Show Skating vs. Competitive Skating | Golden Skate

Show Skating vs. Competitive Skating

Ladskater

~ Figure Skating Is My Passion ~
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
Which do you prefer to watch - Show skating or competitive skating? Although I enjoy skating shows, I prefer competitions. It all sort of stems back to my figure skating days. I remember one of my coaches telling me it was better for me to watch competitive skaters than to attend ice shows. It was mainly because in those days, once skaters turned pro - as we used to say - they sort of slowed down. Ice shows then were not exactly of the quality they are now. There was Ice Capades and Ice Follies and Holiday on Ice. I used to love to go to these shows. However, it was watching competitions that gave me the appreciation I have for the work that goes into figure skating. Competitive skaters are always more disciplined than show skaters and of course have to do more difficult programs.

However, I must say that the pros skating today have improved ice shows. Toller Cranston set the tone when he started his ice show. Now Stars on Ice has some really good quality skating and then there is Kurt's Gotta Dance tours and Torvil and Deans shows were wonderful.

It's great to see the pros really taking their skating seriously and carrying on that same quality they brought to their competitive skating.

However, as I stated, I still really prefer watching competitions. There is something about the whole process that makes it exciting or maybe it just takes me back to my skating days. Okay, I am starting to wax nostalgia here.....
 

Jaana

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Country
Finland
Although I enjoy the show skating very much, in my opinion it has become way too one-sided. Too much of same skaters and their friends appearing. E.g. in out of seven different Disson shows Brian Boitano appears as THE headliner in FOUR of them:

http://www.dissonskating.com/our_events/index.htm

Of course I do understand that he is an extremely important US skater, but too much is too much, so to speak, LOL. I hope there will be lots of changes after 2006 Olympics! Also I would like to see more pro competitions with various of skaters competing there. Not only the same four men, LOL.

About SOI I would say that although they have also good skaters there, their shows have been very lacking in the quality of effective and impressive ensemble skating during few years now.

To me the most enjoyable is watching a competition like GP, Europeans, Worlds or Olympics. I don´t care about the cheesefests.
 
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treeskater

Rinkside
Joined
Jan 22, 2004
Blame the agents and their exclusive contracts.....and its down to 2 major agencies so you see only their clients in a pro event. Gone is World Pro (Dick Button) and others just didn't have the money to get off the ground (or ice....) Add to all that is the pool of available pros has dwindled and the current crop is getting older, and we've watched them since their competititve days.....

It takes lots of money for advertising, arena rental, etc. and the interest is down. I think Europe is struggling too but there seems to be small gain for them as pros band together for the love of the sport and take their shows to small venues with very appreciative audiences.

The current diehard skate fans don't seem to have an interest in pro programs as Curry, Cranston put on in the past.......and made for TV programs/movies get so criticized for 'inaccuracies' that studios just give up.

Creative skating programs by pros are gone.......sadly. Personally, I haven't seen anything that truly moved me since SOI had the Olympics parody...
 

nymkfan51

Medalist
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
I definately prefer competitive skating. What I don't like recently from pro skating is that it is the same people over and over again. I am hoping that after these Olympics there will be a number of new skaters to join the pro ranks and make it a bit more interesting. Of course, if Michelle is one of them ... that will immediately make me more interested!!!! :thumbsup:
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
I liked the pro-am competitions that they had in 1998. I thought those were the right mix between genuine competitons as crowd-pleasing artitry.

The only thing wrong was that Michelle and Alexei Y. won every time amd no one else had a chance (although Kurt Browning lost to Alexei only by a whisker in the World pro that year.)

MM :)
 

Doggygirl

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 18, 2003
In terms of my own personal enjoyment, it's Oly eligible competition as a favorite.

I did enjoy the recently aired World Team Challenge (may not have the name of it exactly right). It had a flair of both competitive skating and "show" skating that I liked. My favorite programs were most of the pairs programs, Yagudin's technical program, and Brownings artistic program. I would love to see more events along those lines after the Oly's, including some "new blood" as I assume several good skaters/pairs may be retiring after Oly's and/or World's.

I get the least enjoyment personally out of the strictly show events with no competitive component. But that's just me...

DG
 

KwanFan1212

Joey Votto Fangirl
Final Flight
Joined
Jun 24, 2003
I actually enjoy both types of skating because of the different things they offer. If I just want to be entertained and enjoy some good quality skating, I'll watch one of the skating shows. If I'm ready for some great skating with lots of jumps and tricks and so forth, then I'll watch a competition event. I guess I don't really prefer one over the other, it just depends on my mood that day, LOL :agree:
 

Skate Sandee

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
TV Viewing = prefer competitions
Live Viewing = prefer skating shows

I prefer to watch competitions on TV over skating shows. I find on TV, I can catch more detail of the technical elements. I found seeing competitions live where there is a long string of poor-to-mediocre performances by the low rung skaters to be depressing. Also, depending on where you are sitting in an arena can really make it difficult to take in all the details.

But LIVE, skating shows are what I prefer. Something seems to be missing when I watch a skating show (like COI and SOI) on TV. I like to watch skating shows in one continuous fashion uninterrupted by television commercials.
 

CDMM1991

Medalist
Joined
Jun 3, 2005
ITA Kwanfan. I couldn't decide which one I love to watch more, because they both offer different things to me. I love to watch show skating for the great performance level and my favorite ol' pros, but competitive skating also offers a certain level of excitement that show skating never will.
 
