scoring engine behind it, are built for club, school, national and regional events — which is most of the sport. It also does not implement WDSF's Absolute Judging System; that is a different system with a different formula.