Figure Skating Pet Peeves

skatinginbc · Dec 24, 2011

I'm just wondering: Is there any coaching association (e.g., Coaching Association of Canada) or certification programs for figure skating coaches so that they may lose their "license" or certificate if found guilty of using their authority position to make sexual advance to students? A school teacher may be sentenced to jail for having an affair with a student. Why not figure skating coaches?

Taffy · Dec 24, 2011

So many things to agree with, I can't list all of them. But I will say I'm in wholehearted agreement to hating all the cutesie gestures, greetings and waving in the Kiss&Cry.

Also hate the use of initials-only when referring to skaters or coaches, without first clarifying who they are. It's often hard to follow the thread of a discussion because of this.

And costumes - probably deserving of its own thread.

gkelly · Dec 24, 2011

skatinginbc said:
I'm just wondering: Is there any coaching association (e.g., Coaching Association of Canada) or certification programs for figure skating coaches so that they may lose their "license" or certificate if found guilty of using their authority position to make sexual advance to students? A school teacher may be sentenced to jail for having an affair with a student. Why not figure skating coaches?

I don't know what the situation is in Canada -- would have to do research. Perhaps a Canadian poster can fill us in.

In the US, the coaches' professional association is the Professional Skaters Association (PSA).

US Figure Skating also has in the last few years implemented professional credentialing requirements for coaches participating in USFS-sanctioned events:
http://usfigureskating.org/content.asp?menu=coaches&id=452

Both organizations have grievance procedures that could cover this sort of situation. In approximately the past decade USFS has taken these kinds of grievances more seriously and there have been a few cases of coaches being suspended or banned for life for sexual misconduct.

Coaches who only teach beginners through a rink's learn-to-skate program wouldn't necessarily need USFS or PSA credentials, so at that level it's up to the rinks to rely on criminal background checks.

Tonichelle · Dec 24, 2011

if they're found guilty in a criminal court they go to jail. One of Scott Hamilton's first coaches was actually found guilty just a few years ago of just that sort of thing.

Vash01 · Dec 24, 2011

The cutesy names don't bother me. It's like a family member or a friend calling the person (skater) by that name. However, cutesy gestures in the K&C are sometimes rather unpleasant, when overdone. I find Jeremy Abbott's really over the top in the K&C. He has toned them down, but still needs improvement there.

Violet Bliss · Dec 24, 2011

I wouldn't be bothered by cute gestures at K&C. The skaters are mostly kids and they are releasing the pressure after skating by communicating with friends and families.

chuckm · Dec 24, 2011

I don't mind the gestures in the KnC at all. They are intended for those close to them, and if it makes them happy, let 'em do it.

I also don't mind skaters crossing themselves before they skate. If it makes them feel stronger and more secure, by all means do it.

I do hate one-foot step sequences. Even when they're done well, they look clumsy, and when they're not done well, they are painful to watch.

I hate the "lift" Cappellini/LaNotte do where he puts his hand in her...you know what. That ought to be given a penalty point because it's disgusting. I also hate pair lifts where the girl grabs one leg with the other extended, so her crotch is fully displayed to the audience. Ugh!

Most Biellmanns are poorly done. If the skater can't look up and see the held leg above his/her head, please DON'T do it. And the poorly-done Biellmann slows the spin down to a standstill, so it's not going to get +GOE anyway.

And I agree with everyone who complained about the butt spins. They look stupid, even when done well.

I have a big gripe with Russian costumes. Too many are done in day-glo colors, or ridiculous combinations of colors---Gorshkova / Butikov seem to have a corner on the worst costumes of this type. The men's costumes often seem to have toilet paper streamers. The pairs and dance ladies all seem to wear tights two sizes too small so that their butts are hanging out. Or maybe they are wearing thongs instead of tights?

ETA: after watching Russian Nationals, I'm convinced that RFSF must have gotten a bargain on purple and lavender material, because so many of the men were costumed in purple/lavender regardless of the music they were skating to. The combination of ladies' thong tights and pairs produced some of the most obscene lift positions ever.

heyang · Dec 25, 2011

ivy said:
My biggest pet peeve is when skaters stop and pose and maybe flail their arms around - I just want them to SKATE!

LOL - I totally agree, which is why I also agree with the thread starter since it's classic Plushenko-like choreography.

I also dislike front loaded programs, which is also a trait of Plushenko-like choreography.

heyang · Dec 25, 2011

Spun Silver said:
6. Most exhibition skates and the props, hats, and pop songs they use. I usually skip galas and SOI-type shows. I miss some wonderful show numbers, but I also miss a lot of ____ like the great Shen and Zhao doing a clown routine. There's always Youtube for the occasional wonderful one that I hear about on GS.

