Has there ever been a proposal or any kind of discussion about making it possible for a country to send 4 skaters/pairs in one event in the world championships?
In other sports, like athletics for example, the current world title holder has his own personal spot for the next championships and therefor the country he/she represent can send 4 athletes in that event. I think similar system would suit very well in figure skating too.
Let me guess. You have been watching the Nordic Ski World Championships this week as well.
When I heard David Goldstrom and Mike Dixon talking about how the reigning champion has an additional slot to their country's allocation, my instant thought was "That would be perfect for figure skating!"
The reigning champion would have an extra reward for their achievement. There would be no pressure on them to get selected for the national team, and we would eliminate the prospect of the highly embarassing situation where the reigning champion is not selected. Also, there would be less pressure on their compatriots to get on the team.
Since I joined this forum, I have made some suggestions about how to improve the sport, and I am currently working on putting them all together into one big proposal.
And one of the ideas I am going to include is exactly this.
Some of my ideas have been seen as being pretty radical, but this is anything but. I really can't see there being any harm in treating the reigning champion like this.
I don't know if it has ever been proposed before, but I really hope somebody does propose it soon.
CaroLiza_fan