Time to prepare...

[RealtorGal]

Often I read about a skater "not having time to prepare" for a competition as a reason for a poor performance. The latest incident involved Fumie's poor showing at Japanese nationals. I realize that unless one is a competitive skater, it's difficult to fully comprehend the grind, but it does seem to me that none of the eligible skaters has all that many competitions in a given season, and their programs are all set once the season begins (save for tweaking here and there). After all, they ARE professional athletes and should be up to doing a few competitions per season. After all, think about professional ball players, who play day after day without any real off time during their playing seasons.

So, what is it with this "not having time to prepare" business: an excuse? Is there some validity to these claims?

 

[CassidyL]

If all my competitions were in my home rink, I could easily do one a week. If I have to travel up to 8 hours to get anywhere, I could only do one every 2 or 3 weeks without burning out. (I do one every month during the season leading up to sectionals, then divisionals) If I had to travel internationally, with huge time zone differences, well, I couldn't even imagine.

I'm not sure it's fair to compare it to a baseball player, who has at least a couple hours to win or lose. I think if those guys had 7 minutes each game to win or lose, they might feel the emotional pressure or stress a little more. That's my opinion anyway.

 

[Doggygirl]

Interesting topic RealtorGal...

I'm sure there are many "real" things that can affect a skater's performance. However when top skaters give a bad performance, I am just totally turned off with the blame game.

I think it lacks class to toss out excuses, real or imagined. I think it's much classier to just say "I didn't perform well today - I will go home and work harder" and leave it at that.

If a different training regimine would help deal with altitude, or a different travel / competition schedule would help deal with fatique, then that is something the skaters/coaches should work on privately.

My general impression of say, Michelle Kwan is that she has class when it comes to this topic. I'm sure there is something I've forgotten over the years, but the recollections that have "stuck" with me are that she doesn't get into the excuse business after a bad performance. She is certainly very classy in how she handles herself when being interviewed IMHO.

Just my opinion...

DG

 

[Jaana]

I think it depends in what connection "not having time to prepare" is used. If for example a skater has suffered an injury which took her/him off ice for several weeks, I would say that not having enough time to prepare for next competition is a very valid excuse. ´

> Doggygirl
I think it's much classier to just say "I didn't perform well today - I will go home and work harder" and leave it at that. >

I personally don´t need to hear or appreciate so called "classy" remarks, I would rather know what really happened...


Marjaana

 

[Doggygirl]

Hi Marjanna...

I think we're making the same points just in different ways.

"What really happened" is usually a bad performance. That is the bottom line. Travel schedules and altitudes and so forth don't lose competitions - bad performances do.

Of course all things within reason - certainly off ice time related to injuries and things like that is just information that I like to know about as well.

One of my favorite sayings of all time is "Results, not excuses."

DG

 

[show 42]

Quite possibly, "I didn't have time to prepare" might be an "umbrella" excuse, encompassing various reasons from fatigue, metal stress, equipment problems, aches and pains, etc. Or it might be a way for the skater to give the interviewer an answer without being specific. Often interviews are given within minutes of their skate.......maybe they aren't exactly sure why they didn't skate well at that moment in time and need time to reflect, (or maybe they think it isn't anyone's business.... 42

 

[Tonichelle]

it might be an excuse... but in Fumie's case maybe it's... "I'm coming off a very emotional high after winning the GPF" and she just couldn't get pshyched about nationals...

just a thought

 

[lavender]

I think Fumie was just nervous. Too nervous to perform well. There seems to be a lot of skaters that get more nervous competing in their own countries. A lot of Russian skaters, Brian Joubert, Takeshi and Fumie all get more nervous in these situations. Michelle's the only one I know that seems more excited to skate in her own country.

 

[BronzeisGolden]

I'll have to go with Doggygirl on this one. While I'm sure there could be many factors involved in the delivery of a poor performance, I'm much more inclined to respect the athlete that is pleasant, curt and honest. I don't want to hear that it was the ice surface when several other skaters performed on the same rink without error. Often, poor performances are the result of nerves and breaks in mental focus. Certainly, there are the cases where injury, sickness and equipment problems will arise and these are definitely not excuses. As for the "time to prepare issue", well, I feel that is often used as a poor excuse. Once or twice seems to be an honest mistake due to lack of experience, but to continue to use this is just silly. If you over extended yourself once or twice and found that it effected your performance level negatively, why in the world keep doing it? It just sounds like a lame excuse to me. If the third GP event is too much then don't do it! If the Cheese-fests occur right before a more important competiton, don't do them! Just as in anything, it is a give and take situation and priorities must be set. Money, exposure, etc. are all great, but if you can't stay on your skates then they aren't worth very much in the end.

