What if a figure skating team event had been held at past Winter Olympic Games? An analysis of a hypothetical competition

Abstract

A new figure skating competition was introduced at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games (WOG) – the team event. The introduction of this new competition raises questions of what would have happened if a team event had been contested in past WOG. This paper develops a method for determining which teams might have earned medals if the team event had been held in the past, and applies the method to a hypothetical competition for 2010. This paper also identifies relative contributions of skaters to their countries’ teams in the hypothetical competition. These methods can be useful for fans and for electors who vote on candidates for figure skating halls of fame.