Is nostalgia shaping how we view figure skating?

[gsk8]

I don't really think that's nostalgia. It's the fact that most of those skaters were trained with 6.0 ideals in mind, and the rules were a lot less busy.

Funnily, Hanyu's probably the last skater trained with 6.0 ideals who skated and left us in 2022 (apart from Sui/Han, who came back). We're in era of AI slop-esque programs now. Fit whatever to whatever music and the judges will throw scores at you if they like you.

I think there’s definitely been a shift in style and program construction, but I don’t really agree that everything post-Hanyu is “AI slop.”

There are still plenty of skaters with strong identity and memorable programs — they just don’t all express artistry in the same way as the 2010 era did.

 

[Ladskater]

My figure skating days harken back to 1967 when my family moved to Prince George, BC, Canada. My dad made a small rink in our backyard and I joined the Prince George figure skating club. I became a life long figure skater and fan (although now in my old age, I've hung up my skates, but I'm still an avid fan). I guess as far as nostalgia goes, I still remember the great Karen Magnussen and Toller Cranston. They pretty much shaped my style of figure skating. I loved the 70s and 80s skaters like Torvil and Dean and Victor Kraatz and Shae-Lynn Bourne. Of course when Kurt Browning came on the scene I was completely blown away by his artistry. I still enjoy watching new skaters develop, but every now and then I like to go on youtube and relive the my golden era of figure skating.

 

[AxelLover]

I think for me nostaligia is a factor. I find the period between 2015 and 2019 the golden age, especially in men (my fave discipline) + Evgenia Medvedeva. I mean 2019 – 2022 was great too, but now with Yuzuru, Javi, Patrick, Shoma, Nathan, Kolyada and Evgenia all retired (+the ban of Russian skaters) I don't find as much joy in the sport as before. I keep recalling the past and thinking it was just better. But to be absolutely objective – I can't tell to what degree skating (especially men) was really better back then and to what degree it's just in my head. Besides, I'm very grateful for Adam, Kevin, Yuma and some others (including Ilia to an extent) for keeping the sport as interesting and enjoyable to watch as it still is for me.

 

[yfan1]

I think there’s definitely been a shift in style and program construction, but I don’t really agree that everything post-Hanyu is “AI slop.”

There are still plenty of skaters with strong identity and memorable programs — they just don’t all express artistry in the same way as the 2010 era did.

I didn't just name Hanyu, I also named Sui/Han

I don't really see the reason behind claiming "they don't just all express artistry in the same way". We need to compare artistry within the same rules and the same training regimen. If something is no longer emphasised - and that something was rather important artistically - then how can someone be claiming "it's simply a different form of artistry"?

Different forms of artistry is, ballet requires elongation of the spine, yet hip hop doesn't, but both express the music very well. It's not "all these things are no longer emphasised withing skating, but it's just a different type of artistry now".

 

[skatesofgold]

I miss Alina Zagitova, Anna Shcherbakova, and Nathan Chen, so yeah, sometimes I think nostalgia affects how I watch the women's and men's events.

 

[Mathman]

Nostalgia is a funny thing. Everything was better when I was young.

Naw. I was better. This made it seem like "everything"was better.

 

[RobinA]

For me, nostalgia has nothing to do with it. I became a figure skating fan in 1968 because I like what I saw. I maintained my interest in FS while I liked what I saw. Nowadays what I see is not that interesting to me. I was watching a couple of Gordeeva/Grinkov programs, and to me that is my figure skating. When I see a Boitano program, that's what I'm talking about. Not nostalgia, it's what I like to see. Nathan Chen was a great and consistent skater who deserves his medals and accolades, but his form of skating does nothing for me.

 

[TontoK]

I miss Alina Zagitova, Anna Shcherbakova, and Nathan Chen, so yeah, sometimes I think nostalgia affects how I watch the women's and men's events.

One of the perils of an aging skating fan is forgetting skaters in the recent past. My nostalgic era is not the same everyone else's nostalgic era..

For me, all the skaters you mention are very very good, but none of them would make my "greatest ever" short list. I can't recall the last time I rewatched any of their programs, although I certainly enjoyed them (for one reason or another) at the time.

So this makes me wonder if the skater who made you fall in love with skating.... or the one who reignited your passion... is the one we're nostalgic over.

 

[TallyT]

So this makes me wonder if the skater who made you fall in love with skating.... or the one who reignited your passion... is the one we're nostalgic over.

Or the style of skating that was what caught our attention - the way the different elements, art and sport, beauty and technique were balanced at that moment before shifting and changing as they probably have to. People are already nostalgic for the 2022-era styles, and in a few years the people who fell for Alysa and Amber will probably be sighing as what they love is replaced...

 

[TontoK]

Or the style of skating that was what caught our attention - the way the different elements, art and sport, beauty and technique were balanced at that moment before shifting and changing as they probably have to. People are already nostalgic for the 2022-era styles, and in a few years the people who fell for Alysa and Amber will probably be sighing as what they love is replaced...

I think you're on to something. One skater that definitely makes my "best ever" list is Brian Boitano. But here's the thing... 1988 and after only.

His Olympic and professional programs are tremendous, and I rewatch those all the time. I just pretend he didn't exist before 1988, because I didn't think he or his programs were special.

 

[Mathman]

I think you're on to something. One skater that definitely makes my "best ever" list is Brian Boitano. But here's the thing... 1988 and after only.

