--- description: Here's why coaches at the 2018 Olympics were seen wearing badges with "Kiss & Cry." title: Here's What Those 'Kiss and Cry' Badges Mean in Olympic Skating image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86521acc551ded0a/69892858e76ad2ae306311f4/kiss-and-cry-figure-skating.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Sports](/section/sports/) ## Sports Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [2018 Pyeongchang Olympics](/tag/2018-pyeongchang-olympics/) ## 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Here's Why It Says 'Kiss & Cry' on Olympic Figure Skating Badges  by [Alana Abramson](/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 21, 2018 4:43 AM CUT  Nathan Chen of USA and his coach Rafael Arutyunyan at 'kiss and cry' during the Figure Skating Men Free Program on day eight of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Gangneung Ice Arena on February 17, 2018 in Gangneung, South Korea Nathan Chen of USA and his coach Rafael Arutyunyan at 'kiss and cry' during the Figure Skating Men Free Program on day eight of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Gangneung Ice Arena on February 17, 2018 in Gangneung, South KoreaJean Catuffe - Getty Images  by [Alana Abramson](/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 21, 2018 4:43 AM CUT As nervous figure skaters awaited their scores at the 2018 Olympics, they were joined by their coaches – who wore badges with “Kiss and Cry” around their necks. So what’s “Kiss and Cry” and why coaches wearing badges with it? It’s a security clearance – denoting that the coaches are allowed to enter the “Kiss and Cry area” – which, yes, is official terminology in the world of figure skating. > [](https://twitter.com/soWWMD/status/966151162058571776) > [](https://twitter.com/runwiththedogs/status/966122160740855808) > [](https://twitter.com/popkewitz/status/966120627521359873) The “Kiss and Cry” area is where figure skaters go to await their score; their coaches are allowed there as well. It’s a literal name for what happens there after scores are read out. Finnish Skating official Jane Erkko coined the term over 30 years ago, [_Slate_ reported in 2014](http://www.slate.com/blogs/five%5Fring%5Fcircus/2014/02/18/kiss%5Fand%5Fcry%5Fetymology%5Fwho%5Fcame%5Fup%5Fwith%5Fthe%5Fname%5Ffor%5Fwhere%5Ffigure%5Fskaters.html "undefined"), citing the 2004 book by a former Italian skating judge Sonia Bianchetti Garbat, C_racked Ice: Figure Skating’s Inner World._ It was at that point according to _Slate,_ that CBS, who was broadcasting the Olympics, put a camera in the portion of the arena. _Slate_ traced the history of the term, noting that, as of 2014, it was mentioned twice in the International Skating Union’s Constitution and General Regulations. As of June 2016, the term was still [mentioned twice.](https://www.isu.org/inside-speed-skating/speed-skating-rules/constitution-regulations-ss/file "undefined") > [](https://twitter.com/stinaknits/status/966127228089073664) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5167743/kiss-and-cry-area-skating-olympics/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5167743/kiss-and-cry-area-skating-olympics/"},"headline":"Here's Why It Says 'Kiss & Cry' on Olympic Figure Skating Badges","datePublished":"2018-02-21T04:43:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-25T08:40:00.220Z","description":"Figure skating competitions have people wondering","url":"https://time.com/5167743/kiss-and-cry-area-skating-olympics/","keywords":["2018 Pyeongchang Olympics","Winter Olympics","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86521acc551ded0a/69892858e76ad2ae306311f4/kiss-and-cry-figure-skating.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alana Abramson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86521acc551ded0a/69892858e76ad2ae306311f4/kiss-and-cry-figure-skating.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Kiss and Cry","caption":"Kiss and Cry","creditText":"Jean Catuffe - Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2018-pyeongchang-olympics/","name":"2018 Pyeongchang Olympics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5167743/kiss-and-cry-area-skating-olympics/","name":"Here's Why It Says 'Kiss & Cry' on Olympic Figure Skating Badges"}}]}] ```