Why figure skating is not a sport (Article)

[Theatregirl1122]

I am still trying to make the argument that if Spelling Bees can be on ESPN, F.I.R.S.T. Robotics should also be on ESPN (At least we have to pick up the 120 pound robot). Seriously though. My step-father invented a definition of a sport that said basically sports cannot be subjective and you cannot take in more callories than you expend. The whole sport/not a sport argument basically comes from guys who think we shouldn't be infringing on their TV time (not all guys, of course) But I don't know if it really is all that desirable to be a "sport" I'd rather distance myself from the football players.

 

[Mathman]

...you cannot take in more callories than you expend.

You mean competitive beer guzzling isn't a sport?

 

[Theatregirl1122]

You mean competitive beer guzzling isn't a sport?

No, that he thinks is a sport. I believe his objection was to bowling... and golf... and pie-eating. Let's just say these rules came about after full participation in the aforementioned non-sport.

 

[Mathman]

Setting aside the purely semantic questions, I have to wonder if the New Judging System has relevance to these issues.

Under any form of ordinal judging, yes, figure skating is judged like a pie-baking contest. I liked Aunt Bee's blueberry pie the best, with Thelma Lou's gooseberry a close second.

(OT -- Where I grew up -- in beef country -- lifestock judging was huge. People would go to judging schools and learn how to do it, and there were big-time competitions in judging at the county fairs. The young folks who showed the most talent in judging could get high-paying jobs with slaughterhouses and meat packing companies, etc.)

Anyway...I think someone could make the point that under CoP judging, it's "more like a real sport." You get so many points for doing a triple Salchow. If you only get halfway around on the third revolution, it is downgraded to a double. Sort of like if you shoot a three in basketball, but your foot is on the line (as can be decided by instant replay, just like in figure skating).

Yes there are GOEs and PCSs, but in principle these also at least follow some kind of guidelines. It's not just who you think has the prettiest spirals (subjective), it's how many times you grab your foot (objective -- one extra level for each grab).

So maybe this will start to change people's minds.

Nah. Figure skating is just too darn pretty, no matter how they judge it.

MM

 

[R.D.]

I am still trying to make the argument that if Spelling Bees can be on ESPN, F.I.R.S.T. Robotics should also be on ESPN (At least we have to pick up the 120 pound robot). Seriously though. My step-father invented a definition of a sport that said basically sports cannot be subjective and you cannot take in more callories than you expend. The whole sport/not a sport argument basically comes from guys who think we shouldn't be infringing on their TV time (not all guys, of course) But I don't know if it really is all that desirable to be a "sport" I'd rather distance myself from the football players.

You never know. With enough funding that could happen. While they're at it, they should show Video Game Tournaments. ESPN is just as much entertainment as they are sports, so why not?

 

[gkelly]

Yes there are GOEs and PCSs, but in principle these also at least follow some kind of guidelines. It's not just who you think has the prettiest spirals (subjective), it's how many times you grab your foot (objective -- one extra level for each grab).

I'm not sure if you intended to connect those two sentences, but just to clarify, how many times you grab your foot has nothing to do with the GOEs or PCSs, just with the levels. And it's not as simple as each grab adds a level either.

 

[jsteam4501s]

All the silly humor that's being posted on this thread tells me that you all are CAVING IN to one person's belief that figure skating is not a sport.

All right , try this -
(1) If it's not a sport, why do virtually ALL SKATERS refer to it as a sport?
Why do skating OFFICIALS, when they discuss figure skating, say things like
"We have to continue to look for ways to elevate this SPORT", etc,etc.? Seems
to me that regardless of what SPORT you are talking about, it's what the ATHLETES AND OFFICIALS OF THAT SPORT CALL IT THAT SEALS THE DEAL!!

Red Dog, are you READING this post? Mathman? Anyone?

(2) Why isn't it enough for youse guys that in addition to NO. 1 above, ALL SKATING COMMENTATORS refer to it as a sport?

