How Would You Pick Your Olympic Team Event Lineup?

[drivingmissdaisy]

I was just thinking about how difficult it might be to (fairly) pick a line-up for the team event. If it were up to me, here is how I would pick the teams:

Singles:
SP: Winner of the SP at Nationals is GUARANTEED a spot. Second spot picked on basis of SP results throughout season.
LP: Winner of the LP gets a spot. Second spot picked based on LP results of season.

Pairs and Dance:
Top two teams from Nationals get picked, one skates SP one skates LP at USFSA's discretion.

Would you use different criteria?

[enlight78]

well if I could pick anybody , My dream olympic team would be

Daisuke
Yu-Na
Davis/White
T/T

I know that wasn't what you ment but I coiuldn't help myself

[Olympia]

well if I could pick anybody , My dream olympic team would be

Daisuke
Yu-Na
Davis/White
T/T

I know that wasn't what you ment but I coiuldn't help myself

I completely appreciate your take on the thread! I'd substitute Mao Asada and Savchenko/Szolkowy in the appropriate disciplines. We could dispense with national affiliations and have mixed teams competing under the Olympic flag.

Golden411, that's very distressing about the fencing teams. They want to limit the number of medals???!!! How come a gymnast or a swimmer can win seven or eight medals at one Games? I don't understand the reasoning. Let me see: if you're a weak country, you can't send many fencers, and if you're a strong country, you can't send many fencers. How does that compute?

[Mathman]

Singles:

SP: Winner of the SP at Nationals is GUARANTEED a spot. Second spot picked on basis of SP results throughout season.

I don't think there is a second spot. Just one lady and one man, right? And it has to be someone who is already there competing individually, IIRC.

[SkateFiguring]

I don't think there is a second spot. Just one lady and one man, right? And it has to be someone who is already there competing individually, IIRC.

ISU wants to work the same skaters to the ground.

Actually it would be very interesting to have a team event excluding the individual competitors. That would definitely favor nations with deep fields. Allowing retired skaters to compete in Team without participating in other competitions would make it even more interesting.

[Mathman]

I think it was the IOC that insisted on the format, to make sure that this would be a legitimate Olympic event and not a side show. IIRC the ISU originally proposed a looser structure, but the IOC imposed the requirement that only skaters already qualified for individual competition could contest the team event.

Countries with deep fields will still have an advantage, though. If a country has two ladies of about equal strength, for instance, they can switch up between the SP and the LP. Up to two such substitutions are allowed. Most likely only the usual suspects -- Japan, Canada, Russia, and USA -- will have the depth and breadth to contend anyway.

[dorispulaski]

I heard that they might allow different skaters to do the SP and LP for a team, or you could still have one skate/team do both.

So for the USA, for example, you could have Gracie Gold do the SP and Ashley Wagner do the LP, but you would probably perfer Davis & White to do both the SD & FD.

[golden411]

As a sidebar to comments in assorted threads as to the widely varying opportunities among different sports for athletes to compete in Olympic team events, today I was surprised to learn of an unfortunate reality for fencers that a New York Times blog mentioned today.

"As a rule, the International Olympic Committee takes one team from men’s and women’s fencing out of the mix every four years, as a means of limiting the medals the sport can receive. And for the 2012 Games, men’s epee drew the short sword, as it were." (emphasis added)
Yikes! For women, the team sabre event will be missing in London. What a shame for all the fencers affected.

At last month's world championships, the US men's epee team won gold for the first time ever. But only two of the four American champions will compete in London. [Only two fencers per country are allowed in the Olympic events for individuals.]
"And while most members of the team said that they believe the victory at the world championships is a more difficult achievement and more meaningful than a victory in London, none of them would discount the allure of Olympic gold."

(The good news for fencers -- at least compared to figure skaters -- is that they will have ten Olympic events in London. Men and women each have individual competitions in foil, epee, and sabre; plus two team events.)

[Scout]

Most likely only the usual suspects -- Japan, Canada, Russia, and USA -- will have the depth and breadth to contend anyway.

I'd say only Canada, Russia and the USA. Without Narumi and Mervin, Japan is weak in both pairs and dance. And unlike the WTT, singles doesn't receive a very heavy weight in determining the winner.

It's so wierd to think that a Canadian lady has a chance at Olympic gold...

[redwing]

I think it was the IOC that insisted on the format, to make sure that this would be a legitimate Olympic event and not a side show. IIRC the ISU originally proposed a looser structure, but the IOC imposed the requirement that only skaters already qualified for individual competition could contest the team event.

Countries with deep fields will still have an advantage, though. If a country has two ladies of about equal strength, for instance, they can switch up between the SP and the LP. Up to two such substitutions are allowed. Most likely only the usual suspects -- Japan, Canada, Russia, and USA -- will have the depth and breadth to contend anyway.

I'm of the opinion that this event is the worst idea by the ISU. I wonder how many who view the WTT as a cheese event will change their tune only when olympic medals are on the line. Limiting the participants to the top six countries cheapens the value of the medals and takes away from the spirit of Olympic games.

So for example S/S from Germany has one opportunity for OGM but T/T from Russia will have two. I personally enjoy both pairs and hope ISU re-considers before they destroy whatever dignity is left in this beautiful sport. This is nothing but a side show and instead of cash prizes, they will award olympic medals

[Mathman]

Limiting the participants to the top six countries cheapens the value of the medals and takes away from the spirit of Olympic games.

Actually, I believe it is the top ten. That's not really overly restrictive when you consider that in the last Olympics only ten nations qualified both a pairs team and a dance team for the Olympics at all. (This includes Estonia, with Sergejeva & Glebov and Shtork & Rand. ) The top five after the short program move on to the long.

I wonder how many who view the WTT as a cheese event will change their tune only when olympic medals are on the line.

I am pretty sure the ISU hopes the answer to this question is, oh, about a billion.