Opinion: The brevity of skating careers

[lariko]

I haven't watched the F1 nor the Tennis shows... but one thing that I read is that fans thought tennis players were boring... not gossiping enough.. compared to F1. I am not sure figure skaters would speak candidly considering it's a judged sport.... Would someone like Shaidorov (or anyone really) complain about his lutz being marked Q or not getting high enough PCS and call out the judges? Now, that may interest the viewers... but it wouldn't happen.

Skaters' interviews are notoriously boring. The script is: I really was just competing against myself. I am un/happy but will work harder.

Sometimes, when skaters are asked something when getting off the ice, though, and they are comfortable with the guy asking a question, it's really fun. My fav this season was

Tran'kov: why the Axel, Dima? Why?!
Aliev: 'Cause I am Aliev.

And, like, Gubanova using an extremely vulgar expression about her scoring was big news, lol. Or Mishina's sweetly salt-of-the-Earth comment at the Oly about not having the foggiest clue what the eff they are asking.

Also, in skating, language makes a lot of difference. By the time they translate already polite Japanese skaters, they are cardboard. But if you understand the language, it's fun. Russians do a lot of close ups during K&C and their commentators go: hush, let's hear what the coach and athlete are saying.

I think a lot of expectations of the skaters being this elevated beings come from the old era when commentators told you how they embroidered tapestries and were fluent in Suahili back in the day.

 

[Skating91]

I don't think a skating fly on the wall documentary would work unless you had a skater or two ready to burn every bridge. A skater can't really say anything controversial or out of place, it seems like it's accepted practice that judges might ding you for various reasons outside your control, or ding you in future for a mere eyeroll, but some how this is an accepted part of the game that skaters have to deal with. The best skaters get 40k or 60k for winning the biggest tournament right, probably have to pay coaches or trainers, taxes, etc, it's not like they or their club are ever going to take anyone to court, or have any of it investigated. In a professional sport where players are making tens of millions each and clubs are worth billions, officials and administrators understand their place in the scheme of things.

Like I mentioned, being world champion in one of the most difficult sports physically, mentally, psychologically where all the training comes down to 5 or 6 starts per year for a few minutes at a time, pays 40 or 60k I can't remember. The training to performance time ratio is insane. Obviously it's a passion and that's why they do it which is admirable and that passion comes across when watching which makes it captivating, but eventually they might want to think about furthering their education, a career, or a family.

So you can't blame them for cutting their careers short unless at the very top in the world in a strong fed, or at the very top of their nation in a weak fed. There's little financial incentive to hang around for a few more years hoping form returns or injuries can be overcome for all but the very best, the only reason is because of a deep passion which not everyone has. It's basically a semi-professional sport at best and maybe some Russian girls can monetize it into making a lot of money.

 

[sisinka]

...Whenever he was asked anything, he was snide and barely said a word (it was a running gag on Russian TV). ...

It is called introvert.

I also didn't see Kolyada prior to 2018, but the years between 2018 and retirement to me offers a clear testimony in favor of skaters finishing career earlier rather than later. Kolyada was plagued by illness, stress and extremely traumatic nightmares according to his interviews. Whenever he was asked anything, he was snide and barely said a word (it was a running gag on Russian TV). But now he has finally left the sport, and he is commenting on 1TV, my jaw dropped how much he has changed without that pressure of competition. He has a soft, old intelligentsia voice. He talks easily. He smiles. He has a kind word for every skater. He sounds...happy. Like, genuinely happy. Sure, Nureyev program was great, but was it worth torturing the guy for the good of the country and world's entertainment for 4 years? The commentary on 1TV is now a joy to listen too, sans two toxic old farts they let to spew their poison there before. Grishin might live longer too, lol, without having to mediate all the time.

Finishing his career early he would not be invited to comment competitions and you could not enjoy his comments...

I persist on opinion that his presentation improved year by year. And Nuriev FD and Nutcracker SP were simply masterpieces.

