Why Not Synchro?

[ice coverage]

...U.S. Figure Skating should have spoken up and said, "NO!" to the Team event in 2014, and held out for the REAL figure skating team event--Synchronized Skating.

btw, USFS no doubt is happy that the Sochi team event took place.
Six American skaters brought home their first Olympic medals because of the Sochi team event. Birds in the hand.

 

[sses1]

There is no reason these days to limit the number of athletes/entourages/fans/media/security, etc.. There are creative minds who can come up with ways to accommodate more athletes and the accompanying crowds. The technology of today allows for so many options that were never dreamed of when the "rules" were made.

Technology has nothing to do with it and will not solve this problem. Its about money.
Norway dropped out of the 2022 Olympic bid because the asking price was too much, plus the "special accommodations" from the IOC weren't helping either. Other posters have already mentioned that inviting 150+ athletes will increase the price tag of these already expensive games. Where are they going to stay? Who's going to pay for their food? Will their competition conflict with other ice sports? Synchro is nowhere near popular enough to just by- pass all these concerns and become an Olympic sport. I don't care if its one of the youngest figure skating sports in fan demographic, who is going to watch synchro figure skating over Slopestyle or Big Air (recent Olympic additions)? I still think more people will tune in to singles, pairs and even ice dance over synchro!

And just because the ISU and other feds are "promoting synchro" doesn't mean its going to enter the Olympics. And of course the US and ISU are going to promote a sport that makes them money and/or medals.

 

[Sharon Whitlock]

Oh, but apparently it will. After all, we all know synchro is the most ~important~ discipline, after all, they're the ones who take up room on practice sessions not meant for them, they're the ones who scream uncontrollably during their events and induce day-long headaches in the unfortunate officials and make it hard to do their jobs, and they're the ones who pile en masse out of the rink when their event is done, with no consideration for watching or supporting the other skaters...

There was actually one skater added for the Team Event in Sochi - the British man. But he was added for the SP only (since obviously Team GB did not make the free skate) and adding one skater for one tiny portion of the Games is a totally different prospect to the militant demands of the synchro community for the inclusion of 150+ extra athletes. After all, they should just build another few stories on the hotel...

I don't understand this post. Synchronized skating competitions are held separately from other skating discipline competitions. In I.S.I. competitions, synchronized skating team events are held along with the singles events, but seldom are synchr events mixed in with singles events. And I think that in some of the U.S. Figure Skating Basic Skills competitions, synchro teams compete, but we're talking tiny little kids here, where screaming for each other is the norm.

Does this happen in other countries than the U.S.?

And most rinks that I have seen have rules that forbid synchro practice (and other team-type events) practicing on the same ice as singles, MIF, solo dance patterns, etc. So how can synchro teams take up room on practice ice not meant for them? (Unless you're talking about the little children who don't know better and haven't been taught rink etiquette by their coaches?)

Could you please explain? Thanks.

 

[Sharon Whitlock]

Please leave me out of your sarcasm.

I merely made reference to the 2014 rules for the Sochi team figure skating event.

And I stand by my post that the Sochi team event did not increase the overall head count of skaters.

So your previous post was based on a false premise.

As I said above, I have nothing against synchro.

But your belligerence in response to my fact-based post certainly is not going to increase my support for synchro.

Life on earth will not end if synchro never is accepted into the Olympics.

Please forgive me for hurting you with my sarcasm.

I've found that it's not good to base love and support for a sport, or any activity or organization, on individuals who happen to be part of that activity. There will always be people who aren't a good fit for me personally, but that doesn't cause me to turn against the activity that we both share a common interest in.

If I based my love of the sport of figure skating on individuals who are part of that sport, I would have abandoned the sport decades ago! But over the years, I've learned that many of the people who rub me the wrong way at first are actually pretty great folks, and when we are both sitting in the bleachers or sitting at home online cheering for our favorite skaters and teams, all the animosity seems to dissolve!

And yes, I agree that life on earth will not end if synchronized skating is never included in the Olympics. But MY life might end! Yes, 'm closer to the end of the my life than the beginning of my life, and I have always dreamed of seeing the first Olympic synchronized skating teams step onto that Olympic ice. Silly dream? Perhaps. But fan has always said that in the sport of figure skating, ALL dreams deserve respect.

