What Is a Good Figure Skating Score? A Quick Reference Guide

The cheat sheet for knowing whether that number on screen is impressive or not.

A score flashes on the screen. The skater either pumps their fist or looks devastated. The commentator says "that's a huge score" — or doesn't. And you're sitting there thinking: is 185 good? Is 72 bad? What am I looking at?

Figure skating scores don't have a fixed maximum, so there's no intuitive way to know whether a number is impressive unless you have context. This guide gives you that context — quick reference ranges for every Olympic discipline so you can react in real time.

How Scoring Works (30-Second Version)

Every figure skating performance gets two scores that are added together:

• Technical Element Score (TES): Points for each jump, spin, step sequence, and other element. Harder elements = higher base value, and each element also gets a Grade of Execution (GOE) from -5 to +5.
• Program Component Score (PCS): Points for skating skills, transitions, performance, and composition. Each category is scored out of 10 by the judges.

The two scores combine into a Total Segment Score for each program (short or free). The short program score and free skate score combine into the Total Score that determines final placement.

For a deeper breakdown, read our complete guide to the scoring system.

Men's Singles

Short Program (about 2:40)

For reference, Ilia Malinin scored 114.08 at the 2025 U.S. Championships. A score above 100 in the short program is exceptional — it means the skater nailed their three jump elements (typically including a quad) with high GOE and had strong component scores.

Free Skate (about 4:00)

Malinin holds the all-time highest free skate score at 238.24, set at the 2025 Grand Prix Final with seven clean quads. At the 2026 Olympics team event, his 200.03 free skate clinched gold for Team USA — and that was considered a "restrained" effort.

Combined Total

Malinin's personal best combined total is 333.81 (2025 Skate Canada International). Nathan Chen won the 2022 Olympic gold with 332.60. If you see a men's total above 300, you're watching one of the best performances of the competition.

Women's Singles

Short Program (about 2:40)

Women's scores are generally lower than men's because the women's field has fewer quad jumps and the scoring system values those heavily. However, the gap has been narrowing — skaters like Kaori Sakamoto and Alysa Liu consistently push into the mid-to-high 70s even without quads, through exceptional skating skills and performance quality.

Free Skate (about 4:00)

Combined Total

Kaori Sakamoto, a three-time World champion (2022–2024), scored 236.09 at the 2022 World Championships. The women's event at Milano Cortina 2026 (short program February 17, free skate February 19) is expected to be one of the most competitive in Olympic history.

Pairs

Short Program

Free Skate

Combined Total

Pairs scoring accounts for the complexity of synchronized elements — side-by-side jumps, throw jumps, lifts, death spirals, and twist lifts all have their own base values. A clean pairs free skate with a throw triple and side-by-side triples lands in the 135–145 range for top teams.

Ice Dance

Ice dance scoring works a little differently. There are no jumps — the emphasis is on skating skills, timing, expression, and lifts. The two segments are the Rhythm Dance (which has a prescribed theme/rhythm each season) and the Free Dance.

Rhythm Dance

Free Dance

Combined Total

Madison Chock and Evan Bates, the three-time world champion American ice dance couple, are among the favorites for gold in Milano Cortina. Their best combined scores regularly push above 220.

A Few Things to Keep in Mind

Scores don't have a ceiling. Unlike gymnastics (which used to max at a 10.0), figure skating scores are open-ended. As jumps get harder and programs get more complex, the theoretical maximum keeps rising. This is why Malinin's scores look so much higher than skaters from even 10 years ago.

Scores vary by competition. Judges can score slightly differently at different events. Worlds and Olympics tend to be scored more conservatively than Grand Prix events. A 190 at the Grand Prix Final might become a 183 at the Olympics for a similar skate.

The personal best matters. When commentators mention a "personal best" or "season's best," that's the real benchmark. Every skater is competing against their own trajectory as much as against each other.

Negative GOE is harsh. A fall doesn't just cost the 1.00 deduction — it also tanks the GOE on that element by -3 to -5. A single fall on a quad can cost 5–7 points total when you factor in the lost positive GOE they would have earned.

Want to Dig Deeper?

• How Figure Skating Scoring Actually Works (Full Guide)
• Every Figure Skating Jump Explained
• How Skaters Decide Where to Put Jumps
• Who Is Ilia Malinin? The Quad God Explained
• Every Olympic Figure Skating Event, Explained