ISU Where Will Worlds BE (formerly) JAPAN QUAKE FOR WORLDS

[janetfan]

He is waiting for the Japanese Federation to "return the championship" to the ISU, but so far they have not done so. The Japanese Federation, its sponsors and broadcasters, own Worlds until further notice.

Isn't Cincuanta pushing the WTT hard on IOC for inclusion at the Sochi Olympics. If he moves Worlds he doesn't just lose what was shaping up to be a very profitable Worlds but he could also lose WTT sponsor money. And without a place to hold WTT that doesn't lose money can Cincuanta still have a WTT?

How can IOC evaluate WTT if it is not held? This is not an easy situation and Speedy probably needs the WTT money to help support speed skating

If Japanese sponsors are holding this up they have their reasons. And they might be holding the aces.

 

[colleen o'neill]

I think the skaters have been too prudent to be doing any vilifying ( that would be self-defeating) . That job falls to the press and us ( or those of us who are so minded ). The federations must have been pretty vocal behind the scenes , but have been generally pretty restrained in their statements to the press..which is also prudent.

The ISU ( well Mr.Cinquanta, at least ) has invited criticism by being unclear about what all they have been considering . Before the nuclear situation became apparent, they were perfectly willing to send the skaters to Tokyo, in spite of what everyone knows about the danger of aftershocks following a quake that large..Next, they appeared to write off any idea of an early relocation ( anything before October would be impossible)...now he says the Russian and American offers are under consideration , or among the solutions being considered.

Skatefiguring makes a good point about goal setting. Given the way Speedy's utterances have evolved , the ISU may be gradually ( perhaps reluctantly ) modifying it's original goal. If it can be modified, that implies that the original goal had a lot more to do with financial considerations than is strictly necessary to insure that the event occurs within the competitive year. ( Which has surely got to be part of their mandate)

So I ask, would we be seeing this possible change in attitude if some federations had not made direct offers, or like Canada, said that they could do it if called upon ? I rather doubt it. Of course it's also possible that everyone is being strung along , and these offers are not under real consideration .Tomorrow or Tuesday should tell. But if they say none of the proposed options are possible , they should have to explain to the skaters, the federations, and even the great unwashed public , why not.

Mathman's post adds another chilling wrinkle.. I'm not keen on the WTT concept , but heaven knows the ISU is always on the lookout for another cash cow.

 

[Mathman]

Isn't Cincuanta pushing the WTT hard on IOC for inclusion at the Sochi Olympics. If he moves Worlds he doesn't just lose what was shaping up to be a very profitable Worlds but he could also lose WTT sponsor money. And without a place to hold WTT that doesn't lose money can Cincuanta still have a WTT?

My idea was to dump the Worlds in October plan for a World Team Thing in October.

The ISU could either cancel Worlds altogether -- sadly, I think this is the best choice at the moment -- or else try to get a fly-by-night version together in Russia. And then come out full bore in October (conditions permitting) with a big FIGURE SKATING IS BACK gala in Japan in October, featuring a WTT format.

 

[colleen o'neill]

I really like the " Mathman Plan" ..except I'd be in favour of the fly-by-night World's over cancellation , for the sake of the skaters ( even if I couldn't see it in real time ).

 

[janetfan]

I really like the " Mathman Plan" ..except I'd be in favour of the fly-by-night World's over cancellation , for the sake of the skaters ( even if I couldn't see it in real time ).

I am not big on WTT either but not necessarily against it.
I do like the idea of having it at the start of the season as the skaters are under less pressure and could show new programs, costumes etc. Like math said, make it a big ,splashy skating extravaganza to kick off the season.

But this situation has to be tough on ISU. Losing what appeared to be a very profitable Worlds and WTT has to be putting the crews into ISU's finances.
It will be interesting to see how this turns out.

 

[Violet Bliss]

So far the Japanese and American skaters are having no qualms and hesitation in organizing fundraising events to help the recovery effort in Japan. The Americans are receiving support and contributions from other parties and I'm sure the Japanese skating stars should have no less enthusiastic support. They are putting the fuddle duddle old geezers to shame.

ISU is completely missing and wasting the proverbal opportunity in crisis. Instead of rising to the occasion to raise the profile of figure skating in a positive manner, their wishy washy self-serving maneuvers are turning the existing fans off.

 

[chloepoco]

Tonichelle. The more time the ISU takes making the decision, the less likely things are going to be. Over at FSU someone said that Skate Canada told the ISU as soon as this tragedy happened, that they could host worlds by March 28th. The ISU didn't even give them a freaking response.