He was skater with potential to win World Championships and Olympics. He won many medals, so his career was very successful even not winning everything he was capable of.

One thing I am angry about...for few years Mikhail was criticised in a very harsh way. It was literally witch hunt. And I don't mean anonymous writers on figure skating forums. I am talking about few Russian figure skating specialists who always found some reason to say humiliating things about him. It was bullying. For more seasons.

Figure skating is critical world but what was happening to Mikhail was 10 times beyond borderline.

I am glad if Mikhail is happy now. And to always find something positive to say about other skaters, that is classy. He remembers how difficult it was when beside his own stress and injuries Russian specialists were bashing him...so he cares skaters nicely to protect them against such additional and unnecessary stress...kind of mental stress which is never leading to better performances by the way.

One last note, Mikhail always looked like pretty stubborn young man. If he continued skating, I think it was because he wanted.

 

[sisinka]

Evgenia had five senior years, 2015-2016 season to 2019-2020. Her last International competition was just shy of her 20th birthday Nov. 2019. A little longer than some of her peers in Russia. And her Memoirs of a Geisha program choreographed by Shae-Lynn Bourne is really good.

Looking at other Russian ladies of past 10 years, Evgenia had incredible longevity of 5 seasons in seniors. But when she competed for the last time at the November 2019, she was 20 years only. Looking at her since first senior season she is typical example of postponed puberty (let reasons of postponing aside). At the age of 20 her body was still in a process of changing, not being grown-up.

Season 2019/2020 with Memoirs of Geisha FD - it indeed looked like she is finding her strength again and will be progressing in future and possibly dealing with fully rotated jumps even with grown-up body.

 

[lariko]

And Nuriev FD and Nutcracker SP were simply masterpieces.

So with you on Nuriev, can't really support Nutcracker, but the treatment of Kolyada was appalling to the n-th degree, as well as the entire body of Russian men for years. I think they are really finding their way now toward detoxification of competition results and establishing (more) reasonable goals.

Frolova returning now is a great example of a skater who genuinely wants to explore skating for a while longer. She is capable of competing, and no young talent has been sacrificed for her to stay in the competition.

The problem with longevity starts when it becomes a stranglehold on the sport as a whole. Skating success on each element, on each competition is random. Results must reflect that, without being prorated by seniority. Until that happens, nothing else will work to grow and clean up figure skating from bad players and toxicity that always accompanies idolization.

Honest, clean, growing sport is far more important than anything else imo. And it can't be achieved if the idolization continues to be the norm and scoring continues to be fudged in practically every competition.

 

[icewhite]

So with you on Nuriev, can't really support Nutcracker, but the treatment of Kolyada was appalling to the n-th degree, as well as the entire body of Russian men for years. I think they are really finding their way now toward detoxification of competition results and establishing (more) reasonable goals.

Frolova returning now is a great example of a skater who genuinely wants to explore skating for a while longer. She is capable of competing, and no young talent has been sacrificed for her to stay in the competition.

The problem with longevity starts when it becomes a stranglehold on the sport as a whole. Skating success on each element, on each competition is random. Results must reflect that, without being prorated by seniority. Until that happens, nothing else will work to grow and clean up figure skating from bad players and toxicity that always accompanies idolization.

Honest, clean, growing sport is far more important than anything else imo. And it can't be achieved if the idolization continues to be the norm and scoring continues to be fudged in practically every competition.

If we are talking about scoring what is happening on the day instead of going by reputation from past events I'm so with you.
However I very much get the impression that you simply don't value refinement (no wonder then someone like Kagiyama leaves you cold), while refinement is a major aspect in skating and often improves massively with age - some start at a very high level early already, some improve just a little, some very much, some later... but basically everyone, unless they are heavily hindered by injuries, improves with time, at least until their mid/late 20s, because the physical ability is not yet on the decline, while there have been hours and hours of hard work on all the little details and there's the absolute feel of ease on the ice. There also has been input from often many people who helped to work on all these things like musical understanding, interpretation. I don't see many people in singles' skating being hindered on their way to the top by older skaters with a reputation. Hanyu never kept anyone from coming up, he was just that good. Kolyada never kept anyone from coming up, he was just that good. Kostner... In ice dance you can surely make a case.