(3) Why aren't you telling this columnist that he needs to visit EVERY TV STATION IN THE USA that has a local news program and mark down in a tally book which stations have their SPORTS GUY talk about whatever figure skating news there is to tell, and how many don't?

(4) I refer you again to the fact that the writer said: Figure skaters are athletes, and great athletes at that. People, WHAT DO ATHLETES DO? WHERE DOES
THEIR DESIGNATION AS "ATHLETE" COME FROM?

They play a SPORT, that's where it comes from!!

SHOW ME AN ATHLETE THAT DOES NOT GET THAT MONIKER FROM PLAYING A SPORT - YOU CAN'T NAME ONE!!

(5) Tell the writer to go to the offices of Time-Warner, and ask the CEO which of their magazines do they have figure skating news and articles most often?

It's SPORTS Illustrated.

(6) Ask this writer: When measured against the OFFICIAL regulating bodies for figure skating - USFSA, ISU, All the other respective National Federations, and again, THE SKATERS THEMSELVES - what gives HIM the AUTHORITY to "DECLARE" that FIGURE SKATING is not a sport and that he "Declares that BOXING is an exception among judged sports?

(7) And furthermore , what almighty authority EVER said that "IF IT IS JUDGED, IT'S NOT A SPORT" ?

Does he consider SNOWBOARDING, DIVING, SKI JUMPING to be NON-SPORTS, also?

Come on, you people, wake up!! This writer needs to have a face-to-face meeting with the USFSA and ALL SKATERS in the USA - all in one place and at all at one time!!

Any one of you who agrees with me has my permission to reproduce this post and send it somehow DIRECTLY to that writer - because I don't know how to do it. - In other words - YOU CAN QUOTE ME.

 

[R.D.]

Calm down. It's going to be OK. Some people think it's a sport, others don't. The world continues to spin.

 

[jsteam4501s]

Well, never mind - I have just completed a comment on the columnist's own page, which allows one to send a question or comment directly. It made generally the same points I made on the post, albeit with no capitilization.

By the way, Red Dog - I was calm all the way - I used capitlzation for emphasis, not to show anger. Certainly my spelling would not have been as perfect as it was if I had been angry!

 

[antmanb]

Tarotx is exactly right. This is semantics. It is not a debate about figure skating, it is a debate about the definition of a word.

Mr. Wetzel, Red Dog, and anyone else are free to invent definitions to suit themselves along the lines of, oh, gosh, the dictionary forgot to mention that judged activities are not sports, or whatever. In the meantime, the rest of us will just have to muddle along with Merriam-Webster.

Figure skating is what it is. It doesn't matter what word we attach to it.

That's what I think, LOL.

Exactly! Anyone can define anything. You could call skating a flibbetygibbet for all i care. It is what it is. The skaters go out there and do their thing and i watch it and love it. I'm losing no sleep if some journalist or anyone else is still trying to decide on the definition of the word "sport". They can lose all the sleep they want and waste all the breath and ink they want. Its not going to change my liking of it!

Ant

 

[antmanb]

That's where I would disagree with him. A contest has competitors, a sport has athletes. If you are performing and are being judged on your performance, then how can that be sport? JMHO.

Ok in football (or soccer to you!) there are referees and line judges, judging constantly what happens on the pitch. That one person making the call judges the perfomance of the footballer and often disallows a goal because, in their judgment, something happened in the performance by the athlete to negate the fact a goal was scored.

Shall we throw football out of the definition of sport too?

Ant

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

Calm down. It's going to be OK. Some people think it's a sport, others don't. The world continues to spin.

That's very true! Yet there are some who do not think of it as a sport do engage in a Forum about Figure Skating.:scratch:

Joe

 

[antmanb]

Setting aside the purely semantic questions, I have to wonder if the New Judging System has relevance to these issues.

