Is Grand Prix series ready to downsize to 5 events?
- Thread starter lariko
- Start date
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2018
Over /one/ bad Grand Prix? At least wait until next week for Kagiyama to restore some order with some competent skating.
And don't tell me it's because of the Women (which has been exciting), or because of Pairs (the field has been like this for a couple years) or Dance (which has been downright chaotic... for Dance).
Also some Grand Prix will be like this, dating back up several Olympic quads ago, even. Take one seeded top skater out of the GP because of injury or bad condition and the whole GP falls apart because it's stacked /exactly/ to give that seeded top skater some advantage (to make sure they qualify for the GP Final).
This time it's Adam's turn to be wobbly because of his injury, and you can really see how the entire men's field was held back both in terms of components and technical calls, as the judges and the TP waited nervously for him to come back in the FS. It's just a matter of who was deemed to be the smallest threat going forward- it's not a coincidence that Shimada who had this as the 2nd GP got silver and Torgs who had only 1 GP had bronze instead of Shaidorov going above both of them, and why Memola didn't manage to make up much ground despite finishing 2nd in the FS. They all have a role to play.
And don't tell me it's because of the Women (which has been exciting), or because of Pairs (the field has been like this for a couple years) or Dance (which has been downright chaotic... for Dance).
Also some Grand Prix will be like this, dating back up several Olympic quads ago, even. Take one seeded top skater out of the GP because of injury or bad condition and the whole GP falls apart because it's stacked /exactly/ to give that seeded top skater some advantage (to make sure they qualify for the GP Final).
This time it's Adam's turn to be wobbly because of his injury, and you can really see how the entire men's field was held back both in terms of components and technical calls, as the judges and the TP waited nervously for him to come back in the FS. It's just a matter of who was deemed to be the smallest threat going forward- it's not a coincidence that Shimada who had this as the 2nd GP got silver and Torgs who had only 1 GP had bronze instead of Shaidorov going above both of them, and why Memola didn't manage to make up much ground despite finishing 2nd in the FS. They all have a role to play.
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Less skating. I don't think so. I want more.
I don't wish to harm the sport or the people responsible for breathing new life into it, making it better. The irony is, because the sport now lacks acrimony, some wish to manufacture it along with conspiracy theories for why their pet skater didn't make the podium.
This is a sport. If one doesn't like how it works, rather than picking up a shotgun to blow a few holes in it, they can try something less destructive such as baking cookies or throwing back a shot of tequila. Perhaps both.
I don't wish to harm the sport or the people responsible for breathing new life into it, making it better. The irony is, because the sport now lacks acrimony, some wish to manufacture it along with conspiracy theories for why their pet skater didn't make the podium.
This is a sport. If one doesn't like how it works, rather than picking up a shotgun to blow a few holes in it, they can try something less destructive such as baking cookies or throwing back a shot of tequila. Perhaps both.
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2019
Not one, three. The competition is on such a middling level atm, with seeds becoming nearly indistinguishable from host picks. Is competition tight? Maybe, but it is about who is less bad.
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- Joined
- Jan 29, 2007
Sport is sport. Everybody can choose what to watch. I can watch small competitions where skaters are happy when they make they PBs. If everybody jumps clean quads with a very little presentation or shows about the same program every year and nobody has problems, it makes the sport boring. Because of reasons like this I have skipped GPF many times - I like more excitement than knowing certain skaters will medal because of their ultra-C elements. It boring to know in advantage who medals, one can be (edit, I can take one skater like Ilia though I wished there were more competition at that level too) but 3 is too much. To be honest, I don't care. There are still many small competitions to watch, with not- so-well-known skaters, without big jumps but often with other good elements and good presentation.
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- Joined
- Jan 17, 2022
Three bad competitions?
We didn't watch the same events.
Even this one wasn't bad in pairs and women. Skate Canada had an amazing dance event, men were ok in both Skate America and Canada, pairs too as far as I can tell, there were some really good skates from some women, some not so good ones...I for one have seen a lot I liked in the last three weeks, some unfortunate injuries, some surprising podiums, some really amazing programs.
We didn't watch the same events.
Even this one wasn't bad in pairs and women. Skate Canada had an amazing dance event, men were ok in both Skate America and Canada, pairs too as far as I can tell, there were some really good skates from some women, some not so good ones...I for one have seen a lot I liked in the last three weeks, some unfortunate injuries, some surprising podiums, some really amazing programs.
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2019
Yeah, definitely saw very different things. Save for dance, can't say anything appealed.
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2007
I don't quite see this rift. What I see is what has always been there - one group of contenders and another group of skaters simply gaining experience at this level. Intermixed are skaters recovering from injuries, established skaters who put in the work and the time to keep up with the field, others slowly losing ground to other competitors and new budding stars that both exceed and underperform at times. It is a pre-Olympic season and the judges are starting to be more particular in how they align their skaters rankings to make sure the best and most reliable skaters are rewarded. Everyone gets a fresh look and rankings are adjusted.
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2007
I love having six. I would definitely not be in favor of dropping one.
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2007
The men's competition at SA was absolutely amazing. I didn't see anything wrong with any of the competitions at SA and I was there. I really hope no one is seriously considering getting rid of one.
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2007
Well said.
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2007
I would love to be able to watch more of them.
I don't think having one less grand prix event would have stopped the mercurial performances we saw this weekend. Some of the top skaters were the ones who underperformed in at least one programme. In mens, having one less event would have meant missing out on one of the skaters who was more consistent across the two programmes and took away his first GP medal, because he came in off the alternates list. A number of the pairs teams who underperformed have been in the top 10 at Euros/4CC/Worlds. They would have still been there with fewer GP events.
- Joined
- May 15, 2024
Having one event less won't assure that all of these 5 remaining events will be on high level. It's sport and skaters are human, may be injured or sick or just not their day, sometimes it's all about who makes less mistakes, not whos performance was the most stellar of other stellar performances. And say what you want but bizarre as it was, GPF wasn't boring event.
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2015
THIS
There is always a weird shift happening at the beginning of the pre-Olympic season.
There is another one happening after the games, for different reasons...
Also, when it comes to GP, hosts have an impact in some way. Right now, GPdeF couldn't really bring depth in women because their host spots are weaker than the average of the field, same with their pairs... but their lower level ranked dance teams were wonderful to watch, so were Luc and François.
It always has to do with seeds and the rest of the field. For instance, Canada had "home" two seeds in dance and the rest of the field was stellar. SKAM had the worst dance event so far (IMHO) but they also brought very exciting pairs and men events. I suspect NHK will be thrilling to watch for singles. By the time we get to China, the maths will be in full force about qualification so the event will be exciting anyway.
If anything, I'd like 8 GPs
and a GPF with more qualified skaters. 12 in singles, 10 in dance and 8 in pairs.
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2007
Despite the disappointing skates from some of the favorites, I watched the award ceremonies in France and they were filled with mostly smiling faces (with one exception and I honestly understand how hard a happy face would've been to display at that time). The failure of some leads to opportunity for another. What if that one happy face is never again able to achieve another medal due to illness or injury. Celebrate the winners, they won fair and square. If you underachieved, then get your protocols, come up with a plan to work on your deficiencies, get to work and show us your improvement at your next opportunity. That is how a judged event is supposed to work.
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2007
Yes, we all shouted with joy and fervor in the arena. I was wrung out afterwards!I loved Skate America - shouted at my computer screen with joy and fervor.
