Good points Ant, I wonder though - you and several others have expressed a similar point that "soon it will be a competition bewteen two or three countries.
Is that the best point many have against a more modern and fair approach to getting the best skaters in the world to compete at Worlds?
Ah but that depends on what you mean by fair and modern. Personally I don't see what you are proposing as being fair. You seem to be rejecting the notion that all member federations should be represented at the world championships based purely on an argument by Bianchetti (whose arguments at best can be described as very biased against $peedy) that it is all part of $peedy's master plan to control skating. I would disgaree with that completely. Why shouldn't all member federations be represented? Like i said if one country has a particularly deep field then come up with a way to give them an extra one or two spots if it is really necessary. I just don't think stopping groups of skaters from competing is the answer.
I think it is unrealisitic to say it will get down to two or three. USA and Canada won't quit. Japan won't quit. Do you really think the Russians or French or Germans will quit? The Italians will never quit as long as speedy is around.
If USA and Russia are skating then China will never quit. It seems as if Koreans have gone crazy over skating so I doubt they will quit.
You cannot with any certainty say that other countries won't quit. Right now NISA (NGB for skating in the UK) has next to no money. It doesn't always fill the allocated slots for the JGPs and often leaves senior events without participants because of money and comparatively weak fields. There is very little money for skating but on the back of the Kerrs success there is some money available, if Britain could not take part in a world or European Championships because Japan, Canada and the US have ten spots each then i can see the plug being pulled for all funding. Adding yet another obstacle to to get to the World Championships means disillusioned skaters, less update at the grass roots learn to skate level and the further decline in the sport til it's gone. That is the main argument that pursuades me, but then maybe i'm just looking at it from my country's perspective, just as i suspect you're looking at it from yours
Ultimately it would also be a greater burden for the few countries witha lot of skaters because which federation would host a world championship if it's skaters cannot take part?
Personally i just see more harm being done than good simply because once every now and then a country has more talent than it has spots availabel at worlds.
Has England given up Tennis even though they have not had a male champion in what - 70 years? Actually, they still host a nice little tournament.
But that's the point - interest in Tennis in this country is more less based on the fact that we host one of the grand slams - more importantly the UK is one of what (2 or 3) countries that actually holds grass court tournaments. I'm sure if, based on the UK tradition, we were to hold the Ice Dance world championships here every year or a specific high profile ice dance championship here every year interest would be extremely high.
Britian may not have had a men's champion in Tennis but at Wimbledon one of our guys has made it to the last 16 if not further (or at least certainly had the capability to do so) for a number of years. That is not the case with skating we have no-one threatening the podium at worlds (arguably the Kerrs might going forwards), and, ice dance aside, our skaters struggle to make the cut for the SP - those are the skaters that would be affected by changing qualification to worlds.
Also how many entrants are there for round 1 at wimbeldon in the Mens and Ladies event? If skating could cope with having hundreds of skaters do a QR or SP then it might be fairer and less demotivating for the skaters.
And what if India quits? Is that automatically good or bad for skating?
What if a few years ago someone said the same about Korea?
I think about the US Open Tennis Championship. It, along with the other Tennis Grand Slam events appear to be flourishing. TV money is huge, and attendance is great. Tennis uses a draw based on player's rankings to decide who will play at a tournamanet. These events also wisley allow for several wild card invitations should an inured or retired palyer wish to return. Boris Becker played at Wimbledon up to the end of his career. Why? Because it was so good for tennis to have him "playing in his living room." I don't recall such nonsense over does he qualify, or is this fair to let him play? It seems to me unwise NOT to let a skater like Plushenko, Sasha or Michelle return to the sport.
But the issue with skating is the time taken for each individual performer to do their programme, the number of officials involved in the event/judging etc, if it wasn't so limite din terms fo number of people competing then adding to teh pool of competitors would not be problem.
It seems equally unwise to base a world championship on having as many skaters from as many different countries competing.
I guess I just disagree and want to stand up for the minority skating federations!
Ant
These internet message boards are an interesting study in group psychology.
