General Skating Chat

[Lunna]

5 часов назад, rockstaryuzu сказал:

After canceling their own Nationals? Seems a bit contradictory to me, but I guess there's no harm in them making plans anyway 

It seems at the first glance, but maybe there's too many restrictions in the country to make comp happen or just too much money needed to organize the comp with all the measures. Maybe they'll wait and see what other feds will decide. Korea also had all internal comps cancelled I think.

[Melodie]

17 hours ago, Lunna said:

It seems at the first glance, but maybe there's too many restrictions in the country to make comp happen or just too much money needed to organize the comp with all the measures. Maybe they'll wait and see what other feds will decide. Korea also had all internal comps cancelled I think.

Yeah, plus, even if they decide to send their athletes, they might still face losing spots, given the disadvantages facing their athletes due to the pandemic. 

 

Re: Team Korea is waiting for the gov restrictions to dial down before holding domestic comps, but for now that has not yet happened I think. WCs are planned in 2 months so ... honestly? It doesn't look good  

[Lunna]

4 часа назад, Melodie сказал:

Yeah, plus, even if they decide to send their athletes, they might still face losing spots, given the disadvantages facing their athletes due to the pandemic.

The thing is there will be disadvantages anyway, either helding comp now (though I think most top and near-top athletes had their ice time, not sure about small feds), either having Oly spots based on outdated results.

[Melodie]

12 minutes ago, Lunna said:

The thing is there will be disadvantages anyway, either helding comp now (though I think most top and near-top athletes had their ice time, not sure about small feds), either having Oly spots based on outdated results.

True tho, well there is no easy way out  

[sallycinnamon]

It was already posted in the Worlds 2021 thread but posting it here too:

 

New ISU communication about obtaining minimum TES for Worlds 2021: 

 

https://isu.org/inside-isu/isu-communications/communications/25474-2370-tes-video-evaluation-isu-world-championships-2021/file

 

• Minimum TES remains the same (Men: 34 for SP, 64 for FS, Ladies: 30/51, Pairs: 27/44, Ice Dance: 33/47).
• Minimum TES can be achieved in the current season and the two previous seasons (2019/2020 and 2018/2019)
• Those who achieved minimum TES at junior competitions in the current or the past two seasons are valid
• Virtual evaluation for those who haven't reached the minimum or don't have the TES (hello, Knierim/Fraizer)

[Paskud]

Meanwhile I still wonder how they plan to give assignments to GP series next season...

[Paskud]

requirements for ice dance programs in 2021/22 season

https://www.isu.org/inside-isu/isu-communications/communications/25476-isu-communication-2371/file

[Fay]

A long and somewhat whiny article about why the US were great in FS in the 1990s and why they no longer are. There are certain good points, though some points are annoying. Like figure skating is black and white, so black people are welcome. Asians are hardly acknowledged, I suppose. Oh, and the new scoring system destroyed the FS etc etc 

https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22276736/figure-skating-olympics-winter-2022-lessons

[Paskud]

2 hours ago, Fay said:

A long and somewhat whiny article about why the US were great in FS in the 1990s and why they no longer are. There are certain good points, though some points are annoying. Like figure skating is black and white, so black people are welcome. Asians are hardly acknowledged, I suppose. Oh, and the new scoring system destroyed the FS etc etc 

https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22276736/figure-skating-olympics-winter-2022-lessons

Quote

Japan, another skating powerhouse, also has a system in which young skaters attend highly competitive camps to work with elite coaches.

Sounds nice, but this camp lasts less than one week per year and only top-top novice/juniors are invited there.🤨

[Dreamer]

Many Americans are very ignorant about other countries and cultures: many of those in red states have never traveled outside of their state/country, don't know where many foreign countries are located on a map and actually ask how long it takes to drive from Florida to Shanghai. 

[rockstaryuzu]

On 2/18/2021 at 3:03 PM, Fay said:

A long and somewhat whiny article

You thought so too, eh? While the writer had a point about how expensive figure skating is as a sport, most of the rest of the piece had me rolling my eyes. And the nostalgia for the 6.0 system nearly made me puke. No one ever had any clue how the judges arrived at those 5.8s and 5.9s. At least in the new system you can see what they're doing, more or less. 

