Grand Prix Assignments for 2023?!?!
- Thread starter yelyoh
- Start date
- Status
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2019
- Country
-
So if we are lucky we should have the senior GP assignments end of this or early next week.
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2018
Wouldn’t it be fun if the ISU made a big deal of this, teasing the day announcements were to be made in advance on SM, having some famous retired skater (like Hanyu, Cizeron, etc) read the announcements live on the ISU stream, etc, etc?
Wouldn’t that help to increase interest?
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2015
- Country
-
you know, the pro leagues make a huge fiesta with their drafting sessions... i'd love it for the ISU to make a big reveal out of the GP series. I am sure someone in their marketing team is able to think of that on their own... why do we have to always tell them what to do and how to do it
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2019
- Country
-
I dunno, I'd rather they focus on the actual skating than create a show around the assignments. Give everyone easily accessible live streams to all the GPs, Challengers, and Senior B's instead.
Personally, I also doubt a big reveal would do something for the popularity of figure skating. We hardcore fans are already excited, and the occasional viewer wouldn't care anyway. I even enjoy the anticipation leading up to the assignments and the uncertainty of not knowing exactly when the announcement will be made gives me an additional buzz.
Personally, I also doubt a big reveal would do something for the popularity of figure skating. We hardcore fans are already excited, and the occasional viewer wouldn't care anyway. I even enjoy the anticipation leading up to the assignments and the uncertainty of not knowing exactly when the announcement will be made gives me an additional buzz.
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2013
Why not do both? I think teasing the upcoming assigments is a good idea, maybe it will catch a lurker's eye, they'll give one of the competitions a try, and they might find new favorites and become an active fan again. One never knows.I dunno, I'd rather they focus on the actual skating than create a show around the assignments. Give everyone easily accessible live streams to all the GPs, Challengers, and Senior B's instead.
Personally, I also doubt a big reveal would do something for the popularity of figure skating. We hardcore fans are already excited, and the occasional viewer wouldn't care anyway. I even enjoy the anticipation leading up to the assignments and the uncertainty of not knowing exactly when the announcement will be made gives me an additional buzz.
However, I also agree they would do well to concentrate on small events as well as big ones (this is the time of an economic crisis for many countries, and many can not attend GP, WC, EC/4CC), JGP, and above all, making FS watching more available for the general public, not hidden away due to TV and music copyrights, which benefits noone.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2014
- Country
-
I saw this first few words of the thread title and got excited for a second. Darn it lol.
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2018
- Country
-
Depending on the skater, they could milk it for a good week or so beforehand - more if it was Yuzuru or Yuna but I doubt they'd get either, so a previous multiple winner with high level media appeal would be good.
But that would involve the ISU doing, shock horror, proper pr work.
Next time I'll put the ? and ! marks at the head of the sentence.
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2015
- Country
-
oh.. he is back ?someone's also waiting
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2015
- Country
-
but if the streaming was available easily, it would be an even bigger incentive to draw more people in...I dunno, I'd rather they focus on the actual skating than create a show around the assignments. Give everyone easily accessible live streams to all the GPs, Challengers, and Senior B's instead.
Personally, I also doubt a big reveal would do something for the popularity of figure skating. We hardcore fans are already excited, and the occasional viewer wouldn't care anyway. I even enjoy the anticipation leading up to the assignments and the uncertainty of not knowing exactly when the announcement will be made gives me an additional buzz.
take a fan like me... i watched figure skating already.. never bothered with juniors until they started the youtube with Ted Barton... now i watch it regularly...
take a casual fan... they have no idea what's going on... they find out that the "draw" for assignment will be released... and then !!! OMYGOD they find out they can watch the event for free online ! That may draw in a few people no?
Audience development is a huge task.. it will not work with only one approach. It's the combination of many approaches that will help. Something can be available and accessible but if nobody knows about it... then nobody cares right?
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2018
While I do think focusing on the skating itself is more important, a draw/announcement ceremony would be fun. In tennis, before some of the grand slams (Australian Open and Roland Garros) they invited the defending champions to come to the event with their trophies, do some photocalls and then the draw for the competition is announced. The GP series can do the same thing with the defending GPF champions doing press and overseeing the announcement of new GP assignments. And then they can have commentators giving comments on some of the drawn match-ups in every GP, the way tennis commentators will comment on potentially exciting drawn R1 matches. And comment on what we know of programs the skaters have been preparing, what training camps the skaters have done, up to that point and inform that people can watch all that if they tune in to the GP.
