Aussie Skating

[Oz_sk8ting_mum]

NSW Championships is this coming weekend at Canterbury Ice Rink in Sydney
Find the draw
http://www.nswisa.com/images/stories...12_website.xls

[Sylvia]

Bumping up this thread to post an article about Brooklee Han who is competing at Four Continents this week: http://weston.dailyvoice.com/sports/...sochi-olympics

Han, 17, heads into an important two-month stretch in her quest to represent Australia, which is the homeland of her father. She will compete in the Four Continents Championships in Osaka, Japan, beginning Feb. 6. After that is the World Junior Championships, beginning Feb. 25 in Milan, Italy.

Depending on how Han fares in those two events, she could get an invitation to compete in the Senior World Championships in London, Ontario, beginning March 10.

“Getting to the Senior Worlds is the main objective,’’ Han said. “I definitely feel like I have a good chance to get there. If I go out and skate like I have in practice, I think the scores are attainable.”

[Aussie Willy]

Thanks for posting Sylvia.

[TheIronLady]

Brooklee Han actually looks pretty good and enjoyable. Some of the skaters for AUS the last two years have made me wonder what their Russian coaches were thinking.

Brooklee Han Triglav Trophy 2012 FS

[Oz_sk8ting_mum]

Thanks for Posting about Brooklee and now she has the scores for worlds looks like she is on track, good for her!

Best of luck to all the Aussie's competing at 4CC this week and fingers crossed that Greg and Danny get the FD points they need to go to worlds !!!

[Ziggy]

Brooklee Han actually looks pretty good and enjoyable. Some of the skaters for AUS the last two years have made me wonder what their Russian coaches were thinking.

Brooklee Han Triglav Trophy 2012 FS

I find it quite surprising that with the amount of Russian coaches working in Australia, they haven't been able to produce a number of internationally competitive home-grown skaters yet. I guess ice time is a big problem?

[misskarne]

I find it quite surprising that with the amount of Russian coaches working in Australia, they haven't been able to produce a number of internationally competitive home-grown skaters yet. I guess ice time is a big problem?

Ice time, expensive everything, lack of government or any other kind of support...

[TheIronLady]

Ice time, expensive everything, lack of government or any other kind of support...

And it won't get any better if they don't start showing it on Aussie TV!

[misskarne]

And it won't get any better if they don't start showing it on Aussie TV!

I fear for that to happen an entire attitude overhaul of the Australian public would be required...the percentage of those who consider figure skating to actually be a sport is quite small (not to mention the good old stereotypes about boys who skate!)...sadly I live in a house full of that.

I had high hopes when ONE HD started as a 24 hour sports channel that maybe figure skating might get a look in (considering some of the rubbish they were showing at the time), but free to air, we seem to be stuck with an every-four-year thing. I don't think it's even on pay tv.

[AndyWarhol]

I think there are a lot of people that would watch skating, if it was on accessable and was marketed towards them. Figure skating is never going to get the AFL and Rugby fans, but the demographic that watch gymnastics and dance sport would watch. It's just not an option.

[misskarne]

I think there are a lot of people that would watch skating, if it was on accessable and was marketed towards them. Figure skating is never going to get the AFL and Rugby fans, but the demographic that watch gymnastics and dance sport would watch. It's just not an option.

I was just thinking, I wonder how the ratings were for Torvill and Dean's Dancing on Ice. I know the show dumped after just one season, but I always felt that had more to do with the continuous injuring of the celebrities rather than anything else.

At any rate, I wouldn't ask for much; just the Senior World Championships every year would be a start.

I think I posted about it in another thread, but I always thought getting an elite skater on "Australia's Greatest Athlete" would be interesting. They may not win, but if they were able to take it to the footy guys in a few challenges, it might challenge some perceptions.

[Marco]

I wish the sport would make broadcast during ungodly hours or on SBS or something, rather than not making TV at all.

There was some coverage back when Australia hosted Jr Worlds, and when Jo Carter was a threat to top ten at the Olympics and Worlds in 1998. I don't think there was broadcast on the main channels when Jo made her comeback in 2005?

And Cheltzie Lee has once again disappeared?

[Aussie Willy]

I was just thinking, I wonder how the ratings were for Torvill and Dean's Dancing on Ice. I know the show dumped after just one season, but I always felt that had more to do with the continuous injuring of the celebrities rather than anything else.