I agree with you when it's not done well. There have definitely been a few great ones (i.e. Punsalen/Swallow's Umbrellas of Cherbourge, Torvill/Dean's various Red Hat programs...), but there are so many that are cringe inducing (i.e. Candeloro's George of the Jungle, etc.... Plushenko's Sex Bomb (yes, it was funny, but there was very little actual skating.)

...leading to another pet peeve..... Men's exhibition #'s that basically consist of skating around, pointing and winking at people in the audience, a little air guitar with 2 or 3 jumps thrown into the mix.

....Mike Weiss's freedom blades. It was cool at 1st, but beyond the one move hasn't added anythign to his skating or choreography..... which leads to skaters doing the 'worm' on ice.

Olympia · Dec 25, 2011

I was thinking of the Red Hat programs of Torvill and Dean as well. They used that prop with the eye-hand coordination of Fred Astaire. Punsalan/Swallow's Unbrellas program was equalled by Usova/Zhulin's skate to the same music. I can't remember which couple used just one umbrella and which used two, but both did a beautiful job, as I recall.

But generally, I agree that props can be a drag. Generally the skater starts out in a hat, strikes a pose, and then throws the hat aside. Not particularly inspired.

Ooh, I thought of one more great prop skate. One year in an exhibition routine, Gordeyeva used the ribbon baton (don't know its official name) used in rhythmic gymnastics.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxkxT763eTA

The control she had to have (and the finesse she needed to avoid falling over the streamer when it touched the ice) is phenomenal. You can't just show up and glide out onto the ice for a routine like that. It must have taken hours--nay, weeks--of off-ice and on-ice training. It remains one of my favorites and, obviously, does not peeve me. I'm just using the peeve list as an excuse to bring this gorgeous routine to everyone's attention.

ciocio · Dec 25, 2011

heyang said:
LOL - I totally agree, which is why I also agree with the thread starter since it's classic Plushenko-like choreography.

There are a lot of other skaters who like to pose, Yu-Na Kim was/is one of them and a lot of people were delighterd with her posing.

Buttercup · Dec 25, 2011

Fan-related pet peeves:

1. Complaints that skater(s) X's PCS was too high because the program "had no transitions". Transitions are one component, not all five.

2. Fans who form their opinion regarding a program and a skater without actually watching the program or the skater: e.g., complaints about Plushenko flailing and posing whether he does or doesn't; about Kostner winning with "80s jump content" when she does all her jumps but the lutz (one would think she is the only skater to leave out one jump) or about her winning with "messy skates" when she skates fairly well; claims that Joubert gets marks for hip thrusts when his programs had/have no hip thrusts; "Kozuka doesn't bother to connect with the audience/always looks down"; etc.

3. The use of "it made me cry" as a criterion in the evaluation of a program's merit (full disclosure: no program has ever made me cry).

4. The use of the word fact to denote an opinion (especially loathsome when the phrase "the fact of the matter" is used, which my English teacher warned us to never, ever do).

5. Hyperbole and excessive use of punctuation in forum posts.

6. "My favorites deserve to win, everyone else is politikked". Option 2: "my favorites deserve to win, other skaters get good marks because they're good looking" (also known as The Korpi Theory).

7. Comparing scores between events, especially between national events, which aren't overscored to the same degree in all countries.

8. Bringing up the same skater(s) over and over, regardless of whether they have any relation to the topic of discussion or not (exemption: Michelle Kwan).

9. Confusing criticism with hate.

10. People who suggest that pairs and dance teams who have a romantic or passionate connection on the ice are better (I love Out of Africa, but I'd rather see S/S explore other styles than repeat it).

11. Comments about skaters' weight. Actually that's not a pet peeve; it is just wrong.

skatinginbc · Dec 25, 2011

Buttercup said:
Bringing up the same skater(s) over and over, regardless of whether they have any relation to the topic of discussion or not (exemption: Michelle Kwan).

Mathman is safe.

Mathman · Dec 25, 2011

^ As a matter of fact, I remember the time Michelle Kwan got undeservedly high PCSs with no transitions; I didn't actually see it, but it made me cry because it was so INCREDIBLY AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!

She definitely deserved to win but was robbed by those politicking judges. Her marks marks were better than at last year's competition, although to me she looked a little on the plump side.

Violet Bliss · Dec 25, 2011

Mathman said:
^ As a matter of fact, I remember the time Michelle Kwan got undeservedly high PCSs with no transitions; I didn't actually see it, but it made me cry because it was so INCREDIBLY AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!

She definitely deserved to win but was robbed by those politicking judges. Her marks marks were better than at last year's competition, although to me she looked a little on the plump side.

I knew this thread would serve a good purpose.