 

[4everchan]

If we are talking about scoring what is happening on the day instead of going by reputation from past events I'm so with you.
However I very much get the impression that you simply don't value refinement (no wonder then someone like Kagiyama leaves you cold), while refinement is a major aspect in skating and often improves massively with age - some start at a very high level early already, some improve just a little, some very much, some later... but basically everyone, unless they are heavily hindered by injuries, improves with time, at least until their mid/late 20s, because the physical ability is not yet on the decline, while there have been hours and hours of hard work on all the little details and there's the absolute feel of ease on the ice. There also has been input from often many people who helped to work on all these things like musical understanding, interpretation. I don't see many people in singles' skating being hindered on their way to the top by older skaters with a reputation. Hanyu never kept anyone from coming up, he was just that good. Kolyada never kept anyone from coming up, he was just that good. Kostner... In ice dance you can surely make a case.

Refinement in performance for figure skaters comes with time. It's quite easy to see it. There may be a few prodigies here and there, who are better at 18 than most will ever be, but even they will get better with time. It's a well-known fact in pretty much all performing arts, and I am 100% positive it is with figure skaters.

 

[lariko]

If we are talking about scoring what is happening on the day instead of going by reputation from past events I'm so with you.
However I very much get the impression that you simply don't value refinement (no wonder then someone like Kagiyama leaves you cold), while refinement is a major aspect in skating and often improves massively with age - some start at a very high level early already, some improve just a little, some very much, some later... but basically everyone, unless they are heavily hindered by injuries, improves with time, at least until their mid/late 20s, because the physical ability is not yet on the decline, while there have been hours and hours of hard work on all the little details and there's the absolute feel of ease on the ice. There also has been input from often many people who helped to work on all these things like musical understanding, interpretation. I don't see many people in singles' skating being hindered on their way to the top by older skaters with a reputation. Hanyu never kept anyone from coming up, he was just that good. Kolyada never kept anyone from coming up, he was just that good. Kostner... In ice dance you can surely make a case.

Call it what you want, but scores are fudged big time.

For me 'refinement' is in choosing theme and telling a story during successful performance of a routine. While Kagiyama has great glide and soft knees that I hope to see live soon, ice he skates on conveys stronger emotional investment into his routines than he does. He is blank. Completely blank. I don't get how a person could even be that blank, but he manages.

And, lol, Hanyu stagnated the entire Japanese skating. They are eating up the results of Hanyu idolization at the expense of sport right now. Not his fault, obviously. He is a talented guy. But if he didn't drag his feet for the shot at 3rd Olympics he didn't need and started his show career earlier, he would have been happier for that, and so would have been the sport in Japan and around the world. And even his fans, lol.

 

[gkelly]

For me 'refinement' is in choosing theme and telling a story during successful performance of a routine.

For judges, what is rewarded in the three program component scores includes a lot more different kinds of skills. It is possible for a skater to excel at most of them even if they don't choose a theme or tell a story (which is not a requirement for any of the components, albeit available to be rewarded under Composition and Presentation).

Refinement in skating skills is something else entirely. And probably more important.

 

[sisinka]

...
So to me longevity in the sport = competitive skating. And then, the question becomes interesting : how would it be possible for skaters who do want it, to facilitate longevity in the sport. It's obviously not everyone's goal. Some skaters have other passions and interests. Some want to study. Some want to do completely different things. But for those who want to remain on the circuit, is there a way to make it happen ?

How to increase longevity. OK. Let's go from rehabilitation point of view.

