Grand Prix France cancelled

[surimi]

Sad but undestandable. And it is clear now that GPF needs to be cancelled, not 'postponed'.

 

[Flying Feijoa]

Then there is the attitudes of the people. A few weeks ago, a local investigative programme interviewed a woman from NI who lives in Sweden. And she explained that there is no need to bring in laws there to make people socially distance, as they tend to keep the required distance apart normally. Plus, Swedes generally do what they are asked. So, the government doesn't need to force the people to do things by bringing in laws; they just need to ask them nicely to do them. And that is certainly not the case in other parts of Europe!

That might also explain why Japan's been doing pretty well (that, and the cultural acceptance of mask-wearing). Apparently the constitution prevents a government-enforced lockdown there, so they just had to rely on asking people to keep their distances.

@ladyjane the cats in your avatar are so cute Are they Russian Blues? I have a soft spot for ginger tabbies as our old family moggie was one, but if I ever get a cat myself I think I'd go for a blue to avoid comparisons with him.
I do like poodles too

 

[ladyjane]

Off topic, but did you notice the disproportionally high amount of people with cat pictures as their avatars in this thread? Currently three cats (four if you count ladyjane's two) versus just two skaters

Remaining off topic: I do love my own two cats....I love most dogs too to be honest but I don't live with one. I could also put in a Koala although I'm not Australian, even if I have adopted one in a way. But if Covid would go away, Ill change the avatar into one of my two favourite skaters immediately!

 

[sailormoon]

The night curfew in France runs from 21:00 to 06:00 every night. Initially, the organizers of the French GP event initially moved the time schedules to finish off competitions by 21:00. I thought that was not good enough because skaters could be fined after 21:00 while they are going back to their hotels. The strict curfews are unnecessary as along as bars and restaurants are closed by 21:00 as streets are usually deserted when all shops are closed down.

 

[karne]

Not a shock.

What a "series" this is. Skate America and Rostelecom going ahead when it's irresponsible and arrogant to do so. CoC and NHK being potentially more responsible to go ahead with but proving why these events shouldn't be called GPs.

 

[Harriet]

proving why these events shouldn't be called GPs.

In the tradition of Skate American’t and InternatioNO de France, I think we should dub these events the Non Prix henceforth.

 

[readernick]

I am sad that it appears Rika and Shoma won't be able to compete until Japanese nationals now since the JSF isn't allowing their skaters to participate in challengers. However, it is necessary to follow government regulations and think of the skaters health and the health of the vulnerable surrounding them.

I believe in canceling the whole GP, but since that isn't happening. SkA will be an interesting test event. The USFS has put a lot of measures into place (more than any of the other planned GPs because, obviously, the situation in the US is out of control) including creating bubbles for different groups, requiring skaters to arrive early (all skaters are already in Los Vegas) testing, no audience, etc... Some of these measures (and hopefully more including a longer quarantine), will likely need to be instituted if Worlds goes forward. It will be interesting to see if these measures are effective at preventing infection. The NBA had a very effective bubble in Disneyworld. No one involved tested positive for the virus during the months of play, however figure skating doesn't have those types of financial resources so it will be fascinating to see if figure skating is capable of producing a safe environment with the resources they do have. I hope everyone stays safe.

 

[Giltedge]

... Currently three cats (four if you count ladyjane's two) versus just two skaters

With an invitation like that, how could I resist?

Back on topic... the cancellation is not at all amewsing, a bit of a catastrophe, in fact.

 

[rain]

Sad that another Grand Prix is off, but once again not terribly surprised. I imagine the U.S. will go ahead, since that's the way their COVID response has been going, and I bet Russia's not cancelling either. Who knows about China. I'd imagine Japan's GP will depend on how numbers are looking there at the time. I really wish they'd put in place some kind of contingency to do this by video. This situation was pretty predictable, and it's a huge shame to miss pretty much the whole season.

 

[ancientpeas]

Eli would not approve of some of the posts in this thread. Bella (the golden lab) would just be sad at the anti dog talk.

 

[mrrice]

Definitely a responsible decision. Well done that federation.

There seems to be a second "Wave" of the virus coming here in the US. I can see an Audience free Nationals on the horizon. These Feds are looking out for the skaters and the crowds that these events draw.

 

[labgoat]

At one time we had a thread in LeCafe for everyone with cat avatars. When I first joined GS, I had one of my kitties as an avatar before switching to Toller so I participated. Another thread could be started

Back to the topic at hand, so bummed. No Deniss. No Kévin. And of course, in other news, no Jason.

I understand why, just sorry not to see my favs.

On an unrelated note, have you seen this newly found Toller skate?

"A great piece of East York Barbershopper history here. In 1980, East York was featured on two episodes of the hit CTV Show, Stars on Ice. The host and featured singer was Doug Crosley, and East York accompanied Canadian figure skating legend Toller Cranston."

EYBS on Stars on Ice

A great piece of East York Barbershopper history here. In 1980, East York was featured on two episodes of the hit CTV Show, Stars on Ice. The host and feat...

www.youtube.com

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

To be honest I'm relieved because traveling to France and taking part in a competition with spectators sounds quite irresponsible based on the current situation. But damn I wanted to watch Rika's new programs so much!

