Pulling this from the FD thread:

Quote Originally Posted by evangeline View Post
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?