Keep posting SkateFiguring, your credibility on this issue with every post is going down, down and is close to circling the drain. Have you considered that to most people here, you seem to be trying to defend the indefensible?
I'm not an expert on China, but from what many of my Chinese friends have told me (many of whom are in their twenties), some of them don't really know their true age. It has nothing to do with calendar conversion, but most people who are born on the countryside either do not accurately report to the census, or have records that have disappeared. What needs to be fixed isn't necessarily the sports system, but the way the whole nation keeps record.
If anyone is found to have committed any sort of wrongdoing, then the only punishment would be to return the medals they have won during the ineligible period (Zhangs in 2003/ Sui-Han the last year), and those who are still ineligible will just have to skate domestic events until they are finally eligible.
If this is, in fact, cheating, what is the precedence for this in skating? So far, the only people who have cheated in skating are...judges.
I do not agree with that at all. It's like saying, if you rob a bank and get caught, the only penalty is that you have to give back the money. This does not provide any incentive for future honesty. Quite the contraray, it just reinforces the perception that the public has of the ISU anyway -- cheating is good, only getting caught is bad.
Second, if legitimate blame for purposeful and systematic skullduggery lies with the big shots of the National Federation, then taking away a medal that some poor child thought he or she won years ago -- what does that accomplish?
If this is, in fact, cheating, what is the precedence for this in skating? So far, the only people who have cheated in skating are...judges.
You are so funny. How about "cheated" jumps? Anyway, I am happy where the discussion is heading--focus on the punishment of the federation's misconduct and yet somehow find a way to minimize damage to the developing skating community in that country.
Well, China has enough power in skating that it has a Grand Prix event. In the dim past, that event was Nations (or Sparkassen) Cup, held in Germany.
As a punishment for the Chinese federation, how about moving the Cup of China either to Korea or Australia or back to Germany for a while?
I'll respond--are all of these kids from the same villages? With the same registrar for birth certificates?
If they are not, then shouldn't we see a more random pattern?
The other option is letting them get away with it, which might be the correct response.
I understand we want to punish the cheaters. I actually believed that they should ban the federation for a year, the way they did the Soviet Union in the 70's when their judges were awarding unfairly high marks to Soviets. However, I advocate a lighter punishment because of two things-- 1. Skating is already on thin ice 2. These skaters have no voice.
This scandal could cause even more people to turn away from skating. Sure, most of us die hard fans love it no matter what, and those of us who skate do it for the love of the sport, not because we think we will be Olympic champions.This scandal will actually hinder the sport more than help it.
These skaters, as someone pointed out, almost do what they are told because of the political system they are born into. The skaters' parents couldn't have said--no, you will not force my child to compete.
I think the best solution for this problem, and many of skating's problems is to decentralize it, and make it more like tennis. For the Olympic games, the can be selected by the NOC.
I say fine, fire, and ban the Federation management. Hit them personally instead of the kids and future competitors. Forced revamping will follow the wholesale sacking.
This works somewhat similarly to the theory that nuclear weapons prevent major wars because the Top Dogs are equally vulnerable as the poor saps sent to the front lines for the power and profit of the rich and powerful cowards in their palaces.