Update on 2022-23 Grand Prix Series

[chuckm]

I purchased my ticket too at once in case Yuzuru comes and it could get difficult. Unlike you TT_Fin I think the venue is nice and Helsinki is close. Nowadays it is easy to get there by metro.

No worries, as Yuzu is planning to retire from competition.

 

[lariko]

I just saw Hanyu’s announcement, so… hopefully that was what was holding up GP info. It would have been a huge one.

 

[Moxiejan]

I just saw Hanyu’s announcement, so… hopefully that was what was holding up GP info. It would have been a huge one.

I read on Twitter (sorry, didn’t note the source) that Sheffield is still trying to deal with scheduling conflicts with events already booked. I hope the ISU has a possible alternate site, just in case.

 

[lariko]

I read on Twitter (sorry, didn’t note the source) that Sheffield is still trying to deal with scheduling conflicts with events already booked. I hope the ISU has a possible alternate site, just in case.

I know it might not be a popular opinion, particularly with the Brits, but I’d rather they dropped one stage and kept the other 5 more saturated.

 

[Jeanie19]

So tired of the political correctness at every turn in case a few peeps squeal. Devote skating fans deserve better vs. Governing bodies delays to be in a perfect bow (good luck).
Publish current state listing of GP assignments and add as it happens. Why not? It makes it fluid for fans……. Just so annoying ….. fans are so at risk and thus governing body actual jobs.
my vent….. thanks for listening. I am sure there are lots of peeps feeling the same way.

I'm so upset too. I have never been to a grand prix and I have tickets to Skate America, and I can't believe I don't know yet who will be there. Its not okay. Figure skating doesn't have a big fan base, so this is so wrong.

 

[4everchan]

I know it might not be a popular opinion, particularly with the Brits, but I’d rather they dropped one stage and kept the other 5 more saturated.

it's not just the brits who would find this unpopular... as you know, there are 6 seeded skaters/teams per season... two per GP.... without a 6th event, we would get what happened in JGP last year.... when some skaters couldn't attend the first two events... and then some JGP were super crowded...

I'd rather wait a few days for a 6th GP to be confirmed, with a bit of a smaller field or 3rd non-counting events for some skaters/teams than attrition of the series that is already small compared to some other sports, and complaining of the fans that such and such skaters shouldn't get to the finals because their field wasn't as competitive as the others... etc... not wanting to relive JGP from last year...

 

[lariko]

it's not just the brits who would find this unpopular... as you know, there are 6 seeded skaters/teams per season... two per GP.... without a 6th event, we would get what happened in JGP last year.... when some skaters couldn't attend the first two events... and then some JGP were super crowded...

I'd rather wait a few days for a 6th GP to be confirmed, with a bit of a smaller field or 3rd non-counting events for some skaters/teams than attrition of the series that is already small compared to some other sports, and complaining of the fans that such and such skaters shouldn't get to the finals because their field wasn't as competitive as the others... etc... not wanting to relive JGP from last year...

I don’t see it this way. I think senior field is considerably depleted, and they should pump their efforts in Juniors this year, instead of attempting to pretend it’s business as usual. It’s not. It’s not nowhere near. Moods are sour, the flash in the pan of excitement from being able to soldier through the last year’s worlds is gone. Now, it’s a sober and dark reality of near-collapse.

I know it’s just a few days delay, but overall, I wish they handled it with less falsehood. It’s Okay to admit that the difficulties are significant and that the season is on a downward spiral ever since the political break down, but they are trying to do their best.

Sincerity is just better imo.

 

[4everchan]

I don’t see it this way. I think senior field is considerably depleted, and they should pump their efforts in Juniors this year, instead of attempting to pretend it’s business as usual. It’s not. It’s not nowhere near. Moods are sour, the flash in the pan of excitement from being able to soldier through the last year’s worlds is gone. Now, it’s a sober and dark reality of near-collapse.

I know it’s just a few days delay, but overall, I wish they handled it with less falsehood. It’s Okay to admit that the difficulties are significant and that the season is on a downward spiral ever since the political break down, but they are trying to do their best.

Sincerity is just better imo.

Sincerity will come soon enough. sending a clear message is important too... making hasty announcements would not help... they are not ready... they have issues... they have already expressed these problems... it's in the OP. It's hard to organize these events when venues are already booked for other things.. etc... The ISU has its flaws but announcing the new season late is not a huge problem IMO... In any case, with all the W/D and injuries etc that may happen in the summer, the fields will evolve... announcing too early may not really be more productive.