1. PREVENTION
- check-up in early age to find out your weak segments of body which will be injury prone

(for example certain shape of hip joint reduces range of motion into some direction - if those directions will be forced, skater will replace the movement in hip using lumbar spine, which will lead to lumbar overworking and lumbar's spine injuries)

- correct body posture and control right strengthening
- evaluate again from time to time to react on new patologies

2. INJURIES
- react IMMEDIATELY
- take enough time to heal it
- evaluate again from time to time to react on decompensation which will lead to re-injury
- evaluate why injury happened and make adjustments

Check-up and evaluation done by specialist.

3. EAT
- in cooperation with nutrition specialist
- to have enough energy, enough bone minerals and vitamins, enough muscle mass - which is partially protection against injuries

 

[lariko]

For judges, what is rewarded in the three program component scores includes a lot more different kinds of skills. It is possible for a skater to excel at most of them even if they don't choose a theme or tell as story (which is not a requirement for any of the components, albeit available to be rewarded under Composition and Presentation).

Refinement in skating skills is something else entirely. And probably more important.

Yes, I get that, we now have 3 components that mesh technical aspects (blade incline, speed, coverage of the rink, position of hands and body between technical elements, spread of the technical elements around the rink and in combination with music, legs and arms positions corresponding to music bits and length of the stroke matching musical phrasing) plus the storytelling in Co and Pr.

A skating program is a routine. The skater's success is in performing this routine with technical competency and at the same time engaging the audience into watching it. They can achieve it via means accessible to them. The performers with better cardio could afford large movements and faster switches in music. Those with better flexibility could perform elements that require balance and taking strange poses in slo mo. The more braniac ones can select interesting music that most people didn't hear. Party animals can get the audience dancing or clapping by staying with clappable music. Populists now have access to directly communicating and making audience buy into personal significance of their choreo or musical choices.

It's all good.

But what annoys me is when the sameness is overrewarded with prissy and pretentious disregard of other options.

Sure, it's hard to judge figure skating. But... Give Math a Chance! And make judging based on what's happening there. Right there. In this skate, element or the event. Not on body of work or expectations or preconceptions. That's poison.

 

[lariko]

Check-up and evaluation done by specialist.

And never, ever gaslight injured athletes, particularly the young ones when they experience pain and help them develop the communication with their bodies, not override it by 'the coach said' and morphine.

Sorry, the thing that freaked me out the most in a specific coach interview was that gaslighting of young athletes in respect to injuries and undermining their trust in their own body's feedback. This is the most dangerous approach possible in a sport where potential for acute and life-long trauma is so high!

For me, an opinion of an athlete can't be dismissed by coach and specialist. never! They should be trained to listen to their body first and foremost and know it from the moment when it is obvious they will be taking risks with it.

I was also taken aback when Mukhametzianova shared that her so-called nutrition specialist disregarded her knowledge of her body and insisted that she eats the same thing to lose weight, when her body adopted fast to a dieting approach like that and reacted better to variety and changes in diet. It's not a specialist. It's an ignoramus. I am still outraged when I think of it...though happy Mukhametzianova found other interests in her life.

Though the statement that an athlete should always obey the coach and ignore pain to train, because coach knows best and everyone is hurting, is hair-raising.

 

[Magill]

With tennis, once a player lose in a tournament, they lost. No do-overs and no continuing forward. There's no more story of that player that can be followed further. And when Netflix is not allowed access to the biggest names in tennis (because individually they can get more lucrative deals with other streaming services for their own exclusive documentaries...), they have to settle with players who are not guaranteed to make it to the biggest stages of competitions, and they can't create a product out of the big competitions because the tennis players who win them don't give them access. So there's a discrepancy between the actual tennis happening and the product created by Netflix, and some people may end up getting not interested in tennis because... well, what's the point when you can't get the POV into the biggest competitions?

