Figure skating competitions are a risky business. This is the way to minimize this risk, so people are appalled for skaters chosing a canary in a cage over the crane flying in the sky, acting pragmatic. It was done for years, on all levels, and being specifically more against it when the athletes have a higher chance to win is illogical. Excessive games with age limits that try to target one thing but end up impacting something else is what landed us in this situation, disadvanatging a lot of skaters in a variety of ways, which was intended and hailed as a huge win for the sport. But, wow! It also gives advantage to others.
Competing is one way of how they earn their living, so yeah, they have every right to maximize their earnings because it's not like most of them are salaried. Skaters are a 'diva' and hustle field, where most scrape by, and only selected few earn fairly well. They don't have the prospect of the minimal starting salary in mind when they chose to even stay in seniors. Which is when the rest of the people of their age chose their career path.
Plus, raising the stakes in junior competition is great. If others want to win, they simply have to be hungrier and better. For all we know, the Chinese couple would beat M/B, given how unstable M/B are. The junior ice dance this season is choke-full of the worst of seniors from deep pool countries winning over the best of juniors. Pairs and men can and will absolutely do the same. Men did it forever, with 19 yo beating 13 yo anyway.
I mean, enjoy your overall older competitors, longer periods in juniors and longer careers. But, like, keep in mind, that creates more grown ups who have to earn their living somehow while training 6 days a week
so you think it's fair that the georgians take the top prize money, just because they can, in front of others skaters, who truly could benefit from it as they are in their early stages.
Georgians get prize money from GPs, ISU championships etc and GALAs. What do the young skaters from USA, Canada, France and Italy behind them get ?
Also, this is another topic but I suspect the Georgian federation is funding their training in Moscow. Most of the pairs at JWC (except perhaps the Chinese pairs) get very minor funding compared to them.
Where I agree with you : if the ISU keeps changing rules, well they need to do better. You cannot raise the age limits to encourage slower development + longer careers if you don't also protect the real juniors from seniors taking away their money.
It's not just money... as a kid, a medal means a lot. A huge achievement that can fuel even more the passion to train. It could mean better funding within their federation. It could even mean sponsors, even if they are small amounts. All of this is taken away.
The pairs that will finish 2nd at JWC this year will not be able to go to a sponsor and say, you know, we would have won if the Georgians didn't compete... they truly are seniors... Same with the pairs finishing 4th...
It removes important opportunities for further development to all the other teams.
Imagine, super strong nations could indeed fill JWC with age eligible athletes and block all the other kids from having a chance to reach for the top.
At one point, there is a need to counterbalance what these rules have done to the juniors.
Are the Georgians cheating ? No. They are age eligible.
But sometimes, the rules are just not good and with the ISU, sorry to say, but we have history. They change their rules all the time and they just cannot get them right ever... They allow blatantly wrong things to happen. They create loopholes. It has to stop.
