2018 USFS Olympic team selection thoughts

a_reader · Aug 24, 2017

Blades of Passion said:
You don't need to cut anybody out. Extra skaters, the actual best skaters in the world, would just get to compete.

Finally, a voice of reason!
Really, though, I am fine with the current selection process. I just find it humorous to watch certain posters overreact to the baseless claims that larger Feds are going to "steal spots," when there are already clear rules in place to determine who gets how many.

TontoK · Aug 24, 2017

Moxiejan said:
Spots are awarded based on a country's total team performance at the previous Worlds, not on the ranking of specific pairs. The U.S. team met the qualifying points standard for two spots of 28 (10 for Knierims and 18 for D/F), but there is no requirement that they be the ones entered to fill those two spots for Worlds or that the Knierims (as the higher-ranked U.S. team at Worlds) be the pair entered for Olympics.

As for Olympics, only 20 total entries are allowed, with a maximum of 16 team spots coming from Worlds and a minimum of 4 team spots from Nebelhorn.
It should be noted that in the ISU table that lists countries and entries for Olympics, the 1 for the U.S. is listed as 1**; the asterisks indicate that this is a special case from a standard 1 and adds a footnote to explain:

** As indicated in Rule 400, paragraph 3, the last ISU Member to reach the qualifying limit would not
be permitted to enter a Couple that would cause the limit to be exceeded.

Note that this doesn't say that the U.S. didn't QUALIFY for two spots; it says the U.S. won't be PERMITTED to enter a second pair, because that would cause the limit to be exceeded, with 17 spots from Worlds instead of 16.

HOWEVER, it gets murky after that. The rules state that teams have until 9/15/17 to confirm whether they will use their full quota; any entries not used will be allocated at Nebelhorn, with a stand-by list created if there are any pullouts after that.

The rules do not in any way address a case of a federation such as U.S. that met the standard for a certain number of entries but is not being permitted to use them. If there is a one-spot reduction by France, the U.S. in actuality would have the 15th- and 16th-qualified spots. But as it stands, that 16th-qualified spot would go to a federation that did not earn one at Worlds.

Sorry, that's just nuts.

Of course I know that the spots earned go to federations and not to individual athletes/pairs. I re-read my post, and you are correct in that I did not make that clear.

As for the rest: I admit that is confusing, especially to a layman fan like myself. However, I haven't heard of any controversy within the ISU or USFSA or among skaters or coaches regarding this matter. On the contrary, there seems to have been quick acknowledgement and acceptance that the US Pairs (collectively) didn't get it done at Worlds, and the end-result is that USA sends only one pair to the Olympics.

If the rules weren't clear to those who actually should know what is going on, or if there is some dispute, then they're being awfully quiet about it.

Moxiejan · Aug 24, 2017

TontoK said:
I haven't heard of any controversy within the ISU or USFSA or among skaters or coaches regarding this matter. On the contrary, there seems to have been quick acknowledgement and acceptance that the US Pairs (collectively) didn't get it done at Worlds, and the end-result is that USA sends only one pair to the Olympics.
If the rules weren't clear to those who actually should know what is going on, or if there is some dispute, then they're being awfully quiet about it.

Yes, there was quick acknowledgement & acceptance that the rule is clear as to the U.S. getting just 1 spot, based on the assumption that all allocated spots will be used by France (and the other countries that qualified; a flurry of injuries also could affect the ability of Italy and Germany to fill their 2 spots).

Yes, skaters, coaches & USFS are properly being "awfully quiet" about any hypothetical possibility of other teams not using spots. To do otherwise would of course be viewed as wishing negative events (injuries, lack of citizenship, etc.) on other countries' skaters.

But if people on skating boards immediately could see & discuss the ambiguity in the rules about an unused spot, you can bet that those directly involved are aware of it. too. And are discussing it very quietly, behind the scenes.

Of course, all of this is moot if France does actually get citizenship for a second pair before the 9/15/17 deadline.

rlopen · Aug 24, 2017

GrandmaCC said:
Lol!! And Mirai over all of the alts? That girl is gonna have to step up her training BIG time!

:roll5: You obviously haven't been following her practices. Also, what makes you think Polina, Mariah, and Karen are all definitively better than her? (Alright, I'll give you Karen) Mirai has shown that she has the ability to hang with them barring any meltdowns.

2018 USFS Olympic team selection thoughts

a_reader

TontoK

Hot Tonto

Moxiejan

rlopen

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