Are you excited for the Team event? | Page 3 | Golden Skate

Are you excited for the Team event?

SubRosa

I love Lussi
Final Flight
Joined
Mar 22, 2004
Country
Canada
On the plus side, the team event encourages countries to have well rounded skating programs that focus on all four disciplines, not just one or two (Japan, I'm looking at you).

On the minus side, I am expecting the ISU to botch this event rather badly. I imagine a scenario where there are several countries tying for the fourth/fifth spots in the final, and the commentators have to explain the arcane tie-breaking rules to the public.

The whole set-up takes us back to the days of ordinals and skaters no longer "controlling their own destiny." Country W beats Country X because Country Y makes it to the final five over Country Z. (Not that I can think of a better way to organize the team event, I admit.)

I also don't like that the two segments are equally weighted. Shouldn't the short count half as much as the free?

I worry, too, about the brouhaha that will erupt if a favourite for an individual medal injuries him/herself in the team event and is taken out of contention in the individual event.

As for seeing the same programs in the team and individual events, don't gymnasts perform the same routines for their various events? If this isn't a problem for gymnastics viewership, why should it be a problem for figure skating?
 

Icey

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 28, 2012
I think it might prove deleterious to the non-team competitions. No real basis for this, but I suspect it will be history after this Olympics. Who or what gets the credit for coming up with this idea? Are the skaters having to prepare different programs for this event? I think they should if it is to be really interesting. I don't care about seeing them skate the same programs in both the team and non-team events.
 

lcd

Match Penalty
Joined
Mar 11, 2007
I thought that it had already been confirmed that different skaters would be chosen to skate the short and long programs…"

Each country has the option to have different skaters compete the short and free programs, but only in 2 of the 4 disciplines. Thus, further adding to the 'confusion' will be variations amongst the countries over which discipline there are "swaps" and why the outcome in terms of placement for a particular event might have changed so much between short and free (separate from the quality of the performance of course).

The Pairs event, being the first to be held relatively shortly after the team event, would seem a likely place for have different athletes compete, but it is also ironically the discipline with the thinnest roster of competitors.
 

TontoK

Hot Tonto
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 28, 2013
Country
United-States
^^ It's funny, but for myself (as a spectator), I'm probably more interested in watching the Team Event than the Pairs.

Right now, Pairs is the Olympic "throwaway" event for me... the event I'm least interested in watching.

The Team Event, exposure to the skaters and their stories, getting a preview of what they can do (and what they're planning to do) can only INCREASE my chances of tuning in to pairs.

As for the other events, don't you think some great stories/speculation can come from that? D/W beat V/M in the short dance by less than a tenth... can they hold on? Patrick Chan blows away the other men in the Team Event... can he duplicate that? And so forth...
 

MarkusNJ

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 13, 2011
I think it is fantastic. Think about how the team event is so hyped in gymnastics? Also....anything that gives our sport more attention right now is good, especially American medals.
 

BravesSkateFan

Medalist
Joined
Aug 7, 2003
I think if they are going to have a team event, then they need to allow all countries to have skaters in each of the 4 disciplines regardless of if they qualified in the individual events or not. So Japan would get to send a team to compete in Dance for the team event, but since a dance team did not qualify for the individual event then that Dance team would compete ONLY in the team event.

It just doesn't make sense to me to allow a country to compete with skaters in only 3 of the disciplines. That would be like a gymnastics team not competing on one of the apparatus...
 

guenever

Rinkside
Joined
Mar 8, 2013
BravesSkateFan, they are allowed to bring in one skater/couple that didn't qualify. Japan's pair and Britain's man are only competing in the team event. (Japan's dance team qualified at Nebelhorn.)
 

Chemistry66

Mmmmm, tacos.
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 16, 2010
BravesSkateFan, they are allowed to bring in one skater/couple that didn't qualify. Japan's pair and Britain's man are only competing in the team event. (Japan's dance team qualified at Nebelhorn.)

Japan's pair is going to compete in the regular event barring a last minute turnaround by Estonia on Alexandr Zaboev's citizenship. Takahashi/Kihara were the first alternates via Nebelhorn placements, so they get the vacated spot.
 

BravesSkateFan

Medalist
Joined
Aug 7, 2003
BravesSkateFan, they are allowed to bring in one skater/couple that didn't qualify. Japan's pair and Britain's man are only competing in the team event. (Japan's dance team qualified at Nebelhorn.)

I thought I had read that some countries would only be fielding a team in 3 of the 4 discipline. Perhaps I misread it.
 

