The skating system is a method of compiling scores in ballroom dance competitions.
It is used for the final placings of competitors and is based upon a method that prioritises 'majority' and 'overall performance' as given by judges scores to solve problems that arise in what can be a subjective determination of quality of art as sport.
[3] The skating system consists of 11 rules, 10 of which determine the scoring of the final round.
The score of a couple is the number of all "pass" marks over all judges and dances.
However, in the cases of ties the chairman decides the number of dancers for the next round.
For example, Competitors A and B receive the following ratings: After considering the arithmetic mean, B would be placed first and A second.
While the winner via the Skating System may not be immediately obvious to the untrained-eye and requires a set of calculations, avoidance of the latter case of outliers in judging (and the ability to break ties) shows the systems strength.
The competitor depends upon the type of tournament which could be a couple, a formation or a single person.
The final result is calculated from a tabulation of each judges ranking for each competitor.
The 'calculation' part of the table is only filled in as far as the placement requires (in order not to create unnecessary confusion), with the remaining fields commonly left blank or marked with a "-".
Since this corresponds to the majority with five judges, they receive first place (in the fields 1-2 ( 2 and better ) and 1-3 ( 3 and better ) a "-" is entered).
If no decision had yet been made with the total, the lower scores would also have to be taken into account for these two Competitor .
In this case however, the result may be determined by a final dance-off involving the tied Competitors only.
With only two Competitors on the floor the judges will have longer to assess the performance of each and determine the final placing.
In a previous example it was pointed out that only Competitors for whom a majority has been found have to be evaluated to the end.
The rule requires that they (who have a majority in the 1-2 column) must first be rated at the end.
Then it continues with the column 1-3: Competitor 14 clearly has the majority and - although he has received all three - only gets the next free, i.e. fourth place.