 

[karne]

I don't understand this post. Synchronized skating competitions are held separately from other skating discipline competitions. In I.S.I. competitions, synchronized skating team events are held along with the singles events, but seldom are synchr events mixed in with singles events. And I think that in some of the U.S. Figure Skating Basic Skills competitions, synchro teams compete, but we're talking tiny little kids here, where screaming for each other is the norm.

Does this happen in other countries than the U.S.?

And most rinks that I have seen have rules that forbid synchro practice (and other team-type events) practicing on the same ice as singles, MIF, solo dance patterns, etc. So how can synchro teams take up room on practice ice not meant for them? (Unless you're talking about the little children who don't know better and haven't been taught rink etiquette by their coaches?)

Could you please explain? Thanks.

Yes, how very nice, that in a big huge country with tons of ice rinks your synchro competitions would be held separately, and you have strictly-run practice sessions. Sadly, that's not the norm. In Australia Nationals is held once only each year, so all divisions are together - Synchro, Adult and Championship. And it's rare to have leveled practices, though Synchro is expected to have their own practice, I have heard many stories of synchro brats doing synchro moves on regular practices and getting in everyone's way.

And I was not impressed, at Nationals, to sit through the screaming and ludicrous carry-on - and we were not talking about small children here - with a headache, only to see the synchro skaters all flounce out of the rink after further delaying the Adults by mucking around on the ice post-medal ceremony, instead of doing them the common courtesy of watching. It would not have killed them. I've noticed Theatre on Ice tends to do this as well. It disgusts me.

You only have to look at the attitudes of people in synchro towards their inclusion in the Olympics to see the entitled brat attitude that pervades their discipline. "Oh, just build another few stories on the hotel!" "It's just another 150+ athletes, who cares?" "Kick Ice Dance out then!"

 

[NanaPat]

When synchronized swimming was added to the Olympics, they only included duets and solos. There were a couple of reasons for that: the smaller number of athletes involved, and the fact that solos and duets televise better than teams. One of the neatest things about teams (which have 8 swimmers) are the ever-changing pool patterns. On TV, if you see the pool patterns, the swimmers themselves are tiny.

But synchronized swimming really wanted teams in the olympics; to keep the total number of athletes down, when teams were added, solos and duets were dropped. The following Olympics, duets were restored, but solos never were. Bigger screen TVs and better camera people have probably also helped make synchronized swimming teams teams more telegenic than they once were.

 

[Sharon Whitlock]

Yes, how very nice, that in a big huge country with tons of ice rinks your synchro competitions would be held separately, and you have strictly-run practice sessions. Sadly, that's not the norm. In Australia Nationals is held once only each year, so all divisions are together - Synchro, Adult and Championship. And it's rare to have leveled practices, though Synchro is expected to have their own practice, I have heard many stories of synchro brats doing synchro moves on regular practices and getting in everyone's way.

And I was not impressed, at Nationals, to sit through the screaming and ludicrous carry-on - and we were not talking about small children here - with a headache, only to see the synchro skaters all flounce out of the rink after further delaying the Adults by mucking around on the ice post-medal ceremony, instead of doing them the common courtesy of watching. It would not have killed them. I've noticed Theatre on Ice tends to do this as well. It disgusts me.

You only have to look at the attitudes of people in synchro towards their inclusion in the Olympics to see the entitled brat attitude that pervades their discipline. "Oh, just build another few stories on the hotel!" "It's just another 150+ athletes, who cares?" "Kick Ice Dance out then!"

This is very sad. I truly very sorry to hear this. I can assure you that this is definitely not something that any synchronized skater, coach, or fan would endorse or encourage. No wonder you have a difficult time enjoying this discipline. I would probably feel the same way.

I think it would be good for the officers of the local skating club to contact the national skating federation, tell them what's going on, and request that they step in and educate the synchronized skaters and their families about proper etiquette.

I don't think this happens in the European countries. I can't imagine the Russian federation encouraging this kind of rudeness. I could be wrong, of course.

I don't think it has anything to do with small size of skating population. Rudeness should not be allowed in the skating community.

Synchronized skating competitions in the U.S. and Canada are rowdy but polite. I don't think they are any more rowdy than Singles/Pairs/Dance competitions, though. It's just that there are there are more family members and friends in the audience because of the increased number of skaters (which means more money spent on tickets and concessions). I've attended plenty of non-qualifying and qualifying Singles/Pairs/Dance competitions where the cheering is pretty loud! (And that's good, IMO! We need to let our skaters know that we love them and wish them well.)