What exactly needs to be decided on? Can the Japanese host worlds any time soon?- NO. Then move it.

Seriously? Skate Canada was willing to host the championships by March 28? Somehow, I don't think so.

 

[colleen o'neill]

I think that's pretty unlikely, too... but we know that they did inform the ISU that they would be able to pull something together in a short period of time ( I think 4-6 wks?) if needed . They did say it might be "inelegant" but that it could happen.

It was an early offer, but not a specific one. They had a couple of areas in mind where it could work. I think they just weren't pushing it in light of the fact that we had the pre-olympic 4CC , we have 2013 World's , etc...but we definitely let them know we were willing.

 

[Violet Bliss]

Canada does have the facilities and enthusiastic fan base to pull this off quite quickly, however inelegant. However, I think giving up Worlds 2013 is not to be on the table. It's one thing to do a good deed, but another to be penalized for it.

 

[Serious Business]

The Russian offer of Worlds in May sounds good to me! Some skaters will have to drop out of scheduled shows and touring ahead of time to train and travel to Worlds, but at least they can get this season's Worlds over with before having to train and create programs for next season.

 

[colleen o'neill]

" Nice try, Didier. " ( William Thompson's response to France's suggestion that they give their dates to Japan and France take ours.. )

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

Are you sure about that :think:
I am curious how you know that ISU officials are not seriously considering various solutions.

Can you verify ISU is not seriously considering proposals and offers of help?

If you have inside information please share with us.

I, too would love to hear that there is no consideration by the ISU to hold the Worlds on 28 March. The number 2 man, Dore(?), a Canadian would be part of the yes/no team deciding. The Heads of Federations would also be speaking directly to the ISU. We can't expect an announcement over the weekend. Although some countries have offered to take on the Worlds, none of them seem to be in a RUSH. Why are some TV fans going bananas over this?

What about the possibility of cancelling Worlds 2011? That has to be decided also.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

The Russian offer of Worlds in May sounds good to me! Some skaters will have to drop out of scheduled shows and touring ahead of time to train and travel to Worlds, but at least they can get this season's Worlds over with before having to train and create programs for next season.

I'll buy that. They have Worlds experience and are now planning Sochi. May sounds good to me and much better than next week.
It gives the skaters more time to plan their trip.

 

[Violet Bliss]

I don't see March 28 anywhere in the world for Worlds. Russia is the best hope all things considered, with government involvement and a large fan base. Let's hope that ISU will get their acts together, choose the right thing to do and then work in concerted effort - doing things right - to bring about this event. It would be worth celebrating.

I hope to hear about them getting out of the wrong thing tomorrow.

Although some countries have offered to take on the Worlds, none of them seem to be in a RUSH. Why are some TV fans going bananas over this?

How can they rush when they are not picked, or even get any response to their offers? And which TV fans are going bananas over this? Everybody knows there is a high probability of cancellation, unless ISU hands over the event to Russia soon. Let them sort out the issues with sponsors, insurance companies, etc. on another front.

eta. I'm glad there has been no news for over 24 hours, raising my hope that discussions may be going on.

 

[wallylutz]

The Russian offer of Worlds in May sounds good to me! Some skaters will have to drop out of scheduled shows and touring ahead of time to train and travel to Worlds, but at least they can get this season's Worlds over with before having to train and create programs for next season.

I fear that May may be too late as it would essentially prevents most skaters from doing shows and fulfill their contractual obligations for the post-season touring. When Speedy said he was worried that a World Championship in April or May could be problematic for skaters who have pre-arranged show agreements whereas no such concern exists in October, there are some truth in this. If Russia can host this event, they do not have another 1.5 month. The WC needs to take place no later than the 3rd week of April. Anything later, a lot of elite skaters would be caught between a rock and a hard place and those are the primary reasons why people even watch or care about the World Championship. I heard that for example Yu-Na Kim has a show appearance in Korea in early May and I do not believe she will cancel her show appearance in order to attend some hastily arranged WC.

 

[cooper]

What about moving the Worlds in late June or mid June or early June? :think:

 

[wallylutz]

Personally I say cancel the whole thing, but there'd be a huge uproar if Speedy did that. I too signed the petition for April, but at this point I just say screw it and see you next year.

