So how do you keep these rivalries going for years and years? And what about the other skaters, who weren't in the mix for gold with the "original" challengers - when do they get their chance? How long do they have to wait, and why?
Rivalries are always changing - there are only 3 spots on any podium and thousands of skaters. There can't really be only 3 skaters who can do it out of thousands for a long period of time. Also, not everyone improves (or deteriorates) at the same rate - some improve quickly and some lag behind. This happens in all levels, not just seniors. For example, skaters like Alina and Alena were way behind in their age group. In novices, their age group already had established rivalries. But they improved very quickly, and overtook the other skaters, again changing the rivalries. They were the new shiny kids on the block.
Figure skating popularity in the Russian ladies is at an all time high. That's why there are new skaters who are able to overtake the older ones. How would you stop the influx? I just don't understand how you expect the talent pool to stay between the same top skaters for many years, and what you think needs to be done for that to happen.
I get that it's rough to have new skaters beat out your favourites. I saw that with Alina and the 3A, and also Anna at the team competition by Kamila. But at the same time, the only way to ensure that Anna isn't beaten by Kamila and the others is to hold them back so Anna can have more time to shine. And that's not fair to them. I know many people propose an age limit, but I don't see how that'd work either. If it's 18, Kamila would still be beating the 3A, just in juniors instead. If it were 17, Anna and Sasha would've still beaten Liza in seniors.
I don't think being young is the only way to win, that's the perspective of the community. If the skaters or coaches have this mindset, they would've all given up and Akatieva would've quit because she just misses the Olympics age cut-off. And Liza wouldn't have qualified for worlds.
Listen, I have said multiple times that I a) do not have a foulproof solution to fix this and b) am not entirely sure it even needs fixing. Apparently, a lot of people enjoy the sport right now and good for them.
As for your questions, however... I was toying with a combination of raising the age limit and changing the scoring system, maybe creating separate panels for PCS and TES and having computers instead of humans do the analysis in terms of URs, edges, stuff like that. It‘s been done in Japan, they measured height, speed and length of jumps quite accurately and having actual numbers and parameters on what constitutes “good height and length“, might make it less subjective. Also, more camera angles. Just..keeping up with the times a bit.
If we talk about PCS - while those will always contain a subjective portion - speed and ice coverage have already been calculated using programs.
Now, the raise of the age limit could admittedly lead to a few “lost generations“ but eventually, it might force coaches to focus on more sustainable methods that would allow peaking at a later age. If you know you will have to hold on until you’re 17, you might not push yourself too far as a 14 year old, allowing a more gradual growth, rather than the explosive one we’re seeint today, where the rise is extremely fast but then so is the fall afterwards. Of course, I do realise that there might be severe drawbacks to this (e.g. too many talents stuck in juniors for too long, forcing them to give up sooner) and this is all very theoretical. But since we‘ve had this discussion ad nauseam, I‘m not going to rehash any more arguments.
It‘s also not just about someone beating my favorites. This happens all the time everywhere in life and it‘s completely normal. There’s always someone who’s better than you. My problem is not that Medvedeva was outclassed entirely, or Kostornaya after her, or that Petrosyan will be in the future - my problem is that it happens at a rate that I, personally, do not consider normal. For me, I just cannot wrap my head around the fact that 15 would be the peak age in any serious sport. But this is a matter of opinions and preferences. I don‘t mind watching the occasional teenager or kid excel in a sport, it can be pretty exciting to watch a youngster beat a grown adult. But when it‘s a sport where still competing as an adult is the rarity...well, I find it problematic.
So, all I can offer are a few vague suggestions and more complaints than solutions. I‘m aware of that. And it‘s why I‘m at least planning on making this my last post on the matter. It‘s a little off topic anyway.
Well, Fluture, welcome to the world of Figure Skating. It's always been like this, most top athletes have their time of glory for one maybe two years, then they are gone. In fact, that is exactly what happens in sports in general.
How so, though? Skaters used to be around for many years not so long ago. Even in federations that regularly churned out new Champions. It’s just recently that the rising TES level has made younger and younger bodies required to pull off these feats before the wear and tear becomes too much.
And for other sports - well, even those that were pointed out to me as having traditionally young peaking ages had Olympic Champions in their 20s in 2016. And winning Worlds 8 years in a row is not what my argument is about - it‘s about having the capability of being in the running for a World’s title for a longer time than one or two years. Eight is very long indeed and not something all too likely to happen in figure skating (though, if you look at Hanyu and skaters in other disciplines, it can happen there too).
As for skating itself - I‘m pretty sure I‘ll keep watching it one way or another. After all, there’s more skaters than just the Russian ones (even if they’re my favorites) and more disciplines than the ladies. And who knows? Maybe it turns out I‘ll have to eat my words and the next few generations stick around at the top for longer than it takes me to pronounce “quadruple sheepskin coat“.
They are so unalike to me.
