I noticed that it pretty much just junior and senior skaters who compete at Liberty. Given the different rules ( and the travel costs ) for skaters at novice and below, you don't see any novice and below Canadian skaters at Liberty.
More Canadian skaters from all levels do compete at Detroit. Detroit however is minimal cost travelwise to Western Ontario based skaters. Detroit is right beside Windsor, Ontario.
One issue is that for novice levels and below, the Canadian rules are different from the American rules ( different requirements , program lengths etc ). That will keep many of the lower level skaters from doing that travel.
I know that skaters look at the scores of all flights not just the one they competed in. However , a fair comparison can't happen between the top scores when they were subjected to different callers and judges.
As well, in separate groups, the top skaters don't experience the direct pressure of having other skaters on the competition ice that can push them. Comparing scores to other top skaters in other groups is not the same thing.
So event finals are needed here in Canada at all levels. This is the only way that our ladies can get used to the pressure of international competition.