Joined
Jan 30, 2004
Show skating/Pro skaters are for sure my favorite.

Tho I am getting tired of the show skating that has to share the air-time with singers. So far this year the only combo of singers/skaters show that I really enjoyed was the Earth Wind and Fire one.

Competitions are exciting, but especially with the Grand Prix series, I tend to get tired of seeing the same program skated over and over.
 

mmscfdcsu

On the Ice
Joined
May 25, 2005
Competitive skating is the only way to go. The shows feature boring children's type of music, such as the latest dreck from American Idol. There isn't much you can do to attempt to choreograph a program to something so vile and boring. The odds of getting decent music and choreography are much better at competitions.
 

swannanoa54

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 19, 2003
Oh, I don't know. I like both for different reasons. I guess I prefer the shows better than competition mainly because I prefer grace on ice over jumping beans on ice.

And I'd watch Brian Boitano all day long. I love to watch him and Kurt skate. They could skate to "Pat A Cake" and I wouldn't care.:rofl:
 

mmscfdcsu

On the Ice
Joined
May 25, 2005
realistic51 said:
Oh, I don't know. I like both for different reasons. I guess I prefer the shows better than competition mainly because I prefer grace on ice over jumping beans on ice.

And I'd watch Brian Boitano all day long. I love to watch him and Kurt skate. They could skate to "Pat A Cake" and I wouldn't care.:rofl:


"Pat A Cake" would be more interesting and sophisticated than 90 percent of the music that Stars on Ice used last year.
 

heyang

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
I too enjoy shows for their performance value, but competitions have an edge of your seat value. I think I enjoy the programs of the pros more - at least when they are not pandering to the audience - because I view them as entertainment.

When I watch a competition, I enjoy it as I would any sporting event, especially since I don't 'get' all of the skaters. I find that I'm hashing the minutia and need to watch the 2nd time for enjoyment purposes.

It's almost like comparing apples and oranges.
 

julietvalcouer

Final Flight
Joined
Sep 10, 2005
I like them both, though there's a cringe-worthy element to competitive skating lately--the same boring classical/movie music over and over again (I'm tempting to dig up Rachmaninoff and beat him, I'm sick of all variants on R&J or the Firebird, and some of the movie selections border on the weird--like "Gettysburg", for a PAIRS routine?!? They are aware there's only one woman in that movie and she has exactly one line? It's a nice score, but it's a little strange), 'twenty spins in twenty seconds', and if anything the skate-skate-skate-skate-JUMP! is worse than ever. At least when I watch Brian Boitano or Kurt Browning, they can actually SKATE, and not just jump.

But who'm I kidding, I'm a skating w***e. I'll watch anything.

ETA: Picky, picky filter, people. That's not a curse word.
 

~Muffin~

Match Penalty
Joined
Dec 16, 2005
I despise the downright corniness, dullness, and lameness of skating shows. It is usually skaters old enough to be my parents and they are skating to lame sappy music and these has been oldie singers and I hate the lighting ideas.

I am totally for competitive skating and I like the thrill of it. I don't care if they splat all over the place and do poorly. It is leaps and bounds above those same ol' same ol' shows I hate to watch.
 

Linny

Final Flight
Joined
Aug 13, 2003
depends on the skater

Pro skaters I could watch all day: Dorothy Hammel, Yuka Sato (with or without Jason), B&S, any Ice Dancers

Eligible skaters I could watch all day: Fumie, Matt, T&M, any Ice Dancers

Notice that Ice Dancing isn't just a case of "gee, which jumps are they going to land this time?" and when I see the same program several times, I notice something different each time... so this is less dependent on the individual skaters.

My point is that it isn't really a pro versus eligible question with me, it's a "which skater" question.

Linny
 

mememe

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 20, 2004
~Muffin~ said:
I despise the downright corniness, dullness, and lameness of skating shows. It is usually skaters old enough to be my parents and they are skating to lame sappy music and these has been oldie singers and I hate the lighting ideas.

I am totally for competitive skating and I like the thrill of it. I don't care if they splat all over the place and do poorly. It is leaps and bounds above those same ol' same ol' shows I hate to watch.

Uh, then why do you watch it? Why are you wasting your time on skaters old enough to be your parents skating to dull, sappy music under lighting you hate? I am honestly curious -- why would you, or anyone else, waste time watching something you despise? I am busy enough that it's not worth it to me to watch something I despise or even something that I find boring -- if I tune in to a skating competition or show and it's boring, I turn the channel to something else that isn't boring or turn off the TV and do something else. As for things I despise -- I don't even start watching them. So if you hate watching these boring old skaters, why do you? There are plenty of skating competitions to watch and/or read about on the web, with all the splatting (and sometimes non-splatting) that you love. I'd suggest you just leave the boring, despicable, hateful pro shows to those who do enjoy them instead of forcing yourself to watch something you hate.
 
Joined
Jan 30, 2004
I have to disagree with you Muffin. You may feel differently as your favorite eligibles move onto professional show skating.

The old pros certainly have a quality of skating that the young eligibles may never have to offer, largely due to the requirements put on them for competition.

And since I am old enough to be your parent, maybe even your grandparent, does that mean I shouldn't post here and express my opinion because I'm corny and dull?

Have you ever seen Stars On Ice in person, preferably from several rows up so that you can see the lighting effects on the ice?
 
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