Skating as Sport

As dance

Also going against the grain, I am moved more by a clean, heartfelt performance than a technically perfect one: Jeannie Rochette's Olympic SP, Lu Chen's Olympic LP, Matt Savoie's The Mission LP, Kwan's Lyra Angelica. I look at figure skating more like dance than sport, about the skater's intention and honesty in a step than movement for movement's sake. Athletic excellence is great, but to me it only becomes transcendent when a skater uses that excellence with purpose.

draqq said:

Also going against the grain, I am moved more by a clean, heartfelt performance than a technically perfect one: Jeannie Rochette's Olympic SP, Lu Chen's Olympic LP, Matt Savoie's The Mission LP, Kwan's Lyra Angelica. I look at figure skating more like dance than sport, about the skater's intention and honesty in a step than movement for movement's sake. Athletic excellence is great, but to me it only becomes transcendent when a skater uses that excellence with purpose.

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That's it exactly. And transcendent is what I look for. It's rare but worth the wait. I'm perfectly happy to call it a sport and have points and requirements and all, but for me, they're not the ultimate goal.

Hernando said:

I think Dai was the best skater of the Men in Vancouver but he was placed third.
Did Evan and Plushy really do a better job of presenting the technical elements?
Perhaps, and maybe it is my old 6.0 blood that favored Dai at the Olympics.

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Yes, Dai is a great skater, but he was only 5th in the freeskate because of his mistakes in technical elements (not just Evan and Pushy ahead of Dai, but also Lambiel and Chan). I´m happy that he got a medal, which I don´t believe would have happened in 6.0 system.

I see a lot of posts on personal emotional values here. In all sports including Figure Skating, the emotional value is the WIN. I agree a particular performance of a skater can raise one's emotions (but not everyones).

Regardless of the personal emotional value of a fan, Tara and Evan won their Olys. Tara and Evan were emotionally transported along with their fans to the highest sensibilities. Fans of Kwan, Plushenko were disheartened. Those contrasting emotions were the result of Sport. In Figure Skating there is emotional values in winning a gold medal; and for some, the subjective performance of a skater is more important. Is Figure Skating a Sport?

Joesitz said:

I see a lot of posts on personal emotional values here. In all sports including Figure Skating, the emotional value is the WIN. I agree a particular performance of a skater can raise one's emotions (but not everyones).

Regardless of the personal emotional value of a fan, Tara and Evan won their Olys. Tara and Evan were emotionally transported along with their fans to the highest sensibilities. Fans of Kwan, Plushenko were disheartened. Those contrasting emotions were the result of Sport. In Figure Skating there is emotional values in winning a gold medal; and for some, the subjective performance of a skater is more important. Is Figure Skating a Sport?

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That is an interesting observation.

When I watch NFL football I am disappointed when my team loses, especially a playoff game. But I rarely recall having strong subjective feelings that my team won or was cheated if the scoreboard shows the other team had 24 points and my team had 21.

The NFL's use of replay and the way they share it with the fans goes a long way in establishing trust.

But that is typically not the case when I watch soccer. Many, many times when the team I follow loses I find myself with strong feelings that the result was not fair. Whether is was a questionable offside call that cost my team a goal or a penalty shot awarded to the other team I find myself questioning the officiating and result of the game.

My feelings about skating are much closer to how I feel about soccer regarding results. I love all three sports so not exactly sure why I feel the way I do.

BTW, Dai was never a favorite of mine until last season when I found his programs the most enjoyable to watch.

If I had been scoring under 6.0 my scores for Dai would have been:

Tech: 5.6
Presentation: 6.0

None of the others would have received a score from me that could have beaten Dai as his superior presentation would have been too much for the others to overcome with only slightly better tech.

My subjective old memory does not remember all the "mistakes" Dai made in the LP. In my memory it was far and away the best skate of the evening.

Another thing that I remember is how happy Dai looked on the podium. Good sportsmanship always impresses me and yet Maradona was my favorite soccer player. :think:

Kwanford Wife said:

This is why I continue to loath and despise CoP. A perfect skate is just that - perfect combo of artistic and technical prowess. And not necessarily the heardest jumps or footwork but a program that is so seamless, so emotional and simply on point that you remember the skate not a particular element. Brian and Yags olympic skates, Kwan's Red Violin, DivaKwara's 04 world, Irina's 05 worlds, and pretty much whenever S&Z hit the ice are immediate thoughts but I know there are more floating around... Gosh, how I miss the flawless skate... those skates that made everyone understand just how cool this sport actually is... the good ol' days...

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KW, you know I love you, but those rose tinted spectacles need to come off. S&Z from 2003 onwards I might be able to agree with but S&Z from 1994-2000 were technicians who could have been skating with noise cancelling headphones on for how little importance the music or presentation were. 2000-2002 they knew they could not compete with S&P and B&S in the presentation side so they purused greater technical feats like the throw quad. Things finally got there by 2003.

Maybe, just maybe, if strong skaters like S&Z took the best part of 8 competitive years to figure it out (all under 6.0 I might add) then maybe some of the COP skaters will do the same?