Mathman is excercising his immunity privilege.

periperi · Dec 25, 2011

Mathman, you're hilarious. :laugh:

Most of my pet peeves have already been mentioned here. I wholeheartedly agree that those butt spins just look stupid even when they're done well. I can't stand wobbly edges when landing either. Or the costumes that Russian skaters tend to wear. Oh, and I'm horrible when it comes to initials so I agree 200% with gkelly.

Buttercup said:
Fan-related pet peeves:

1. Complaints that skater(s) X's PCS was too high because the program "had no transitions". Transitions are one component, not all five.

2. Fans who form their opinion regarding a program and a skater without actually watching the program or the skater: e.g., complaints about Plushenko flailing and posing whether he does or doesn't; about Kostner winning with "80s jump content" when she does all her jumps but the lutz (one would think she is the only skater to leave out one jump) or about her winning with "messy skates" when she skates fairly well; claims that Joubert gets marks for hip thrusts when his programs had/have no hip thrusts; "Kozuka doesn't bother to connect with the audience/always looks down"; etc.

3. The use of "it made me cry" as a criterion in the evaluation of a program's merit (full disclosure: no program has ever made me cry).

4. The use of the word fact to denote an opinion (especially loathsome when the phrase "the fact of the matter" is used, which my English teacher warned us to never, ever do).

5. Hyperbole and excessive use of punctuation in forum posts.

6. "My favorites deserve to win, everyone else is politikked". Option 2: "my favorites deserve to win, other skaters get good marks because they're good looking" (also known as The Korpi Theory).

7. Comparing scores between events, especially between national events, which aren't overscored to the same degree in all countries.

8. Bringing up the same skater(s) over and over, regardless of whether they have any relation to the topic of discussion or not (exemption: Michelle Kwan).

9. Confusing criticism with hate.

10. People who suggest that pairs and dance teams who have a romantic or passionate connection on the ice are better (I love Out of Africa, but I'd rather see S/S explore other styles than repeat it).

11. Comments about skaters' weight. Actually that's not a pet peeve; it is just wrong.

Pretty much agree with everything on here. Especially 2, 3, 6 and 7.

Olympia · Dec 25, 2011

The Korpi theory...gotta love it. Though actually, when she's on, she has a triple-triple. And she hasn't won a Worlds medal yet, so I guess good looks can get your only so far.

Math, you crack me up.

Buttercup · Dec 26, 2011

Mathman said:
^ As a matter of fact, I remember the time Michelle Kwan got undeservedly high PCSs with no transitions; I didn't actually see it, but it made me cry because it was so INCREDIBLY AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!

She definitely deserved to win but was robbed by those politicking judges. Her marks marks were better than at last year's competition, although to me she looked a little on the plump side.

I note (with approval) that you could not bring yourself to start with "the fact of the matter is". :thumbsup:

Amusingly, Kwan's only event under CoP really was a very close call - and Kostner was involved! Ha.

ImaginaryPogue · Dec 26, 2011

Oh, fun.

1. COP-pairs moves, particularly the death spiral and footwork

2. SBS spins, unless I already know the outcome. I dry heave over that Dube/Davison moment.

3. Abbreviations, unless it's clearly indicated who's being spoken about. Seriously - try discussing D/S with reference tot he 2007 Worlds ice dance. Denkova/Staviski, Delobel/Schoenfelder, Domnina/Shabalin.... guys, trying to confuse me much?

4. Ubers that don't recognize their favourite skater's flaws and/or other skaters' strengths.

5. People pretending that all negative commentary is merely criticism

6. Fans who ignore facts that get in the way of their belief.

7. Fans who instead of debating, cast aspersions on others and end it on that note.

8. Footwork that hardly contains any footwork or much musicality, but is praised because it moves quickly. So yes, I love great COP footwork.

9. The preference of the artistic above the technical (heh)

Johar · Dec 26, 2011

1. Boring classical music used over and over. Not that I dislike classical, but some of it can be very boring to me.

2. Abbreviations used on this board. I don't know who or what is being referred to most of the time.

3. Robotic skating and windmill arms.

4. Illusion fabric and tights that are much darker than the skater's skin tone.

5. Wedgies and lack of sweat pads.

6. Movies about skating where they perform at the olympics/worlds/nationals under a spotlight. And they never have a Long and Short program.

7. Screechin' Scott Hamilton. He sounds like he is having a difficult #2 BM.

8. "Shredded" skating costumes.

9. When skaters disappear off the radar and nobody can find out where they are, why they left and what their future plans are.

10. Plushenko's hairstyle.

Figure Skating Pet Peeves

skatinginbc

Taffy

Guest

gkelly

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll

Vash01

Violet Bliss

chuckm

heyang

heyang

Olympia

ciocio

Buttercup

skatinginbc

Mathman

Violet Bliss

periperi

Olympia

Buttercup

ImaginaryPogue

Johar

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