U.S. Pairs 2018 - News & Updates, Part VIII

[AxelAnnie]

I am appalled that there was no effort to stop the program, to check Ashley out, nothing... So many mistakes were made and it could have ended up so, so much worse.

And it still could. Think Natasha Richardson. She was fine until she died two days later as the result of a epidural hematoma. Or, if you missed Natasha - how about the 2016 movie Concussion.

And don't even START about needing to raise awareness. You would have to be a moron to not know the potential risk of a head injury.

When Ashley got up, she was visibly stunned. The judges/referee who did not stop the action should be fired. Anyone in a position of authority in that rink should be fired.

This is figure skating, guys. It is not life.

 

[AxelAnnie]

I so agree with all these posts- what were the officials thinking? But... The coaches? They are her parents, right? Or, was someone else there for this event?

OMG - you are right about her parents. OK - ban them forever from the sport. That is heinous.

 

[happycamper2554]

Her dad was with then in the KnC in the short, so I assume at the very least he is there.

 

[ZilphaK]

You would have to be a moron to not know the potential risk of a head injury.

There are a lot of people out there who still just call it "having your bell rung" and think anyone who doesn't get up and keep playing is a wussy. It's ridiculous. And sad. People need to stop describing athletes as "brave" or "tough" when they compete or train with injuries.

 

[Spareoom]

I work for a chiropractor and it's amazing how uneducated people are in terms of understanding how "simple" accidents can affect your body. People walk around with torn ligaments and other injuries and they have no idea because they didn't think their fender-bender or slip-and-fall was serious enough to cause damage. Not that all damage is created equal; it's just that people don't stop to think about it until it's way too late and so much harder to heal. A fall on the neck and head is freakin' scary and I thought the whole point of the ref was to step in in that sort of situation...if that kind of fall doesn't warrant a ref stop, what does?!

 

[clairecloutier]

There are a lot of people out there who still just call it "having your bell rung" and think anyone who doesn't get up and keep playing is a wussy. It's ridiculous. And sad. People need to stop describing athletes as "brave" or "tough" when they compete or train with injuries.

Not too long ago, I saw a post on Facebook from the mother of a gymnast about how her daughter finished her final meet of the season despite suffering a fairly serious injury midway through. Her comment was something like: "And Junior fought through the pain, as she had been taught, to fulfill her responsibility and finish the meet!"

It's just an indication that these attitudes are still very prevalent ....

 

[ZilphaK]

Not too long ago, I saw a post on Facebook from the mother of a gymnast about how her daughter finished her final meet of the season despite suffering a fairly serious injury midway through. Her comment was something like: "And Junior fought through the pain, as she had been taught, to fulfill her responsibility and finish the meet!"

It's just an indication that these attitudes are still very prevalent ....

For the sake of appeasing the more macho among sports fans, I'm willing to concede different standards and parameters for freaking out. A pro athlete with a knee injury? Your decision, buddy. Hope you have the payday to cover your retirement. Minors competing with tear or sprain? Ugh. But anyone allowed back on after a head hit? That's your whole life contained up there in your skull, your whole "you."

 

[nimi]

ICYMI: There's now also a separate thread for discussing this fall and concussions & head injuries & ISU rules about them in general

https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...he-ice-referee-allows-her-to-continue.104919/

 

[2sk8]

OMG - you are right about her parents. OK - ban them forever from the sport. That is heinous.

I was just more wondering if they were there- or maybe not obvious from where they were? It's all just so strange when it seems so obvious from the video.

 

[Moustaffask8r]

I figured that might have been the case, and makes sense.

But along with referees being retrained, I think there needs to be a retraining of everyone in the sport. On one hand, I get it: figure skaters are barely considered athletes by a lot of people; figure skating not considered a sport. There's often a push, both internally and externally, for our skaters to "soldier on" through injuries (and this is sometimes especially true of women in all sports; women have both higher pain tolerance and are constantly told they aren't as talented/skilled/tough as men, so have something to prove).

But as with awareness of eating disorders, muscle and joint injuries, I think there needs to be an overall change in the skating culture to recognize that these kids are attempting difficult, dangerous skills, and skaters, parents, coaches and officials need to be taught just what the dangers are in a potential head hit and the dangers in cumulative effects of sub-concussive hits.

Studies are now showing that it's not so much even diagnosed concussions, but all those "little head hits" over time that add up to big problems. Hockey skaters as young as 17 are showing signs of CTE; this is talked about a lot in football and hockey. Some in soccer. Not enough in skating, not by a long shot. I think that's part of the overall problem; there needs to be a push from ISU, USFSA and PSA to make "you hit, you sit, you quit until a doctor says you're fit" a holy mantra for all skaters, so much so that it immediately *feels* dangerous and unethical for any skater, coach, parent or ref to allow another skater to stay on the ice after a head hit or potential head hit.

Thank you for mentioning eating disorders here.... lots of girls starving themselves, parents supporting such behavior... this is crazy and will be a life long mental as well as a physical struggle for them.... lots of people are responsible for it!!!

 

[Moustaffask8r]

And it still could. Think Natasha Richardson. She was fine until she died two days later as the result of a epidural hematoma. Or, if you missed Natasha - how about the 2016 movie Concussion.

And don't even START about needing to raise awareness. You would have to be a moron to not know the potential risk of a head injury.

When Ashley got up, she was visibly stunned. The judges/referee who did not stop the action should be fired. Anyone in a position of authority in that rink should be fired.

This is figure skating, guys. It is not life.

you said it right!!

 

[Carolla5501]

So what is the process for a coach to stop I skate. I have never heard of one and it’s possible that her coaches did not have a way to stop the skate. They may have also assumed, something that I would’ve assumed, that medical staff would automatically go onto the ice in that situation and not hang around waiting on some kind of invitation.

 

[Sylvia]

Separate thread for the Ashley Cain accident at Golden Spin (since the topic goes beyond U.S. Pairs and the news is being shared worldwide): https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...he-ice-referee-allows-her-to-continue.104919/

Sarah Feng and TJ Nyman have withdrawn from the JGP Final due to injury - USFS' tweet yesterday: https://twitter.com/USFigureSkating/status/1071206445704654848