I can be wrong, but I think FS, at least the GP series, share more similarities with F1 than tennis. You're guaranteed to see the top participants twice in the series barring injuries. Heck, people got into FS because of Yuri on Ice and that anime placed bigger importance on the GP series + GPF compared to other competitions (and it also makes more sense).

I am not sure if you really follow tennis because it just does not work this way at all. They lose in one tournament, they move to the next one, very often just next week. There are lots and lots of tournaments on different levels and of various kinds, and players are required to take part in certain minimum number of them. It is very much like you had Challenger and Grand Prix series spread in many layers over the bigger part of the year.
Netflix series was spread over a considerable period of time so it would not be affected by players winning or losing here or there. What was wrong with this series was that it was just ...a bad doc. As simple as that. Uninterestingly narrated, making many unfortunate choices as to what to focus on, what to show and what not, and so on. And while it is true they did not have access to the biggest super stars in men, they did have current then No 1 and 2 of the women tennis, so you could not really complain. No 1 was just having the longest winning streak in the sport this century, topping legends like both Serena and Venus Williams etc, before each tournament people in the tennis world were making bets on how long it was going to last, would Iga win this one, too - what a topic for a good doc! Netflix guys were just not able to make use of it which was a pity and a shame, and yes, a huge disappointment for tennis fans. It was so bad I did not make it through it
But one of the problems tennis players voiced when making their decisions on whether to take part or not, which could be also relevant if anyone really tried to make sth similar for FS, was the distraction of having a film crew following you while you really need to focus. This, I think,. could be a very similar problem if you wanted to make such a series in FS where concentration is also sort of essential.
I think just streaming competitions, with some extended background info and an interview here and there, would be much more needed.
Sorry for the Off Topic!

 

[icewhite]

Call it what you want, but scores are fudged big time. And, lol, Hanyu stagnated the entire Japanese skating. They are eating up the results of Hanyu idolization at the expense of sport right now. Not his fault, obviously. He is a talented guy. But if he didn't drag his feet for the shot at 3rd Olympics he didn't need and started his show career earlier, he would have been happier for that, and so would have been the sport in Japan and around the world. And even his fans, lol.

I don't get it. How did he make Japan stagnate? There has never been a time with more strong Japanese men than now. Like I said I don't like the tight quota for countries and wish Japan could send more skaters to big championships, but...
I appreciate your strong mind and opinions but often I am just really left wondering where your thoughts come from.


Maybe it's the difference between English and German again, but you interprete "refinement" very differently from what I thought it meant and what I meant. I meant trying to get closer to perfection. It seems "perfecting" might be the better choice of a word.

Storytelling seems especially appreciated in Russia in figure skating, because of the strong impact of traditional ballet with figures and characters, but I don't see it anywhere in the bullet points of the PCS. It's totally on the skater if they want to do it or not, at least in a literal sense. If you mean it in the sense of "coherent concept" and "interpretation of the music" it is of course to be rewarded.

As much as I would like a reward for choosing original music I have never seen that happen and it's not really in the descriptions of the PCS, is it? There's the point of "originality", but I don't think it actually means picking music out of the box (unfortunately).

 

[el henry]

I don't get it. How did he make Japan stagnate? There has never been a time with more strong Japanese men than now. Like I said I don't like the tight quota for countries and wish Japan could send more skaters to big championships, but...
I appreciate your strong mind and opinions but often I am just really left wondering where your thoughts come from.


Maybe it's the difference between English and German again, but you interprete "refinement" very differently from what I thought it meant and what I meant. I meant trying to get closer to perfection. It seems "perfecting" might be the better choice of a word.

Storytelling seems especially appreciated in Russia in figure skating, because of the strong impact of traditional ballet with figures and characters, but I don't see it anywhere in the bullet points of the PCS. It's totally on the skater if they want to do it or not, at least in a literal sense. If you mean it in the sense of "coherent concept" and "interpretation of the music" it is of course to be rewarded.

