The credibility of figure skating : Is it a sport or a popularity contest with sponsors ?

[coolboogie22]

The credibility of figure skating : Is it a sport or a popularity contest with sponsors ?

I begin to lost interest with the sport with all of theses controversy.

It begins with Takahiko Kozuka who has earn his place to Sochi with his 3rd place and the federation take Daisuke Takahashi instead of him who finish 5th place.

Now, Mirai Nagasu who has also earn her place to Sochi fair and square with her 3rd place at nationals and shows a great season was replace by Ashley Wagner.

And, there is some rumor about Evgeni Plushenko to get the spot for Sochi even if he was clearly defeat by Maxim Kovtun all season.

All, of theses choice doesn't make sense!!

Does Figure skating is a sport or a popularity contest with sponsors ?

 

[brightphoton]

look on the bright side: at least we don't have bela and martha karolyi.

 

[SkateToronto]

The Federation wants to send the skaters who have the best chance to win a medal. I think that's what motivates them more than "popularity", per se. I guess the fairness of them having full discretion to name the team depends on your perspective. Is it more important for the skaters who perform their best and place at the nationals to go or is it more important to have the skaters who arguably have the best shot at success to go?

I feel bad for Mirai, but I understand why the US federation decided how it did.

 

[FlattFan]

I'm outraged by their decision to drop Mirai. Mirai isn't my favorite skater. I actually don't care about her. I care about right and integrity. I would be equally angry if Agnes was in third and got dropped.

From this day on, US Federation will not see a cent from me. I'm done with this stupid organization. I do hope they go bankrupt and disappear.

 

[Mathman]

Anyone remember the battle of the Lynns? There was a ton of controversy in 1969 and 1970 when media darling Janet Lynn was placed first in U.S. Nationals over Julie Lynn Holmes. In both years Holmes went on to finish ahead of Lynn at worlds. Janet Lynn went on to become the richest woman in sports in 1972.

 

[Gigi13]

I'm outraged by their decision to drop Mirai. Mirai isn't my favorite skater. I actually don't care about her. I care about right and integrity. I would be equally angry if Agnes was in third and got dropped.

From this day on, US Federation will not see a cent from me. I'm done with this stupid organization. I do hope they go bankrupt and disappear.

My exact thoughts I'm done with the U.S federation and I'm rooting for the Japanese,Korean, and Russian female skaters...and the whole Dai/Taka situation wasn't fair either.

 

[kwanatic]

Just more of a reason why people don't take this sport seriously. The subjectivity of it is a turn-off.

Essentially, nationals doesn't have to count for anything...it's just another competition if the federation has the right to cherry-pick the team regardless of the results. But it's never been a cherry-picking situation until this past weekend and I think that's why so many people are upset. Never before has someone competed at nationals, failed to place and yet was still named to the team. That's why everyone is upset.

As a whole, the "sport" is as much about popularity, political pull and reputation as it is about ability. It's very shady and unfair...yet I can't seem to stop watching it. I hate that.

 

[RABID]

Just more of a reason why people don't take this sport seriously. The subjectivity of it is a turn-off.

Essentially, nationals doesn't have to count for anything...it's just another competition if the federation has the right to cherry-pick the team regardless of the results. But it's never been a cherry-picking situation until this past weekend and I think that's why so many people are upset. Never before has someone competed at nationals, failed to place and yet was still named to the team. That's why everyone is upset.

As a whole, the "sport" is as much about popularity, political pull and reputation as it is about ability. It's very shady and unfair...yet I can't seem to stop watching it. I hate that.

OMG, such doom and gloom. Nothing has changed. People like it or people don't for essentially the same reasons they have always liked or disliked the sport; and that goes back even to the heyday of the sport, pre-cop.

 

[ice coverage]

look on the bright side: at least we don't have bela and martha karolyi.

The perfect segue to a tweet I noticed yesterday, from an Olympic gold medalist who knows a thing or two about the Karolyis:

Dominique Moceanu
‏@Dmoceanu

Another subjective decision in a subjective sport! Thoughts? #WagnerNagasu #IceSkating #Gymnastics #Boston2014
4:30 PM - 12 Jan 14
https://twitter.com/Dmoceanu/status/422526114142355456
​

 

[ivy]

I'm OK with some discretion on the part of the federations but it has to be clear. I was unhappy with the Men's team the US sent to worlds in 2011 - and we lost a spot. Something more like the Japanese system is a little better
- Gold medalists goes - Gold
- Silver medalist or top finisher at GPF - Edmunds or Wagner - pick Wagner
- Either above, plus bronze medalist and top international scorer for season - Edmunds, Wagner, Nagasu, or Wagner again - Wagner already selected so Edmunds or Nagasu - it's a hard call I think - I'd have gone with Nagasu for both Oly's and Worlds and sent Edmunds to Jr Worlds.

Though that's not the team I really would have picked - I think Ashley should stay home. If she had done well in either phase I'd be more inclined to send her. Still a clearer system would be better, even if I don't like the result.

