Why no costume deductions?

[Icey]

According to current ISU regulations, costumes in competition "must be modest, dignified and appropriate for athletic competition – not garish or theatrical in design. Clothing may, however, reflect the character of the music chosen."

If Radionova's costumes aren't garish, I can't imagine what one that is would look like. Many of the costumes seem to violate the "appropriate for athletic competition" requirement. At Russians this week-end quite a few of the men wore lace. When did that become suitable for athletic competition. The implied nudity of many of the women's costumes can hardly be called modest, especially when worn by young teenage girls. Many of the costumes are theatrical in design. I'm not a prude, just want the existing rules to be enforced or done away with.

Question: Since this rule went into effect, how many costume deductions have there been?

Please share your views.

 

[dorispulaski]

Mostly, when I've seen a costume deduction, it has been for some piece of the costume dropping on the ice. I don't remember one for immodest or non-sporty, ever, but there may have been one or two?

Does anyone remember?

 

[LiamForeman]

I can not remember any recent costume deductions, but the ones I remember involved Russian men wearing white tights where they wear a dark thong that is clearly visible from the back row in the arena. Urmanov was notorious for that one, as was the Russian in 1989 (I'm totally blocking, he was world champ in 85). But yes Icey, the wording for the rule is pointless because it basically gives a skater an 'out' by saying the costume may reflect the character of the music, which leads it way open to interpretation. Doris is right, when a costume falls apart and is dropping all over the ice, they'll get a deduction.

Aleksandr Fadeev. God, I'm getting senile.

 

[desertskates]

I think the best thing to do would be to drop the rule. While I'm also not prudish, the illusion of nudity is not appealing, and there is certainly a lot of garishness going on. But I think that everyone will have a different idea of what is garish. For example, I'll compare Ashley's last year lp costume and Elena's current lp costume:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/more/news/20130126/wagner-us-figure-skating-championships.ap/
http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Elena+Radionova/ISU+Grand+Prix+Figure+Skating+2013+2014+NHK/TW4stE65bna

I'm only one opinion, but I loved Ashley's dress. It was artfully done and and very fashion-y. Elena's almost hurts my eyes, as she is such a wonderful skater otherwise. Yet, there is about the same amount of "stuff going on" in each one.
It would just be a terrible thing to have to judge, I think. But, that's just my thought on the matter

 

[Mathman]

The rule is kind of funny, if you think about it. I have never seen a ladies figure skating costume that I would call modest. I have never seen one that is particularly dignified. I have never seen one that is in any way, shape or form appropriate to an athletic contest. I have seen zillions that are garish and theatrical. Oh well.

 

[dorispulaski]

The closest to modest or dignified might be the one Bobrova was wearing earlier in the season for their FD where she is a dead bird.

In fact she's had more than one modest costume:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...a_BOBROVA_Dmitri_SOLOVIEV_NHK_Trophy_2009.jpg

Here's another
http://web.icenetwork.com/images/2011/02/14/awAaLCLS.jpg

 

[Robeye]

The rule is kind of funny, if you think about it. I have never seen a ladies figure skating costume that I would call modest. I have never seen one that is particularly dignified. I have never seen one that is in any way, shape or form appropriate to an athletic contest. I have seen zillions that are garish and theatrical. Oh well.

Opika von Meray Horvath. 3 consecutive World titles (1912-14). She made your favorite Madge Syers look like a wanton hussy . See, not even a hint of calf.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Opika-von-Meray-Horvath-1910s.jpg

 

[Mathman]

^ It's the hat!

 

[hanca]

Opika von Meray Horvath. 3 consecutive World titles (1912-14). She made your favorite Madge Syers look like a wanton hussy . See, not even a hint of calf.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Opika-von-Meray-Horvath-1910s.jpg

I don't think at that time she would have to do spirals, Y spins with leg up, Bielman spin etc.

 

[Robeye]

I don't think at that time she would have to do spirals, Y spins with leg up, Bielman spin etc.

Yes, you are right, of course, but I also don't see why it couldn't be done, so long as the skirt material was sufficiently pliant. I mean, you might not see the whole leg, but you'd still see the skate in spatial relation to the rest of the body.

I do wonder, though, whether the voluminous skirt (not to mention the hat) would be a net help or a hindrance in jumps. Particularly if done outdoors and into a stiff breeze, you might get a measurable aerodynamic "lift" effect. But then again, this might be cancelled by the increased wind resistance making rotations more difficult. If it were a buttressed hoop skirt and an added parachute effect, it might be considered outright cheating, like corked bats and pine tar. The delay would be something to see, though.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Hah could you imagine? I can only wonder what the reaction had been if a skater like Radioniva or Lipnitskaia were transported to that time period and busted out their jumps/spins.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

Opika von Meray Horvath. 3 consecutive World titles (1912-14). She made your favorite Madge Syers look like a wanton hussy . See, not even a hint of calf.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Opika-von-Meray-Horvath-1910s.jpg

No wonder she wasn't doing triple axels!

 

[Butterscotch17]

I think that the only time there should actually be a costume penalty is for immodesty. The rest of the rule is basically pointless, because everyone has different tastes and no one could decide what counted as "garish", especially since it can "reflect the character of the music". However, in the case of immodesty, I think they should be able to make deductions. It is distracting from the program, plus the fact that no one wants to see that. I think that very few skaters have immodest costumes, where the essentials aren't covered, but I do think there should be a rule preventing it. Sotnikova's dress was inappropriate, in my opinion - the panties under her skirt were sheer! But I think that the rest of the rule could be done away with, because judges shouldn't be able to stick people with penalties just because they didn't like the costume.

 

[caelum]

If this - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9K2YmS0Km8 - doesn't get a costume deduction, then nothing deserves a costume deduction.

 

[Frenchie]

If this - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9K2YmS0Km8 - doesn't get a costume deduction, then nothing deserves a costume deduction.

Hahaha!
Seriously, that's the picture that came to my mind when I saw this thread!

 

[Sochi_2014]

I think that the rule is subjective... So it would be very hard to call... And who would call it anyways? The technical specialist? Would the judges all have to agree? The rule seems silly to me, seeing as it's never enforced.

 

[brightphoton]

Our own "gee, aren't costumes getting too revealing???" thread devolved into accusations of poor morals and promiscuity just because of differing costume preferences. Don't need more of that in an official context.

 

[Mathman]

And who would call it anyways?

The referee, I believe.

 

[Frenchie]

I think that the rule is subjective... So it would be very hard to call... And who would call it anyways? The technical specialist? Would the judges all have to agree? The rule seems silly to me, seeing as it's never enforced.

How about a separate 3-person jury devoted only to costumes?
They could be headed by Karl Lagerfeld and even officially be called the fashion police!

 

[Violet Bliss]

How about a separate 3-person jury devoted only to costumes?
They could be headed by Karl Lagerfeld and even officially be called the fashion police!

:agree: