GP Series: Is it really THAT exhausting?

If she made it to the GPF, that's total of 3 competetions. We have to ask her how exhaust to her.

Look what situation did Plushy in? Or more Johnny, who has only been running in GPs in 2 seasons?

I have to agree what Piel had to say in another thread.

mzheng said:

If she made it to the GPF, that's total of 3 competetions. We have to ask her how exhaust to her.

Look what situation did Plushy in? Or more Johnny, who has only been running in GPs in 2 seasons?

I have to agree what Piel had to say in another thread.

Click to expand...

What thread? I must have missed something!

The 3rd competition would be optional, right?

Plushy was done in by a lot more than the GP series. He's been injured for quite a while yet elected to not have surgery.

What is the rationale for not participating?

Click to expand...

I'm guessing, but maybe they just don't feel like it.

Don't want to spend the autumn/holiday season all over the world. With the final and two GP events that is three weeks from the prime holiday season. OTOH most skating is during this time. I think that if the money, international experience is not important to the skater they would rather be nearer to home and family and friends.

RealtorGal said:

... The 3rd competition would be optional, right? ... .

Click to expand...

What is optional is a third GP event; which would not add to the points needed to qualify for the GPF. The GPF, according to the ISU Letter No. 592, is subject to the same rules -- do it unless doctor says "no" -- as a GP event. In addition to the physical strains of competition, there is also the problems of travel (increased risk of sickness) and rapid changes in time zones. Plushy was not the only skater who did the GP over the past few years; Zhao Hungbo and Johnny Weir also did it and were injured at Worlds. Furthermore, Joubert, Arakawa, and Rochette, all did the GP but bombed at Worlds; it is (IMHO)speculative if doing GP series is essential to success or, good for the body.

This year, the skaters will be wanting to conserve energy for Torino, but aren't going to get a break from the ISU. Look at the schedule for this year's GP:

Oct 20-23 Skate America
Oct 27-30 Skate Canada
Nov 3-6 Trophee Eric Bompard
Nov 17-20 Cup of China
Nov 24-27 Cup of Russia
Dec 1-4 NHK Trophy
Dec 16-18 GP Final (Japan)

Last year, at least the competitions were grouped by region: SA/SC; CoC/NHK; TEB/CoR. This year, they're all mixed up again. Any US or Canadian skater/ team booked to TEB and CoC or CoR and NHK is going to face horrendous jet lag at both competitions. Asian skaters booked to SC and TEB will be just as unlucky. But the worst thing is that the GPF is in Asia, for the second year in a row.

It isn't as if the skaters have any say as to where they will skate, because they have none whatsoever. Johnny Weir was really done in by his 3 GPs in 4 weeks (NHK, TEB, CoR), was injured, and had to drop out of the GPF.

If Kwan does the GP, the US will surely pick her for SA, but that second event could be anywhere, and most likely will not be SC, since she dropped out last season. I doubt that Kwan, Cohen or Slutskaya will opt for a 3rd event, and probably not Suguri, either. I see only Kostner and Ando as doing 3.

Of the men, probably Lysacek, Buttle and Li will do 3 events. Weir, Joubert and Lambiel will probably stay with 2.

I think we should remember that Speedy's memo was just that: a memo. What he was threatening is not in the rules per se. The ISU can't punish skaters, only the federations, and I am not convinced that the federations are going to give open permission for the ISU to fine them and/or suspend them if their skaters don't show up for events.

Piel said:

Don't want to spend the autumn/holiday season all over the world. With the final and two GP events that is three weeks from the prime holiday season. OTOH most skating is during this time. I think that if the money, international experience is not important to the skater they would rather be nearer to home and family and friends.

Click to expand...

This may be prime holiday time in the US - but not so much for the rest of the world.....
Anyway, I always think it's a bit of a juggling act. On the one hand, if you don't put in a long season, you're not as likely to suffer an injury. On the other hand, having some miles on your programs, some experience and visibility with the judges and just getting into the competition groove is a good idea. Also, for those of us who love watching skating, the GP through the fall is a lot of fun.

I'm of the opinion, I think, that the GP isn't such a big, exhausting deal. I think amateur skaters who are going to complain about it should opt out of the cheesefests and shows instead. Of course, it is ultimately each skater's choice. But personally, I think it's a good idea for skaters to do at least one GP competition, even if they don't want to do the whole circuit. They have to put in the training anyway.

There's a mental/physical cycle to competition - I imagine for any sport. It's not as if skaters are always going full blast in practice all the times. Practice and training regimens alter significantly as the athlete builds bit by bit towards a competition (which hopefully a skater peaks at), and then they crash and have to start the process all over again in preparation for the next event. I don't have the statistics on this, but I would wager that 99% of all skater injuries occur in practice, not in competition.

Then there's the very expensive price tag that comes with the traveling (not just the skater, but the coach), costumes, hotel, etc. The prize money actually isn't THAT much when you factor it all in.

I'm not justifying why Michelle hasn't done the GP series the last two years, I'm just explaining about the intangible reasons why any athlete might opt out of a lesser competition to pace themselves for the bigger competitions.

But personally, I think it's a good idea for skaters to do at least one GP competition, even if they don't want to do the whole circuit. They have to put in the training anyway.

Click to expand...

But that's the thing though. Seeded skaters can't just do one GP. Only Kwan in 2002 SA and Plushy at this season's COR were the exception. I remember when Kwan just wanted to do Skate America in the 1998-1999 season, and she wasn't allowed to because they said she had to do a second GP and participate in the GPF if she qualified.

Has anyone here done th Grand Prix themselves to prove how exhausting or unexhausting it is?