Chemistry66

Mmmmm, tacos.
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 16, 2010
I thought I had read that some countries would only be fielding a team in 3 of the 4 discipline. Perhaps I misread it.

Countries must participate in 3 of the 4 disciplines to participate in the team event, BUT are allowed to add an additional skater/couple as per the rules just for the team event through the Additional Athletes Quota. I believe the assumption is that countries that only qualified 2 disciplines are therefore still eligible to the team event if they can add an additional athlete for the requisite 3 disciplines.

Rules are here http://isu.sportcentric.net/db//files/serve.php?id=4263
 

sequinsgalore

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 12, 2008
It's a figure skating competition, of course I'm excited :clap:

Sure, there are "risks" that some will skate better at the team event than at the individuel comp, but that can't really be controlled.

I just hope that the team I feel skated overall best will take the gold - placement scores can be tricky
 

Big Deal

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 23, 2004
It seems to me VERY ARTEFICIAL, and was created to try to get a chance to Russia.
In order to this even the rules of the previous World Team Championships has been changed, when they realized Russia cannot win if there are 2 males and 2 females skaters count with no contender exists in men and the girls are great but very incosistent one's.

It smells to me......

It also could strenghten the national bias in the system, which even can affect the individual result ( I give your athlete a bit more point in the individual, if you help mine in the team event etc.......)
 

BravesSkateFan

Medalist
Joined
Aug 7, 2003
Countries must participate in 3 of the 4 disciplines to participate in the team event, BUT are allowed to add an additional skater/couple as per the rules just for the team event through the Additional Athletes Quota. I believe the assumption is that countries that only qualified 2 disciplines are therefore still eligible to the team event if they can add an additional athlete for the requisite 3 disciplines.

Rules are here http://isu.sportcentric.net/db//files/serve.php?id=4263

Thanks for the link. I still think they should be required to field a team in all 4 disciplines. It just doesn't make sense to me to only compete in part of the event.

I think this could also be a boon for skating in the future becuase a skater whose country is low ranked in a certain discipline will have that goal of making the Olympic team event, and that exposure may inspire others in that country to skate.
 

Violet Bliss

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
It smells to me......

It also could strenghten the national bias in the system, which even can affect the individual result ( I give your athlete a bit more point in the individual, if you help mine in the team event etc.......)

I think this could also be a boon for skating in the future becuase a skater whose country is low ranked in a certain discipline will have that goal of making the Olympic team event, and that exposure may inspire others in that country to skate.

Such contrast in perspectives, attitudes and outlooks.

Moi, I think I prefer the sunny side of the street with BraveSkateFan and sequinsgalore.
 

karne

in Emergency Backup Mode
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 1, 2013
Country
Australia
It seems to me VERY ARTEFICIAL, and was created to try to get a chance to Russia.
In order to this even the rules of the previous World Team Championships has been changed, when they realized Russia cannot win if there are 2 males and 2 females skaters count with no contender exists in men and the girls are great but very incosistent one's.

It smells to me......

Um, you DO realise that the WTT was created by JAPAN in the format that it was because Japan knew they didn't stand a chance unless they overbalanced the men and ladies to hide their lack of dance/pair quality, right?


Anyway I think the team event is pointless, just more medals for the big powerhouses and a few little counties for decoration.
 

Sasha'sSpins

Medalist
Joined
Apr 2, 2009
Country
United-States
Not yet. Also, as it's being held before the singles/pairs/ice dance events I'm concerned about skaters giving their best/hitting their peak in the Team effort and then losing it for their respective individual disciplines. My greatest concern is Heaven-forbid injury which would kill an athlete's chances at individual competitive glory.
 

LiamForeman

William/Uilyam
Medalist
Joined
Nov 24, 2006
I am not excited at all about it. I think every country that participates should field all four disciplines. Otherwise, what's the point? You'll never be close to competitive. It's like taking an exam and starting at a 75%.

I like the idea of giving athletes more of a chance of winning an Olympic medal. How can that be a bad thing?

I'm not concerned about a skater giving a stellar performance in Team and then blowing the individual. Hello? Figure skaters are athletes not porcelain breakable dolls. Gymnasts have been doing this forever, and no one that I've ever heard ever said "I really hope Shannon Miller doesn't compete in the team event, it might hurt her chances in the all-around". And as for getting injured, well, you can get injured during a run-through practice. And it's not THAT much of a bad thing. What was the name of that twerpy gymnast who became the hero of the Olympics by landing the vault during the team event on one foot? Kerri Shrub? I'm sure she was upset she couldn't compete in the AA, but she had her moment of Olympic glory, which she might not have had if there was not team event.
 
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