 

[Ruthypegs]

I hope that the depleted field means that there are more opportunities for lower ranked and less experienced skaters. I really enjoy seeing (new-to-me) skaters at the Grand Prix events.

I'm also hoping that Jason gets assigned to Sheffield (if the event ends up here)....

 

[Ruthypegs]

I hope that the depleted field means that there are more opportunities for lower ranked and less experienced skaters. I really enjoy seeing (new-to-me) skaters at the Grand Prix events.

I'm also hoping that Jason gets assigned to Sheffield (if the event ends up here)....

Also, I'm hoping for some retired skaters to decide that now is the time to make a comeback (I'm looking at you, Patrick Chan, Misha Ge and Javier Fernandez)

 

[lariko]

Also, I'm hoping for some retired skaters to decide that now is the time to make a comeback (I'm looking at you, Patrick Chan, Misha Ge and Javier Fernandez)

I am on the opposite end of the spectrum. I really wouldn’t want anyone to come back. Instead, I want Junior sport to get all the love and attention it deserves and moving senior sport on the back burner until it rebuilds. I just don’t like the idea of moving backwards and capitalizing on rosy glow and reputation scoring.

 

[lariko]

Sincerity will come soon enough. sending a clear message is important too... making hasty announcements would not help... they are not ready... they have issues... they have already expressed these problems... it's in the OP. It's hard to organize these events when venues are already booked for other things.. etc... The ISU has its flaws but announcing the new season late is not a huge problem IMO... In any case, with all the W/D and injuries etc that may happen in the summer, the fields will evolve... announcing too early may not really be more productive.

The longer they delay, the more logistically challenging it becomes. It would be far easier to accommodate inevitable WD with fewer stages. Fewer stages allow for healthy alt pool as well. Overall, I feel if it were easy to do six stages, sure. But with it being this challenging, imo, it’s just foolhardy to insist on it Hell or high water.

 

[4everchan]

The longer they delay, the more logistically challenging it becomes. It would be far easier to accommodate inevitable WD with fewer stages. Fewer stages allow for healthy alt pool as well. Overall, I feel if it were easy to do six stages, sure. But with it being this challenging, imo, it’s just foolhardy to insist on it Hell or high water.

I am pretty sure that the ISU is not trying to delay the announcements on purpose. I trust that they are working on making the announcement as soon as they can. As fans, fine, we can be impatient... but we do not have all the info here... They are considering solutions, examining venues, etc...

I do not support a shorter season with less stages as a great solution. There are tons of skaters who do not get GPs usually and crowd the European challengers... there is absolutely no need to kill the sport by removing stages because some skaters have retired or are not competing this year. That sends the wrong message altogether that the sport is actually dying for real.... I disagree with that. It's always like this after olympic quads... ALWAYS.

There are also always less pairs lined up at GPs than other disciplines... I believe it's 10 instead of 12. If there is really a shortage in the pairs field, then, make it 8 pairs.... but again, I would be happier to spread the wealth, since it's available this year... that's the best way to give mid-tier pairs a chance to develop, gain some experience... etc... Take Matte-Ferland for instance, they can land their throws and toe jumps (not sure about the salchow)... they lack confidence in competition... Confidence comes from experience... give them 2 GPs if there is room and who knows how they can develop.

It's exactly what is lacking in North America : access to competitions. We can argue about this forever... we don't agree on here.... I prefer waiting a few more days and hope that more skaters are included in the GP series. It will give them a chance to experience higher level...and that's what competing is all about.... GPs being limited to the top skaters makes it hard for mid-tier skater to develop and when they hit 4CC or Worlds, we can easily see how much ahead the top skaters are compared to the others... I strongly believe that competing with better athletes makes you better...

 

[Amei]

The longer they delay, the more logistically challenging it becomes. It would be far easier to accommodate inevitable WD with fewer stages. Fewer stages allow for healthy alt pool as well. Overall, I feel if it were easy to do six stages, sure. But with it being this challenging, imo, it’s just foolhardy to insist on it Hell or high water.

Well if they are dead set on 6 stages what about this: get 2 junior grand prix hosts and for the "sixth" stage of the seniors send 2 disciplines each to 2 different junior grand prix events, it wouldn't add a significant amount of time for the arena. Sure its not ideal but the continued waiting game for athletes probably isn't either.