I think it's funny how the GP events only started becoming SO exhausting when:

- prize money was reduced
- Kwan started exchanging GP for cheesefests
- Plushenko started exchanging GP for other events as well

And out of these 3 reasons, we're talking about two skaters who have been competing in the senior ranks for a very long time. Which means, they are not the rule, but rather the exception.

I remember quite clearly that up to 2003 there were GP events, pro-am events, shows and the top skaters (and others) would try to do as many as possible and they still showed up at the major events fully prepared.

Wasn't Kwan the only one who skipped the GP before they reduced the prize money? I know she skipped it during the '98/'99 season, as well as the past three years. I agree that Kwan is an exception. After all, how many seeded skaters today (besides Kwan) were doing the GP events (SA, SC, etc) before they were turned into a series?

Yes, that's right, Kwan had also missed the GP before. Which goes to show how she really is even more of an exception. What seems to me is that because she doesn't do it and constantly talks about keeping healthy, EVERYONE assumes GP and injuries are connected and even more, that ALL skaters (seeded or not) share this philosophy.

The GP events started as a way to allow eligible skaters to make some profit while still competing, keeping them away for turning pro. They liked it LOL When the prize money is reduced... they choose other options. That's the way it works. They will always do other events before the majors, it's part of the season and their preparation. They will do it where it's more convenient. The GP was convenient. IMO the prize money reduction made it less appealing, more so when there are other events that are probably a bit easier and pay more.

Johnny Weir made comments after GP series that he was totally exhausted from the travel, time zone changes and back to back competing.

Joannie Rochette said she had to take a complete week off after the GP final because she was exhausted.

Irina Slutskaya said she was very tired during the GPF.

I think its a matter of commitment however. The $ does help but Irina took home $7,000 of the 18,000 winnings in one of her events - so the $ is not the main incentive.

These events are competition and if you are an athelete it just seems natural that you would want to compete in them. I personally think that the ISU has allowed way too much cherry picking and that in fairness the playing field come Worlds is not even. Weir and Shizuka are examples of those who had heavy schedules and who had a toll on them during Worlds.

Well, I still don't see how there was never such a fuss about "exhaustion" before?

Joannie Rochette skated her best performances of the season at Nationals. This was after the GP. And she still skated fairly well at Worlds, the proble mwas bombing the LP and that can be due to nerves, we don't know. Johnny Weir was injured at Worlds, an old injury from the summer. Shizuka Arakawa had a bad season overall and many problems with boots. Brian Joubert seems to peak late and he was probably very thankful for having the GP events to fine tune his LP.

I don't think the question is whether skaters are tired or not after the series. They must be, they're probably tired after each individual event. The question is whether this is being exageratted to the point of assuming skaters simply can't make it through a season with a GP series. They've made it before, until 2002 or 2003. Suddenly it's not possible anymore?

well Irina never missed a GP series until the season she was out with illness. Irina's shown this season that it is possible to do a full, demanding schedule of events and still remain standing, all the while working with a serious illness. She did every GP event, Russian Control Skate, GPFinal, Marshals, Russian Nationals, Euro's and Worlds. I believe her when she says it's exhausting. The skaters have been there, done it so I have no reason to believe it is not tiring.

In the long run it comes down to how much heart and effort you want to put into your season. Every skater has different levels of commitment and desire in their skating efforts.

Because it's been done before doesn't make it any more or less exhausting or ideal.

I travel extensively for business, but since I'm not in sales, high finance, or diplomacy, if I arrive exhausted for meetings, and am not 100% the day I arrive, it doesn't make that much of a difference in my career. Nor does skipping meals, eating airline food, or encountering the usual travel snafus (for which I have a corporate travel department to work out in really bad cases.) I don't have to worry about where I'm going to find ice time in another country or being focused enough to land triples and quads on a 1/4 inch blade. I don't have to worry about checking the one piece of equipment that critical to my job, nor dealing with lost skates.

To put the interruptions to training in another context, the rule for ballet dancers is that if they miss company class, it takes three days to get back up to speed. And ballet dancers can travel with a portable barre, which they can set up in their hotel rooms or hotel fitness centers. A ballet barre, however limited, translates directly into the basics of dancing and performance, while at best, is one step removed from what a skater does.

I have no doubt that 18-26 year-olds in general have more physical stamina to travel long distances across time zones than the average civilian. But the average civilian isn't training 2-6 hours a day to hone a skill as refined as a skater.

It's the interruption to training, particularly due to travel up to four times across three continents in the course of three-month period, that is the biggest burden of the GP.

In my opinion, the GPF is the biggest culprit, with timing so close to nationals (or, in the past, the Olympics), and entirely unnecessary. The GP series itself could be a more valuable draw for the skaters if, for example, the top six point scorers were given byes from the qualification round at the World Championships, or, alternately, immediate placement in the last group for the first round of the WC's, and additional bonus money for their placement at the end of the season. By the time the skater(s)/teams pay for travel for themselves and their coaches, cuts to Federations, lost coaching time for the coaches, etc., getting $5K as top scorer in the GP series might net them more in the long run.

Is it really a sport?

Many athletes in many international sports handle grueling travel, training, etc. for a competitive season each year. I don't consider National Championships and World Championships (two events) to be a viable sporting event season. Not if the "sport" needs a fan base that results in financial opportunities both short and long term for the competitors.

Up and coming skaters participate in a full competitive season which involves local, sectional, regional, etc. competitions to finally arrive at Nationals, with hopes for World team qualification. The top tier skaters get a "bye" from all local / regional events which should allow them to participate the international competitive events.

If the sport of figure skating is such that competing in more than two serious competitive events per year presents a significant (more than any other sport) risk of serious injury, then this "sport" should go away just because it is way too dangerous.

DG