Also, keep in mind that at many synchronized skating competitions, the younger teams are in the audience to support the older synchro teams in their club. This means that the little girls (and boys) will "squeal" and that can be kind of irritating. But it's the way it is--little children have shrill voices that can induce headaches at times.

But again, rudeness should not be allowed, especially by little children who should be trained in proper rink etiquette.

From what I have seen for the last 25 years, synchronized skaters fully support their friends who are involved with other skating disciplines. In fact, in the U.S., often the synchronized skating competitions are scheduled during major Singles/Pairs/Dance competitions, and many times, I've seen the synchro skaters, coaches, and families sitting in front of a TV (and now they have iPads) and watching the Singles competition during their synchro competition. I remember one year when I was having lunch with the coaches, and we were in a fairly-empty bar, and we asked the bartender to turn the set to Nationals, and he did so, and we watched the Singles/Pairs/Dance competitors while we ate!

Again, I'm really sorry that this is the way it is for you. Yuck.


Again, I encourage you, if you are in a position to do so, to try to get your national skating federation to put a stop to this kind of rude behavior by your synchro skaters. This just isn't right at all.

 

[Sharon Whitlock]

But back to the topic of feasibility of Olympic synchronized skating.

I continue to maintain that for every problem, there is a solution. I've seen some pretty impossible problems solved by creative thinking and hard work. I think it can happen with Olympic synchronized skating.

And I continue to insist that our U.S. Figure Skating president would not say in writing in public that he is working to get synchronized skating into the Olympics if he thought it was impossible. And our coaches--these coaches are not stupid people. They are amazing coaches with decades of experience, and I don't think they would keep talking "Olympics" if it was an impossible dream.

We just need to work out the logistics. I've planned quite a few "mega" events, and I know that the success of these events all depends on careful planning and attention to details. It can and WILL be worked out, and everyone involved WILL make money out of it.

I agree that yes, money is definitely required in order for the technology to be utilized to create the solution.

I think that the Olympic organizers will look at the expectation of gain (financial especially) compared with the expectation of loss (financial), and that they will find that synchronized skating has enormous potential to bring in a lot of money.

I believe I mentioned in an earlier post that in the U.S. this summer, there were at least three network television ads featuring synchronized swimming. These companies would not have utilized synchro swimming if they thought it would hurt their sales.

I continue to be amazed that no sponsors have picked up on using synchronized skaters in an ad campaign. The potential is huge. Synchronized skaters could easily "sell" makeup, apparel, various foods and drinks, etc. A great Campbell's soup ad used to feature a young singles skater taking a break and sipping hot soup at rinkside; this same ad could be used effectively with synchronized skaters (who really DO eat soup at rinkside!). This is just one example; there are many products that synchro skaters could sell easily.

Keep in mind that even though it's not mentioned in polite skating circles, synchronized skating has a "sex appeal" that many of the other disciplines don't have. The skaters in synchro tend to be taller and have...um...more traditional female figures...than the smaller, more compact singles and pairs skaters.

Sex sells. I hope that doesn't offend anyone, but it's true, and synchronized teams have a lot of sex appeal. Lots of women all dressed alike--Robert Palmer created an empire out of this concept that continues to be popular even though he has died (R.I.P).

I think that the sponsors don't utilize synchronized skating because they simply don't know about it. This is where U.S. Figure Skating could really go to bat for U.S. Synchro--by pitching it to potential sponsors! The sponsors can't write ad copy utilizing something that they have never heard of. I hope that U.S. Figure Skating will work harder to pitch synchro to potential sponsors and to the network television stations.

I did learn that an idea that I had years ago is finally being done--Nancy Kerrigan has been utilizing local synchronized skating teams (higher levels) for her touring show (Halloween on Ice). Good for her!!! That's a great way to get synchronized skating out to the public and I hope that this gets a positive audience response so that more touring shows will give it a try.

Again--optimism, not pessimism. It can be done. There are solutions to the logistical issues. And "rules" are entirely arbitrary and can be changed as technology allows for more options. The worst reason to keep doing something is because "that's the way it's always been done."

 

[NanaPat]

But back to the topic of feasibility of Olympic synchronized skating.

And "rules" are entirely arbitrary and can be changed as technology allows for more options. The worst reason to keep doing something is because "that's the way it's always been done."

