I've had a look at the entry list for the ice dance event at the 2013 worlds.
I did a quick comparison of everybody's official PB score and I'm peeved that some of the teams who can't go (who are generally from non-european nations) are actually stronger skaters than some of the other skaters (who are generally from European nations) who managed to get their minimums from senior B's where the judging was either stingy or overly inflated.
This year there will be no Chinese, Australian or Uzbeki ice dance teams (surprise surpise non-european nations) and there are definitely some european teams who are not as strong as them (Don't get me wrong they got their spot fair and square).
There is a definite disadvantage representing a non-european nation, especially in Ice Dance. This is evident in the fact that the Bavarian open (the last Ice Dance competition at a senior B before worlds) was held during four continents. There is now no chance for these stronger skaters like Xun/Zheng (12th in Nice), Obrien/Merriman (20th in Nice) and Nagornyuk/Kovalenko (Made it to SD) to have a crack at worlds, which happens to serve as the olympic qualifier.
I wish they had a minimum segment score instead of a minimum technical score. The quality of a couple's skating should not be solely measured by their technical score only. The idea of using 4CC/Europeans as a way to qualify to the world championships seems like a more sensible option.
I'm just one person with one opinion. What do you think? Please comment below
I did a quick comparison of everybody's official PB score and I'm peeved that some of the teams who can't go (who are generally from non-european nations) are actually stronger skaters than some of the other skaters (who are generally from European nations) who managed to get their minimums from senior B's where the judging was either stingy or overly inflated.
This year there will be no Chinese, Australian or Uzbeki ice dance teams (surprise surpise non-european nations) and there are definitely some european teams who are not as strong as them (Don't get me wrong they got their spot fair and square).
There is a definite disadvantage representing a non-european nation, especially in Ice Dance. This is evident in the fact that the Bavarian open (the last Ice Dance competition at a senior B before worlds) was held during four continents. There is now no chance for these stronger skaters like Xun/Zheng (12th in Nice), Obrien/Merriman (20th in Nice) and Nagornyuk/Kovalenko (Made it to SD) to have a crack at worlds, which happens to serve as the olympic qualifier.
I wish they had a minimum segment score instead of a minimum technical score. The quality of a couple's skating should not be solely measured by their technical score only. The idea of using 4CC/Europeans as a way to qualify to the world championships seems like a more sensible option.
I'm just one person with one opinion. What do you think? Please comment below