2021-2022 U.S. Men's Figure Skating

[TontoK]

Since Jason is beloved here in the US and other countries, I hope that will help his cause. Wouldn’t that also be in the committee’s best interest to attract fans = viewership = ratings = advertising = profit/success? Not sure of the exact formula, it seems reasonable to me

I can't help but notice that nowhere in your post do you describe USFSA's function as "treating athletes fairly and equitably."

*Edit* I'm astonished that so many people abhor political wrangling in our sport, except when it might benefit a skater they like.

 

[el henry]

And what a brilliant decision that was! Ross was denied his Olympic dream so Adam could go to the Olympics and finish 10th.

Now that is not completely fair, my friend, and I know you do like to be fair.

You and I are fighting the (sadly) losing battle of "top three at Nats go to the Olys". I said then, I would have sent Ross. But tenth is a respectable finish and Ross would have been thrilled to have it.

Although I am "top three go", I am definitely not "everyone needs to have an outside shot for a medal or stay home". I find that unrealistic.

 

[karne]

And what a brilliant decision that was! Ross was denied his Olympic dream so Adam could go to the Olympics and finish 10th.

Hindsight makes that decision to be a very brilliant one, since it now means the USFS don't have to deal with having a recent Olympian suspended for sexual abuse.

Jason has earned some credit in the bank, just as Nathan has. If anyone is to be left behind in favour of some new flavour of the month, it should be Zhou, who has very little credit in the bank and who nearly cost the US men that third spot.

 

[TontoK]

Now that is not completely fair, my friend, and I know you do like to be fair.

You and I are sadly fighting the losing battle of "top three at Nats go to the Olys". I said then, I would have sent Ross. But tenth is a respectable finish and Ross would have been thrilled to have it.

Although I am "top three go", I am definitely not "everyone needs to have an outside shot for a medal or stay home". I find that unrealistic.

You are, my friend, one of the fairest people on the board.

Would the world have been fundamentally worse if Ross had finished worse than 10th? My point is that it wouldn't have mattered, and USFSA surely knew it wouldn't matter, and they chose to send one of their favorites, jumping him two spots in order to do it. No one in their right mind could have throught that Adam was a medal threat in 2018.

 

[moonvine]

Sorry, but no.

If we absolutely must have a committee decide team makeup, instead of letting the athletes decide by virtue of their performances, then we should at least insist that committee attend the interests of all athletes equally. No favoritism.

Personally, I hope Jason is on the team, but I hope he makes it by virtue of finishing Top 3. If he doesn't, then it's time to pass the torch. And, for the record, same for Vincent and same for Nathan.

I think if Nathan finished last at Nationals he should go. He is the current world champion and current GPF champion (well, the last time the GPF was held). US Fed would be out of their minds to not send him.

 

[moonvine]

I can't help but notice that nowhere in your post do you describe USFSA's function as "treating athletes fairly and equitably."

*Edit* I'm astonished that so many people abhor political wrangling in our sport, except when it might benefit a skater they like.

It’s their job to send the skaters that will perform the best. Adam helped the team win bronze. It s not just that he finished 10th.

 

[TontoK]

I think if Nathan finished last at Nationals he should go. He is the current world champion and current GPF champion (well, the last time the GPF was held). US Fed would be out of their minds to not send him.

Then we disagree. It's nothing personal against Nathan... or you.

I'm just committed to a trials-type National Championship. All in.

 

[TontoK]

It’s their job to send the skaters that will perform the best. Adam helped the team win bronze. It s not just that he finished 10th.

I've done the math. Adam's contribution to that team medal could have been achieved by any other man simply standing on the ice.

His segment had no effect. He could have finished first or last, and the team would have won bronze.

 

[moonvine]

Then we disagree. It's nothing personal against Nathan... or you.

I'm just committed to a trials-type National Championship. All in.

Yes, we disagree. I don’t think US Fed is going to change the way they do things.

I’m used to USA gymnastics Olympic Trials. The winner is on the team and the selection committee goes off into a room and picks the rest of the team. Then they announce them. This has worked out well in the case of the women, not so much for the men. The team medal is considered the most important one, to the extent they will pick 5 men who they think have the best chance of winning a team medal, even when a team medal is very unlikely to happen instead of men who could contend for individual medals.

In the end US Fed will pick who they want and I don’t think they care what any of us thinks about it.

 

[TontoK]

<snip>

In the end US Fed will pick who they want and I don’t think they care what any of us thinks about it.

This is a nice discussion, because, in the end, we find something to agree on.

 

[casualFSfan]

I can't help but notice that nowhere in your post do you describe USFSA's function as "treating athletes fairly and equitably."

*Edit* I'm astonished that so many people abhor political wrangling in our sport, except when it might benefit a skater they like.

It was just wishful thinking, not suggesting any rules to be broken or arm twisting, or political wrangling at all. As my username suggests- I’m a just a casual fan, and perhaps ignorant to the history of politics in this sport. Feel free to ignore my posts- I hardly do but felt the need to say something of appreciation for Jason after his programs in Finlandia.

 

[Sasha'sSpins]

Sorry, but no.

If we absolutely must have a committee decide team makeup, instead of letting the athletes decide by virtue of their performances, then we should at least insist that committee attend the interests of all athletes equally. No favoritism.