 

[Skate Sandee]

I'm sorry, but outside of injury or unexpectedly being asked to compete in an event at the last minute that you weren't planning on going to, saying that "I didn't have time to prepare" is the LAMEST excuse. Even alternates to World Championships shouldn't be allowed that excuse if they know that a possibility exists that they may be asked to step in for another athlete.

Skaters KNOW when their competitions are going to take place. They understand the traveling logistics, time zone issues, altitude, etc. So I don't buy it as an excuse. To not plan a practice schedule and adjustment time at a competition venue shows an appalling lack of planning and intelligence.

It's like knowing you have 3 tests in a class coming up through the semester. And bombing on the second test because you did well on the first test, then chose to use your time doing other things that you thought were important, waiting until the last minute to study for the next test, and on that night you decide to study, the neighbor has a party that prevents you from concentrating and getting a good night's sleep.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

How bad was Fumie? She didn't win but that doesn't mean she skated that badly. I watched Sasha's GPF and although there were the falls, she still skated well.

And yes, there are lots of excuses with travel. Watching Bobek skate at Nagano the day after arriving was totally confusing for me until I was told that she had just arrived for the SP and then the free. The jet lag alone would space anyone out of any performance including a big business deal.

There is also the sportsman's proverbial SLUMP Think! Tiger Woods doesn't win every game. Nobody wins every contest - not even Queen Kwan.

Joe

 

[Ladskater]

Skaters "peak" at different times during their competitive season and sometimes they are not "spot on" when we think they should be. It could be for various reasons.

I always admired Elvis Stojko for his honesty with his skating and his fans. He never used anything for an excuse if he had a bad skate. He always said he would look at what he needs to improve on and get ready for the next competition.

I think skaters sometimes get "flummoxed" when they are being interviewed on the spot and don't quite know how to respond to some of the questions.

 

[heyang]

Slightly off topic.. MK has mentioned that there's a lot of pressure at nationals. You want to win. You're skating in front of your peers - the ones you practice with. The judges know you. The crowd knows you. You can either thrive under the pressure of the love or crack under it.

While skating in other countries, you aren't necessarily as well known. I recall non-US posters on this board saying that MK isn't as wildly popular in their countries. You are in front of peers, but you don't always 'know' everyone - same with the judges.

With regards to Time to Prepare, I hate that excuse unless injury or last minute invite. Why did Nicole arrive in Nagano so late? It's a scheduled competition and you know there's a time difference. Too many competitions? - maybe the skater should have turned a couple down. I can also recall when skaters have been called in as alternates and look awful. I can understand not being prepared mentally, but in some cases they look out of condition, too - how does that happen in 1 months time? Also, I abhor when skaters don't attend World's after Oly's? I know it's mentally hard, but I think they could arrange their schedules around training if they actually wanted to attend Worlds. I think the last gold Oly lady to attend Worlds in the same year was Kristi Y. I was thrilled that MK and Irina both competed at Worlds after Oly's - they could have abstained, too.

 

[BronzeisGolden]

I also hate when the reigning Olympic Champ doesn't show up for Worlds! Always such a let down! But, not showing up is better to me than competing when not prepared. The crowds pay to see quality skating. So, if Sarah, Tara and Oksana felt they weren't adequately prepared or focused, then bypassing the post-Olympic Worlds seemed to be the right choice. It wouldn't have been fair to us as fans if they showed up and gave mediocre performances. Plus, it would have cast a shadow on their glorious February skates! But, on the selfish side, I really would like to see the next ladies' Olympic Champion not shy away from Worlds.

 

[lavender]

How bad was Fumie?

From the sounds of it Fumie skated bad with about the same amount of triples that Sasha did at the fluff competition recently. According to sources they seem to feel she was held up. I don't think this competition will be shown so I guess it's not really a spoiler.

