- Joined
- Jan 23, 2009
I guess if you don't care about watching the sport on TV, there's nothing wrong with that at all ...
I guess if you don't care about watching the sport on TV, there's nothing wrong with that at all ...
Its just US skating though that we aren't watching. Fortunately Russian Jr Nationals was on and Just as good of an event. Good crowd...good skating....perfect feed....nice drama.... I wonder if US Fed knows that Americans like me feel this way. I will never buy IN myself.
I guess if you don't care about watching the sport on TV, there's nothing wrong with that at all ...
Hooray for exposure! And I could be totally off-base with my assumptions because I have to admit I rarely watch TV anymore with the advent of broadband, mobile, internet-based channels, small production and user-generated free content and time-shifted/on-demand video. I just think this whole subscription model for a sport that has been reduced to a niche in America is transitional at best and limiting in terms of what is possible and what is demanded by consumers.For the record - today there is 6 hours of figure skating on TV in the US
Baby's first post!
I think the shift to IJS, while nowhere near completely to blame, has had a downward effect in US viewership in a very specific way ......
Instead what I think the IJS may have done was inadvertently alienate the legacy fans--even former skaters and insiders--who where weaned on 6.0 skating. IJS hasn't ruined the sport, it just made it different. For better or worse a fan who grew up with IJS skating is looking at the sport with completely different eyes than a fan from the 6.0 days. A 6.0 fan thinks, "Why is she twirling around so much like an insane person to this slow minuet and why are you freeze-framing and using a compass and protractor on your laptop screen to measure the hypotenuse of that landing when the whole routine is just yet another over-stuffed sausage for points gathering?"
An IJS fan thinks, "Is this an Olympic performance or a macchiato break at Starbucks? Did I accidentally click on an episode of Toddlers and Tiaras or is she really just strutting then vogueing in place? Could that double flutz be more underrotated and why are you having a spiritual experience and practically weeping over those basic spins and novice footwork?"
Brennan's other point is about the lack of stars of late, except for ice dancing. I suspect, though can't prove, that teenagers are different today. The pool of kids willing to sign away their lives to practice the right edge is probably shrinking due to the internet, cell phones, attitude changes, and a perceived lack of payoff for stage parents. I teach in one of the top high schools in the country, and I don't know if any of my kids would be willing to do it.
Why are you having a spiritual experience and practically weeping over those basic spins?
I think that there are plenty of teens with that kind of dedication, but there are also plenty of other sports to pursue that are less expensive. Our economy is not great. I can't help but think that there are a ton of kids out there who possess the work ethic and natural talent but their families do not have the money to pursue an expensive sport like skating. Team sports available at school are low cost for parents by comparison, in some cases almost no cost. Even expensive traveling teams for some sports would still be incredibly cost effective when compared to skating.I had students who played on select traveling teams in volleyball and basketball. Kids who indeed had the dedication. They spent 4-6 hours a day on their sports. One played on a junior national team. But the costs to families, while expensive, are next to nothing compared to skating. U.S. Figure Skating does not have the resources to fund skaters the way many other federations are able to do.
It is likely that some of the best potential talent in the U.S. quietly slips away at very young ages because it is simply not financially viable for families.
Louisa05, I think that's a huge part of it. I know I was fascinated with skating at a young age and wanted desperately to take lessons, but it was too expensive. And I should say that my parents were willing and able to pay for pre-professional ballet classes six days a week, so we weren't exactly living in abject poverty. But skating still was much more expensive. Dance was probably a good $500/month for me on average, maybe more, but skating can be what, four times that at least? Very few families have that kind of money to spend on *one child's* *single activity*.
I think that there are plenty of teens with that kind of dedication, but there are also plenty of other sports to pursue that are less expensive. Our economy is not great. I can't help but think that there are a ton of kids out there who possess the work ethic and natural talent but their families do not have the money to pursue an expensive sport like skating. Team sports available at school are low cost for parents by comparison, in some cases almost no cost. Even expensive traveling teams for some sports would still be incredibly cost effective when compared to skating.I had students who played on select traveling teams in volleyball and basketball. Kids who indeed had the dedication. They spent 4-6 hours a day on their sports. One played on a junior national team. But the costs to families, while expensive, are next to nothing compared to skating. U.S. Figure Skating does not have the resources to fund skaters the way many other federations are able to do.
It is likely that some of the best potential talent in the U.S. quietly slips away at very young ages because it is simply not financially viable for families.
I don't think the "new" judging system helped with the television watching popularity in the United States, though it is not 100% responsible for the lower ratings. The focus is now on tiny details of edges and rotations. A program with multiple wrong edges and underrotations can still look good to someone watching on television, if the skater skates to a well-liked song, has a nice costume, expresses the music well and DOESN'T FALL. When clean-looking programs get low scores because of things that can only be seen on instant replay, some viewers will get mad. Those who are really, really into skating or have skated themselves may understand.
What you have now is an upscale sport with a cult following, instead of a sport for the masses. Those who want to study or be schooled in why it's so bad to take off on the wrong edge will pay the money for Ice Network and those who think it's petty will not.
For professional figure skating writers and those who made a lot of money when it was a sport for the masses, this is not a good thing. The 6.0 system may have been deeply flawed, but it was fun. A lot of the fun is gone. The flags of the countries and seeing who gave what score to whom was fun, and the wildly differing programs were fun. Seeing everyone spend minutes staring at their feet while doing level 4 footwork is not fun. Why do the Japanese and Russians think it is fun? They probably don't, but they have the stars right now, so the popularity of the sport is probably at least partially flag waving, as it was in the US for so many years. Those who don't care if they never hear their country's national anthem at the Olympics but like individuals of various countries will not be upset at figure skating's current state, but many others will.
Brennan's other point is about the lack of stars of late, except for ice dancing. I suspect, though can't prove, that teenagers are different today. The pool of kids willing to sign away their lives to practice the right edge is probably shrinking due to the internet, cell phones, attitude changes, and a perceived lack of payoff for stage parents. I teach in one of the top high schools in the country, and I don't know if any of my kids would be willing to do it.
if it really is the IJS, then how do you explain that it's popular in other countries?
A friend of mine had a daughter who expressed interest in skating when she was young. They didn't even consider it. She also ended up in dance and as a senior in HS is pre-professional in ballet, dancing six days a week. They spend just under $10,000 a year on ballet for her to dance at that elite level. Skating at the senior level can run 6X that cost. So...yeah. It is not a problem of desire or dedication lacking in American kids/teens.
if it really is the IJS, then how do you explain that it's popular in other countries?