Personally, I hope Jason is on the team, but I hope he makes it by virtue of finishing Top 3. If he doesn't, then it's time to pass the torch. And, for the record, same for Vincent and same for Nathan.

Including Nathan? To each their own, but Nathan Chen will not make the Olympic team only due to injury or illness. His BOW is an entire universe ahead of the rest of the U.S. men. There's no way U.S. figure skating will keep Nathan off of the team, even if he has a bad day, or week at the office come Nationals. Imo, he is 1000% guaranteed a spot on the Olympic team.

 

[Sasha'sSpins]

And what a brilliant decision that was! Ross was denied his Olympic dream so Adam could go to the Olympics and finish 10th.

Adam also won an Olympic bronze medal in the Team event, which he helped secure with a terrific free skate.

Eta: Way to denigrate Adam's performance in the Team event at the Olympics. I thought you better than that.

 

[Lutzedge]

This post comes with the assumption that Nathan and Vincent will beat Jason as well, right? We saw what happened at Worlds last year. Jason rarely has a bad outing at Nationals and we saw Ross win the Silver and still get passed over for Adam and his BOW. Jason certainly has that in Spades over Ilia as he has Zero experience as a Senior.

If Ilia makes the Olympics, it would kind of be like Polina Edmunds. But if Ilia makes the two accomplishments (beating Jason in an international comp and at Nats), he should certainly go over Jason (should, not probably). Ross did not do very well internationally, but if Ilia does do well, and so far he is doing very well, then he deserves to go. He is doing amazing things at only 16 years old.

 

[TontoK]

It was just wishful thinking, not suggesting any rules to be broken or arm twisting, or political wrangling at all. As my username suggests- I’m a just a casual fan, and perhaps ignorant to the history of politics in this sport. Feel free to ignore my posts- I hardly do but felt the need to say something of appreciation for Jason after his programs in Finlandia.

Forgive me.

I'm passionate about fairness for athletes, and in this case, I read more into your initial post than was warranted.

And, no, I will not ignore your posts. Sometimes a fresh perspective is necessary, and it's good to hear from new voices.

For the record, I hope the Olympic Team is Nathan, Vincent, and Jason. If I had to make a prediction now, that's what I think the outcome will be. But I want that Team to be decided because of performances on the day, and for there to be no controversy as in years past.

 

[mrrice]

Sorry, but no.

If we absolutely must have a committee decide team makeup, instead of letting the athletes decide by virtue of their performances, then we should at least insist that committee attend the interests of all athletes equally. No favoritism.

Personally, I hope Jason is on the team, but I hope he makes it by virtue of finishing Top 3. If he doesn't, then it's time to pass the torch. And, for the record, same for Vincent and same for Nathan.

This is how I feel but, we've all seen it happen before. It happened to Mirai and it happened again to Ross. I don't make the rules but, if I were on the committee, I would send Jason because he has been on the Senior Podium 5 times and Illia has never skated a Senior event. Jason's recent international win also boosts his case should it come down to it. We'll have to see how the rest of the GP season plays out but, if Jason wins another event....He's proved his case.

 

[Lutzedge]

This is how I feel but, we've all seen it happen before. It happened to Mirai and it happened again to Ross. I don't make the rules but, if I were on the committee, I would send Jason because he has been on the Senior Podium 5 times and Illia has never skated a Senior event. Jason's recent international win also boosts his case should it come down to it. We'll have to see how the rest of the GP season plays out but, if Jason wins another event....He's proved his case.

In my own opinion, as had been mentioned on a previous post, if Ilia continues to skate strong and gets better, and if he finishes ahead of Jason at and international event and at Nats, then he should earn going to the Olympics. Lindsay Thorngren has a possibility to make the Olympics this season, and she competed as a junior this first half of the season. The same with Polina Edmunds. I think Jason will do well and get better as the season goes on, and he will probably go, unless an injury or a disaster at Nationals happens.

 

[sheetz]

I want to see how Ilia does in a senior event before making any predictions on his Olympic chances. In the past he hasn't been the greatest competitor so it remains to be seen how he would fare against the senior men. If he goes up against a decent field and dominates then he absolutely deserves consideration for the Olympic team.

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In other new the mens entry list for the Championship Series in Henderson is up and there are a lot of familiar names, including Andrew Torgashev, Eric Sjoberg, and Jordan Moeller.

2022 U.S. Figure Skating Championship Series

Event Results for 2022 U.S. Figure Skating Championship Series

ijs.usfigureskating.org

 

[el henry]

I want to see how Ilia does in a senior event before making any predictions on his Olympic chances. In the past he hasn't been the greatest competitor so it remains to be seen how he would fare against the senior men. If he goes up against a decent field and dominates then he absolutely deserves consideration for the Olympic team.

------------------------------------------------------

In other new the mens entry list for the Championship Series in Henderson is up and there are a lot of familiar names, including Andrew Torgashev, Eric Sjoberg, and Jordan Moeller.

2022 U.S. Figure Skating Championship Series

Event Results for 2022 U.S. Figure Skating Championship Series

ijs.usfigureskating.org

Andrew T.

 

[Jammers]

Andrew T.

Where has Andrew T been this season? He needs to get out their and start competing.