Looking at the future of WTT

[Mrs. P]

Pulling this from the FD thread:

Well, the WTT is what it is: it's an event completely sponsored and paid for by the Japanese Skating Federation and Japanese sponsors. In that light, I can certainly understand why that would cause some people to dismiss the competition (and personally, I do not think that such dismissals are entirely without merit). It's also very new...remember how 4CC was considered somewhat of a joke competition not so many years ago despite its designation as an official ISU championship? The WTT needs more time to establish for itself some measure of legitimacy.

Well, I hope over time it does become legitimate.

I appreciate it NOW for what it provided:

** A chance for Gracie Gold to test out the senior Ladies waters (and now I think she feels comfortable to jump in!)
** A chance for skaters to do their programs one last time. (in particular Daisuke, D/W and Ashley Wagner)
** A chance for skaters (see Team France and Italy) to have fun!

That said, do you think WTT can become a legitimate event like GPF or Worlds? Could it move beyond the Japanese-centric event it has been in its first two incarnations (i.e. could we see a WTT hosted elsewhere)?

What feedback/tweaks would you make to the event?

[Olympia]

I agree with all your points. Gracie got to get her feet wet in Seniors, and it will make a big difference for her next year, I think. The "last dance" aspect of the event was rewarding for the audience as well as for the skaters.( What a great way to put Die Fledermaus to bed!) One skater you didn't mention in your examples is Jeremy Abbott. He got to do a decent performance before an international audience, and that has to lift his spirits. And certainly most of the skaters seemed to appreciate the carnival atmosphere, and I think this enjoyment loosened them up and helped them perform their best. Fun for them, fun for us!

I hope it becomes a legitimate event! After all, it's not as if we have a glut of skating venues and need to weed out. No, we need more opportunities to engage audiences. This is clearly a format that makes people happy, whether they're on the ice, in the Kiss and Cry, or in the stands. Or on computers! At this moment, Japan seems the best place for it because they can supply the largest and most avid audiences, but I'm happy to contemplate its becoming a "movable feast."

[ImaginaryPogue]

That said, do you think WTT can become a legitimate event like GPF or Worlds? Could it move beyond the Japanese-centric event it has been in its first two incarnations (i.e. could we see a WTT hosted elsewhere)?

What feedback/tweaks would you make to the event?

a) That depends on how well received the Olympic team competition is.

b) At this moment, no, it couldn't.

c) Tweaks: Hold it at the beginning of the season, not at the end. At the end makes the season distended. At the beginning, it would almost be a fun gala presentation of all these talented skaters and their new programs. I'd also make it resemble the Olympic team competition more, since that's the underlying justification, so have it be one entrant from each discipline. Give participants senior B points, maybe.

[heyhey]

a) That depends on how well received the Olympic team competition is.

b) At this moment, no, it couldn't.

c) Tweaks: Hold it at the beginning of the season, not at the end. At the end makes the season distended. At the beginning, it would almost be a fun gala presentation of all these talented skaters and their new programs. I'd also make it resemble the Olympic team competition more, since that's the underlying justification, so have it be one entrant from each discipline. Give participants senior B points, maybe.

I agree with all of these points, especially with it occurring at the beginning of the season rather than after Worlds. The only problem I see with scheduling is that if it is at the beginning of the season it may be too close to the Japan Open.

[NMURA]

Japan Open is organized by TV Tokyo and WTT is broadcast by TV Asahi. TV Tokyo surely wants to do it early in the season. It's unlikely to have the team event after worlds in the olympic season.

[golden411]

Japan Open is organized by TV Tokyo and WTT is broadcast by TV Asahi. TV Tokyo surely wants to do it early in the season. It's unlikely to have the team event after worlds in the olympic season.

AFAIK, WTT always was intended to be held only every other year, not every consecutive year.
Because of the tsunami tragedy in Japan, it turns out that first two WTTs have been in 2009 and 2012. But because of the 2014 Olympics (for which the team event eventually was approved), my hunch is that when the WTT was first established, the ISU vision always was to skip 2014. They already have announced the dates for 2013 WTT.

[Mrs. P]

AFAIK, WTT always was intended to be held only every other year, not every consecutive year.
Because of the tsunami tragedy in Japan, it turns out that first two WTT have been in 2009 and 2012. But because of the 2014 Olympics (for which the team event eventually was approved), my hunch is that when the WTT was first established, the ISU vision always was to skip 2014. They already have announced the dates for 2013 WTT.

So the next one after 2013 will be in 2015, yes?

Makes sense.