Decisions of the ISU Council: Stockholm Worlds (March 22-28) still on; Synchro Worlds cancelled; 2021 Grand Prix schedule/Beijing test event announced

rfisher

Let the skating begin
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But how else will people entertain themselves watching OES ladies?
it's the middle groups. Everybody is excited about group 1 and 2, but by groups 3-6 interest wanes, before the resurgence of the final groups. The bitching will come from those who skipped the early groups. The rest of us are in a stupor by that point. Best part of Worlds is waiting for the first to qualify. :lol:
 

Vagabond

Well-Known Member
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Of course, people who don't like what other people have to say aren't obligated to read the play-by-play threads or even anything at all here on FSU. Just sayin'. :barrel
 

rfisher

Let the skating begin
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IDK about that. At Nats, it seemed that every single skater’s K&C got about the same level of scrutiny as their landings. It got old fast.
Far fewer numbers than Worlds. We have to get all the OES and OAS out of the way first.
 

Karen-W

Checking Senior Bs for TES mins...
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IDK about that. At Nats, it seemed that every single skater’s K&C got about the same level of scrutiny as their landings. It got old fast.
Yeah, in a normal season, I'd agree that everyone's attention level would wane by the 3-4 ladies groups but that's not what we're looking at this season.

Plus, the Russian ladies won't even be on the ice until the last group...
 

once_upon

Better off now than 4 years ago? Have TP now
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People who used to attend all qualification rounds and watched all SPs and both compulsory dances when they had two (or three pre-1989) really are the most hardcore fans.
Me. I really liked watching the groups who knew they wouldn't get out of qualifyings but were absolutely thrilled to be there. The joy they show(ed) when they took the ice - to be competing at WORLDS - was amazing. And how disappointed I was for them when they didn't skate their best.
 

4rkidz

plotting, planning and travelling
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I think the athletes will be fine as long as they follow the protocols. More risk for them going out of the bubble into the community. Let’s hope by Nebelhorn there will be an actual audience.
 

npavel

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anyway I took the week off, so I'm at home watching all they are going to let me watch. I'm in Sweden and was hoping to get to go, but right now ... no way. We have to high spreading, there will be no audience. The bubble is prepared and Worlds will take place. And I will enjoy every moment from home
 

taz'smum

'Be Kind' - every skater has their own story
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anyway I took the week off, so I'm at home watching all they are going to let me watch. I'm in Sweden and was hoping to get to go, but right now ... no way. We have to high spreading, there will be no audience. The bubble is prepared and Worlds will take place. And I will enjoy every moment from home

It is good to hear your confidence that Worlds will take place.:biggrinbo
I'd hate to think that the skaters are putting themselves through the hard slog and pain of competition preparation for nothing.
It was bad enough doing that for last year's worlds without having to go through it a second time. :cry:
 

jlai

Question everything
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So to sum up, some have health concerns re: worlds taking place (understandably); some react to those here and on twitter about the posters with health concerns (understandably too). Perhaps we can all avoid what annoys us for a bit and world will be back to normal in the future (literally)
 

MacMadame

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It is good to hear your confidence that Worlds will take place.:biggrinbo
I'd hate to think that the skaters are putting themselves through the hard slog and pain of competition preparation for nothing.
It was bad enough doing that for last year's worlds without having to go through it a second time. :cry:
I don't think the sport will survive not having a Worlds two years in a row. I might be wrong about that but I suspect that TPTB also believes this and they are the ones making a decision.

The worst we will see is it getting postponed, IMO. However, at this point, even that seems unlikely.
 

clairecloutier

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@MacMadame Just curious why you think the sport wouldn't survive a second cancellation.

I think it's been a saving grace for the sport that the pandemic happened within a 2-year window of the Olympics. Beijing gave the athletes a reason to hold on and not retire; that reason would still be there, even if Stockholm Worlds were canceled (I don't think it will be).

I don't believe the ISU is worried about the sport not surviving. I just think that they honestly want to see Worlds happen and that it's a matter of pride. Worlds is the ISU's baby, their crown jewel. Other competitions are important, but Worlds is the premiere event. That, plus I don't think the ISU has any wish to contemplate an alternative form of Oly qualification. There could also be money factors involved, like fearing they wouldn't be able to attract future sponsors for Worlds if it were canceled 2 years in a row.
 