I believe you've entirely misinterpreted the post that mentioned rules. The post I'm referring to was most definitely not in the spirit of "that's the way things have always been done". It addressed the rules for the team competition, which was held exactly once, at the last Olympics. So most definitely not "always"; not even close. And it only mentioned the rules in passing during a discussion of the number of additional Olympic skaters involved in the team event, which turned out to be zero or one, a far cry from 150.

Your enthusiasm for synchronized skating is commendable, but you are going about it the wrong way if you want to convince people that it absolutely deserves to be in the Olympics, ahead of any other sport that is already included or seeking inclusion.

 

[ice coverage]

Please forgive me for hurting you with my sarcasm.

I've found that it's not good to base love and support for a sport, or any activity or organization, on individuals who happen to be part of that activity. ...

Your sarcasm didn't "hurt" me, but it did show a lack of goodwill, IMO. I am willing to forgive, but you have weakened my interest in your particular thread about synchro. My outlook on the sport of synchro has not changed one way or the other.

Off topic, but I happen to strongly disagree with your opinion as to the importance of individuals in one's support for an activity .

karne actually is the perfect example of a single individual who has drawn me into cheering for a group of skaters about whom I otherwise would have known literally nothing.
Because of her infectious enthusiasm for Team Australia, their names and faces gradually are becoming familiar to me, and I always hope that the Aussie skaters will do well.

On a broader level, I am not the least bit embarrassed to say that a significant part of my interest in figure skating is based on the off-ice side of the sport -- the character, personalities, and backgrounds of the skaters and coaches, for example. In many cases, I find them to be worthy of my attention whether they are winning medals or not, or succeeding by any other objective measure or not.

 

[Sharon Whitlock]

I believe you've entirely misinterpreted the post that mentioned rules. The post I'm referring to was most definitely not in the spirit of "that's the way things have always been done". It addressed the rules for the team competition, which was held exactly once, at the last Olympics. So most definitely not "always"; not even close. And it only mentioned the rules in passing during a discussion of the number of additional Olympic skaters involved in the team event, which turned out to be zero or one, a far cry from 150.

Your enthusiasm for synchronized skating is commendable, but you are going about it the wrong way if you want to convince people that it absolutely deserves to be in the Olympics, ahead of any other sport that is already included or seeking inclusion.

Athletes, coaches, fans, and sporting federations can present the case, but in the end, it is the sport itself that will convince those in the position to say yay or nay to Olympic status. The athletes, coaches, fans, and sporting federations will come and go. The job of the IOC is to look past the personalities, and examine the sport itself to make sure that they are selecting sports that will promote the Olympic Movement for years to come.

I'm curious about what the "right way" would be for me to persuade people that synchronized skating deserves Olympic status. It's my opinion that the only way people will become convinced of the sport's readiness is to actually SEE the sport at its highest levels at the most demanding competitions (e.g., Worlds). Watching the sport online is quite inadequate. And watching the hometown team at a local ice show is not likely to persuade anyone of Olympic readiness (unless your hometown team is one of the World champions!).

It seems to me that what some people on this thread are saying is that even if the sport IS "ready" for the Olympics, that it should still be denied entry into the Olympics because there isn't room for it and/or there isn't enough money to pay for it or not enough people are interested in watching it.

That viewpoint seems rather opposed to the Olympic Movement, which emphasizes inclusivity. Do some of you think that the Olympic Movement itself should be eliminated? Is it too esoteric for practical purposes?

 

[Sharon Whitlock]

Your sarcasm didn't "hurt" me, but it did show a lack of goodwill, IMO. I am willing to forgive, but you have weakened my interest in your particular thread about synchro. My outlook on the sport of synchro has not changed one way or the other.

Off topic, but I happen to strongly disagree with your opinion as to the importance of individuals in one's support for an activity .

karne actually is the perfect example of a single individual who has drawn me into cheering for a group of skaters about whom I otherwise would have known literally nothing.
Because of her infectious enthusiasm for Team Australia, their names and faces gradually are becoming familiar to me, and I always hope that the Aussie skaters will do well.

On a broader level, I am not the least bit embarrassed to say that a significant part of my interest in figure skating is based on the off-ice side of the sport -- the character, personalities, and backgrounds of the skaters and coaches, for example. In many cases, I find them to be worthy of my attention whether they are winning medals or not, or succeeding by any other objective measure or not.

