Then they should just cancel Senior US Nationals, as it will be a meaningless competition. Just run it for Junior & Novice.
my gut says no. it's like a bootcamp with some very harsh practices. The girls - especially - already have enough issues to contend with, they don't need that pressure cooker pushing them to do even more to their body.
From a Canadian perspective, I think that there's some potential in the idea that skaters "face off" against each other more often. Get the top novice, junior and senior skaters together more often, so that they can motivate and push each other to do better.
Whoever performs the best at camp gets sent to worlds the other gets sent to 4CC. There problem solved. Both skaters go to 4CC hopefully do their best get on the podium and one skater goes to worlds and hopefully does there best and gets on the podium. Does that make sense ?
aren't there numerous training "camps" throughout the summer months? Big name skaters/coaches/choreographers get together with skaters outside their norm and teach them all sorts of things. I know Gregory & Petukhov do (they held one in Alaska last year and have been in CO most of the summer doing the same thing). Ryan Bradley has been doing some. Frank Carroll has done them for years... so it's not like these skaters have never done it. It was the norm for Scott Hamilton when he was climbing the ranks - I assume it's the same for many of the skaters.
But then there's the summer competitions where a skater can impress and be put into the International Pool for selection by the Competition Committee. Both Lauren Dinh and Gracie Gold got added to the International Pool after Liberty and Detroit respectively for consideration of JGP assignments. Dinh for landing the 3+3 in her SP at Liberty and in general pullling down a pretty big score and Gold for landing a 3+3 in the SP and pulling down the largest summer competition LP score so far (109+).Skaters who were just as good but had a bad day at sectionals and ended their season early last year won't have those advantages but might be skating better this year than some of those who do. Same for skaters who made a breakthrough, e.g., all of a sudden started landing harder jumps they didn't have yet last year or got past a gawky phase and suddenly look more mature and polished on the ice.
These kids are still developing, still growing (which can lead to big changes positive or negative in jumping ability especially). The level of competition in the junior ladies events at the three US sectional competitions may be more intense than at the average JGP event, but some of the strong skaters aren't even going to make it to Nationals in any given year.
I know you meant to type Leah Keiser (2010 US Novice ladies champion), not Lauren Dinh (who was 2nd in Junior at 2011 US Nationals and already in the International Selection Pool). There's a recent article on Icenetwork about Gold, Keiser, and the 3 other JGP age-eligible singles skaters added to the ISP titled "Notebook: U.S. ladies vie for scarce JGP slots."But then there's the summer competitions where a skater can impress and be put into the International Pool for selection by the Competition Committee. Both Lauren Dinh and Gracie Gold got added to the International Pool after Liberty and Detroit respectively for consideration of JGP assignments. Dinh for landing the 3+3 in her SP at Liberty and in general pullling down a pretty big score and Gold for landing a 3+3 in the SP and pulling down the largest summer competition LP score so far (109+).
Thanks for proving my point.
As I understand your point, it is that winning a mere national championship is no big deal in the grand scheme of things, and that we should put sharper focus and greater effort into international events and especially the world championship.
I don't understand ....why just the 90's????I don't think there's any amount of selling, advertising, or "toughening up" that skating can do to endear it once again to the public. They got their taste of it in the 90s, and moved on.
But of course you want to be as objective as possible when choosing the team, while at the same time sending the strongest team that year to worlds. Historically the top finishers at US Nationals have been significantly better than their competition, so it was fine to send the top 2 or 3. But now, with the IJS, and the increased depth, I don't think it's that simple any more. You're no longer guaranteed to send your strongest team if you simply pick the top 2 in a competition that could well have different results depending on the day you hold them.
Well, I seem to understand the opposing point as being that the whole purpose of holding the Nationals is to determine the World team (a World Trials or Olympic Trials if you will), and to heck with the title.
On the flip side of your argument, how can you be as objective as possible if Nationals is the only time the skaters square off head to head with choosing the team if Nationals is no longer a 99% guarantee of going to Worlds? This is the one time that all the top skaters face each other head to head as the federation tries to keep the top 3-4 separated during the GP season to give them a fighting chance of making the finals.
You can't compare scores across events as much as the ISU would like people to think you can because each tech panel is different from a strict/loose standpoint on under-rotations (<<, < and no call), edge call (some let < 6 inches go for a change of edge on a take off), and rotations in a position for spins (some wait for a full revolution in the established position before they count, some wait about 1/2 a revolution, and some have even stranger methods of counting), and judges have different opinions on PCS and GOEs which change depending on the event sometimes.
If you can't withstand the pressure of Nationals and don't put out your best when you know it's do it cleanly or start a new season, why would the International Committee think that the skater will be any better at Worlds? I mean, everyone "knows" that Nagasu on an average-for-her day is a better skater than Flatt on her near-best days, but if Nagasu takes the ice with a defeated look and screws up a few elements (like getting the "Mrs. Dash" for the flying sit spin) right after Czisny blows the doors off the rink with her almost "personal perfection" skate, why wouldn't the IC think that Nagasu would fold if she skated right after someone blows the doors off the rink at Worlds? Yeah, Nagasu skated sublimely at 4CC, but she had nothing to lose/prove there as she wasn't going to Worlds, even if she beat everyone there.