Image courtesy © 2005 Torino 2006/LaPresse.

Bronze, silver and gold medals can be won based on the input of just one judge. Judged events do depend on a panel of judges. But one judge's perception of the execution of a particular movement or program could be the swaying difference. Because of this, scoring has been a long-standing point of contention across several Olympic sports.

Events held during the 2002 Winter Olympics were no exception. In fact, an ice skating judging scandal in Salt Lake inspired change. A new scoring system was already in development. The Salt Lake incident pushed up the completion of the new system.

In the 2002 Winter Olympics, scoring worked on a 6.0 grading scale. Each competitor or competitive team would start with a 6.0 and a single panel of judges would deduct points for mistakes and/or other problems in execution. The 6.0 grading scale is now gone. It's been replaced by a much more intricate system. So intricate in fact, that people surrounding the sport - even some skaters -- find it somewhat difficult to understand. So we'll try to sum up. The system relies on close inspection of each technical element performed during a routine and a lot of math. But perhaps one of the most crucial changes to the fairness of the judging comes in the form of extra eyes.

The new system utilizes two panels - a judging panel like before and a new technical panel. The technical panel is comprised of five members: the technical specialist (also known as the "caller"), assistant technical specialist, technical controller, data operator and video replay operator. Together, it is their job to spot each technical element of a program. Some might say the technical specialist or caller has the most important job. He or she is the person who is actually "calling" - pointing out to the judges -all the elements.

Judges must evaluate each technical element the caller has identified. Scores revolve around something known as a "base value." Each technical element that a skater or skating pair could possibly perform has been assigned a base value. For example, a "salchow" has a base value of 0.4 while a "quadruple salchow" has a base value of 8.5. The base values are found in the Scale of Values (SOV) - a listing created by a group of skating experts. Every judge assigns a grade of execution (GOE) to each technical element within a range of plus three points to minus three points. That means the judges have seven grades of execution from which to choose. These seven grades are also listed in the SOV. Using the salchow and quadruple salchow examples again, here's what you'll find in the SOV going from lowest to highest: Salchow -- The base value is 0.4, and the possible GOEs are: -0.3, -0.2, -0.1 --0-- 0.3, 0.6, 1 Quadruple salchow - The base value is 8.5, and the possible GOEs are: -3,-2,-1 -0 - 1, 2, 3

Image courtesy © 2005 Torino 2006/LaPresse.

Here's where it starts to get a little tricky and fairly complicated. To decide the overall panel's GOE, the trimmed mean of all the assigned GOEs is calculated. The trimmed mean can be found when an equal number of the highest and lowest grades are deleted from the group and the average of the remaining grades is calculated. For example, let's say there's a panel of nine judges and the assigned GOEs for a quadruple salchow are as follows: -2, -1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, -1, 2. The two highest (2, 2) and the two lowest (-2, -1) grades are removed from the grouping. The average of the remaining numbers is calculated (1+1+1+2-1=5; 5÷5=1). The panel's score for each element is then calculated by adding the trimmed mean (1) to the technical element's base value (8.5) for a total (9.5). The panel's scores for all the elements are added together to create a total element score (TES). The scoring doesn't end here. Next come the program component scores (PCS).

The PCS is based on a scale of zero to 10 and rates the "overall presentation and technical mastery of figure skating." These five components are scored: skating skills, transitions, performance/execution, choreography/composition and interpretation. Ice dancing is graded on one additional component - timing.

Ultimately, the overall TES is combined with the five program component scores. Any deductions are applied and the resulting figure represents a segment score. Possible deductions include time violations, music violations, illegal element violations, and costume and prop violations. All of the segment scores are then combined to get the total competition score. The three highest scoring skaters (or skating pairs) will take home medals.

Skating competitions aren't the only events that are dependent on judging. Snowboarding, ski jumping and freestyle skiing winners are also determined through a scoring system. Snowboarding, the youngest of the three sports, is a combination of surfing and skiing. The two snowboarding events are halfpipe competition and a giant slalom race. The slalom race is won through speed and agility. The halfpipe competition is different. It's all about the moves. Judges score competitors based on creativity, style and above all - execution. Flat landings, hand drags (the use of hands to stabilize position), falls and full stops are penalized. A judge can deduct up to 20 percent of the points established during the run for these sorts of mistakes.

Image courtesy © 2005 Torino 2006/LaPresse.

Ski jumping is just what it sounds like - but even more impressive than you can imagine. Some athletes have been known to soar over 300 feet. That's more than the length of three basketball courts combined! Points are awarded based on distance and style (technical skill) while in the air and during landing. The distance points are determined by the actual distance achieved during the jump in relation to the "K Point." The K Point is an ideal landing point that is a set distance from the ramp. For example, in a 90m jumping event, the K Point is located 90 meters from the ramp. Once the jumper lands, the distance of the actual jump is measured. If the landing point is too soon before the K Point, then points are deducted. If it's a perfect landing, the jumper is awarded 60 points. If the jumper lands beyond the K Point, additional points are given. Style points work a bit like the old skating scores. A perfect jump will earn 20 points from each of the judges. Judges will deduct points for poor arm position and skis crossing over each other in mid-air among a few other things. For example, suppose the jumper's arms flailed for a fraction of a second during flight. And then on landing, the body positioning wasn't exactly right. A judge might then give 18.5 points for style. If there are five judges, the top score and the bottom score are discarded and the other three scores are combined. This final score and the distance points are combined to get the overall score.

Freestyle skiing is an amazing sport that combines elements of downhill racing and snowboarding in two separate competitions - moguls and aerials. For moguls, competitors race down a steep slope that is dotted with bumps. Along the way, each skier performs a variety of acrobatic maneuvers and jumps. The judges consider speed, execution of turns, the creativity of the program, and the skier's ability to handle the bumps with grace. Fifty percent of the score goes to technical skill, the aerial maneuvers account for 25 percent and the speed (the run is timed from start to finish) accounts for the remaining 25 percent of the score.

During aerials, competitors ski down a hill and take off from a raised platform. Once airborne, the skier must perform a series of twists and flips before he or she lands. Scores are based on creativity and level of difficulty of the program, and technique and form in execution of the maneuvers and the landing.