US figure skating is a big joke

aftertherain said:

If Korea's anything like Japan after Midori Ito, you bet it will. And I don't doubt Korea's cultivating its new crop of skaters right now. In fact, I think Yuna sponsors some of them (both male and female).

Yao Bin was motivated by his humilation at his own Worlds, so you gotta appreciate what he's done. Must be proud. I know I am. It's a shame that China didn't help new singles skaters after Chen Lu retired. If they did, I'm sure they'd be great.

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Yes, I agree that you may see a Midori Ito situation with Korea. My impression with Korea (from a month-long visit on a cultural exchange last year) is that once they see a taste of success (whether it's in business, sports, or otherwise), they will cultivate it.

I really like Yao Bin. I could watch that NBC Olympics fluff about him over and over again. He just has this sense of humor and personality I love.

Kwanford Wife said:

Whole post

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Well said. :agree:

Mrs. P said:

Yes, I agree that you may see a Midori Ito situation with Korea. My impression with Korea (from a month-long visit on a cultural exchange last year) is that once they see a taste of success (whether it's in business, sports, or otherwise), they will cultivate it.

I really like Yao Bin. I could watch that NBC Olympics fluff about him over and over again. He just has this sense of humor and personality I love.

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Yeah. I'm pretty sure it's like that in many Asian countries. Although, one has to wonder why China didn't jump at the chance of cultivating new singles skaters like it did with gymnastics.

Then again, China has a richer history with gymnastics and performance art of the sort dating back hundreds of years ...

Kwanford Wife said:

Despite my personal promise to stay out of Nationals' Annual Grouse and Whine Spectacular - I cannot help but add my two cents to this particular conversation...

I am amazed at how quickly opinions change based on one competition. A month ago, if a poster pointed out that a 3 triple program wasn't in keeping with the intregity of the sport, replies would fly about how "skating isn't just about jumps and that if you don't see that, you're crazy!" Now, the comments have 180ed into: "skating is a technical sport and jumps should be rewarded!"

Doesn't this say something about the current reality of the sport if the judging system doesn't allow for a baseline? I've seen so much variance from competition to competition that it makes my head spin...

...

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I hope you will watch the Olympics and who knows..........maybe you will see some skating there that will bring back some spark.

It is hard to reconcile the CoP defenders who are willing to die over the fact that skating is now more well rounded and skaters are held accountable for all of the elements..........until we see a very well rounded skater held back because they did not land 7 triples....... despite having the most beautiful spins in the sport and a very lovely and inspiring presentation.

I thought as soon as I saw Rachael's astounding Yuna-eske score posted that it was over. How high would Yuna score if she ever landed 7 triples? Maybe 260 or so Look out Plushy!!

Out of curisoity, what would your Ladies podium have looked like?

janetfan said:

Out of curisoity, what would your Ladies podium have looked like?

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With definitive proof of the UR, I would've had it:

Racheal - but not by 12 points. Maybe three. At most.
Mirai
Ashley / Sasha - only because I felt Ashley was held up in the short. She received a GPF bump and it was annoying...

But that's the thing - the scores don't matter as long as the placements fall out correctly. So fine. Use the CoP as the judging tool, but let's get some strategy behind it that makes sense for the sport and respects the athletes to create programs based on their individual strengths.

Michelle, Irinia, Sasha and Sarah all had very different programs in 2002 and the best skater on that night won. But Sarah did it based on what worked for her, not Michelle. Why is Rachael Flatt doing moves that simply aren't her forte?

Can we say the same for Nationals or the upcoming Olympics, based on what we've seen this season?