Team Competition
Maybe you could make it a team CS event. Take the top 7 skaters from each of those 11 countries (have Britain as the 12th country). Make it like a NFL Playoff format.
Seed all the teams by total score (add the 7 skaters scores SP and LP scores from nationals together)
Have the top four seeds get a bye.
Then have a wild card round #3 vs #12, #4 vs #11, #5 vs #10, #6 vs #9, #7 vs #8.
Then have a "divisional round" etc.
Thanks for the compliment!
Wow! I knew that lack of money would come into it somewhere, but I didn't realise it was as bad as that! And, great skater and crowd-puller though Michelle was/is, I don't think I would be paying anybody that much to participate! Come to think of it, I don't think I would be paying anybody to participate!
I have been reading with interest the comments about the Champions Series, as by the time I started watching Figure Skating it had already been replaced.
It sounds like a really interesting format, and I think it would be fun if it was revived. Not as a whole series, though. I think the GP Series is doing fine in that regard.
But, perhaps you bring back the Champions Series Final for the winners of the different National Championships. You know, as a sort of stand-alone “Champion of Champions” competition. So, off the top of my head, if you had 12 slots, they could be filled by the winners of the following Nationals:
1. USA
2. Canada
3. Russia
4. Japan
5. China
6. Korea
7. France
8. Germany
9. Italy
10. Finland
11. Czech Republic
12. ?
Not sure what country I would give the final slot to. Spain is a possibility, as I always love watching Javier skating. Or, what about Georgia, to get Elene Gedevanishvili in? There again, I would love to see Jenna McCorkell compete, so perhaps give the slot to Britain (OK, I’m being biased because her hometown is 40 miles from mine!)
Oh, you could debate for hours!
And I love the idea of holding an international skating event in Australia. Especially if it meant we got to see some local skaters compete, as we don’t get to see many Aussie skaters on the international stage.
The only worry I would have is whether there would be enough demand for tickets to make it financially viable. I know it’s a cliché, but because of the climate, Aussies tend to prefer outdoor sports. So, I don’t know how many would turn up for an indoor winter sport! But, I suppose we can take encouragement from the fact that since snooker started holding a ranking event in Bendigo, VIC a couple of years ago, there has always been a good turn-out of spectators. So, the cliché is not totally watertight!
Getting back to the GP Series, and I think gkelly makes some very valid points about the problems that could arise by requiring skaters to compete in 2 events. Like, there are unforeseen circumstances like illnesses or things going missing in transit (I liked that suggestion, gkelly!) that could prevent them doing one of their appearances. This is where the rule-makers would have to do a lot of thinking about how exactly they word the rules, and about what to do with the skater involved if that situation arises.
When I suggested having local wildcards on standby in case of last-minute withdrawals, it did cross my mind that we could have another Kaetlyn Osmond scenario if a wildcard came into a competition and did particularly well. If they were given another appearance because of doing so well, it could cause problems as it might mean taking a slot away from a skater that was scheduled to appear at a later event. Or, it might mean stopping another wildcard from competing in their local GP, which would anger the host federation. So, here is another area which would need careful consideration.
Getting the rules worded just right so as not to cause controversy if something unexpected happens is always the hardest part.
Oi Oi Oi!!!
(Sorry karne, I couldn't resist!!!)
CaroLiza_fan
Maybe you could make it a team CS event. Take the top 7 skaters from each of those 11 countries (have Britain as the 12th country). Make it like a NFL Playoff format.
Seed all the teams by total score (add the 7 skaters scores SP and LP scores from nationals together)
Have the top four seeds get a bye.
Then have a wild card round #3 vs #12, #4 vs #11, #5 vs #10, #6 vs #9, #7 vs #8.
Then have a "divisional round" etc.