If you have some good ideas to suggest, by all means suggest them, with specifics for how they could work by developing the sport as it's now practiced into a new direction. I tried to take your suggestion of professionalizing judges seriously by raising some questions that would need to be answered if any move were to be made in that direction.
We can also fantasize about wouldn't it be great if skating were structured like X. I enjoy doing that myself, imagining alternative competition structures for example. But if the only way to get there from here is to cancel all skating competitions for at least a year, disband the figure skating branch of the ISU, and start from scratch, then we have to recognize that we're dealing with thought experiments and not real proposals.
Still, such discussions can be thought-provoking, and who knows, if we're lucky maybe some folks who do have some input into ISU decisions will find their thoughts provoked into suggesting changes in that direction.
But just complaining about what the ISU does wrong and blaming them for not having done things the same way that other sports with other histories have, without offering any specific alternative plans, is not productive.
Pretend the old and middle-aged men and women in the ISU leadership have hired you to transform the sport. Taking into account the realities of the way Olympic/amateur sports, specifically skating, have been structured around national federations, the fact that ice is hard/expensive to come by in many areas, and all the rest of the facts of skating as it exists now, what do you think could be done differently, and what would be the best way to get there? Do the research first, then come up with a plan. Or present the plan first and be prepared for more questions afterward: How would you deal with situations you didn't take into account yet? Maybe go back to my post #45 and address some of those questions about professionalizing judging, which were offered in good faith.
We can also fantasize about wouldn't it be great if skating were structured like X. I enjoy doing that myself, imagining alternative competition structures for example. But if the only way to get there from here is to cancel all skating competitions for at least a year, disband the figure skating branch of the ISU, and start from scratch, then we have to recognize that we're dealing with thought experiments and not real proposals.
Still, such discussions can be thought-provoking, and who knows, if we're lucky maybe some folks who do have some input into ISU decisions will find their thoughts provoked into suggesting changes in that direction.
But just complaining about what the ISU does wrong and blaming them for not having done things the same way that other sports with other histories have, without offering any specific alternative plans, is not productive.
Pretend the old and middle-aged men and women in the ISU leadership have hired you to transform the sport. Taking into account the realities of the way Olympic/amateur sports, specifically skating, have been structured around national federations, the fact that ice is hard/expensive to come by in many areas, and all the rest of the facts of skating as it exists now, what do you think could be done differently, and what would be the best way to get there? Do the research first, then come up with a plan. Or present the plan first and be prepared for more questions afterward: How would you deal with situations you didn't take into account yet? Maybe go back to my post #45 and address some of those questions about professionalizing judging, which were offered in good faith.