- Joined
- Mar 17, 2015
For Jenny Kirk's article, my impressions are:
- I think she is kind of right that at the moment of the competition, nobody is really friend or friendly. I think it was Yuzuru (or Javier) who said that they didn't talk at all before the competition backstage or in the lockers because they just got their mind ready to compete and focused on themselves and their preparation. It is also clear that the tension must be really palpable. But you can still see friendships shine through like Jason's high five with Han Yan, Yuzuru saying "go Javi" or Elena and Liza snuggling in the 2nd kiss and cry...
- I also think that this atmosphere she describes depends a lot on the personalities of the skaters. I can't even imagine Mao Asada or Satoko Miyahara staring someone down and criticising their hair and costume lol. Maybe that is because in her time there were lots of really big personalities or diva-like skaters and now people are more chill? I also think that even if the IJS has its problems, it is still overall fairer than the system Jenny competed under. So the ranking is more about performance and less about reputation, you don't have to try to intimidate your rivals as much?
-Finally I think that with social media it is a lot easier for skaters to keep in touch and have friendly banter, know each others lives etc. Before, skaters only saw each other at competitions and sometimes shows but as she says, they wouldn't hang out outside that and wouldn't call each other on the weekend. Now they don't need to do that. They can keep permanent contact with the other skaters and when comes competition it is a lot more difficult to "hate" someone that you know everything of.
So all in all, I think it isn't true and that skaters are good friends at least now. But I also recall when they interviewed Shae Lynn Bourne on TSL she said she stayed at Maya Usova's place and recalled very fondly of her, so I guess even back in the days, some skaters were good friends too.
- I think she is kind of right that at the moment of the competition, nobody is really friend or friendly. I think it was Yuzuru (or Javier) who said that they didn't talk at all before the competition backstage or in the lockers because they just got their mind ready to compete and focused on themselves and their preparation. It is also clear that the tension must be really palpable. But you can still see friendships shine through like Jason's high five with Han Yan, Yuzuru saying "go Javi" or Elena and Liza snuggling in the 2nd kiss and cry...
- I also think that this atmosphere she describes depends a lot on the personalities of the skaters. I can't even imagine Mao Asada or Satoko Miyahara staring someone down and criticising their hair and costume lol. Maybe that is because in her time there were lots of really big personalities or diva-like skaters and now people are more chill? I also think that even if the IJS has its problems, it is still overall fairer than the system Jenny competed under. So the ranking is more about performance and less about reputation, you don't have to try to intimidate your rivals as much?
-Finally I think that with social media it is a lot easier for skaters to keep in touch and have friendly banter, know each others lives etc. Before, skaters only saw each other at competitions and sometimes shows but as she says, they wouldn't hang out outside that and wouldn't call each other on the weekend. Now they don't need to do that. They can keep permanent contact with the other skaters and when comes competition it is a lot more difficult to "hate" someone that you know everything of.
So all in all, I think it isn't true and that skaters are good friends at least now. But I also recall when they interviewed Shae Lynn Bourne on TSL she said she stayed at Maya Usova's place and recalled very fondly of her, so I guess even back in the days, some skaters were good friends too.
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