France was planning to have spectators!? That would be so risky. I was so surprised by how nonchalant the Russian spectators seemed to be during the Russian test skates. They were all so casual about wearing or not wearing masks, and I saw no discernible social distancing in that arena.

Skate America will not have spectators, and hopefully they are instituting strict health protocols for participating athletes and officials.

So, no GPF, no Skate Canada, no Internationaux de France. Which GPs are remaining aside from Skate America this coming weekend?

 

[karne]

There seems to be second "Wave" of the virus coming here in the US. I can see an Audience free Nationals on the horizon. These Feds are looking out for the skaters and the crowds that these events draw.

The existence of a second wave implies the defeat of the first, something huge swathes of the US didn't even try to achieve.

So, no GPF, no Skate Canada, no Internationaux de France. Which GPs are remaining aside from Skate America this coming weekend?

Rostelecom (even though it shouldn't), Cup of China (with its tiny field), and NHK Trophy (with no pairs event).

Not worthy of the title "Grand Prix" IMO.

 

[Joekaz]

France was planning to have spectators!? That would be so risky. I was so surprised by how nonchalant the Russian spectators seemed to be during the Russian test skates. They were all so casual about wearing or not wearing masks, and I saw no discernible social distancing in that arena.

Skate America will not have spectators, and hopefully they are instituting strict health protocols for participating athletes and officials.

So, no GPF, no Skate Canada, no Internationaux de France. Which GPs are remaining aside from Skate America this coming weekend?

There seems to be a second "Wave" of the virus coming here in the US. I can see an Audience free Nationals on the horizon. These Feds are looking out for the skaters and the crowds that these events draw.

People seem to not realize that you can't hide from a virus. They don't just disappear and we don't have cures for viruses. Flu comes back every year. Eventually your immune system has to defeat it. Fortunately a healthy immune system is effective against Covid. It is devastating for immune compromised people, but actually less dangerous than some flus to healthy people, particularly the young. In regards to Japan, the reason they have low number of positive tests is because they do not test very much compared to other countries. The difference is that Japan has very few deaths because their elderly are generally thin and healthy, unlike the US where obesity is widespread. Hiding in your room and canceling everything only stretches out the spread and causes profound economic and societal hardships that are life altering for many. Too many people let fear control them.

 

[MaHa75]

People seem to not realize that you can't hide from a virus. They don't just disappear and we don't have cures for viruses. Flu comes back every year. Eventually your immune system has to defeat it. Fortunately a healthy immune system is effective against Covid. It is devastating for immune compromised people, but actually less dangerous than some flus to healthy people, particularly the young. In regards to Japan, the reason they have low number of positive tests is because they do not test very much compared to other countries. The difference is that Japan has very few deaths because their elderly are generally thin and healthy, unlike the US where obesity is widespread. Hiding in your room and canceling everything only stretches out the spread and causes profound economic and societal hardships that are life altering for many. Too many people let fear control them.

I can not agree with you more!!! But seems that most people prefer hiding and canceling. Lot of good skaters may lost their best chances to earn carier best results...i feel so sorry for skaters. To be come top skater in worlds demands so so much effort and i is not fair to rob this by canceling everything. And French GP was the most intresting for me because this was the only international event. I do not care as much local gp like russia, japan...or america with lot of skaters with low raiting.
And have you seen photos about demonstrations in France few days ago? 100 000 or more people sranding next to each other...nobody affraid covid19 but still lets cancel figure skating competition

 

[Apple1078]

Hopefully, Skate America manages to keep everyone safe. The bubble protocols are very strict and are most likely only possible to implement at a venue like this where you have both the hotel and arena in one place. There are dedicated elevator doors that only open up at the skaters' floor then straight to the arena etc. The hotel floor is dedicated to officials only.

It's probably the only way you can keep people completely isolated. Bubbles (someone mentioned the NBA) can be effective but these measures are expensive and it would be difficult for all organizing countries to pull this off.

 

[ladyjane]

That might also explain why Japan's been doing pretty well (that, and the cultural acceptance of mask-wearing). Apparently the constitution prevents a government-enforced lockdown there, so they just had to rely on asking people to keep their distances.

@ladyjane the cats in your avatar are so cute Are they Russian Blues? I have a soft spot for ginger tabbies as our old family moggie was one, but if I ever get a cat myself I think I'd go for a blue to avoid comparisons with him.
I do like poodles too

Yes, they are Russian Blues. Two ladies, the one slightly more silvery than the other. There's usually one on my lap when I watch figure skating!

 

[Jeanie19]

Eli would not approve of some of the posts in this thread. Bella (the golden lab) would just be sad at the anti dog talk.

All pets should be welcome, especially bunnies. My bunny loves figure skating.

 

[kolyadafan2002]

Can Lambiel just run a competition with all his skaters (he could just hold up signs from 0 - 6.0 (just want to see his skaters skate badly).