The role of fans in shaping skaters’ careers | Page 9 | Golden Skate

The role of fans in shaping skaters’ careers

But once again I refuse to call people mocking skaters "figure skating fans".
I wish I could be more optimistic than I actually am. :( To me, this really has little to do with figure skating or with skating fans especially. There are bullies, and always have been, in every area of human endeavor. As soon as we invent cyber-space there will be cyber-bullies. As soon as we lace up skates, there will be skating billies. :(
 
I wish I could be more optimistic than I actually am. :( To me, this really has little to do with figure skating or with skating fans especially. There are bullies, and always have been, in every area of human endeavor. As soon as we invent cyber-space there will be cyber-bullies. As soon as we lace up skates, there will be skating billies. :(
I quite agree that this is a broader problem.
However, this problem has been studied a lot in order to find solutions because we actually don't need bullies in any area of human endeavor and figure skating is no exception.

Related to this, I remembered a quote from a rather old but good article (it was published in the University of California Magazine in 2013) about bullying at school. According to the researcher who has conducted research on bullying since the mid-1990s and serves as a consultant to schools on anti-bullying programs,
"A simple message, such as ‘Bullying is not tolerated,’ is not likely to be very effective when bullying often increases social status and respect. Effective anti-bullying programs need to focus on the bystanders, who play a critical role and can either encourage or discourage bullying. Bystanders should be made aware of the consequences of spreading rumors and encouraging aggression and the damage bullying creates."

Well, let's do what we can do. Let's make bystanders aware!
 
I believe it was the little boy who is the star and protagonist of the movie, in a voiceover representing his older self reflecting back on events of his childhood.
Well, it's up to us to keep children from falling into the trap of this worldview.

There is a wider variety of social ties and interactions available for humans than just being a bully/victim (a "toadie" being a child who either dreams to become a bully or is afraid to become a victim). However, if a young human gets accustomed to the bully/victim behavioral pattern, there is a great chance that he/she will not learn other behavioral patterns at all. Why? Because the aggressor behavior provides that the behavioral pattern is forced on others. Accordingly, no new social skills can be learned. The victim pattern though, based on fear, provides that the victim sees everybody as a potential bully and is afraid to reach out and learn new social skills. Both patterns lead to problematic socialization, short-lived personal and social ties, anxiety, alcohol/drug problem etc. etc. Nobody wants it and nobody needs it.

So, no, there's no "fourth category - a bystander'. It's the "toadie". This is the essence of the psychologist's advice above: talk to the "toadies"! Tell them that other types of human interaction exist. Explain them that they are actually the bystanders whose role is crucial when it comes to the behavioral patterns around them. And never use my wording when you do :biggrin:

It is anyway about practices and not words. Like, there are many ways how your toddler can play with the desired other child's toy without forcibly pulling it out of the other child's hands: you can trade, you can take turns, you can ask your parents to buy you the same toy. These ways may seem longer but they lead to keeping the toy for longer, too, instead of causing a scandal and losing both the toy and the playmate. The children can't know it though before they learn, so... It's up to the village. You did know the saying "it takes a village to raise a child", didn't you? ;)
 
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The impact of fans in figure skating and the impact, would seem but relatively modest in comparison to sports with far greater audiences (literally thousands-fold) and economic structures. Converseely, the whole 'tempest in a teapot'/small-town neuroses can get quite toxic, IMO, unfortunately. With athletes at a younger age range, this is especially unfortunate (and clearly mirrors problems seen in sports such as gymnastics, where demographics/age ranges can be somewhat similar).
 
Figure skating is not the only vicious cut-throat sport that has a bullying problem. Here is an article about the World Chess Federation's current investigation into the recent death (perhaps by suicide?) of a young-ish prodigy who was bullied and harassed without mercy by a former world champion.

This must be very sad to wake up realizing that you have played the role of toxic fandom that has bullied an athlete to death using gossip and undermining. The fact that you have been manipulated by a former world champion probably can provide little consolation.

Then, what can we do to prevent this from happening? Spotting online manipulation is our personal responsibility and one thing that we can do is to share tips based in science (this is an article from Psychology Today):


So, my suggestion would be, if you feel something like this is happening

this language is an attempt at proof by intimidation. "How splendid the emperor's new clothes look today. Only a fool could say otherwise" Well, nobody wants to be a fool, so I guess it must be clear after all.
or maybe this
These slo-motion videos and stop-frame stills seem to me to be mostly partisan propaganda. They just make me more uncertain than ever. :(
then just ask yourself: if I use the tips I got from a psychologist, what do I see? Is this malicious? If yes, act accordingly and don't spread it. If not, just accept it as somebody's personal obsession... and don't spread it because it can become malicious in hands of a different actor.

All written above as "my suggestion" is indeed open to discussion. I truly believe that it is very important to keep the discussion open until we the humanity will find and establish the best ways how to make the www a comfortable and safe place to be.
 
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Which tyie of fan are u asking?
A person who like figure skating for no reason
Because a skater, team, coach , choreography, judge, technical caller, data enty,club affiliates, sponsor are all fans of figure skating. They would not have wanted to skate or be in sport if not a fan.
 
The second reason as the person who likes watching it going to shows, buying products once in a while can be delusion by what is going on with scoring, or leadership , judging or by what read or see.

For example
I read the Records and report by U.s. figure skating i think for the 2024 season.

It showed inaccuracies as told to public like me for the Grand Prix Final winners in women and pairs inv1995.
It listed as none and again inv1998.

It is wrong.
They left out Michelle Kwan 1995 or 1996 take pick.
They put in Tara forv1996 and 1997 it is wrong. It should be Tara in 1997 and 1998.

The casual fan can become disillusioned with the sport and inaccuracies to stop watching buying. They can state pushing certain skaters as a club or federation over others.
Lead fan to suspect are keeping records inaccurate on purpose.
Why.
I believe the usfsa federation was once affiliate to swimming

Take u pick of the federations in trouble for mismanagement.

The casual fan will help their favorite regardless of medal or not.
Money involves all and the ogm gets the most and most pushing not necessarily the most popular or skaters the casual fans pay to see or want to know but the one they hear and see.
Kind of like Christmas people are disillusioned before Christmas even comes due to pushing it when before Thanksgiving, Halloween. Christmas in July
 
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