Skating is an extremely complex sport which involves a variety of vastly different skills. That is what makes it so interesting, and also what makes it so difficult to devise the "perfect" scoring system. It may well be there is no perfect scoring system. Thus, all possible methods of evaluating skating are going to involve compromises, and all methods will have strengths and weaknesses. In deciding whether to adopt a scoring system one has to set priorities and decide if the strengths of the system outweigh its weaknesses.
There is no question that the CoP system has some valuable concepts, but it also has many weaknesses, some extremely subtle and complex. There are enough weaknesses in CoP that the system should not be adopted in its current form. The Modern Era 6.0 System recently put forward by the Australian federation incorporates all of the strengths of CoP but with none of its weaknesses, and most importantly none of its major weaknesses. At this point the Modern Era 6.0 System is the superior system.
At the time of writing this, five months remain until CoP will be voted upon at the ISU congress. It remain to be seen if ISU management will show the wisdom, and more importantly the courage, to admit and correct the problems in CoP. Until it does, CoP should not be adopted at the ISU Congress, and the Modern Era 6.0 system should be embraced.
Copyright 2004 by George S. Rossano