 

As for discrimination in figure skating, it's a problem that isn't going to go away as long as there aren't many coaches and officials of different ethnicities than white...you can promote racialized skaters all you want but the fundamental problem will remain until there's a diversity of voices in the powers that be of the sport. 

 

[SitTwizzle]

54 minutes ago, rockstaryuzu said:

You thought so too, eh? While the writer had a point about how expensive figure skating is as a sport, most of the rest of the piece had me rolling my eyes. And the nostalgia for the 6.0 system nearly made me puke. No one ever had any clue how the judges arrived at those 5.8s and 5.9s. At least in the new system you can see what they're doing, more or less. 

 

As for discrimination in figure skating, it's a problem that isn't going to go away as long as there aren't many coaches and officials of different ethnicities than white...you can promote racialized skaters all you want but the fundamental problem will remain until there's a diversity of voices in the powers that be of the sport. 

 

Discrimination maybe, but underrepresentation, in my opinion, could be much less severe if costs were not that astronomical, at least for the more gifted. Given, of course, the income/ethnicity relation.

[rockstaryuzu]

21 hours ago, SitTwizzle said:

Discrimination maybe, but underrepresentation, in my opinion, could be much less severe if costs were not that astronomical, at least for the more gifted. Given, of course, the income/ethnicity relation.

Cost is for sure the most fundamental problem. 

[river]

On 2/22/2021 at 1:11 PM, rockstaryuzu said:

You thought so too, eh? While the writer had a point about how expensive figure skating is as a sport, most of the rest of the piece had me rolling my eyes. And the nostalgia for the 6.0 system nearly made me puke. No one ever had any clue how the judges arrived at those 5.8s and 5.9s. At least in the new system you can see what they're doing, more or less. 

 

As for discrimination in figure skating, it's a problem that isn't going to go away as long as there aren't many coaches and officials of different ethnicities than white...you can promote racialized skaters all you want but the fundamental problem will remain until there's a diversity of voices in the powers that be of the sport. 

 

 

Oh, Americans looooove the 6.0 system. And the overwhelming public perception of figure skating here is still that of the ice princess. I'm always bemused by articles in the US press bemoaning our lack of success at the top levels of figure skating, even though the reigning World champion in men's singles is American, and we have one of the deepest dance fields in the world. Nope, if we don't have a skater on the ladies' podium, then the US isn't competitive in skating.

 

Yes, we need far more diversity, not just on the ice, but on judging panels and in the ranks of the governing bodies. Not sure how to accomplish that - I know Diversify Ice and Figure Skating in Harlem are actively recruiting (and sponsoring, at least for Diversify Ice). And skaters do eventually become coaches and officials.

[rockstaryuzu]

37 minutes ago, river said:

Oh, Americans looooove the 6.0 system.

For the sake of sweet suffering Jesus, WHY? It was the single most stagnant, opaque, thoroughly corruptible system that ever existed to score a sport anywhere. IJS, and the current +5 GOE system , have their faults but at least a skater can break down their score and see what the judges thought of them and why they thought it, and go home with an idea of what to work on for next time. 

 

40 minutes ago, river said:

even though the reigning World champion in men's singles is American, and we have one of the deepest dance fields in the world. Nope, if we don't have a skater on the ladies' podium, then the US isn't competitive in skating.

It's not even like the American women are all that bad. It's just that the Russians and Japanese are way ahead. 

 

41 minutes ago, river said:

Yes, we need far more diversity, not just on the ice, but on judging panels and in the ranks of the governing bodies. Not sure how to accomplish that - I know Diversify Ice and Figure Skating in Harlem are actively recruiting (and sponsoring, at least for Diversify Ice). And skaters do eventually become coaches and officials.

To paraphrase something TAT once said, not every judge was once a figure skater. Like any sport, some officials are probably parent volunteers who got invested in it and got better and better at it. Just like in swimming. If every timer, starter, stroke&turn judge, meet referee, etc had to be a former swimmer to qualify, swim meets wouldn't get held. It's all parent volunteers. So maybe the answer is to provide a welcoming atmosphere and training for BIPOC parent volunteers to contribute as skating officials, and then they can work their way up to the higher levels. Nothing ever happens without grassroots involvement when it comes to amateur sport. 

 

For coaching you probably do need former skaters, though.