Nationals is Underway
The US National Figure Skating Championships got underway last Sunday, January 8th and there are lots of LA skaters there competing this year in all four disciplines at all three levels. The television coverage is always just of the senior events but the novice and junior titles are being contested as well.
I've been following the results online everyday at the USFSA's web site. I enjoy seeing how the skaters I know are doing. This year is the first that the new judging system has been used at Nationals and the results so far have reflected the change. There are still some kinks to work out of the system but overall the new system is much fairer than the old 6.0 system. It's an overhaul that's been long overdue in my opinion.
This being an Olympic year of course the pressure is really on the top skaters at the senior level since those are the skaters contending for the coveted Olympic berths. With Michelle Kwan unable to skate there's going to be a lot of controversy and folks within the skating community are already taking sides.
The only skaters guaranteed a spot on the Olympic team are the ones who win the Nationals in their discipline; Mens Singles, Ladies Singles, Pairs and Ice Dance. The other spots will be determined by a committee made up of USFSA officials, skaters and coaches. There are three spots in each discipline, with the exception of Pairs, which has two spots. In case you're wondering how many spots each country has in each discipline is determined by how that countries skaters did in that discipline in the previous years World Championships.
I can remember when the criteria for an Olympic berth was solely your placement at the Nationals but the USFSA changed the criteria several years ago to allow skaters who were injured to file an appeal and attempt to still make the team if for some reason they were unable to compete at Nationals.
Is it fairer this way? Yes and no. Figure skating is a sport and like many things in life sports aren't always fair. It's become so physically demanding that the injury rate is depressingly high and every skater knows that every day they train they are risking a major injury that could potentially end their season or even their entire competitive career yet they choose to do this.
So how do I feel about the Michelle Kwan controversy? (Michelle represents the Los Angeles Figure Skating Club on whose board of directors I serve.) I don't think the USFSA should send Michelle to these Olympics based on their own criteria.
I feel for Michelle, she's a lovely young woman and one of the best skaters the US has ever produced. She has 9 National titles, 5 World Championships, 3 other world medals and two Olympic medals in addition to all the other international titles she's gained over the years and she deserves each and every one. Her longevity in such a physically demanding sport is nothing short of astonishing to me.
The appeal criteria is supposed to be based soley on international placements over the last two years not on a skaters overall competitive history. Michelle choose to sit out the last two seasons skating only at Nationals and Worlds and has competed under the new system just once, where she didn't fair well because she didn't have the necessary experience with it. I can understand that Michelle didn't want to put herself through the preparation of competing a full season after all these years but that was her decision. Other elite athletes could have taken the easier road too but didn't.
Yes Michelle is an icon world wide and yes she's the most decorated skater the US has ever had but that does not entitle her to a free ride to the Olympics because of who she is. The USFSA stands to lose a lot of money if Michelle doesn't go to the Olympics and considering how NBC has used her as a marketing tool it will probably effect the network too not to mention her own endorsements but the Olympics aren't supposed to be about the money.
I've been following the results online everyday at the USFSA's web site. I enjoy seeing how the skaters I know are doing. This year is the first that the new judging system has been used at Nationals and the results so far have reflected the change. There are still some kinks to work out of the system but overall the new system is much fairer than the old 6.0 system. It's an overhaul that's been long overdue in my opinion.
This being an Olympic year of course the pressure is really on the top skaters at the senior level since those are the skaters contending for the coveted Olympic berths. With Michelle Kwan unable to skate there's going to be a lot of controversy and folks within the skating community are already taking sides.
The only skaters guaranteed a spot on the Olympic team are the ones who win the Nationals in their discipline; Mens Singles, Ladies Singles, Pairs and Ice Dance. The other spots will be determined by a committee made up of USFSA officials, skaters and coaches. There are three spots in each discipline, with the exception of Pairs, which has two spots. In case you're wondering how many spots each country has in each discipline is determined by how that countries skaters did in that discipline in the previous years World Championships.
I can remember when the criteria for an Olympic berth was solely your placement at the Nationals but the USFSA changed the criteria several years ago to allow skaters who were injured to file an appeal and attempt to still make the team if for some reason they were unable to compete at Nationals.
Is it fairer this way? Yes and no. Figure skating is a sport and like many things in life sports aren't always fair. It's become so physically demanding that the injury rate is depressingly high and every skater knows that every day they train they are risking a major injury that could potentially end their season or even their entire competitive career yet they choose to do this.
So how do I feel about the Michelle Kwan controversy? (Michelle represents the Los Angeles Figure Skating Club on whose board of directors I serve.) I don't think the USFSA should send Michelle to these Olympics based on their own criteria.
I feel for Michelle, she's a lovely young woman and one of the best skaters the US has ever produced. She has 9 National titles, 5 World Championships, 3 other world medals and two Olympic medals in addition to all the other international titles she's gained over the years and she deserves each and every one. Her longevity in such a physically demanding sport is nothing short of astonishing to me.
The appeal criteria is supposed to be based soley on international placements over the last two years not on a skaters overall competitive history. Michelle choose to sit out the last two seasons skating only at Nationals and Worlds and has competed under the new system just once, where she didn't fair well because she didn't have the necessary experience with it. I can understand that Michelle didn't want to put herself through the preparation of competing a full season after all these years but that was her decision. Other elite athletes could have taken the easier road too but didn't.
Yes Michelle is an icon world wide and yes she's the most decorated skater the US has ever had but that does not entitle her to a free ride to the Olympics because of who she is. The USFSA stands to lose a lot of money if Michelle doesn't go to the Olympics and considering how NBC has used her as a marketing tool it will probably effect the network too not to mention her own endorsements but the Olympics aren't supposed to be about the money.
posted by Booklover at
10:48 AM
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