That's interesting to know. Thank you.

Although I enjoy hearing and reading (and writing!) stories about skaters and other athletes, and I'm always willing to support (donate, volunteer, etc.) and cheer for skaters/teams from my hometown rink and other rinks where I know people, my primary interest in the sport of figure skating has always been the Sport Itself--"the beauty of the edge."

In my life, I have known many really great people in the sport of figure skating, and I have known some real pills, but it doesn't matter. The sport is the sport, and I love it. Its beauty and power is not diminished when someone yanks my chain the wrong way.

 

[NanaPat]

I'm curious about what the "right way" would be for me to persuade people that synchronized skating deserves Olympic status.

I was referring to your posts on this board. You post at length and pose questions, but when people answer them, briefly and succinctly, you don't seem to actually read the answers, but misconstrue what they wrote and then attack them for what they didn't write. In my opinion, that's not a good way to persuade people.

 

[sk8momto1]

Yes, how very nice, that in a big huge country with tons of ice rinks your synchro competitions would be held separately, and you have strictly-run practice sessions. Sadly, that's not the norm. In Australia Nationals is held once only each year, so all divisions are together - Synchro, Adult and Championship. And it's rare to have leveled practices, though Synchro is expected to have their own practice, I have heard many stories of synchro brats doing synchro moves on regular practices and getting in everyone's way.

And I was not impressed, at Nationals, to sit through the screaming and ludicrous carry-on - and we were not talking about small children here - with a headache, only to see the synchro skaters all flounce out of the rink after further delaying the Adults by mucking around on the ice post-medal ceremony, instead of doing them the common courtesy of watching. It would not have killed them. I've noticed Theatre on Ice tends to do this as well. It disgusts me.

You only have to look at the attitudes of people in synchro towards their inclusion in the Olympics to see the entitled brat attitude that pervades their discipline. "Oh, just build another few stories on the hotel!" "It's just another 150+ athletes, who cares?" "Kick Ice Dance out then!"

Wow! It's too bad skaters of any discipline are allowed to get in the way of other skaters on a practice session. Where my daughter skates, it's crowded, and usually there are skaters of various skill levels practicing different disciplines. But, they all understand that they need to watch our for each other. My daughter skates sycnhro but would never practice with her teammates during a regular practice session. And if they did, they would likely get scolded by someone...as they should. That's her time to practice footwork, moves, jumps, etc. Honestly, at our rink it's the ice dance couples that cause the most problems during practice sessions.

Yes, I think synchro competitions can be a bit louder than individual competitions, but often because there are simply more "fans" in the audience. And I think that's why some people enjoy synchro competitions. They like the high energy and enthusiasm. But, I can see it would not something everyone would like.

I recently attended Skate America. I stayed for some disciplines, but not others. Honestly, while I support and appreciate all aspects of skating, I simply enjoy watching some more than others. In some cases, it's my lack of education....I never enjoyed ice dance until I began to learn more about it and now can recognize the good from the bad and the difficult from the easy. But, I didn't realize my lack of interest in certain disciples or levels was disgusting to someone else.

I don't think that most synchro fans feel entitled to be included in the Olympics. I certainly don't think another discipline should be "kicked out" so synchro can be included. However, I think most of us feel that ALL disciplines of skating are important to the sport. My teenager LOVES synchro. She skates on the highest level team in our state. She spends many hours in a car commuting to practice and on the ice with her team. In addition, she does off ice strength and conditioning workouts on her own AND takes private lessons weekly with coaches to work on moves, dance, and freestyle. I think if it weren't for synchro she would have become bored with skating and quit a LONG time ago. She simply LOVES being part of a team. The team pushes her to improve and excel in all aspects of skating. I appreciate that their are different options within skating for those with different abilities and interests. So, for her sake, and others like her, I would love to see the sport she loves included in the Olympics. But I don't feel entitled, just hopeful.

 

[loopy]

Here synchro can practice on freeskate sessions but no more than 2 people and they cannot attach. It isn't any different from dance or pairs. Sometimes they over play their music before a big competition, but so do the skaters practicing for regionals, sectionals, and no one would be upset with a skater on their way to nationals playing more than normal.

Karne, maybe enough skaters can get your federation to put synchro last in the schedule or first so they don't disturb the other events. It just sounds easier.

