YEP!
The soonest Worlds will be held is two months from now. We have no idea what the conditions will be then. The predictions are for a shitshow in Jan and through Feb. and then things gradually getting better after that point. If Worlds gets postponed to April or May, things will be even better.
This is of course unknowable, but it seems very unlikely that things in March are going to be better than they were in the fall when numerous events had to be cancelled. Delay may alter things further, but that's not under discussion at the moment.
That's very obviously not true, since it ignores the public health authorities in other countries where the skaters are from (as well, the public health authorities in the place where an event is held may not be the best judge, as we've also seen this season).
We have no idea what the rules will be when Worlds happens. As long as the rules are followed -- and all ISU events up until now have followed the rules so there is no reason to believe they will stop now -- then no one is inciting anyone to do anything they shouldn't.
Okay, but unless things change drastically, they're not likely to be much different. And assuming that:
Again, ignoring the wishes of the public health authorities of countries other than the host country -- which in many (most) cases, frankly, are discouraging international travel (or, for that matter, travel within countries).
I could see the outdoor skiing/snowboarding .. here in Ontario all indoor rinks are closed. I believe the Canadian hockey teams are playing each other only? So Ottawa Sens allowed to play in their arena as are the other teams. I don’t really get the curling team. It’s confusing to keep reading the constantly changing directions here but I know we are going into a 2nd lockdon tomorrow.Yes, major Elite sporting events with money. So the NHL could spend 75 million on their playoff bubbles. Alberta is allowed World Jrs bubble, and is also having a Curling bubble and Skiing & Snowboarding bubble. Which is fine if that's what they want to do.
But the figure skaters in Alberta? Not allowed to train. So anyone who qualified to Nationals is stuck. When your skaters can't train it makes it hard to run a competition. I also think it's ridiculous that Alberta is allowing all of the bubbles but not allow their own athletes to train in other sports
True. If Worlds do happen, I hope it is on the premise of effective health controls on all Worlds competitors, coaches and officials. In that case, no countries should have to be affected by other countries' more serious cases / stricter controls. Boycott is a good reference. I feel this is true whether this Worlds is an Olympic qualifier / spots determinor or not. If the country that isn't sending a team is not Canada but say, South Africa or New Zealand, I wonder how many posters will think it unfair.
Even if the situation in Canada was better, the situation in most of the rest of the west would still be as it is — which is to say, very bad — and I would say holding Worlds would remain a bad idea. This isn’t about conditions in Canada specifically; it’s also about international travel and the places where other skaters are coming from.
I haven't disagreed with this part- actually, when I offered up hypothetical situations on how to get around this in the fall of 2021, a few posters felt the need to express how trivial all of this talk was, as if figure skating fans never propose their own ideas.
(Sorry, the quoting is acting up) And I don't disagree with this, either. But you have to remember that many people were declaring the entire Grand Prix season dead as of September, and probably even early October: we got 4 events out of it. They were declaring the entire season 'pointless': we got Italy creating their own Grand Prix, Europe still being able to pull of a fair amount of events, a Russian Nationals that had quite possibly the three best performances back to back that we may ever see, a great Japanese Nationals, French skaters traveling outside the country so they could actually get a chance to compete, an entire virtual Canadian Challenge (and other smaller events), etc. Then we had people claiming US Nationals was DOA because of a lack of potential judges, but here we are with the event starting tomorrow. Does the instance of one skater testing positive mean the whole thing needs to be shut down? Does it mean they are irresponsible in some way? I personally say no. For all this talk of 'bubbles' and sports that have a lot of money, we still saw people on teams training together in close quarters every day that tested positive (while the majority did not) and had to sit out for a few weeks (NBA, pro football, college football, even tennis). There's a chance of it happening whether you go to the ice rink or you go to the library, or whatever. Sitting locked at home is the only way anyone can confidently say otherwise, right? But certain activities we all know to be extreme risk, and I don't think anyone training for Worlds is planning to go to a bar every night in a city with lax rules or throwing house parties with a bunch of people who are probably doing the same in their own time, but you never know.
No, not ignoring them. I said all the rules. And again, this would be rules in effect at the time not the rules now.
You mean like a significant portion of the population gets vaccinated and cases fall. You mean it gets warmer so people can do more outdoors and cases fall. The experts say things are going to get better over the spring. I am more inclined to trust them.
There is the added complication of variant B117 though - which is estimated to be somewhere between 50% and 70% more transmissable than the previous dominant strain and is capable of replacing it throughout the population, as we've seen happen in the UK and Northern Ireland with horrifying results (and while yes, there was certainly a behavioural component to its spread, the consensus does seem to be that it is also genuinely more transmissable). What I'm hearing from the experts is that if the measures that are currently keeping the worst at bay in Western Europe don't serve to halt its spread there and it takes hold in other countries in the same way, case numbers will go up by a lot, hospital systems will be stretched to the limit if not overwhelmed, and deaths will increase (not because it's more deadly but because a larger number of people are getting sick and the same proportion of that larger number is dying). And vaccination programs have been understandably slow to roll out to date almost everywhere except Israel - it's a hell of a logistics project to get the majority of a large population vaccinated - so whether enough people will be vaccinated in time to halt any increased spread of B117 or moderate its impact is an open question.
Which the experts are well aware of.
I'm expecting (and hoping
) that the number of people ultimately refusing the vaccine will be low. I know there are people who would hold off on taking the vaccine until they see what side-effects crop up, and to see if cases/deaths drop due to the vaccine.
I mean, if you’re planning on arguing with a bunch of people who want you to wear a mask, have at it. They aren’t the ones who don’t want to follow regulations.
Sounds sadly familiar.
I really hope Skate Canada and the Sections can make the usual spring/summer competetions happen this year. It would be a blow at all levels if we have a repeat of the cancellations in 2020.
