Well said. My feelings exactly. And So many injuries in skating now. Still dont know what happened to Team O'Shea or Kanon Smith....Rika, where ever you are, we love you.This is sad news to hear, even though I had a feeling she might retire soon. I may not have been a big fan of hers, but I enjoyed her performances at Skate Canada 2019. Wishing her the best of luck in this new stage of her skating career and hoping she is healthy enough to do shows for many more years.
What you and moonvine said. My wife wont jump a dog in dog agility till the grow plates are closed at a certain age. Surely there are orthepedic surgeons and researchers out there that know about what damage can be caused by a 6 G landing day after day on children?
Not saying you are wrong, but back in 1996, I would say there were less. Skating was huge and at one time, more watched than basketball in the US. Yes, the internet does bring them to the fore front.
A few years ago, I remember a lot of criticism of USFS for not encouraging little skaters to train the big jumps early to compete with the Russians. We had kids winning Intermediate and Novice nationals with no triples but better skating skills and artistry. And everyone said, "Oh no, we're falling behind! We must start encouraging risk more!" And we have. Now we have Lindsay, Isabeau, Alysa, others coming up. But as somebody said on one of these forums a couple of days ago, fix the judging system to better balance jumps so they're not worth 75 percent of the TSS and other elements are emphasized in greater proportion. Then maybe we will have healthier skaters and more Jason Browns surviving long enough to become beautiful legends.
). There will never be another skater like Michelle Kwan. 
Even several years ago, I was so glad for USFS to be having their priorities in the right place. In favor of artistry, skating skills well developed over time, competition longevity; in favor of women's skating not being dominated by 14 and 15 year olds. Of course, if anyone dared voice such a thing, they often got shouted down.
Are you being serious or sarcastic? Because, you know, a little girl named Alysa, aged 13-14 at the time,
When I said 'several years ago,' I should have been more specific. I meant more than 2 or 3 years ago. Other people would know when the changes were made to encourage quads, etc for young girls. I only recall USFS being criticized, here and other places, for being behind the times and not putting more emphasis on being able at some point to be competitive with the Russian girls.
) at the beginning of any layback spin, because I know it's inevitably going to end up in a Biellmann, which I really don't enjoy watching. Ladies' laybacks used to often be highlights. Especially a well-positioned layback with visible connection to the music.
We’ve had social media for quite some time and I’ve never seen this level of injuries in just a few months.
I think that a good classic layback spin must be more difficult to achieve and sustain than a Biellmann spin.My take is also a layman's and exclusively a figure skating fan's. But I can say unequivocally that I enjoy spins (and it seems to me especially women's spins) much less than I used to. They've lost a lot of their originality and musicality. Again, that's the fault of the scoring system.
Most spins look more or less the the same, and it's as if they're putting themselves through the paces to earn the maximum points. Boring. I take a 10-second nap - 'ho-hum' (maybe I go for a snack too