His Olympic and professional programs are tremendous, and I rewatch those all the time. I just pretend he didn't exist before 1988, because I didn't think he or his programs were special.

I think that prior to the 1987-88 season and following the retirement of Scott Hamilton, Brian Boitano was seen as the technical leader, conceding the "artistry" title to Brian Orser. Recognizing this, he went to Sandra Bezic for choreography for the Olympic year specifically to "balance" his programs better.

But yeah, it was as pro that Boitano explored new ideas and developed the esthetic and performance qualities that make skating programs memorable in the long run..

IMHO Kristi Yamaguchi was another skater whose amateur career , Olympic gold medal and all, was overshadowed by her later success as a professional entertainer.

 

[yfan1]

His Olympic and professional programs are tremendous, and I rewatch those all the time. I just pretend he didn't exist before 1988, because I didn't think he or his programs were special.

TBH, there are very few skaters pre-1990s I'd watch for "artistry".

We always get into debates about what sucks now, and quite a lot does, but I think people don't realize how... silly... skating was before the 1990s.

 

[skatesofgold]

One of the perils of an aging skating fan is forgetting skaters in the recent past. My nostalgic era is not the same everyone else's nostalgic era..

For me, all the skaters you mention are very very good, but none of them would make my "greatest ever" short list. I can't recall the last time I rewatched any of their programs, although I certainly enjoyed them (for one reason or another) at the time.

So this makes me wonder if the skater who made you fall in love with skating.... or the one who reignited your passion... is the one we're nostalgic over.

Yeah, like I've watching figure skating since the fall of 1993 (when I turned 5), but I've never really felt attached to anyone from back then because I only saw them a few times, including Michelle Kwan. I didn't do the work to follow figure skating more often as a kid or teen. The only one who comes close is Tara Lipinski and that's because she was the one closest to my age in 1998. I liked Kimmie Meissner, too, by high school, but that only led to disappointment because of the injuries. I don't even like thinking of greatest ever because I think each era has good and bad things because of the requirements to get an exceptional score. I do wish they would do a new Skates of Gold special, like I watched over and over again as a kid, to feature more recent Olympic medalists.

 

[TallyT]

I think people don't people realize how... silly... skating was before the 1990s.

Or perhaps they do not agree with your definition of 'silly'.

 

[el henry]

Of course I am nostalgic for Toller, whose artistry has been rarely matched by anyone in the past 60 years. (I could only give grudging respect to John Curry at the time, because he directly competed with Toller). Age and wisdom, well maybe just age, have led me to change my mind on that score.

And those who have matched it (by my lights) have become my recent favorites.

 

[Mathman]

Or perhaps they do not agree with your definition of 'silly'.

I quite agree that there was nothing "silly" about figure skating in the "good old days" We have to remember that prior to 1990 compulsory figures comprised the 800 pound gorilla of competitive figure skating. This was the "technical" aspect of the sport, the part where the athletes demonstrated their technical mastery of the blade. Wowing the audience by show-style skating ("free skating") was relatively less important in terms of athletic competition.

In the television age, the audience became increasingly less interested in demonstrations of blade-to-ice skills. Well, times change -- still, "silly" is a strange way to describe the older tradition. Even in terms of free skating, is this a silly program?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEec6XAhsUg

 

[labgoat]

In the television age, the audience became increasingly less interested in demonstrations of blade-to-ice skills. Well, times change -- still, "silly" is a strange way to describe the older tradition. Even in terms of free skating, is this a silly program?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEec6XAhsUg

Robin has such elegance and line in his skating and a wonderful feel for the music and choices in choreography that still seem fresh. I watched the whole program through and am still wondering why no one can stretch in a camel like that and dance like that minus without the obvious mugging for a camera.

 

[el henry]

I quite agree that there was nothing "silly" about figure skating in the "good old days" We have to remember that prior to 1990 compulsory figures comprised the 800 pound gorilla of competitive figure skating. This was the "technical" aspect of the sport, the part where the athletes demonstrated their technical mastery of the blade. Wowing the audience by show-style skating ("free skating") was relatively less important in terms of athletic competition.

In the television age, the audience became increasingly less interested in demonstrations of blade-to-ice skills. Well, times change -- still, "silly" is a strange way to describe the older tradition. Even in terms of free skating, is this a silly program?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEec6XAhsUg

A scoring system that would not properly reward Robin Cousins' beautiful delayed single axel is a faulty scoring system indeed.

 

[DizzyFrenchie]

I quite agree that there was nothing "silly" about figure skating in the "good old days" We have to remember that prior to 1990 compulsory figures comprised the 800 pound gorilla of competitive figure skating. This was the "technical" aspect of the sport, the part where the athletes demonstrated their technical mastery of the blade. Wowing the audience by show-style skating ("free skating") was relatively less important in terms of athletic competition.

In the television age, the audience became increasingly less interested in demonstrations of blade-to-ice skills. Well, times change -- still, "silly" is a strange way to describe the older tradition. Even in terms of free skating, is this a silly program?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEec6XAhsUg

I see only one Skater today who would be technically able to skate this program as beautifully as him, and a handful others who wouldn't be lost/ridiculous in such a program. The ease, the fluidity, the precision, and that was with skates and on an ice which I think were quite inferior to what we get today, unless the ice is in Grenoble and the skates are Kao Miura's last season?

 

[dorispulaski]

1988 Boitano at the Olympics.
Not silly.