|
|
|
Mel's Weekly#7: November 10, 2004This week, Shizuka Arawaka withdrew from her non-scoring event, Trophée Eric Bompard. A few weeks ago, Russian pair Petrova & Tikhonov withdrew from theirs, Skate America. I'm not knocking the skaters - they know what is best for themselves, and I know that both of these examples have or had real problems that prevented them from skating at their very best. I am, however, questioning the system. It is not uncommon for skaters to withdraw from their nonscoring event if they feel that their time would be better spent either training or recovering from a minor injury or setback. As I was thinking about this, I struggled to find a real advantage to offering skaters a third, nonscoring event in the Grand Prix, rather than having more spots to give to lower-ranked skaters and countries. It has not become uncommon this season for events to be skated at less than full capacity because a withdrawal happened too late to find a substitute. Sometimes, enough time is given, but the substitute is forced to come in unprepared, often both physically as well as mentally. This year, I have become more of a fan of skating, rather than just of skaters, if that makes sense. I have such high respect for anyone who can get out there and jump and spin around on a tiny blade hovering atop of a sheet of ice. The notion of this sport that we love is almost insane, yet there are so many who do it - and do it well. I would love to see more skaters get the opportunity to skate on the Grand Prix, rather than letting the big names, who obviously already skate well under pressure, have the chance to skate in a third event. Perhaps that is a bit harsh, but you never know when the young, inexperienced skaters of today could become the bright lights of tomorrow. Archives -- Contact -- Features -- Guestbook -- Links (c)2004 Melanie L. Hoyt All rights reserved. |