I must say I am kind of confused by the particularly strong reactions this time around about entry lists only being released a day before or on the day of the competition.
This is not a new thing. Nothing here didn't also happen last season. Or the one before. It happens at each (non-Challenger, non-Championship, non-GP) event held in the US.
Why confused, though? There's huge interest, yet a lack of responsiveness on the part of U.S. fed. The interest in ice dance has grown since last year. U.S. fed is not paying any attention to this enthusiastic growth. Where are you from
@Jumping_Bean? You obviously know a lot about skating and you keep abreast of news. If you are Canadian, then clearly you know the issues with being able to view events is different in Canada than in the U.S.
Those running the sport, in general, do not keep up with current times, nor do they pay much attention to engaging with or satisfying fans' desires. Just because you are seeing strong reactions expressed this year in this thread does not mean that there weren't equally strong feelings last year and the year before that which may not have been as openly expressed. As figure skating fans, sometimes we suffer in silence.
The other part about this, which I'm sure is not news to you, is the music rights issue leading to uncertainty this year about programs being shared on TwitterX as they were last year by a kind fan of ice dance. So emotions are definitely running high this year. In general, fans' emotions in figure skating always run high, which is not a new reality. Your confusion is more 'confusing' than our 'strong reactions.' In addition, there are a number of new ice dance partnerships in the U.S., thus a great deal of interest in seeing new teams and their programs, many of which have not been publicly announced yet.
Last but not least, fyi, Isabella Flores has brought many new global fans to ice dance and to the sport in general as a result of her kinetic partnership with Ivan Desyatov and her charming engagement with fans on her IG. Isabella has amassed 331K followers and growing on her IG, and she has a very successful subscription platform. This is unprecedented for a young up-and-coming competitive ice dancer. She's very good at what she does on the ice and on IG. There is a lot of excitement among F/D's core fans in getting to see their 2024-25 programs in competition. I am sure those IG subscribers who are able have traveled to Lake Placid, in large part, for the opportunity to see F/D compete.
In general, F/D appear to be well-liked in the skating community, so there is a lot of interest in them and in ice dance generally, I believe more-so than there has ever been. This is a good thing that, for the most part, seems to have escaped USfigskating's notice.
Why are figure skating authorities so backward in their thinking!?
Not to mention long-time fans who are majorly pi$$Ed off!!!
cinematic-images.smugmug.com
#$%@&!!!
