- Joined
- Jun 21, 2003
Is it good or bad that under the current judging system a skater can be so far ahead after the short program that the long program is irrelevant? Was it good or bad under 6.0 judging that “you can’t win in the short program, but you can lose?”
No matter which side we take, there will always be particular competitions where the final outcome is unsatisfactory for one reason or another.
There is also the question, what do the fans think who see one skater thoroughly outskate another, yet the better performance loses because of something that happened a couple of nights ago (the short program, school figures, etc.) Or do we not care what the fans think?
Here is my solution. Let the short program be a separate competition by itself. This is a competition of, by, and for the skater’s. Fan can come and watch (for free) if they want. The reward for winning would be a big trophy, the respect and admiration of your fellow skaters, the beaming pride of your parents, advancement in cred and rep from the skating establishment, etc. If you think about it, this is all skaters get from winning a big competition anyway. Maybe a cash prize could be offered if the whole event is sufficiently in the black.
Rankings in the short program could still be used for seeding the long, or as a qualifying event in the case where not everyone makes the free skate.
Then two days later comes the big whoop. The free skate, winner take all. This is the event that is televised and promoted. The audience sees the best performance rewarded with a gold medal and the title of champion of that event. The runner-up gets the satisfaction of saying to the winner, ”Oh yeah? If you’re so great why did I clean your clock in the short program?”
What do you think?
No matter which side we take, there will always be particular competitions where the final outcome is unsatisfactory for one reason or another.
There is also the question, what do the fans think who see one skater thoroughly outskate another, yet the better performance loses because of something that happened a couple of nights ago (the short program, school figures, etc.) Or do we not care what the fans think?
Here is my solution. Let the short program be a separate competition by itself. This is a competition of, by, and for the skater’s. Fan can come and watch (for free) if they want. The reward for winning would be a big trophy, the respect and admiration of your fellow skaters, the beaming pride of your parents, advancement in cred and rep from the skating establishment, etc. If you think about it, this is all skaters get from winning a big competition anyway. Maybe a cash prize could be offered if the whole event is sufficiently in the black.
Rankings in the short program could still be used for seeding the long, or as a qualifying event in the case where not everyone makes the free skate.
Then two days later comes the big whoop. The free skate, winner take all. This is the event that is televised and promoted. The audience sees the best performance rewarded with a gold medal and the title of champion of that event. The runner-up gets the satisfaction of saying to the winner, ”Oh yeah? If you’re so great why did I clean your clock in the short program?”
What do you think?
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