Maybe points earned through the season with the majority given at Nat'ls? I suppose that would disadvantage young skaters breaking out that year, but at least wouldn't seem so arbitrary

 

[happy hollow]

Judges at Nationals used to prop up the skaters that they wanted to send to World's/Olympics. What changed here, was that the judges judged the actual competition, and THEN the decision was made to send the 4th place skater.

 

[gkelly]

To me, the credibility of the sport as sport has to do with the results -- do the scores reflect the performances on the day?

I think that has improved significantly, both with the change of scoring system and with written rules that give wider guidelines for international team selection strict adherence to the results of one national competition -- there's less incentive for judges to try to fudge the results of this competition if this competition alone does not determine who gets assignments.

Of course, given the nature of this sport, there will always be room for disagreements about close results. And disagreements about the fairest way to combine short and long program results to arrive at overall standings, in general and in specific cases.

But when it comes to making international assignments, whether the decisions made are fair or unfair according to the selection rules, to me that's a completely separate issue from whether the results of the competitions themselves were fair.

And I'm more interested in the competition results. If political maneuverings are restricted to team selection, as long as the competitions themselves seem fair I'm satisfied with the sport as sport.

 

[kwanatic]

OMG, such doom and gloom. Nothing has changed. People like it or people don't for essentially the same reasons they have always liked or disliked the sport; and that goes back even to the heyday of the sport, pre-cop.

Oh, I've been watching skating for the better part of 25 years so I know this is nothing new...

Still don't make it right though. :disapp:

 

[Ptichka]

I'm OK with some discretion on the part of the federations but it has to be clear.

My thoughts exactly

 

[Kirk]

to me, the credibility of the sport as sport has to do with the results -- do the scores reflect the performances on the day?

I think that has improved significantly, both with the change of scoring system and with written rules that give wider guidelines for international team selection strict adherence to the results of one national competition -- there's less incentive for judges to try to fudge the results of this competition if this competition alone does not determine who gets assignments.

Of course, given the nature of this sport, there will always be room for disagreements about close results. And disagreements about the fairest way to combine short and long program results to arrive at overall standings, in general and in specific cases.

But when it comes to making international assignments, whether the decisions made are fair or unfair according to the selection rules, to me that's a completely separate issue from whether the results of the competitions themselves were fair.

And i'm more interested in the competition results. If political maneuverings are restricted to team selection, as long as the competitions themselves seem fair i'm satisfied with the sport as sport.

this.

 

[leafygreens]

The perfect segue to a tweet I noticed yesterday, from an Olympian who knows a thing or two about the Karolyis:

Dominique Moceanu
‏@Dmoceanu
Another subjective decision in a subjective sport! Thoughts? #WagnerNagasu #IceSkating #Gymnastics #Boston2014
4:30 PM - 12 Jan 14
https://twitter.com/Dmoceanu/status/422526114142355456
​

Wow, this catastrophe has spread like wildfire, and not in a good way for USFSA.

 

[islandpaddler]

I walk on Monday mornings with a group of snowbird women who know didly about figure skating and even they were talking about it. And this is in the Virgin Islands, not exactly a hot bed of figure skating fans.

 

[AlexaD]

Yeah, I really think with this decision, the Fed seriously annoyed a great deal of skating fans. I've been a fan for years and this has left a very sour taste in my mouth. Skating has been losing fans and I hate to think that more are going to be done being fans because of this, but it is what it is.

 

[TontoK]

My comments below are based on the psyche of American sports fans. It may or may not apply to other countries.

We like our sports to be sudden death, win or lose, lay it all out on the line.

I understand that USFS had publicized the rules ahead of time, and their deviation from strict placements to select the Olympic team should not have been a surprise.

But this mindset plays against how Americans perceive sport.

The Superbowl doesn't feature the teams the league officials believe have played best over the season. It's a death match between the two teams who have dodged all the bullets and come through during the playoffs. The Olympic swimming/track teams are decided on the field of play. Diving, another subjectively judged sport, has Olympic trials. In all the events, it's "Go Big or Go Home."

When the casual figure skating fan sees the type of outcome we saw in Boston (and the outcome of Japanese nationals, for that matter), it feeds into the notion that figure skating is rigged. Non-skating fans, who we'd hope to lure in, see it as a non-sport.

Again, USFS did nothing against the rules technically, but they have tarnished the image of the sport among the general public.

In Olympic years, US Nats should be billed as The Olympic Trials. One man's opinion.

 

[Poodlepal]

What surprises me is that Ashley did so bad that they could not get her on that podium. Patrick Chan falls twice on some occasions and still beats several clean-skating people. I thought Mirai or whomever was in front of Ashley would be screwed on the scoring level, not by beating her then getting shafted. Especially not Mirai, whose clean-skates are often scored low because of UR's that can only be seen on a monitor in slo-mo.

Ashley's skate must have been worse than it looked to the naked eye that they couldn't find some points for her.