Lysacek out of Grand Prix; at odds with USFS

[CoyoteChris]

Here is how I judge ticket sales...I go to the website like ticketmaster and request best available seats....the computer gives me a seat assignment and says if you want it you gotta take it within X number of minutes...
of course I dont take it but if I can get one, two or three seats together close to the ice at this point, I know sales are not going well.....I will let you know when I get back. I can post a link to my public photobucket account and show you pics of how full the seats are during events....
Will the last one leaving the arena please turn out the lights?
Thanks!

[Tonichelle]

the only problem i have is this, if he kinda of knew he wasn't going. he shouldn't have stated he would go . i understand the payoff with the possiblity of him going, however (for me) if he was more than 75% (sure) he wasn't going . he shouldn't have stated he was.

i just feel sorry for the people who bought the tickets expecting, hoping he would show, skate and see his progression. sorry.

he never said publically that he would go. His name came on the list because he told the USFSA that they could submit his name as he was thinking of coming back. many skaters do that, not just Evan.

[CoyoteChris]

Anybody want a Commemorative SkateAmerica Program with Evan's Face on the cover?
Anyway, I'm with Toni....he never said he was going.......He and Mr. Weir and Michelle and Sasha can skate or not....their choice.

[seniorita]

he never said publically that he would go. His name came on the list because he told the USFSA that they could submit his name as he was thinking of coming back. many skaters do that, not just Evan.

Why, where do the rest of skaters declare it publically if not at their federation just, on twitter? Put the name on the list doesnt mean sign in for an event? There are not that many skaters who compete in GPs.
But it is true that he is not the first to skip an event, especially an OC.
TBA posts are better though for these cases, saves the fuss.

[Mrs. P]

Why, where do the rest of skaters declare it publically if not at their federation just, on twitter? Put the name on the list doesnt mean sign in for an event? There are not that many skaters who compete in GPs.
But it is true that he is not the first to skip an event, especially an OC.
TBA posts are better though for these cases, saves the fuss.

I agree. It would've have been a lot less drama...and actually it would've been like "Oh, cool!" if we had Evan enter at the last minute. Also leaving it TBA for a longer period of time could have created some mystique.

I guess the only other example I have of someone signing up and withdrawing later is Yuna Kim. But she did it so early that it wasn't much of a fuss (and didn't create the promotion issues that USFSA faced here.) I think that technically Evan played by the rules, but he could have pulled out way earlier.

[Tonichelle]

He told them "I'm interested in competing, so let the ISU know" *paraphrasing* then the list came out. USFSA obviously wants a huge draw so they put Evan's name down, and then the ISU gives him a second slot. The USFSA glomped on to his possible comeback well before he had said yes or no. Now, do I think he went about it correctly in that he planned to skate until he found out he couldn't get the $$ he wanted -heck no, but I don't think they should be completely blameless. This a PR nightmare for both sides...

[Mathman]

Anybody want a Commemorative SkateAmerica Program with Evan's Face on the cover?

I'll swap you a McGovern-Eagelton button for it!

[CoyoteChris]

Hey Mathman, remember the WIN buttons? (Whip Inflation Now). Dont throw yours away....you may need it....
I am still grapling with the math issues here.....SA is an ISU event. I assume (cause I dont know any better) that the ISU sells
the broadcast rights for the series and the Worlds. I assume (again) that USFSA was tasked with taking the bids of the promoters and
deciding on the venue? And they get a cut from the event along with the ISU?

[jjane45]

As for whether or not he was entered for this year's SA, if he was uncertain about doing the GP season, he could have asked the USFS to hold a TBA slot for him until he could finalize his participation, instead of asking for two assignments.

I have no idea how the assignment process works so it's pure speculation. It could have been the USFS insisting to put down Evan's name before the contract was finalized, citing he can freely withdraw. Apparently there is just too much going on behind the scenes.

[sorcerer]

He told them "I'm interested in competing, so let the ISU know" *paraphrasing* then the list came out. USFSA obviously wants a huge draw so they put Evan's name down, and then the ISU gives him a second slot. The USFSA glomped on to his possible comeback well before he had said yes or no. Now, do I think he went about it wrong in that he planned to skate until he found out he couldn't get the $$ he wanted -heck no, but I don't think they should be completely blameless. This a PR nightmare for both sides...

This may be another discussion, but what I put in bold letters above I partially don't agree.
I think that it's not right in (however nominal) an amateur competition, that one skater gets $$$ just to appear and another gets much less and others none.
Theoretically it may be independent from the results of the game, but the public image of this judged sport will be significantly lowered by this. Just like professional boxing games ... the results of which in some cases get rumours of being "fixed prior".
What I conditionally agree is that if it had been such a $ custom behind the curtain to all skaters concerning GPs, then it is not that only he is to be blamed.

But in a larger view, Evan is responsible for at least not being a good sport by saying at this last moment "I am in the best shape of my life," "I am extremely trained and eager to compete at Skate America, BUT ..." and also withdrawing from TEB.

He not only ruined his image but the image of this sport, IMHO.

[sorcerer]

I have confirmed the JSF via telephone, and they promptly and clearly said that they have never given nor will give apprearance fees or the like to any of the skaters regarding competition, and that anyone can write such words of JSF definitively into any forums.
They also said that what they govern is unmistakably amateur sports.

You can reconfirm the JSF on this matter if you like.

[Tonichelle]

AFAIK the appearance fees for top names has always been a draw for the skaters. When you can throw in an "Olympic Champion" it makes the event more lucrative even though it's "just" a grand prix event.

Evan had already stated that he was not feeling up to the event anyway, I'm sure the $$ was the last straw as to why he pulled completely out. It makes no sense, and we'll never get teh full story.

[Mathman]

I have confirmed the JSF via telephone, and they promptly and clearly said that they have never given nor will give apprearance fees or the like to any of the skaters regarding competition...

I do not regard this stance as particularly noble, however. The Japanese Skating Federation charges admission to NKH. They receive money from television contracts -- lots of it. I would be more impressed with the JSF's stand on the virtues of amateurism if they invited the public to come to their shows for free and gave all the television money away to charity (including their own salaries).

To say that it is bad for other people to make money, but good for me to do so -- well, whatever.

[CoyoteChris]

Toni is probably right in that we shall never get the full story on any fed except the East German Sports Machine. It doesnt look like the ISU has specific rules forbidding paying skaters and every federation is different. Miki said that over a period of years, the Japanese fed didnt help her....Russian skaters, including a certain tall blond beautiful one, I think said the same about their fed. There is a fine line between paying a skater's "expenses" and paying to skate. The line between ams and pros seems to be very blurry now....

[Buttercup]

I do not regard this stance as particularly noble, however. The Japanese Skating Federation charges admission to NKH. They receive money from television contracts -- lots of it. I would be more impressed with the JSF's stand on the virtues of amateurism if they invited the public to come to their shows for free and gave all the television money away to charity (including their own salaries).

MM - you're joking, right? Hosting a GP costs money. Funding skaters' training and running developmental programs costs money. JSF appears to be quite well-run, and Japanese figure skating is in great shape. Clearly they are using their income well (I assume the stuff about donating salaries was definitely a joke).

I doubt anyone expects skaters to compete without any compensation; the question is what's the right way of going about it. USFS has the envelope funding, skaters can earn prize money, the top ones can attract sponsors. I just don't see why anyone should be paid an appearance fee (certainly not someone as boring as Evan Lysacek ).

I'm glad that Douglas Razzano, who clearly does want to skate at SA, will get the chance. I hope he'll do well.