Since it doesn't sound like you work in the business of figure skating, of course you don't care much about the World Championship being canceled since it doesn't affect your job or what you depend on to live as you are just a fan and this sport is merely an entertainment in your rather viewpoint. To borrow what Alissa already stated and I paraphrase here again: Did the earthquakes / tsunami also cancel the jobs of other people in Japan or anywhere else as well, however bad or sad those disasters may be? In other words, should your job also be canceled as well for some unclear moral reason, whatever it may be? See, the World Championship is not just a competition. Skaters, choreographers, coaches and etc. depend on a great deal of on what happened here in order to earn prize money, marketing opportunity and thereby receive their income/compensation and continue to do this sport they love. For a lot of people, this is their full time job. Without it, sponsors may terminate financial support, and creating a whole cycle of reduced earning opportunity across the sport, not to mention the most direct impact, loss of prize money, including the fact ISU awards an additional year end ranking based seasonal bonus to skaters, which depends a great deal on the WC results.

This is by no means picking on you, since Mathman and others said the same thing, so the message applies to them as well. I think it's incredibly selfish on the part of those who suggest the WC should be canceled given that not a single figure skater or anyone involved in this business has been reported as dead or missing in this disaster. If the entire Japanese skating delegation or even just some of them were killed, then the 1961 precedent would seem to make sense, even dismissing the fact skating in 1961 can't be quite compared to 2011, like night and day. But that's not the case here. Justification for canceling 2011 Worlds based on some moral high ground is not justifiable and seem terribly misguided. Though if ultimately, the World Championship cannot happen for logistic reasons, then there is no one to blame. However, I still find it disheartening that people would say "just cancel the whole thing" since it's clearly easy for them to say but unless they are equally prepared to lose their job as well, it just comes across as hypocritical as well.

 

[wallylutz]

What about moving the Worlds in late June or mid June or early June? :think:

That's very difficult, if not almost impossible. Shows continue all the way till some time in June. By mid-June, they should wind down but while skaters are doing shows, they have almost no time to train and that wouldn't be conducive to peaking for a World Championship in June. In other words, a World Championship in June is almost guaranteed to be splashfest everywhere, not to mention a lot of people will decline to attend due to lack of training. It's really no different than the May option.

And before anyone asks what about July or August, that's also a no go. That's the skaters' down time, allowing them to prepare and make changes for next season. Holding a WC then would completely mess up the set up for next season. You might as well entertain the idea of October WC if it was going to be that late anyway.

 

[Tonichelle]

All I'm saying is I would hate to be in Cinquanta and Co.'s position as there isn't a clear right or wrong choice. That I don't see this as some ultimate conspiracy against fans or the skaters. There's a lot of politics that goes behind picking a venue - even a hastily planned event such as this would be - then there's the paybacks, though I'm sure the money is already spent by the event holders and other ISU functions. A lot of bureaucracy is involved, snapping to is not possible. If anything comes out of this - I hope the ISU realizes they're going to need a back up plan incase this type of disaster ever happens again. (odds being as slim as they are)

 

[wallylutz]

At this point, the only firm commitment to host a replacement World Championship is the one from the Russian Ministry of Sports, who has sent the ISU a formal letter of intent. Since this comes directly from the Russian Government, not the Russian Skating Federation, the offer is supposedly also a commitment to fund the event as well but that's unclear and no one aside from the inner circle of the ISU is privy to any details. Pissev will surely take orders from his government since the way figure skating works in Russia is that the sport is almost 100% funded by the State. The skaters in Russia are accustomed to the fact that the State pays for everything and guarantee their living standard, including a place to live and etc. Having a World Championship funded by the Russians is really not a crazy or far-fetched idea since they do have the money and that country is very eager to to revenge the humiliation suffered at the Vancouver Olympic and cared more about the fact they merely had a single Gold medal from the 2010 Olympics and the former USSR record of 14 Golds had been broken, a double whammy - than they cared about some of the bigger social problems in the country like people starving or incredibly big contrast between the ultra rich minority and the vast majority of very poor people. So if this can ultimately take place in Russia, and personally, I selfishly hope they do, I think we should expect a lot of criticisms about hosting the event there as well under these circumstances - not from within Figure Skating, but from people outside of it.

Now, Moscow is also an incredibly expensive city. By some credible studies for a few years now, it's probably the most expensive city in the World, if you think Tokyo is already very expensive. Any reasonable 4 star hotel in Moscow would easily run between $350-$500 USD / night and the event lasts a whole week, so you do the math. Cost for food and other expenses are also very high. I also briefly mentioned the very cumbersome nature of Russian visa, which is required for I believe almost everybody except if you are Russian or one of those former USSR satellite States. Logistically, I can't imagine how much this event would cost for an average skating fan and I'd imagine those tour companies would have a lot of trouble putting together last minute packages to bring their usual customers to Russia without raising the price to a point some of them would just say they can't afford and we are talking about die hard fans who regularly pay several thousands of dollars for this annual event.