There is another factor that could confuse a casual fan. My mother watched the ladies' free at Skate America on TV with me. Rachael clearly beat Yu-Na in that segment. My mother couldn't understand why Yu-Na got the gold. I tried to explain the concept of a short program, but Mom couldn't grasp it.
Maye the old expression in correct, "If it didn't happen in television, it didn't happen."
Dear Mr Flow,Originally Posted by Joesitz
It is interesting that you place such value on the flow and good presentation.
Having read so many of your posts I thought you might have signed off like this:
"Joesitz, Keeper of the proper edge in figure skating."
Anyway - it seems to me that CoP has placed too much emphasis on the tech. Big events are now more about the tech panel and less about he skaters. Do fans watch skating because they are fascinated by the calls of the tech panel? Maybe NBC needs to interview the tech panel and show us profiles about them since they have become the "stars" at competitions.
How about this - rather than seeing the tech panel routinely taking 4-12 points off a score let's reduce the penalties and with it the importance of the tech panel.
Why not give skating back to the skaters? It is not as much fun seeing the look of fear in the eyes of so many of these skaters. I think even the casual fans can sense they are watching overly cautious performances.
Why is it that we constantly hear "if only Mao could skate in competition with the joy we see in her exhibition programs?"
I think it is ashame the casual fans didn't see this in Vancouver:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6F1_xhSCnM
What great skating and what a performance
Last edited by janetfan; 05-17-2010 at 09:05 AM.
It would be better if only ordinals carried forward.
And how would you carry ordinals into the LP?
Factored placements, as in the 6.0 system. The point totals for the SP would be used only to determine the placements in the short program. LP point totals determine placement in the LP. Final score = LP + 1/2 SP ordinals, lowest wins, LP break ties.
Like in the World Series, if you win game one by a score of 20 to nothing, all you get to carry forward is the win.
For Polymer Bob's mom, if only the LP were televised they could begin the broadcast by showing the top three SPs.
Edited to add: So from the television spectators point of view it would go like this. Among the top three, whoever wins the LP wins the gold medal.
If someone should strike from fourth or fifth place, it would be like the 2002 Olympics. That skater skated great in the LP and the top three all made visible serious errors. Either way the audience goes home feeling that the best performance won.
Last edited by Mathman; 05-17-2010 at 10:34 AM.
yes, because in sport it shouldn't be about who does things better or even the best, it's just about who has the biggest megawatt smile.
That is not what I said although your interpretation is reasonable enough.
So you prefer a frowning skater? Or one who shows a dull presentation?
Seems you are a big Kurt fan, no?
Sorry but he embodies what I am talking about. Strange then you seem to love the flashy Mr Browning and his superb showmanship so well.
Or am I mistaken?
^ But...I think Toni's point is that we can enjoy Browning's showmanship as a professional entertainer, while at the same time acknowledge that, hey, he missed his triple Axel in the short program = no Olympic medal. That's sports.
Edited to add: Not that there is anything wrong with a megawatt smile.
http://www.usfigureskating.org/conte...isny-smile.jpg
Same skater: "Please, please, please, let me land this!"
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/phot...czisny_300.jpg
Last edited by Mathman; 05-17-2010 at 11:31 AM.
Dear Mr Flow,
It is interesting that you place such value on the flow and good presentation.
Having read so many of your posts I thought you might have signed off like this:
"Joesitz, Keeper of the proper edge in figure skating."Well, that too. I'm serious about killing the name of a jump by a wrong edge takeoff- excusing Senior Skaters as if they were beginners; and Spirals without Edges should go back to Novice and learn how to edge.
Their decision to take off so many points is absurd and absolutely does not have justification for all 3 of the Major errors. They do not like something simple and understandable. a proposal like just give each of the major errors an automatic deduction would not be acceptable. Why did they decide one error is worse than another :confusedHow about this - rather than seeing the tech panel routinely taking 4-12 points off a score let's reduce the penalties and with it the importance of the tech panel.
Oh to Free up the skaters with a Free Program and let them decide what they want judged rather than a Rule telling them 'it's restricted'. If a skater has a piece of music that demands something special like a Triple Toe Wally, or a series of Double Axels to go with the Program - why not? They could do these tricks but they will not get credit for them. Too bad, it would show a bit of creativity.Why not give skating back to the skaters? It is not as much fun seeing the look of fear in the eyes of so many of these skaters. I think even the casual fans can sense they are watching overly cautious performances.
