Figure skating fans watching the highly anticipated silver medal-winning performance from Madison Chock and Evan Bates at the Winter Olympics may have noticed something in their performance: his hand touched the ice.
Was it an error? If so, was it penalized?
The answer can be confusing for those not accustomed to figure skating rules.
According to figure skating rules, if a skater puts their hand down to stop a fall while landing a jump, that would typically be considered a “negative grade of execution,” or GOE.
Grades of execution can range from 5 to -5 — and they played a pivotal role in Chock and Bates’ rhythm dance earlier in the ice dance competition. (See a breakdown on that here)
If the hand touching the ice saves a landing, the grade of execution usually drops to the negatives, depending on how bad the error is.
If the hand touches down during a complete fall, then it marks an automatic deduction of one point, plus a lower grade of execution usually around -4 or -5.
But there is an exception.
If the hand touching the ice is a planned part of the routine, it won’t see a deduction.
According to U.S. Figure Skating’s ice dance rules, touching the ice with hands is not permitted except for “Choreographic Sliding Movement” or a “Choreographic Character Step Sequence.”
In fact, if the move enhances the program it could even lead to a positive score.
In Bates’ case, the Michigan native’s hand drag was a part of the choreography and not a fall.
Watch the moment here:
Chock and Bates went on to score a season best 134.67 for their free skate performance, but it wasn’t quite enough to lift them to gold.
French ice dance team Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron won gold after their skate landed them a final score of 135.64.
See the full remaining figure skating schedule here.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
