ISU to evaluate feasibility of 2020-21 skating season

[DreamSkates]

I just can’t see Australia letting people from hotspots such as the USA in For 4CC. Not expecting Australian borders to reopen until early 2021 and I expect that will be with a quarantine.

I am thinking a 14-day quarantine upon entering a country for a competition, and a test the day before the competition, would likely be inhibitive in many ways but the only way to offer an international competition. And no spectators.

 

[BittyBug]

The USA crushed the curve...

Right. And up is down, black is white.

Coronavirus in the U.S.: Latest Map and Case Count

A detailed county map shows the extent of the coronavirus outbreak, with tables of the number of cases by county.

tinyurl.com

 

[rosewood]

wrong thread sorry

 

[manhn]

And, sorry, who is going to Sweden for Worlds?

 

[PeterG]

And, sorry, who is going to Sweden for Worlds?

Maybe ABBA will re-unite and the ISU will make a rule that all long programs have to be to ABBA music, which will be performed live.

 

[Vagabond]

And, sorry, who is going to Sweden for Worlds?

Nikolaj Majorov?

 

[Rock2]

We have to be careful about comparing any league in any country to skating. The situations are vastly different and go so far beyond the mere possibility of constructing events to keep all those involved safe. Factors and include, but are not limited to:

*What does the league stand to lose by not playing?
*How deep are the pockets of those in charge, including the federation and any team 'owners' (federations) if applicable?
*To what extent does the sport depend on gate revenue (vs other sources such as TV, sponsorship etc)?
*How many countries participate...or need to, to hold events?
*Do athletes move around or are they placed in one bubble for all events?
*Are the athletes unionized or somehow organized to speak as one voice to collaborate with administrators?
*How much lead time is required to plan an event?
*What are the local conditions where events are planned? Are they stable or extremely fluid?
*Can the sport create a bubble for participants to be able to hold the event and who pays for this?
*What are the overall logistics required to hold an event - e.g. travel weeks in advance, quarantine for 14 days, bubble, train for several weeks to get skills back, hold event....and again, who pays for this?
*How nimble and capable is the organizing and administrative body(s) to respond to fluid conditions, mitigate risk and operate in an environment of uncertainty with innovative and agile thinking?

You see where I'm going.
Answers are very different across sports, and for skating, much of it comes down to the fact that ISU and Federations don't have deep pockets and depend a material amount on gate receipts to make events worthwhile.

Which is again why I would think national federations will do all they can to keep athletes in the sport by creating regional and national competitions as feasible. World's would be our only realistic hope for an international event, but we'll have no idea what's possible at least until we see what phase 2 of the v*rus looks like when it returns to the colder countries especially in the fall/winter.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

And, sorry, who is going to Sweden for Worlds?

Here is the ISU Gala Banquet's official caterer.

 

[Theoreticalgirl]

I wonder how the EU's decision to bar travelers from the United States, Russia, and Brazil will impact any plans for the season:

E.U. Formalizes Reopening, Barring Travelers From U.S. (Published 2020)

The bloc will allow visitors from 15 countries, but the United States, Brazil and Russia were among the notable absences from the safe list.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Rock2]

I wonder how the EU's decision to bar travelers from the United States, Russia, and Brazil will impact any plans for the season:

E.U. Formalizes Reopening, Barring Travelers From U.S. (Published 2020)

The bloc will allow visitors from 15 countries, but the United States, Brazil and Russia were among the notable absences from the safe list.

www.nytimes.com

Based on weather patterns (is population outdoors or indoors mostly), federal strategy (or lack thereof) and typical pand*mic migration process over a standard 2 year cycle, all signs point to a resurgence in the winter....which should continue to be ugly in USA and Russia. Biden won't come to power soon enough to make a difference should he win. No vaccine until early 2021 but will take months to get it to those who need it.