 

[icenut84]

Even the most prepared and scheduled skater can end up competing without being as prepared as they'd like to be, simply because *anything can happen*. Even if they are currently healthy and have no equipment issues, they may have already had these problems and as a result lost some practice time. Or they may have had an issue with a family member or friend, anything that could detract from their competitive mindset or training. Or an issue with ice time, or coaching (e.g. changing coaches, having to get used to a new method of working and a new person, extra travel involved), or even unexpectedly having to change your programme - you suddenly need to spend extra time choreographing/learning it, not to mention practicing it and getting used to it. Plenty of skaters have had to do this, sometimes following bad competitions, reactions from audience and judges, recommendations from people, etc. Everything eats into your time. And I don't know Nicole Bobek's situation, but sometimes skaters may arrive later than normal for a competition because they want the extra time at home to practice - maybe they wouldn't need it ordinarily, but like I said, anything could happen to mean they have less time than they thought they would. In 1994, Torvill & Dean didn't fly off to Norway for the Olympics till they had to - I believe they missed the opening ceremonies because they had to stay home and practice. Which is understandable given they had to re-choreograph their free dance, following recommendations from judges etc. Obviously they wouldn't have forseen having to do that, so it wouldnt' have been alloted a time slot in their schedule. Lucky for them they performed it perfectly when it mattered, despite only having run through it about 4 times.
My point is though, it isn't just laziness or lack of intelligence on a skater's part if they're not properly prepared for a competition. And if they can pinpoint the problem with their performance, I'd much rather they say so, whatever it was. And mentioning the ice surface isn't just a cop-out either - if you're a skater, then you'll know how vastly different surfaces can be to skate on. Some may be able to adjust to it better than others - some may be used to skating on that kind of surface, whereas others may be used to a softer/harder surface. I also remember at 03 Worlds where Sasha was critical of the ice surface for the free - some may have thought she was just making excuses, but it was an entirely legitimate argument - the Eurosport commentators pointed the problem out, the ice was quite wet at the ends of the rink, as it hadn't completely frozen properly. They also mentioned the temperature inside the arena, which would affect the skaters differently - some may be fine, others may struggle.

My point is - there can be so many reasons why a skater doesn't feel properly prepared for a given competition, it doesn't mean that "excuse" is lame or false.
And some skaters don't have the advantage of being able to turn down competitions (eg if they're close together or require a lot of travelling). Plushenko, for example, supports his whole family financially, and Irina Slutskaya is paying for her mum's medical treatment. They have no choice but to compete/perform sometimes.

 

[Doggygirl]

Hi Icenut...

I think the wide range of things you bring up supports the point that the true champions DON'T make excuses - they work hard to overcome all the many, many variables they are presented with on the day of competition. I think the sheer number of factors you raise supports the point that ANYONE can present a "valid" excuse on any given day from the long list of real possibilities.

I think your post also validates the notion that the glory will go to the skaters who work the hardest to deal with a wide variety of ice conditions, temperatures, elevations, home crowds, away crowds, training / scheduling challenges, family / financial pressures, coaching changes, etc. etc. I do think to a significant degree skaters overcome these things through training and experience. I have never taken the "excuses" as necessarily being false. Lame? Sometimes yes.

That gives me even more respect for those who "put up or shut up" when it really counts.

DG


DG

 

[Rgirl]

I'm not going to change anybody's mind here and don't intend to, but I recall Michelle saying some things that were not especially classy when she was younger on a couple of occasions when she lost. But to me, she was young, she was learning the ropes not only of competing but also of PR. After 10 years, she's consummate at saying the right thing from the "Crash Davis/Bull Durham" school of thought Michelle mostly skates for an American audience and I think most US skating fans want to hear a "Didn't have a good skate. Just got to get back in the rink and work harder" kind of response. In other cultures, people may respond to this as a "canned" response and as some have said on this thread, if there was a legitimate reason for an unusually poor skate, they want to hear it. I think it comes down to reason vs. excuse.

I also think it's difficult with an international sport where different cultures expect different things from their athletes. Remember when Yags became overcome with emotion after his LP and got teary-eyed in the K&C? In the US, the response was mostly positive. In Russia, Yags was vilified as a "girly-man" so to speak.