I agree with all of these points. I also agree with your proposal of showing more complete scores in the arena and also to TV viewers. I think they dropped the ball on this and maybe waited too long.
Their decision to take off so many points is absurd and absolutely does not have justification for all 3 of the Major errors. They do not like something simple and understandable. a proposal like just give each of the major errors an automatic deduction would not be acceptable. Why did they decide one error is worse than another :confused
Oh to Free up the skaters with a Free Program and let them decide what they want judged rather than a Rule telling them 'it's restricted'. If a skater has a piece of music that demands something special like a Triple Toe Wally, or a series of Double Axels to go with the Program - why not? They could do these tricks but they will not get credit for them. Too bad, it would show a bit of creativity.
And what of mathman's idea to use an ordinal after the SP? Is that too unfair to the great SP skaters?
I wonder what must have been going through Mao's head as she took the ice for her LP in vancouver. The judges seemed to signal Mao that Yuna's skating pleased them so much they really did not consider Mao worthy of the OGM.
Was it so wrong that 6.0 judged performances comparitively? Under the old sytem Yuna would have gotten huge scores - but the judges still would have left room for Mao.
In Vancouver it was a slam dunk and turned the event into a snoozefest. After Yuna skated the judges made it perfectly clear that Mao could not win.
Maybe that is just my opinion and I get the argument that all Mao had to do was score more points........ but realistically we all knew it was over and it did not feel like they left any chance to top Yuna's score.
I am not complaining about Yuna winning - but from the perspective of fans the excitement factor was gone and they could have switched over to ski jumping since we basically knew it was over.
Did NBC feel the skating was not as exciting as it used to be - and that is why they had such limited coverage in Vancouver?
Last edited by janetfan; 05-17-2010 at 12:42 PM.
I don't know the answer to this question per se, but I do know that NBC tends to be very "USA centric" in their coverage (as opposed to Canadian TV, which is known for featuring a variety of athletics of all countries). So I think the fact we didn't have a USA lady skater competing for gold, it made it really less motivating for NBC to feature as opposed to Nordic Combined, which while completely boring to most figure skating fans, was worthy because the USA won its first gold medal in that event EVER! (Personally, I kinda of enjoyed watching it).
But did you guys watch the entire broadcast? If I'm not mistaken Yuna's short was also shown on TV...(granted, not Flatt's as well, but still)
I just came across an interesting NY Times article about Sasha, NBC and the Ladies SP event at Natls.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/23/sp...23longman.html
Did the writer get it right?
Below are some quotes and the link above has the full article.
"Desperate to restore a pulse to a flatlining sport, U.S. Figure Skating and NBC built their promotions for the national championships around the resuscitation of Sasha Cohen."
"Rachael Flatt, 17, uses pep to disguise her lack of speed and artistry. Nagasu, 16, jumped and spun mesmerizingly Thursday, but she is still given to bouts of crying and lapses of self-assurance."
"The new scoring system has left her head full of numbers, Cohen said, as she makes sure that she spins the proper number of revolutions and holds her spiral for the required number of seconds. It’s something she does not like, counting instead of simply performing."
"Sasha took off on the wrong — inside — edge on her triple lutz and landed shakily on a double toe, then settled down and drew the crowd into her enchanting grasp."
.................................................. .................................................. ..................
Reading this article it is not so hard to find mistakes US Skating is making. Letting Sasha get away with bad jumps but penalizing Mirai did not boost skating's reputation for integrity and fair judging.
The scoring of Flat like she is a strong artisitic skater was disappointing and inaccurate.
Putting on the event so late also cost them many viewers on the East coast.
Sometimes it feels like skating has a "death wish."
Mirai beat Sasha in both programs at Nationals. How does that equal letting Sasha but not Mirai get away with bad jumps?
It was scheduled to end at 11 PM EST on Saturday. That has pretty much been the case every year, when ABC covered Nationals as well as NBC in the last year.Putting on the event so late also cost them many viewers on the East coast.
If you want to believe that if Mirai's opening 3x2 combo had been as sloppy as Sasha's - and still would have received the same score that is your prerogative.
It is the author's opinion - and also a former skater named Michelle Kwan - who apparently agreed that it was on awfully late.
Last edited by janetfan; 05-17-2010 at 04:17 PM.
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