As much as I would like a reward for choosing original music I have never seen that happen and it's not really in the descriptions of the PCS, is it? There's the point of "originality", but I don't think it actually means picking music out of the box (unfortunately).

I am a native English speaker and I understood what you meant by refinement: to keep refining your movements. Keep refining blade to ice skills. Keep refining performance skills. Keep refining jumping skills.

Refinement can also be used to indicate elite, in a way: "someone of refined taste". (just a side note, I am in awe of our non Anglophone posters, living in non English speaking countries, who post on this board. Bravo)

I agree that Yuzuru Hanyu did more to "grow" the sport of figure skating than any five Russians, Americans, Canadians and random other skaters lumped together).ETA: Even if half those fans only cared about Yuzu and drop away, that's still more fans than any other skater.

I would be shocked if the current crop of Japanese men coming up did not owe at least some of their interest to Hanyu. And since they saw what a long career was possible for someone like Hanyu, they spend time refining their skills into skaters of quality. In my opinion, that is the kind of inspiration that skating overall needs.

(although I completely agree with country quotas for Worlds, But that is another topic that has been the subject of numerous numerous threads and not the topic here )

 

[Magill]

Call it what you want, but scores are fudged big time.

For me 'refinement' is in choosing theme and telling a story during successful performance of a routine. While Kagiyama has great glide and soft knees that I hope to see live soon, ice he skates on conveys stronger emotional investment into his routines than he does. He is blank. Completely blank. I don't get how a person could even be that blank, but he manages.

And, lol, Hanyu stagnated the entire Japanese skating. They are eating up the results of Hanyu idolization at the expense of sport right now. Not his fault, obviously. He is a talented guy. But if he didn't drag his feet for the shot at 3rd Olympics he didn't need and started his show career earlier, he would have been happier for that, and so would have been the sport in Japan and around the world. And even his fans, lol.

For one, I would just appreciate if you did not use derogatory, diminishing or contemptuous language when talking about any skater on this forum as whatever is your personal opinion on them, they all deserve respect, especially here. I understand we all happen to get emotional, but...
As for Yuzuru specifically, you seem really not to be able to stop dragging him here as some other posters have already pointed to you, but well .... To answer your shenaginans then, the last time he took part in GP was in 2019. Seems like whatever space young Japanese guys needed there (and I have been rooting for them, too), it was theirs to use since. Otherwise, I cannot think of any federation which having the gem and the treasure Yuzuru has been to this day, would not send him to represent them on the world stage if he was only willing to. This would be weird as hell.
He did not take away anything from anyone, nor held them back. This is some kind of biased nonsense.
OTOH, Yuzuru meant mountains for keeping and increasing popularity of the sport globally, but in Japan in particular - and for its finances. Like he himself was inspired by Plushenko as a child, so he has become a source of inspiration for the new generation of skaters of both genders alike, probably in many other places, too, but in Japan most of all. He helped finance rinks and competitions, with his own donations as much as by drawing sponsors and interest. He was leading masterclasses for kids, giving them words of appreciation, encouragement and advice some of them cherish to this day. Speak to them.
And bad news for you - even his known anti-fans now have been urging ISU to seek for ways to bring him back, in whatever role he would choose. For the sake of the sport., of course.
I do not see him coming back, but you know, there are many opinions and many visions as to what is good for the sport and what is not....

