- Joined
- Jun 21, 2003
I don't think anyone is proposing to stretch the rules. But some people believe that it would be a good idea, some time in the future, when the next ISU Congress meets, to consider possibly changing the rules for future seasons.This idea as it's stated is rather too cryptic - could you explain eactly what you mean if it's not a question of stretching the rules?
For instance, they could pass a new rule (effective 2011, say), that any skater who makes the Grand Prix finals, or who is rated in the top six in the ISU rankings, would get a pass to Worlds and not count against his or her country's allotment. (This year, such a rule would greatly benefit the Japanese ladies -- Go Fumie! -- but exactly who would be in a position to take advantage of the new rule would change from year to year.)
Actually, the current rules are already like that, to some extent. The idea of a World Championship is that each member of the ISU sends its champion to the big show. But years ago it was realized that some countries have more than one world class performer, so the rules were written in such a way as to allow countries to send two or three under various circumstances. In my opinion there is nothing sacrosanct about this particular compromise.
Personally, I don't have a beef with the current rules. But I think (perhaps naively) that the sport of figure skating is moving, however glacially, in the direction of the individual athlete and away from the National Federation. In other individual sports -- tennis, golf, etc. -- the best players are invited to compete in the top tournaments regardless of nationality.
The ISU is not set up that way. But I think it is worth considering rules changes that might give individual athletes greater control over their own destiny. In my opinion it would be better if, say, Caroline Zhang either does or does not make it to worlds based on her own skating rather than on what Kimmie Meissner did or did not do last year, or on the whims of officials in the USFS.
As i say, I don't have a strong opinion about this one way or the other (unlike Blades of Passion ). But I don't see anything wrong with a continuing examination of the rules to see if maybe we can come up with positive changes here and there for the good of the sport.
JMO.
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