How Does Figure Skating Scoring Work?

Figure skating scoring works by adding two separate scores together: a Technical Element Score for the jumps, spins and steps, and a Program Components Score for the artistry and skating quality, then subtracting any deductions. This system, run by the International Skating Union (ISU), replaced the old 6.0 scale and is designed to measure both what a skater does and how well they do it.

If the numbers flashing up after a routine have ever looked like a mystery, they are actually built from a clear, repeatable formula. Here is how each part of the score is calculated and how they combine into a final result.

The two halves of a score

Every segment score is made of two components added together, then reduced by deductions:

• Technical Element Score (TES): points for each jump, spin, lift and step sequence performed.
• Program Components Score (PCS): points for the overall quality of the skating and presentation.

The formula is simply TES + PCS − deductions = segment score. A competition (such as singles) has a short program and a free skate, and the two segment scores are added to decide the winner.

Technical elements: base value plus GOE

The technical side starts with a base value. Every element has a fixed difficulty value set by the ISU, a harder jump such as a quadruple is worth far more than a single. A skater’s planned program is essentially a list of these elements, each with a known base value.

Judges then apply a Grade of Execution (GOE), a rating from −5 to +5 that adjusts the base value up or down depending on how well the element was performed. A perfectly executed jump with height, flow and a clean landing earns a large positive GOE; a shaky or under-rotated one earns a negative GOE. Add up every element’s base value and GOE and you have the Technical Element Score.

A panel of judges scores each element, and the system typically discards the highest and lowest marks and averages the rest (a “trimmed mean”) to reduce the impact of any single biased or mistaken judge.

Program components: the artistry score

The Program Components Score rewards the qualities that make a program more than a checklist of tricks: skating skills (edge control, power and glide), the composition and choreography of the program, and the performance and presentation. Judges score these on a graded scale, and the marks are combined into the PCS. The exact list of components has been revised over the years, but the idea is constant, this is where a skater’s artistry, musicality and command of the ice are rewarded.

Deductions: where points are lost

Finally, deductions are subtracted. Falls, going over the time limit, program-content violations and certain other errors each carry a set penalty. Deductions are separate from GOE, so a fall can hurt a skater twice: once through a negative GOE on the botched element, and again through a flat deduction from the total.

How it all adds up

Here is the full structure in one place.

Part of the score	What it measures	How it is built
Technical Element Score	Difficulty and execution of elements	Base value + GOE (−5 to +5) for each element
Program Components Score	Skating quality and artistry	Judges’ graded marks for components
Deductions	Errors and violations	Fixed penalties (falls, time, rules)
Segment score	Total for one program	TES + PCS − deductions
Final result	Overall standing	Short program score + free skate score

This structure is why a skater who falls can still win: strong base values and high program components can outweigh a deduction, and conversely a clean but simple program may lose to a more difficult one performed with minor errors.

Why the system replaced the 6.0

The older 6.0 system gave a single subjective mark and was famously hard to interpret and easy to dispute. The current system was introduced to make scoring more transparent and accountable, every element has a value, every judge’s GOE is recorded, and the math is open. It rewards difficulty and execution measurably rather than relying on a single overall impression.

The sport’s most spectacular elements are the jumps, which carry the biggest base values and the most GOE swing. Our guide to figure skating jumps explained breaks down how each jump is identified and why some are worth so much more than others. To see the scoring system in the hands of its greatest practitioners, our features on the greatest female figure skaters and greatest male figure skaters show what elite technical and component scores look like, while the story of US figure skaters who never won an Olympic medal is a reminder of how fine the margins in this scoring system can be.

Reading a score as a viewer

Once you know the structure, a broadcast score sheet becomes readable. When a skater’s element flashes up, you are seeing its base value adjusted by the judges’ GOE; when the final segment score appears, it is the sum of every element plus the components, minus deductions. A skater sitting in first place after the short program can still lose if a rival posts a bigger free skate, because the free skate carries more elements and therefore more available points. That is why commentators talk about a skater “having room” or “needing a clean skate”, they are estimating whether the achievable base values and components can overtake the leader.

The system also explains strategy. A skater may “downgrade” a planned jump to a safer, lower-value version to protect their GOE and avoid a fall deduction, trading potential points for reliability. Others gamble on the hardest jumps because a clean quad can outscore a flawless but simpler program. Understanding the base-value-plus-GOE math is what lets you see those gambles as they happen rather than just watching the numbers appear.

The short version: figure skating scoring adds a Technical Element Score (each element’s base value plus a −5 to +5 GOE) to a Program Components Score for artistry, then subtracts deductions. Short program and free skate scores are combined, and the highest total wins.