MacMadame

Doing all the things
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@MacMadame Just curious why you think the sport wouldn't survive a second cancellation.
Because people's interest will drift away including sponsors. This is somewhat circular as sponsors want events to sponsor but they also want an audience for their sponsorship.

And because it will play havoc with Olympic qualification. Which will also interfere with interest.

Because with so many other sports being able to have competitions, it paints the ISU as incompetent. Which again impacts interest especially sponsorships.
 

Foolhardy Ham Lint

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it's the middle groups. Everybody is excited about group 1 and 2, but by groups 3-6 interest wanes, before the resurgence of the final groups. The bitching will come from those who skipped the early groups. The rest of us are in a stupor by that point. Best part of Worlds is waiting for the first to qualify. :lol:
Attending a World Championships is a marathon for everyone. Skaters. Support Crews. Media. The Fans.

I'm reminded of when I attended the 2006 World Championships and after 8 or 9 hours of the ladies' free skating qualification rounds, I couldn't bring myself to watch the final group.
 
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Miezekatze

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There are tons of sports events going on at the moment in Europe, it would certainly seem weird and unprofessional if the ISU was for whatever reason not able to put on a World Championship, when everybody else does internationals.

Plus obviously the ISU are doing exceptionally well if they didn't have a single positive result during their speed skating events.

There were a couple of infections (Italy withdrew due to them) during the Nordic skiing Worlds in Oberstdorf and yet the event didn't turn "into a superspreading" event, nor did this cause any kind of particular interest (or did you hear anything about it?) except for some feeling bad for the few affected athletes (there's between 5000 and 10000 new infections in Germany at the moment per day, so obviously people arent going to be very interested if there are 5 at some sports event, the whole Corona-mgmt is just at a very different level than in Australia and obviously no countries are going to change that now after living with infections for over a year now). Overall I'm sure everybody considers the event a success.

It would of course be different if the Swedish government was to cancel the event, but while I think the 3rd wave will have progressed worse in 2 or 3 weeks in most European countries, so far lockdowns have never affected professional sports, regardless of the state of the current waves. Don't really expect Sweden to act very differently from every other country in this regard.
 
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Vagabond

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I don't think the sport will survive not having a Worlds two years in a row. I might be wrong about that but I suspect that TPTB also believes this and they are the ones making a decision.
If Worlds is cancelled again and if the Winter Olympic Games go forward next year, skaters will keep on training for Beijing. People will still by tickets for the Games and for all of the competitions leading up to it. The competition will be televised. And children will watch and want to skate like the athletes they see on T.V.

And if there's no Olympics next year? The Olympics didn't take place in 1916, 1940, or 1944, yet the sport survived.
 

MsZem

I see the sea
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The sport would absolutely survive not having a Worlds two years in a row.

It would struggle to survive a Worlds that turned into a superspreader event...especially if it resulted in careers being ended.
Skating has survived people suffering horrific on-ice injuries on live TV. If any careers end prematurely in the coming years, it's far more likely it'll be due to acute or repetitive stress/strain injuries, eating disorders, or other mental health challenges - some of which can be exacerbated by current restrictions.
 

Lilia A

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I can't take the week off, although I really wish I could. I'm just working limited hours the second half of the week. Last year, I cleared my schedule and worlds ended up being cancelled. I hope worlds do happen, with everyone being safe, but I kind of wish we knew in advanced so I don't have to have crazy hours on Monday and Tuesday. We shall see what happens.
 

Karen-W

Checking Senior Bs for TES mins...
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I can't take the week off, although I really wish I could. I'm just working limited hours the second half of the week. Last year, I cleared my schedule and worlds ended up being cancelled. I hope worlds do happen, with everyone being safe, but I kind of wish we knew in advanced so I don't have to have crazy hours on Monday and Tuesday. We shall see what happens.
I believe we will know, 100% that it's happening by the middle of next week when skaters start making their way to Stockholm. I think the IAM skaters plan to travel around the 19th/20th.
 

Spikefan

Rooting for that middle-aged team
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I’m not using any leave as I really hope to travel by fall/winter and I was worried it could be canceled. Fortunately I can flex my hours and use credit (which I will earn next week). I plan to flex out during the groups I care about in the morning and then use credit in the afternoon.
 

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