Overview
- US Figure Skating confirmed it did not file an appeal within the 24-hour window after Madison Chock and Evan Bates finished second to France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron.
- The International Skating Union defended the panel’s work, saying score variation is normal and expressing full confidence in the scores.
- Score sheets show French judge Jézabel Dabouis awarded 137.45 to the French duo and 129.74 to the Americans in the free dance, a panel outlier that fueled accusations of bias.
- ISU Rule 123 blocks protests of judges’ evaluations and limits calculation-related protests to 24 hours, effectively closing any formal path to change the Feb. 11 result.
- Multiple outlets, citing The Skating Session, report ice dance may reintroduce compulsory pattern elements such as a waltz next season to make judging more objective.