 

[lariko]

For one, I would just appreciate if you did not use derogatory, diminishing or contemptuous language when talking about any skater on this forum as whatever is your personal opinion on them, they all deserve respect, especially here. I understand we all happen to get emotional, but...
As for Yuzuru specifically, you seem really not to be able to stop dragging him here as some other posters have already pointed to you, but well .... To answer your shenaginans then, the last time he took part in GP was in 2019. Seems like whatever space young Japanese guys needed there (and I have been rooting for them, too), it was theirs to use since. Otherwise, I cannot think of any federation which having the gem and the treasure Yuzuru has been to this day, would not send him to represent them on the world stage if he was only willing to. This would be weird as hell.
He did not take away anything from anyone, nor held them back. This is some kind of biased nonsense.
OTOH, Yuzuru meant mountains for keeping and increasing popularity of the sport globally, but in Japan in particular - and for its finances. Like he himself was inspired by Plushenko as a child, so he has become a source of inspiration for the new generation of skaters of both genders alike, probably in many other places, too, but in Japan most of all. He helped finance rinks and competitions, with his own donations as much as by drawing sponsors and interest. He was leading masterclasses for kids, giving them words of appreciation, encouragement and advice some of them cherish to this day. Speak to them.
And bad news for you - even his known anti-fans now have been urging ISU to seek for ways to bring him back, in whatever role he would choose. For the sake of the sport., of course.
I do not see him coming back, but you know, there are many opinions and many visions as to what is good for the sport and what is not....

I would be happy to use nothing but sweet nothingness if all other posters refrained from derogatory language toward all other skaters.

Hanyu's influence on sport that I saw was quite toxic because of idolization. Hanyu fans only cared for Hanyu and found flaws with every skater that bested him, hounding them on social media and outright inventing their flaws and faults. That animosity got attached to them for their entire careers. It was terrible. And the Pooh tossing...I can't tell you how happy I am this is no longer a thing and hopefully never will be a thing again. Along with Hanyu fans trooping to the stadium only when he competes, then screaming whenever they can sneak a peek, then leaving in the same organized march of adoration once he leaves.

Personally, I liked Hanyu's skating prior to him repeating himself in every program, losing ground, going into quixotic quest for 4A, despite injuries.

I don't understand where you are taking this idea that Japanese skating is stronger than ever. In the next gen Japanese skaters are being pushed off the podiums by other nations, and none of the Japanese skaters have stability in either men or women singles, save for Sakamoto, while pairs and dance remain at 'we have one of each' level. That's not a boom. Japan, if left out of the international competition, would not have been able to run their own series of events. Japan also doesn't share their skating with the world, in fact, they hide it the best they can.

Hanyu finally leaving the sport is the best thing that happened to the sport last year. He is doing the right thing focusing on show business, personal life and his artistic development. Bringing him back to compete would be a horrible mistake. Administrative or liaison work, if he is keen on it would be fantastic.

With Hanyu gone, and the traditional Russian manipulation of scores hopefully (a girl can hope, right?) a thing of the past if they return and when they return, we might actually have a really wholesome period...if it happens soon. And if the judging increases in integrity and younger, less bias folks are moved into judging and technical panels.

Integrity, not longevity.
Passion, not pretension.
Athletic fairness, not worship of idols.

That's how figure skating can prosper.

 

[lariko]

Also, storytelling and the character is the primary vehicle for engagement. Without it, a skating routine doesn't compellingly answer the main question: why are we sitting for 4 minutes, watching some youngster(s) move in circles on ice. Blade works is a great tool in the toolbox, otherwise they'd still be watching old figures.

Just look at how much introducing a central theme/period in time revitalized rhythm dance this season. It's now more fun than the free dance and is actually watchable.

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

Japan, if left out of the international competition, would not have been able to run their own series of events.

You might want to hazard a peek out of your bubble and into the Japanese Nationals thread. They are running their own series of events perfectly fine right now.

 

[lariko]

You might want to hazard a peek out of your bubble and into the Japanese Nationals thread. They are running their own series of events perfectly fine right now.

With enough pairs and dance to make it a full-fledged competition? Where? I'll watch that. I do watch every nationals that are available, hunting down the clips from Japan, heh. Ain't my fault that it's easier to watch Russian pre-novices in Ust'-Kukuysk of Za-zakraisk regionals than the Japanese Nationals. Like I said, they hide it as much as possible. Why, who knows.