I don't know about "looking down on." To me, it's a question of the tail wagging the dog. The USFSA has over 100,000 dues-paying members. Of these, perhaps one one-hundredth of one per cent will ever legitimately aspire to skate in the ISU World Championships.
in discussions of this sort we try to convince ourselves that it is very important to get three U.S. ladies' spots for the world championships. Is it? The difference between two and three spots will briefly affect the life of precisely one person in the country (population 300,000,000) -- three, if you count that person's parents.
I am often accused of having no patriotism (and for that matter, no school spirit ). I have to admit that if Julia Lipnitskaya wins the Olympics next year I will say "good for her!" and I will not slit my wrists because she is not American.
It is, indeed, hard for me to convince myself that "how you skate at major international competitions" is something that "really matters at the end of the day." In truth it matters hardly at all. (JMO.)
These are some very good points. I think people forget also that out of all the people who compete at Nationals, only a very small percentage gets byes. The rest go through a qualification season. There is no do-over, oh, well you had a great regionals, oh you did great at nationals year, we'll let you in. If you don't make the top four at Easterns, Midwesterns or Pacifics, you are out. No question.
So it doesn't seem to be that much of a departure for USFSA to say, we'll chose the top two or three skaters by Naitonals and allow for a few exceptions.
I do find this Monday morning quarterbacking quite hilarious.