Under any form of ordinal judging, yes, figure skating is judged like a pie-baking contest. I liked Aunt Bee's blueberry pie the best, with Thelma Lou's gooseberry a close second.

(OT -- Where I grew up -- in beef country -- lifestock judging was huge. People would go to judging schools and learn how to do it, and there were big-time competitions in judging at the county fairs. The young folks who showed the most talent in judging could get high-paying jobs with slaughterhouses and meat packing companies, etc.)

Anyway...I think someone could make the point that under CoP judging, it's "more like a real sport." You get so many points for doing a triple Salchow. If you only get halfway around on the third revolution, it is downgraded to a double. Sort of like if you shoot a three in basketball, but your foot is on the line (as can be decided by instant replay, just like in figure skating).

Yes there are GOEs and PCSs, but in principle these also at least follow some kind of guidelines. It's not just who you think has the prettiest spirals (subjective), it's how many times you grab your foot (objective -- one extra level for each grab).

So maybe this will start to change people's minds.

Nah. Figure skating is just too darn pretty, no matter how they judge it.

MM

Somebody earlier on pointed out the real reason these stupid men raise the "its not a sport" thing all the time...its the sequins and music...it infringes too much on these guys masculinity...the same people will tell you its fine for the girls, hell at least they can sit and perve on them, but the guys its just plain wrong. As with all of these meat heads in real life, they're rarely worth talking to and i wouldn't associate with anyone who was like that!

Ant

 

[antmanb]

Come on, you people, wake up!! This writer needs to have a face-to-face meeting with the USFSA and ALL SKATERS in the USA - all in one place and at all at one time!!

Any one of you who agrees with me has my permission to reproduce this post and send it somehow DIRECTLY to that writer - because I don't know how to do it. - In other words - YOU CAN QUOTE ME.

I snipped all the great commentary above and just wanted to say, that i've been around for long enough that i see this type of article pop up probably around once a year - in Olympic years it crops up before during or after the Olympics. In any other year its usually around worlds.

The reason people are using humour is because two things are true:

1. You will never convince the meathead who wrote the article that he is wrong...NEVER. He's made up his mind and its not changing.

2. You will never convince me that figure skating isn't a sport...i'm at least as stubborn as the meathead writer and my mind will NEVER be changed - i skate and know exactly how hard and skilled it is and spend time in any rink and you know how competitive a sport it is.

Once you get over those two truths then you can just have fun with it!

Ant

 

[#1Kerryfan]

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/to...slug=dw-figsnosport022006&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Now, I just want to see what people think of this guy's interpretation. I think the vast majority will disagree, but...I basically agree with him that any contest that is judged simply cannot be called a sport, no matter how much skill or strength one might need to participate.

JMO. This would also include gymnastics and diving.

Figure skating is a sport.

 

[R.D.]

That's very true! Yet there are some who do not think of it as a sport do engage in a Forum about Figure Skating.:scratch:

Joe

and that has to do with...?

 

[antmanb]

All this talk reminds me of the eternal (and equally pointless and stupid) debate of "What is Art?". One school of thought is, if the person presenting the piece calls themselves an artist and presents the piece as art...then its art, full stop, no more debate.

Ant

 

[R.D.]

I don't think asking "what is art" is stupid AT ALL. In fact, there are many differing opinions to what is art and what isn't. But I'm not opening that can of worms.

 

[SusanBeth]

I don't think asking "what is art" is stupid AT ALL. In fact, there are many differing opinions to what is art and what isn't. But I'm not opening that can of worms.

I think it's only senseless, if you enter the debate expecting to settle the matter once and for all. Some matters will never be resolved "art" and "sport" are two of them.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

and that has to do with...?

"Some people think it's a sport and some don't." Yet some people who think it is not a sport are rabid fans of Figure Skating Boards. Nothing wrong with that but it is strange to spend so much time on various figure skating boards and not considering it a Sport since it revolves around competitions.

Joe