$peedy wants to revamp the GP Series | Golden Skate

$peedy wants to revamp the GP Series

Ptichka

Forum translator
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
It's hard to have an opinion on ideas that will only be presented to the public after they're presented to the ISU officials.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
I wonder if he really does have any ideas, or if he is just chiding Michelle and the USFSA a little.

MM
 
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
I think he is working on getting more money into the til. He probably wants the board to give him a raise, and maybe getting more money for the speedsters.

As for the suggestions, he'll have them passed without any vote.

Joe
 

hockeyfan228

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Interesting, because Kwan hasn't planned to skate for several years, and she only skated in 2002 Skate America as a last-minute replacement for Hughes. She didn't skate when he paid $30K, and she didn't skate when he paid $18K, so it's clearly not about the money.
 

tvcats

Rinkside
Joined
Dec 12, 2003
Attendance at the GP events is poor. Sometimes the best skaters do skip them in order to save themselves for the bigger events. I also think that the hectic travel schedule for those six weeks is detrimental to the skaters. I would be happier to see an abbreviated GP series, or one that has events spaced futher apart (although I don't see the latter happening at all due to time constraints). I don't know what Speedy has in mind, but I'd be willing to bet it isn't either one of the options I'd like to see. Let's just hope it isn't like the GP Final where it was held in a single day. That was one not-so-bright idea.
As for the money, I do think it is an issue for some of the lower rung skaters and those that don't get $$$ for touring.
 
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kyla2

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 24, 2004
Killer Schedule

ITA with Tvcat-it's a killer schedule and it depletes the athletes so they don't have as much to give when they need it for the big competitions such as Nationals and Worlds. Training and flying non-stop, and trying to maintian that edge has to be draining.
 

WildRose

Rinkside
Joined
Aug 7, 2003
kyla2 said:
ITA with Tvcat-it's a killer schedule and it depletes the athletes so they don't have as much to give when they need it for the big competitions such as Nationals and Worlds. Training and flying non-stop, and trying to maintian that edge has to be draining.

It didn't seem to hurt Joannie Rochette or Jeff Buttle at their Nationals - not sure why it would hurt anyone else either given the current time frame between events.
 

mzheng

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 16, 2005
WildRose said:
It didn't seem to hurt Joannie Rochette or Jeff Buttle at their Nationals - not sure why it would hurt anyone else either given the current time frame between events.

How many full scheduled GP events seasons have they done? How many seasons like this they will run before they burn out? Look at Irina, Cohen, etc.
 

WildRose

Rinkside
Joined
Aug 7, 2003
mzheng said:
How many full scheduled GP events seasons have they done? How many seasons like this they will run before they burn out? Look at Irina, Cohen, etc.

Jeff and Joannie don't have the years under their belts that some other skaters do, but Irina certainly does and she seems to be doing just fine - actually far more than just fine. As for Cohen - seems to me that skipping the Grand Prix certainly hasn't helped her any.
 

Fruit Loops

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 6, 2004
I said this on FSU and I'll say it here: nearly all of the other amateur sports have Grand Prix or World Tour circuits that includes travelling across the world and hectic schedules. I know all sports are different and that skaters also have to include choreography along with physical training but they should be able to handle more than two serious competitions a year. Maybe a skater has to look at the rest of the things in the lives and cut some of them out.

In a fluff piece on CTV, Jeff Buttle did mention feeling burn out last season so he made changes to his personal life so he could have more time to train for skating and now has gone to have a successful full season of GP and Nationals. He also took the time to do a couple of shows. I think it all depends on what a skater wants more.
 

MidnightNess

Rinkside
Joined
Aug 4, 2003
Jeff and Joannie don't have the years under their belts that some other skaters do, but Irina certainly does and she seems to be doing just fine - actually far more than just fine.

Irina is doing fine now after spending much time in a hospital and away from competing. Now people believe her illness is linked to the stressful Olympic season that included a full set of GP events. She's an extreme example of burnout because she had other factors such as her mom falling ill but nevertheless,Irina wasn't always doing 'just fine'
 

Ptichka

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Jul 28, 2003
The pressure is psychological more than anything else. The same skaters who can't handle the full schedule with GP have no trouble with dozens of shows and even cheesefests.
 

RealtorGal

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Burnout? For what? Two, maybe three events plus Nationals, Europeans, Worlds? And that is it for an entire year as far as competition goes.
 

citrus

Rinkside
Joined
Jan 22, 2004
As a flippant remark, I believe that all the anti-kwan msgs on how bad, boring, same-o same-o, no choreography, no 3/3, lots of others are better skaters, should be gathered up & sent to speedy. It will educate him that mk is not needed in the gp to get more funding.

Picking on the US skaters shows Speedy's lack of imagination as many comments/msgs say that other nations's skaters are much better. Quite a few such msgs are also on the isu forums!

Anyway, to me, it appears it is no big deal that mk isn't doing the gp for the isu. http://www.goldenskate.com/forum/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=105953#
Roflhttp://www.goldenskate.com/forum/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=105953#
Roflhttp://www.goldenskate.com/forum/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=105953#
Roflhttp://www.goldenskate.com/forum/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=105953#
Rofl
 

attyfan

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Medalist
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Mar 1, 2004
Suggested "re-vamps":
(1) A "target jumping" component, where the skaters land triple jumps on the faces of judges (and/or federation officials) who cheat;
(2) Co-opt the invitationals, so some of the lesser-known skaters who reach a certain level in the GP get to go, as well as the big names.
(3) Vary the GP events, so when big names do compete, we aren't seeing the same SP and free skates all the time. Some events could be traditional ISU competition and some could be an SP and "interpretive free" like the old pro-ams.
 

WildRose

Rinkside
Joined
Aug 7, 2003
MidnightNess said:
Irina is doing fine now after spending much time in a hospital and away from competing. Now people believe her illness is linked to the stressful Olympic season that included a full set of GP events. She's an extreme example of burnout because she had other factors such as her mom falling ill but nevertheless,Irina wasn't always doing 'just fine'

This is exactly my point. Irina came back from an extremely serious lllness, and family problems, and yet has still managed to skate extremely well in the Grand Prix and at Nationals and so far at Europeans. If she can do it - what's stopping the other top skaters? Competitors "compete" they don't just talk about it - they thrive on it.
 
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attyfan

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Mar 1, 2004
All kidding aside, if $peedy wants to generate more interest in the GP for the long term, he will have to do more than simply make the GP mandatory (if the federations approve of that idea). After all, Irina has spoken of retiring after this year, and Michelle has admitted that she is reaching the end of her competitive career. Furthermore, after Turino, there is likely to be a lot of "big names" that retire. IMHO, the ISU and the federations need to work on building up more "new stars".
 

lil lion 816

Rinkside
Joined
Jul 29, 2003
I wonder, after reading several not-so-veiled threats from Speedy, if he ever heard that saying "you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar"... :rolleye:

Or even using a carrot, i.e., greater incentives for the skaters to compete in the GP series, rather than holding a stick over their heads. :sheesh:
 
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