So unless some new modelling or strategy comes into play, these two countries could theoretically cancel world's all on their own, regardless of where it's held.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

I have taken another five day break from this website but now that I see in my regular news today that the European Union is banning Americans and other countries from coming in I really can’t see a GP series at all happening. Have there been any announcements yet? I’m not coming to this website that much at the moment

 

[seabm7]

JGP Japan has been canceled.

https://twitter.com/skatingjapan/status/1278961782409752576

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

I wonder how the EU's decision to bar travelers from the United States, Russia, and Brazil will impact any plans for the season:

E.U. Formalizes Reopening, Barring Travelers From U.S. (Published 2020)

The bloc will allow visitors from 15 countries, but the United States, Brazil and Russia were among the notable absences from the safe list.

www.nytimes.com

Maybe they can rebrand worlds and name it Two Continents.

 

[npavel]

And, sorry, who is going to Sweden for Worlds?

I am. Sweden is doing great. They will wait until the ISU-decision, but right now it seams to get done

 

[Theoreticalgirl]

Maybe they can rebrand worlds and name it Two Continents.

They might as well just put together an Americas Cup and keep the rest of the world safe.

 

[Sylvia]

JGP Japan has been canceled.

https://twitter.com/skatingjapan/status/1278961782409752576

ISU's statement: https://www.isu.org/isu-news/news/1...ama-jpn-september-16-19-2020?templateParam=15

5 JGPs currently remain on the schedule:

Budapest HUN, Sept. 9-12, 2020
Ostrava CZE, Sept. 23-26 [with pairs]
Tashkent UZB, Sept. 30-Oct. 3 [with pairs]
Ljubljana SLO, Oct. 7-10
Riga LAT, Oct. 14-17 (added) [with pairs]

ETA article link:

入国制限でジュニアＧＰ横浜大会中止　フィギュア - フィギュア : 日刊スポーツ

日本スケート連盟（JSF）は3日、2020－21年シーズンのフィギュアスケート国際スケート連盟（ISU）公認シリーズ、ジュニアグランプリ横浜大会（第4戦、日本… - 日刊スポーツ新聞社のニュースサイト、ニッカンスポーツ・コム（nikkansports.com）

www.nikkansports.com

It was scheduled to take place at the KOSE Shin-Yokohama Skating Center from 16th to 19th September. “Currently, due to the spread of new coronavirus infection, immigration control measures are being taken from overseas to Japan. We decided that we would have to put off holding the international competition in the middle of the year."

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

They might as well just put together an Americas Cup and keep the rest of the world safe.

Whoo hoo. I hope that means the USA will get its first world champion since Kimmie Meissner.

 

[Sylvia]

Not ISU-related but the BC/YK SummerSkate Super Series Competition (scheduled for August 13-16, 2020 in Burnaby, BC) officially was cancelled as of July 1st:

2020 Belairdirect BC/YK SummerSkate Super Series Competition Cancellation | Skating in BC

www.skatinginbc.com

Still awaiting news on U.S. Figure Skating's 2021 Qualifying Season (update was supposed to be "available no later than July 1").

 

[Sylvia]

Article link and translated excerpt posted in the the Russian news thread just now by @DobrinFan:
International figure skating competitions may not take place this year. Russia is preparing for the Cup and the national championship
https://m.sport-express.ru/figure-s...ovitsya-k-kubku-i-chempionatu-strany-1688085/

As two sources familiar with the situation told SE, it is highly probable that the ISU will not be able to hold a single international competition until the end of the year. The main obstacle is not even the ******** *********, but the legal norms that states have introduced to curb the spread of infection.

ISU is making efforts to find countries that are ready to accept competitions with open borders, but there is no certainty that all athletes will be able to come to them and return to their places. The Russian Figure Skating Federation has already notified Russian athletes that with a high degree of probability the 2020/21 season will consist of the stages of the Russian Cup and the Russian Championship. Control rentals and special “challengers” will also be held, but the season will be at least until the end of the year domestic. Sources estimate the likelihood of such an outcome at 80-90 percent.