 

[SoundtracksOnIce]

It seems to me that what some people on this thread are saying is that even if the sport IS "ready" for the Olympics, that it should still be denied entry into the Olympics because there isn't room for it and/or there isn't enough money to pay for it or not enough people are interested in watching it.

Whether we think the sport should or should not be denied entry, is irrelevant. It's about what the IOC believes and right now, they don't want the Olympics to get any larger. All new sports and current sports are feeling those repercussions. If synchronized skating weren't considered figure skating, it might have a better chance, because at least the IOC might not expect spots to be taken from figure skating places, but since they won't consider trampoline separate from gymnastics (and those are far more different from each other than synchro and other figure skating events), I can't imagine them accepting that as an argument. A synchro team is around 16 athletes, even if you don't accredit the reserves. Even if you only have eight teams, that's still 128 athletes. Since the IOC also requires equal gender representation, you would have to double that. I would have to doublecheck the quota for figure skating in the Olympics, but that would take up a lot of places.

And the IOC is also really cracking down on widespread international participation. Athletes who are probably better and should qualify already get bumped so that athletes from African countries and other non-power nations have a shot at representation. That's a big part of why baseball and softball got bumped a few years ago - it was believed they weren't popular enough in other countries. Not only is synchro popular in less countries than other figure skating events, you have less countries that have a chance to be represented. Therefore the IOC is going to go towards sports with potential for more countries.

Again, nobody is saying this is right - we're just trying to explain what the IOC's mindset is.

 

[Sharon Whitlock]

Whether we think the sport should or should not be denied entry, is irrelevant. It's about what the IOC believes and right now, they don't want the Olympics to get any larger. All new sports and current sports are feeling those repercussions. If synchronized skating weren't considered figure skating, it might have a better chance, because at least the IOC might not expect spots to be taken from figure skating places, but since they won't consider trampoline separate from gymnastics (and those are far more different from each other than synchro and other figure skating events), I can't imagine them accepting that as an argument. A synchro team is around 16 athletes, even if you don't accredit the reserves. Even if you only have eight teams, that's still 128 athletes. Since the IOC also requires equal gender representation, you would have to double that. I would have to doublecheck the quota for figure skating in the Olympics, but that would take up a lot of places.

And the IOC is also really cracking down on widespread international participation. Athletes who are probably better and should qualify already get bumped so that athletes from African countries and other non-power nations have a shot at representation. That's a big part of why baseball and softball got bumped a few years ago - it was believed they weren't popular enough in other countries. Not only is synchro popular in less countries than other figure skating events, you have less countries that have a chance to be represented. Therefore the IOC is going to go towards sports with potential for more countries.

Again, nobody is saying this is right - we're just trying to explain what the IOC's mindset is.

How do people know the IOC's mindset? Is there an IOC publication or website that spells this out? Has there been an official announcement from IOC that no new sports will be added, or that the number of athletes will be limited to a certain number? How can I get hold of this information (link?)? Thanks so much!

 

[NanaPat]

How do people know the IOC's mindset? Is there an IOC publication or website that spells this out? Has there been an official announcement from IOC that no new sports will be added, or that the number of athletes will be limited to a certain number? How can I get hold of this information (link?)? Thanks so much!

This article
http://www.sportsfeatures.com/olymp...nter-games-and-tokyo-2020-evaluation-criteria
talks about the IOCs desire to cap the number of participants and events.

This one
http://kids.britannica.com/olympics/reflections/article-277355
talks about the number of countries/continents/etc that must participate in a sport before it can be included.

I found them with a quick google search.

 

[SoundtracksOnIce]

International Gymnast magazine brings up the issue of athlete quotas and what it's been doing do the sport of gymnastics quite often. You might be able to get some stuff on their website www.intlgymnast.com or on their message board.

You might also want to try David Wallachinsky's book "The Complete Book Of The Olympics" - he updates it every four years with what are new issues to do with the Olympics. I can't remember if he has a winter edition or not, but the library should have his latest summer edition if nothing else.

There was also a great 2008 book called Olympic Equestrian that talked about equestrian sports' future in the Summer Games and they talk about cutting athletes and wanting more countries being represented in there. I think it was in one of the last chapters.

 

[Sel]

My opinion on this topic is that why shouldn't there be synchronised skating in the Winter Olympics when there is synchronised swimming in the Summer Olympics. There's normal swimming events and the synchronised so why not have the same thing for ice skating?