This isn't exactly off-topic since it's another example along the same lines but I think it brings up an interesting example of how people respond to the few sentences a skater gets out in the post skate interview. Before the IFSC was televised, all over the boards it was "Sasha bombed and she made excuses by saying 'The ice was wet.' How low class!" When the IFSC was televised, true Sasha did say the ice was wet, but said it in second of two interviews in which she said a total of about 8 to 10 short sentences. When I watched it, I listened especially for the big "wet ice blaming statement." It went by so fast I almost didn't hear it. But more importantly, now we hear that Sasha came down with a fever the night before the IFSC. She never mentioned, "I was sick" which IMO was a legitimate reason for a poor skate. I guess my point is, Sasha didn't take advantage of letting it be known that she was sick so the commentators could say, "She's skating with a temperture of (whatever it was). Well, it was a poor performance but a gutsy one" or something like that. We never knew and would not have known unless this business with Tarasova had come up. Similarly with Michelle at I believe it was '00 Worlds where she lost to Maria Butryskaya (sounds so bizarre in retrospect) because she was sick. Michelle never said anything that I know of. My point is often we never know what is really affecting a skater, nor do we know what's going on in a skater's mind vs. what s/he says. Plus they have to say something pertinent soon after they've either won or lost and say it in such a way that they sound "just right" to the entire world. I just think it's a tall order and not everyone is going to be happy no matter what they say or do, win or lose.

For me, I just can't get particularly annoyed if one skater isn't quite as articulate about his/her post-skate interviews as another. For example, Tonya Harding was much more articulate and no-excuses than Nancy Kerrigan after a bad skate or an unexpected loss, but how much did that have to do with their overall character? IMO, nothing. So Fumie blurted out "not enough time to prepare"--and I don't even know if she said it in her native Japanese or English--big whup. I don't think Fumie or any of these top skaters are "excuse-making" people because otherwise they wouldn't be at the level they are in skating. I think if we went through every interview of every top and beloved skater over the last 30 or 40 years, we'd hear all of them say at least one clunker of an excuse for a bad skate.

Having said that, I do think there is a difference between excuses and reasons. Icenut went through that very well, I thought. Reasons I'd like to know about, eg, skates went to the wrong city and skater is using back-up pair he hasn't used in six months; excuses, eg, I had a bad place in the skate order, I agree makes the skater look bad. But I rarely hear excuses from elite or professional skaters, at least what I consider excuses.
Rgirl

 

[rtureck]

MK entered the senior rank in 1993, and first US nationals she placed 6th, she lost, but I think she was thrilled to be top 10 in her first trip to nationals senior. Now, how can anyone find fault in a 12 year old child for not being too classy? I am not sure they even interviewed her in 1993.

Here is a story, there was a lot of buzz about her during the competition. People crowded the place to watch her practice ( I guess soaking in the memory for future brag, I told you so or I was there watching her first senior competition). She was as happy as could be, and took time to bow and thank the audiences, smiled, and almost giggled at the idea that so many people were watching her.

In 1993 she won junior world, so she did not lose in that competition.

I don't think MK expected to win against Harding and Nancy in 1994 when she was 13. She was happy about the silver medal at nationals, and at worlds in 1994, she was just too happy to place top 10 and accomplished her goal to be top 10 and got 2 world berths for the USA . The interviews were mainly focus on "Michelle you were very cool out there 6 triples."

Mk replied, "Yeah prior to the competition, my coach asked me if I had my legs with me, and I just landed the jumps"

I remember well when Michelle did not place on the podium in 1995 (and she received the only standing ovation, and completed 7 triples), she said, it did not matter whether she placed on the podium or not as long as she felt so good in her heart.

I thought that is pure class.

When MK lost to Maria in 1999, she did not say anything to take the glory away from Maria, even though she was sick. When the interviewers asked her whehter she lost because she was sick, she said no, she felt strong and ready to compete, but her best was not good enough. She gave a reason, and did not give an excuse.

 

[Rgirl]

Originally posted by Rgirl:

I'm not going to change anybody's mind here and don't intend to, but I recall Michelle saying some things that were not especially classy when she was younger on a couple of occasions when she lost. But to me, she was young, she was learning the ropes not only of competing but also of PR.