 

[cygnus]

I am. Sweden is doing great. They will wait until the ISU-decision, but right now it seams to get done

Is it though? Sweden's infection rate of 6994/million is the second highest in Europe (behind Luxembourg, which skews because of its small population), and its death rate of 536/million is the 5th highest in Europe (behind Belgium, the UK, Spain and Italy).

 

[allezfred]

By any measure, Sweden is firmly not doing great. Let’s hope things improve there between now and March.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Don’t know if the following article was already posted…

Figure skating Grand Prix decisions due before potential fields named

Figure skating Grand Prix event fields, usually published in June ahead of the autumn season, are not expected to be released before August for a potential 2020 campaign.

Figure skating Grand Prix decisions due before potential fields named

Figure skating Grand Prix fields are usually published in June. The timeline changes this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

olympics.nbcsports.com

 

[taz'smum]

Article link and translated excerpt posted in the the Russian news thread just now by @DobrinFan:
International figure skating competitions may not take place this year. Russia is preparing for the Cup and the national championship
https://m.sport-express.ru/figure-s...ovitsya-k-kubku-i-chempionatu-strany-1688085/

Oh boy, those Russian cup comps and Russian Nationals will be lapped up by the fans in the absence of Internationals!

 

[npavel]

Is it though? Sweden's infection rate of 6994/million is the second highest in Europe (behind Luxembourg, which skews because of its small population), and its death rate of 536/million is the 5th highest in Europe (behind Belgium, the UK, Spain and Italy).

In Sweden everyone who wants take a test, and as they take so many tests they find a lot of people who is barely ill.Of the ones that were really sick, 90% were over 70 years old. In Sweden, if the doctor says it's probably corona, it will be counted. The hospital have never reached the max capacity, all the sick people who needed care got it. Different countries count different, in some the once that are not hospitalized will not be counted, or the once in alderly care will not be counted. Here all are counted. That means it's difficult to compare the data

 

[MsZem]

Oh boy, those Russian cup comps and Russian Nationals will be lapped up by the fans in the absence of Internationals!

It'll be a higher standard than at many internationals anyway

 

[cygnus]

In Sweden everyone who wants take a test, and as they take so many tests they find a lot of people who is barely ill.Of the ones that were really sick, 90% were over 70 years old. In Sweden, if the doctor says it's probably *********, it will be counted. The hospital have never reached the max capacity, all the sick people who needed care got it. Different countries count different, in some the once that are not hospitalized will not be counted, or the once in alderly care will not be counted. Here all are counted. That means it's difficult to compare the data

Sweden is middle of the pack in Europe in testing rates with 51,399 per million. Eliminating the tiny countries which skew the results (such as Malta, Monaco, and the Isle of Man), that puts it about 20th of 37 countries. (top testing rates are in Luxembourg, Iceland and Denmark. Denmark, closest to Sweden has tested over 191,000 per million.)

 

[npavel]

Sweden is middle of the pack in Europe in testing rates with 51,399 per million. Eliminating the tiny countries which skew the results (such as Malta, Monaco, and the Isle of Man), that puts it about 20th of 37 countries. (top testing rates are in Luxembourg, Iceland and Denmark. Denmark, closest to Sweden has tested over 191,000 per million.)

Yes, Danmark managed not to get the problen in alderly care, there Sweden failed. As said 90 % over 70years

 

[rfisher]

It'll be a higher standard than at many internationals anyway

Yep. I watch them anyway, but it looks like this season, they're the comp to watch. There are a whole lot of talented skaters who don't get to the JGP/GP events to say nothing of Euros and Worlds. And, this year, the top tier skaters will be there as well.

 

[manhn]

Yes, Danmark managed not to get the problen in alderly care, there Sweden failed. As said 90 % over 70years

Because the traditional figure skating audience consists of tik tok enthusiasts?

 

[missing]

IFS Magazine has tweeted the following:




Alexander Kogan has confirmed the Russian website post that ISU events have been cancelled is fake news. "I was surprised to read information that the ISU will cancel international competitions to the end of 2020, but this is not true.”