The new, more complex figure skating scoring system implemented by the International Skating Union has not appeared to eliminate a judge’s bias toward skaters from their own country. An analysis of the scoring from the 2026 Winter Olympics found that there was a statistically significant skew for judges’ own countrymen. Of the 15 teams competing in the Free Dance, for instance, all but one got an above-average score from their country compared to the other eight judges. In the short programs, of 36 judges overall, 30 of them scored their nation’s skaters more favorably; a skater could expect a score 1.93 points higher on average from a judge from their own country compared to another. In the long program, that came out to an extra 3.34 points.
Lev Akabas, Sportico
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