The ratings went down as the season went along. Not as bad as Channel 10 last year but for all the money the network spent on it I don't think they got anything back on it. Although it did lead to a renewed interest in people skating because they actually thought they could do it themselves.

I think Cheltzie is injured so is currently not competing. I saw her skate at Hollins and she was really good.

As for putting skaters on shows against football players, do you realise how much smaller figure skaters are compared to footballers?

[misskarne]

As for putting skaters on shows against football players, do you realise how much smaller figure skaters are compared to footballers?

Yes, I do. But the concept of the Australia's Greatest Athlete show was to pit different athletes against each other in various challenges that were designed to level the playing field, so to speak. There were football kicking challenges, running challenges, a sort of ironman challege, weightlifting challeges, a rock-climbing challege - there was at least one challege that each contestant would specialise in. (Such as, in the third season I think it was, Jamie Whincup murdered them all on dune-buggies; it was one of the only challenges he won). Matthew Mitcham was on there once and he didn't disgrace himself.

[Bunny Hop]

I don't think it's even on pay tv.

That is correct. Last year ESPN Australia showed highlights of US Nationals in the week after the event (which I realised too late!), but they haven't done that this year. And Eurosport Asia-Pacific doesn't show skating either, despite showing other winter sports.

I wish the sport would make broadcast during ungodly hours or on SBS or something, rather than not making TV at all.

Well, Worlds was going to be shown on SBS in whichever year it was that Australia was meant to host it (2001??), but then the ISU withdrew the event from Australia in favour of Nice. But SBS had the broadcasting rights for the Australian event. I've always wondered if the ISU didn't realise how small a broadcaster SBS was at the time they granted Australia the event, and when they found out that was one of the reasons it was pulled.

[Aussie Willy]

Australia was meant to hold Worlds in 2000. The event went to Nice instead.

[aussieSKATES]

aussieSKATES will do its best to source Team Australia's performances from this weekend's Four Continents Championships event in Japan and post them at our Youtube and Facebook pages.

[misskarne]

I have thought several times since that an opportunity may have been missed when the JGP came to Brisbane. It might have been a good way to put some feelers out, test the waters, see what ratings it might draw, even if it was only on a station's digital channel, like SBSTwo or something. Then, if it drew reasonably well for an event of its type, maybe a station might have considered Worlds or something.

[Aussie Willy]

I have thought several times since that an opportunity may have been missed when the JGP came to Brisbane. It might have been a good way to put some feelers out, test the waters, see what ratings it might draw, even if it was only on a station's digital channel, like SBSTwo or something. Then, if it drew reasonably well for an event of its type, maybe a station might have considered Worlds or something.

I don't think any JGP gets broadcast. The ISU have in the last couple of years posted clips of every skater on their Youtube channel which has been fantastic. However in Australia the only coverage something like that or even Nationals gets shown is as novelty items on the local news.

The reality is the Australian media do not care about figure skating, along with a number of other minority sports (so we are not the only one and we are not that special). Figure skating will only get shown during the Olympics. Whilst Channel 9's coverage was crap, Foxtel did show everything (which I now have and intend to pay for the Olympics coverage next time). However I gave up many years ago hoping year after year I would get to see skating on TV. Thankfully I had my contacts overseas who kindly sent me videos and DVDs of events so that kept me happy.

The other issue is as our sport is volunteer run, publicity and promotion depends on some individual within ISA or the various State Associations being so totally passionate about it that they are prepared to put in hours and hours of their own time to do the role. Unless you have that then not much is going to happen. But again we are in the same boat as every other minority sport that depends on their volunteer workforce or gets no government funding. The media are just not interested.

Luckily in Melbourne we now have the Icehouse which does publicise on TV so that is something. In the 3 years since that rink opened we have seen a noticable difference in the development of our sport in Victoria.

[misskarne]

Luckily in Melbourne we now have the Icehouse which does publicise on TV so that is something. In the 3 years since that rink opened we have seen a noticable difference in the development of our sport in Victoria.

I love the Icehouse. I skated there once a couple of years ago, it was just fantastic.

Speaking of promotion/cross-promotion, did you see the launch of the F1 Grand Prix with the car on the ice? That was pretty cool.