This seemed like a pointless event though, many of the skaters had to travel great distances to get there and just a couple weeks after Worlds when they are exhausted and weary of their programs. In the Grand Prix, they are building towards Worlds and wanting to improve their programs so obviously they will not skip that.Originally Posted by Mathman
I believe in competition for the sake of compitition. Either all are pointless or none are. WTT actually has a better position than Worlds. WTT was a compettion between the best feds in figure skating. Lot of the best skater couldn't even go to Worlds becuase of it backwards qualifying technique.
As far as Michelle KWan thumbing her nose, she didn't she notified who she wanted to and she did get sanctioned for noti skating in an event . Eygeny as far as I know of didn't
Michelle got nailed in 1998 for not going to The NHk because of the injury (which no one thought it was) > no judge gave Michelle the (so called pity rule ) for injury like they are now/or break). Michelle didn't do as she pleased as much as they are now, THumbing her nose isn't none of the . I am not going to say anything further .
As far as the Wtt --I like it.
It pretty much went the way I hoped.
It just seemed to me certain federations didn't come out swinging like they are capable of.
As far as the judging it was okay. I am not going to go into the ur/downgardes or anything.
I think the US team did great. They all Did what they had to do. Any slip up by anyone of them could have resulted in a loss.
It was just one skater. The US won it in the short.
Mao skated greated in the long, Brian J (to me) gave up in the long,
I like what i saw. Hope they continue
What about countries with only strong singles? Isn't that also an example of the rich getting richer? If you look at the case of Japan, the competition is basically saying they don't have to worry at all about improving their pairs and dance. Having depth in ladies and men is good enough for them. I'm not saying this to make a jab against Japan, but looking at the results of this competition, it's basically saying countries like France, Russia, and China are second tier because their singles suck. However, a country like Japan is top tier even if their pairs and dance suck.
To MATHMAN - Thank you for all your comments and feedbacks and infos. They're worth reading and I'm so glad that you're around in this forum where I can find clarity among all the speculations and questions and the pretensions of knowing all people. Thanks again.
Well, my final thoughts on the WTT2009 : No matter what some people said that it's anti-climactic or with no significance at all, I think that it was good because the skaters, as I saw, were able to do their programs with so much ease and less anxiety, in spite of all the fatigue and busy schedules, much better than the worlds. They really delivered. With the K&C podiums of different countries, skaters of different nationalities showed their spirit of comraderie and appreciations of whoever the skater on the ice was. It was a good feeling to see all the skaters cheering their fellow countrymen and much more with their competitors. It was a very healthy situation for the competitors. And I think it was gratifying to know that they have been compensated as well, which is very helpful considering the economic situation we're in. And to top it all, the audience were very appreciative to all skaters regardless of their nationality,pepping them up while they were skating, and not at all rude or rowdy. So, to end a season, I think the WTT was a very good idea for skaters to come together and appreciate each other without any stress.
It is good enough if they want to finish third. If they want to win, they will have to improve their pairs and dance programs.
What a nice thing to say. Thank you.
First, I’d like to second the appreciation to MM. and also to the other knowledgeable members of the forum. It’s great to read your comments and I learn a lot from them.
Second, regarding the WTT.
I thought the original idea was to encourage diversity in the teams. So the discussion on how many skaters to send from each discipline is kind of moot. Any decision will be better for some teams and less good for others.
I know it’s slightly naïve to think it’s that was the hole agenda of ISU, and part of it was meant to please the hosts. But is it really that different from other competitions? Seems to me like the hosting country usually gets some “hosting bonus”.
I think the competition was fun, the skaters seemed to enjoy it (despite the comments). Nationality always played part in the competition, and it was fun for me to see it officially part of the game (the K&C for example). I also liked the fact that the team could send younger skaters to take part and gain experience in a senior competition.
Like someone posted: I don’t know if it’ll last, but if someone is willing to pay – I’ll be happy to see a great made for TV event with some of my favorite skaters. And how great was it to see Stephan again?
I think the Japanese will look at this as a wake-up call. They went into this event all full of pi** and vinegar, only to finish 3rd - in front of thousands of cheering fans - and millions of TV viewers. They cannot feel too good about this.
No, just to see Mao landed three triple axels is enough for them.I think the Japanese will look at this as a wake-up call. They went into this event all full of pi** and vinegar, only to finish 3rd - in front of thousands of cheering fans - and millions of TV viewers. They cannot feel too good about this.
Thank you for the information. On the other hand it is also hard to believe that the article came out of nothing. The reporter of the article probably had his/her own credible source of information considering that the statements "But the ISU threw this event at the skaters without consultation. As late as a fortnight ago, it was not even a certainty." are quite specific.
So we have two facts: 1. WTT was announced more than a year ago. 2. Neverthless it was not a certainty until very recently.
I guess the only consistent way to combine these two facts is as follows. Even if it was officially announced more than a year ago and probably candidate skaters were asked to participate in WTT long time ago, many of them refused or showed little interest until very recently. Then of course ISU and/or the federations worked hard to "persuade" the skaters. During that process some people complained and the article came out.
I just hope that they will not push skaters too much next time. Let skaters decide.
I am really not sure how much persuasion was actually required. It sounds like a little arm twisting was used, but how much arm twisting is really needed with a $ 30,000 paycheck?
Not much. The skaters might have balked initially about competing so soon after Worlds but earning a much needed sizable paycheck was the icing on the cake. Also the skaters seemed to be having a whole lot of fun.
Indeed. I thought that was very interesting, too.
However, my first thought was that they must have had continuing negotiations among the financial players -- the ISU, the Japanese Skating Federation, the Japanese television networks, and the corporate sponsors which ultimately paid the bills. Maybe the plan was still on shaky footing -- or in any case, the pricipals were arguing about the details of who pays what to whom -- right up to the last minute.
I really do not believe that the wishes of the skaters were consulted or taken into account. The only indispensible skater was Asada (as Kandidy alludes above.
(What I hope happened was that Asada told her agent to hold out out for an extra hundred grand under the table.
And I hope she got it! She skated enough to earn it, surely.(What I hope happened was that Asada told her agent to hold out out for an extra hundred grand under the table.
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