Added bonus: they can also explain how GP seeding and invitations works
and how GPF qualification works. And announce the GP reserve list in case of withdrawals in order!But yeah, the budget for this is.... but it would have been nice though, especially if they do it at the GPF city that season (to also promote GPF, which is a big reason they compete at the GP series), outdoors, with nice photos with a landmark background or something.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Nov 30, 2016
- Country
-
Of course in tennis, the draw happens right before the tournament start, rather than several months ahead of time. I think making a bit of a production of the GP entries announcement would be fun, but I'm not sure it would help much generating excitement outside of those who are already big fans, given how far in the future the actual events would be. Even if someone saw it and was interested, and they found out they'd be able to watch it easily, they'd have to remember and still be excited 4+ months later. Not against them trying it, and there's things they could do like promote the JGP at the same time (still 1.5-2 months away but closer) and try use that to keep interest, but in terms of generating new interest from the draw itself I do think the gap in time is an issue.While I do think focusing on the skating itself is more important, a draw/announcement ceremony would be fun. In tennis, before some of the grand slams (Australian Open and Roland Garros) they invited the defending champions to come to the event with their trophies, do some photocalls and then the draw for the competition is announced. The GP series can do the same thing with the defending GPF champions doing press and overseeing the announcement of new GP assignments. And then they can have commentators giving comments on some of the drawn match-ups in every GP, the way tennis commentators will comment on potentially exciting drawn R1 matches. And comment on what we know of programs the skaters have been preparing, what training camps the skaters have done, up to that point and inform that people can watch all that if they tune in to the GP.
Added bonus: they can also explain how GP seeding and invitations works
But yeah, the budget for this is.... but it would have been nice though, especially if they do it at the GPF city that season (to also promote GPF, which is a big reason they compete at the GP series), outdoors, with nice photos with a landmark background or something.
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2018
I know. I just think when there is no content at all to begin with, there's nothing to discuss.
When there is content produced with footage that is relevant to the upcoming GP series, ISU itself can use it when they make reminder content (who is skating where and what program will they skate/if they are keeping it secret about their preparation, where can you watch it, where can you buy tickets if there are still some available, what activities you can do at each event aside from watching the competition, for example) before each GP starts. I mean, right now they are already producing content with/about skaters that is released after the competitive season is over, for example the videos they take at Worlds. This wouldn't be that different and it's actually relevant to the product (GP series) they are trying to promote. You mentioned JGP - well, let's kill two birds with one stone, and do the same thing (I know JGP assignments have different rules compared to the senior GP), but the JGPF is also the goal of the JGP series, and will be held at the same city as GPF.
I do enjoy the excitement of hardcore skating fans and their analysis/discussion after the GP assignments are made. But it's mostly insular to the fandom. Even if the existing fans think the produced content is dumb, or people will lose attention, there will at least be something relevant out with relevant timing before the GP series.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2019
- Country
-
Even if they made a show out of the announcements, I'm not convinced most fans would even like it. Has anyone seen the ISU Skating Awards lately?
Let's face it, the ISU is just not good at this kind of stuff and imo there are better ways to spend their already limited ressources.
Now, a live stream with reporting and interviews from the Closing Banquet at Euros or Worlds, that might be something more interesting and also relatively cheap, since they are having the banquet anyway and all the skaters are already there.
Let's face it, the ISU is just not good at this kind of stuff and imo there are better ways to spend their already limited ressources.
Now, a live stream with reporting and interviews from the Closing Banquet at Euros or Worlds, that might be something more interesting and also relatively cheap, since they are having the banquet anyway and all the skaters are already there.
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2018
I actually was thinking about ISU awards because... at least a showy announcement of the GP assignments would be relevant to explain to new and non-fans how the actual marquee competitions that is happening in the sport work, and how they count for something (ranking points, final qualifications, etc). To show that, hi, these competitions are happening! And they're important because we have a GP Final that only the skaters with the best results can qualify! And there are some federations that use GP and GPF results as consideration for their World team selection... Worlds that will happen on this date and time and you can buy your tickets here! Also, Worlds is our biggest competition that's not the Olympics!
ISU Awards had subjective categories, had subjective judging, was a sideshow to Art on Ice, and had skaters who skipped an actual ISU championship to skate show programs because the two events are held too closely. I do agree ISU is bad at this kind of stuff so if they have to do it, they can at least do something that's relevant to explain better their own sport, like explaining how their own competitions work, how one competitive season work so that people have some idea on how to follow it.
Last edited:
- Status
