LOL, I see what you mean, Mpal. Debbie Wilkes does seem to be taking it personally that Michelle and Sasha are "dissing" the ISU.
Since she is so pleased at the opportunity to see all the "fresh faces [that] have given us a whole new reason to watch" the Grand prix events, it is not clear to me exactly what her personal beef is with the skaters who skipped it. Wilkes writes:
"To maintain the high quality of competition and therefore the integrity of events, it's essential that both the ISU and the skaters regard their "arrangement" as being a two-way street.
"Why should the ISU continue to provide the opportunity for success, both for itself and for the skaters, if the athletes feel no obligation to fulfill their side of the bargain?"
This makes it seem as though Wilkes is contending that there is some sort of arrangement or bargain between the ISU and the skaters. Since, as we know, the ISU has arrangements and bargains only with its members (the national skating federations), not with individual skaters, I can only surmise that Wilkes means some sort of tacit, "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" deal whereby the ISU gives the skaters the opportunity to skate in competitions and the skaters in turn -- well, are supposed to take advantage of these opportunities by showing up.
It seems to me that if a particular skater passes on the opportunity, allowing some other skater to take his/her place -- I frankly don't see how that affects Ms. Wilkes' happiness and well-being.
Her other argument is:
"What is really interesting is that neither Kwan nor Cohen will have officially tested themselves under the new system and they won't do it at US Nationals either the US choosing for the time being to stay with the 6.0 standard of old.
"Considering the complexities and richness of it, I can't imagine, under a scoring system you've never used, being able to deliver your first solid and sophisticated competitive performance of the year, at the World Championships! And I don't care who you are!"
ROFL! Well, I don't suppose that Kwan and Cohen care who Debbie Wilkes is, either.
Unless, of course, Wilkes turns out to be the technical controller at some event in the future where Kwan or Cohen is competing. In that case articles like this do cast doubt on the ability of the ISU to guarantee unbiased judging on the part of its officials under CoP judging.
In any case, it may well be true that Michelle and others are making a tactical error in not exposing themselves to the new judging system -- but again, surely that's
their problem, not Ms. Wilkes'.
And then there is this model of reasoning, LOL:
"When 2 of the world's top competitors totally renege on what I believe is their responsibility to the ISU and to their fellow competitors, it clearly shows that in this case the inmates are running the asylum."
Think about it. The form of Ms. Wilkes statement is: When someone doesn't do what
I believe is right, this
clearly shows that something is objectively wrong. What
is clear is that the segue between the speaker's personal beliefs and judgments about the real world is unsupported -- not to mention the immoderate and emotional language of the supposed conclusion.
Oh well, it's a passionate sport. On the subject of the CoP, the Canadian federation has invested a lot of emotional capital in the new judging system, so we should not be surprised to read premature claims like:
"[Under the new judging system] it's a level playing field where the most serious veterans can't depend on reputation to get them to the podium. This time the only thing that matters is their program and how well they skate it."
Time will tell.
Mathman
The ISU needs Kwan, Cohen, and Plushy more than the skaters need the ISU.