 

[Dreamer57]

I'd rather wait a few days for a 6th GP to be confirmed, with a bit of a smaller field or 3rd non-counting events for some skaters/teams than attrition of the series that is already small compared to some other sports, and complaining of the fans that such and such skaters shouldn't get to the finals because their field wasn't as competitive as the others... etc... not wanting to relive JGP from last year..

I still think Estonia is next in line to host if sheffield cannot pull through!
I don't know if we can even afford to hold the grand prix here, we don't have a lot of sports funding here (except football, rugby etc) and virtually zero for figure skating

 

[lariko]

Well if they are dead set on 6 stages what about this: get 2 junior grand prix hosts and for the "sixth" stage of the seniors send 2 disciplines each to 2 different junior grand prix events, it wouldn't add a significant amount of time for the arena. Sure its not ideal but the continued waiting game for athletes probably isn't either.

That kinda goes against the philosophy behind raising the age limit, trying to specifically separate adults and teenagers from competing together to improve resilience and mental health.

I dunno. The whole Cold War on Ice vibe of this season with the scrambling for every able blade to put in the arena to basically fill 12 stages leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Honestly, @4everchan who was left out last year, and wouldn’t have been included with freed up spots? GP to me wasn’t about recruiting absolutely everyone, tbh. It was supposed to be selective.

 

[Amei]

That kinda goes against the philosophy behind raising the age limit, trying to specifically separate adults and teenagers from competing together to improve resilience and mental health.

I dunno. The whole Cold War on Ice vibe of this season with the scrambling for every able blade to put in the arena to basically fill 12 stages leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Honestly, @4everchan who was left out last year, and wouldn’t have been included with freed up spots? GP to me wasn’t about recruiting absolutely everyone, tbh. It was supposed to be selective.

I'm not talking about them competing together though, it would be like a lot Nationals and smaller competitions, a couple junior disciplines go then a couple senior disciplines. Beggars can't be choosers and clearly the ISU at this point are beggars... should I get a Twitter account and send them the contact info for my local rink? Sure its inside a mall but hey there are plenty of dietary options in the food court and they can tell the rink its just a really big birthday party

 

[chuckm]

There are also always less pairs lined up at GPs than other disciplines... I believe it's 10 instead of 12.

No, it has always been 12 Singles, 10 Dance teams, 8 Pairs. At the 2000-2001 GP, two events wound up with only 7 Pairs due to withdrawals.

If there is really a shortage in the pairs field, then, make it 8 pairs.... but again, I would be happier to spread the wealth, since it's available this year... that's the best way to give mid-tier pairs a chance to develop, gain some experience... etc... Take Matte-Ferland for instance, they can land their throws and toe jumps (not sure about the salchow)... they lack confidence in competition... Confidence comes from experience... give them 2 GPs if there is room and who knows how they can develop.

It's exactly what is lacking in North America : access to competitions. We can argue about this forever... we don't agree on here.... I prefer waiting a few more days and hope that more skaters are included in the GP series. It will give them a chance to experience higher level...and that's what competing is all about.... GPs being limited to the top skaters makes it hard for mid-tier skater to develop and when they hit 4CC or Worlds, we can easily see how much ahead the top skaters are compared to the others... I strongly believe that competing with better athletes makes you better...

I'm sure there will be opportunities for NA skaters and teams that had no hope of skating in the GP in the past.

 

[4everchan]

No, it has always been 12 Singles, 10 Dance teams, 8 Pairs. At the 2000-2001 GP, two events wound up with only 7 Pairs due to withdrawals.

I'm sure there will be opportunities for NA skaters and teams that had no hope of skating in the GP in the past.

thanks for the correction so even easier then..

8 pairs X 6 events = 48 spots divided by two spots... 24 pairs.

We can probably find 24 pairs.

and if not, the seeded pairs, could get 3 spots like it's been done some years.

So 6 seeded pairs x 3 spots = 18 spots. only 30 spots remain. At two spots each, that's 15 more teams = 21 pairs.

Still not enough pairs? Well, make it 3 spots for 16 pairs.

I really don't think it is a problem.

 

[lariko]

I'm not talking about them competing together though, it would be like a lot Nationals and smaller competitions, a couple junior disciplines go then a couple senior disciplines. Beggars can't be choosers and clearly the ISU at this point are beggars... should I get a Twitter account and send them the contact info for my local rink? Sure its inside a mall but hey there are plenty of dietary options in the food court and they can tell the rink its just a really big birthday party

Calgary is pretty good too… just saying.