Demise and revival of compulsory figures
The elimination of figures resulted in the increase of focus on the free skating segment and in the domination of younger girls in the sport.
They are the "circular patterns which skaters trace on the ice to demonstrate skill in placing clean turns evenly on round circles".
[4] These figures continued to dominate the sport, although they steadily declined in importance, until the International Skating Union (ISU) voted to discontinue them as a part of competitions in 1990.
[11] Schuba won several medals in the late 1960s and early 1970s based upon the strength of her figures, despite her lower results in free skating.
[12] Sports writer Sandra Loosemore agreed, stating that television was "the driving force"[10] for the rule changes regarding figures in 1968 and the years following.
Kestnbaum agreed, stating that the elimination of figures was motivated by finances, countries with an affluent middle class or government-supported training for athletes having more of a competitive advantage over less affluent and smaller countries with fewer ice rinks and resources to spend the time necessary to train for proficiency in figures.
[13] In 1988, the ISU voted to remove compulsory figures from international single skating competitions, for both men and women, starting in the 1990–1991 season.
[10][13] Željka Čižmešija from Yugoslavia skated the last compulsory figure in international competition, at the World Championships in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on 7 March 1990.
[10] Sports writer Randy Harvey of the Los Angeles Times predicted that the free skate would become the focus in international competitions.
[16] Louise Radnofsky of the Wall Street Journal, who considered the removal of figures "obvious", also called the movement to revive them "surprising".
[2] Brian Boitano, who competed at the 1988 Olympics, the last to include figures, called them "the ultimate competitive exercise"[2] and expressed doubt that they would be televised again, but admitted that if they were, it would be for a niche audience, like for curling.
[17] In 2015, the first World Figure Championships occurred in Lake Placid, New York, with 14 women and five men competing.
[2] Christie Sausa of the Lake Placid News reported that the 2015 Championships were organized into two rounds, each occurring a day apart.
Assistant referees were the only ones who observed skaters as they completed their figures and tracings for errors such as falls or foot touch downs.
[6] The audience was required to remain silent; as Sausa stated, "the repetition of the moves coupled with the peaceful environment made the figures relaxing to watch, yet somehow thrilling at the same time".
[18] Also in 2015, the World Figure Sport Society (WFSS), the organizing committee for the sport, and WFSS' Skating Hall of Fame was formed; Dick Button attended the Hall of Fame induction ceremony and also commentated for the competition's live stream.
[17][22] Kelly, who compared to revitalizing figures to preserving a language because the "knowledge was literally going extinct",[22] also commentated live-streamed broadcasts of the competitions.
[21] Zarisky joked later on that figures was "the safest sport in terms of social distancing because we are separated by our quadrants".
