Do you mean Weaver and Poje? They aren't going to Worlds. We (Canada) just have two spots this year.Originally Posted by Joesitz
Do you mean Weaver and Poje? They aren't going to Worlds. We (Canada) just have two spots this year.
I would be very surprised if the US men don't get three spots for next year. I believe both Jeremy and Evan will get the results. The ladies chances, I think, are much slimmer.. Quite frankly I think our boys have it in them, as well as our ladies... whether or not the tech caller will agree with me is another story
I never meant you were only writing about the ladies, Toni - it's so obviously not the case. It's just that I don't get why many fans in the US - esp. the ones who tune in only for big events - think figure skating begins and ends with the girls/women. But then they're the ones missing out.
The last time the US didn't win a ladies Olympic figure skating medal was in 1964, the Olympics after our entire figure skating team died in a plane crash. When's the last time we had less than 3 ladies spots? The same year probably? But apparently we're "making something out of nothing" by bringing it up.
Also, the US has by far the most ladies fighting for top spots, so the spots matter even more. Of course I've also personally argued why the spots don't matter much if the person in the spot can't win a medal, but that's just my opinion and it isn't the majority. One could also argue that the 3rd spot still matters because with the level of inconsistency of our skaters, the person in the 3rd spot could very well do best of the 3 at the Olympics (whatever "best" turns out to be.)
The US didn't have 3 Olympic spots for Ladies in 1994; Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding went; if there had been a third spot, Michelle Kwan would have been able to go.
I think I didn't quite write what I meant. I just meant that there are other teams who have a lot on the line, but you only seem to hear about the US team.
Last edited by skatingbc; 03-18-2009 at 07:41 AM.
That's right! Isn't that because Nancy didn't do so well at Worlds 1993 in Prague?
whoops
Ah, c'est domage! Unfortunately, the next Worlds is after the Olys. (There should be a number of retirees after that Olys.)
It's too early to discuss the Olys, and in particular the presumed retirees after the Olys win or lose. The Ladies are fairly young, but Evan, Johnny, Jeremy, are questionable about giving it another go in 2014. The Pairs would be I/B. The Dancers in question would be B/A. There are several European skaters, too, but in the last analyses, it is up to the individual skaters and couples to decide on whether or not to try for 2014. I can respect that.
I would have thought the French federation will be biting their nails to see what Ponsero does at worlds since they will be looking to try to get three men for the Olympics.
And about dance for the french? I don't follow dance very much but i think Delobel&Schoenfelder aren't competing- do they still have a good chance at getting three spots for the Olympics?
I don't think the the US has by far the most ladies fighting for top spots, I'd say Japan has at least the same if not more.
Ant
Del/Schoe withdrew last week. She's still doing rehab. Without them the odds of the French team getting three spots for the Olympics are pretty small. I think P/B are wonderful, but the judges don't seem to share my sentiments to the same extent; C/J are unlikely to go above 9th place, and even that would be difficult. I guess there's still a chance, but in all likelihood there will be two French teams in Vancouver.
I doubt Japan has MORE, especially if Sasha Cohen comes back. Also, Japan is getting 3 spots. We're probably getting 2.
I never thought of that. I doubt that she would have won, but she was capable of a medal.
They have our ability to see skating on television on the line. If LA does not yield a good setup for the Olympic coverage, NBC will even drop showing the Ladies and Worlds (all they are showing this year), and you can whistle for US Nationals coverage in 2011.
So despite that I really don't follow the ladies very closely, I want to see US ladies place high-if there's no buzz about them, there's likely to be even more pitiful coverage of skating in the future.
I would be surprised if I were the only fan that felt that way.
Excellent point. Even if we as die-hard skating fans will still care, the coverage and viewership will keep getting hammered and sliding into the abyss if we keep having lackluster showings or lose spots. US TV will have showed what, just Nationals, Worlds and a few ice shows this year? The US audience sadly doesn't care about skating if we don't dominate, or at least have a phenom. Maybe that's the fault of the poor taste of the masses, but the US ladies skaters don't deserve to pay the price for it.
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