ISU Skating Awards online - Saturday, July 11, 2020

NinjaTurtles

No lamb chop, so don’t you fork my peas
Messages
4,404
Bit bummed they left out the crying fanyu in that montage. What better exemplifies the criteria?
Honors the Single Skater or Pair or Ice Dance Couple who best managed to increase the level of popularity of Figure Skating related to the fan base involvement, media attention and sponsors appreciation
 

alchemy void

Post-its for the win.
Messages
27,291
Overall, this presentation exceeded my expectations. :respec: Tanith is a fantastic ambassador for the sport, and NBC would be foolish not to elevate her role as soon as possible. In less capable hands, a virtual event like this really can fall apart.

I really hope we can safely cobble together some sort of season this autumn, even if it is only national and regional events.

Going forward, while I don't think this awards presentation should replace the Worlds gala, I would like to see the ISU maintain these awards in July each year, as a way to build interest and excitement for the upcoming season.
 
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allezfred

In A Fake Snowball Fight
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65,405
I think they may have to rename the Most Valuable Skater award the Hanyu Award and keep giving it to him every year.
 

MAXSwagg

Well-Known Member
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1,859
Someone said that the chat didn’t get over 20,000 people? That alone shows most Hanyu fans didn't care about it. LOL

Too bad no pairs were even nominated.

Generally all the winners are okay, for whatever this dinky thing was worth. I don’t mind if they keep having them though, as long as one can attend FOR FREE and the Gala isn’t interrupted. That borderline scam that the ISU and Skate Canada tried to pull was not okay.
 

starrynight

Well-Known Member
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3,234
I think this works pretty well as an online event. It would have been annoying in the Worlds gala, unnecessary when we should just have been celebrating the World performances. It’s been entertaining enough while there are so little other skating related things to watch. Well done Tanith and Charlie too although she clearly seems a lot more comfortable than him he’s done ok!

Generally all the winners are okay, for whatever this dinky thing was worth. I don’t mind if they keep having them though, as long as one can attend FOR FREE and the Gala isn’t interrupted. That borderline scam that the ISU and Skate Canada tried to pull was not okay.

Agree with these posts. Fun event to have during the gala dinner or online. But not at the expense of actual skating at the exhibition.

Lots of sports have award shows, but they are done separately to the actual sporting competitions.
 

aftershocks

Banned Member
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17,317
The best part for me was Kurt Browning winning Lifetime Achievement Award. He was sincerely moved and appreciative. It was nice since his award was known beforehand, that he could actually receive the award and hold it.

Now for my gripes:

I'm happy Shae Lynn won for best choreography, but I half expected to see Lori Nichol win for her years of stellar work.

I knew they would give best coach to Eteri, but Raf deserved to win in my book. Anyway, these type of awards thingies in the end don't matter. For the most part, it's all promotional and all in fun. That's how the Academy Awards were started way back in the 1930s, and then they grew in prominence and importance. The 'Oscar' moniker was coined due to one actor mentioning how the gold man statue reminded her of her Uncle Oscar. ;)

These types of awards are fairly much about popularity and definitely a promotional tool for the sport, which is how I knew Yuzuru had it in the bag FTW as Most Valuable Skater.

Nathan not at least additionally being nominated in the Most Entertaining Program category is a crime! :soapbox:

I really liked seeing Kevin Aymoz nominated in that category. But Medvedeva???! Especially over Nathan 'Rocket Man' Chen?! Whoa!

Meanwhile, I guess Yuzu will always win over Nathan if it's just left up to fans, the ISU, and the judges, but when it's up to who performs best on the ice, Yuzu needs to be transcendently perfect because a perfect Nathan can beat Yuzu with his fire power and cool artistry.

No surprise re Maddie & Evan winning in the Best Costume category, but why weren't the actual designers asked to be present or interviewed live on camera? :huh: :confused: Plus, it was obviously only Maddie's amazing outfit that was being rewarded, despite Maddie trying to talk up the design of Evan's top. :lol:

Yuzuru Hanyu's outfit did not deserve to be in the top three IMO. It's a nice outfit, but not the best over so many last season. It's his popularity and status in the sport which had Hanyu being nominated in two categories and winning in one. There were some great pairs skaters' outfits this past season, so it would have been nice to include at least one or two pairs teams in this ultimately meaningless extravaganza. Just sayin'. Calalang/ Johnson and the Knierims' (both for their sp outfits) come immediately to mind. I'm sure there are other excellent costumes in both ice dance and pairs, but it looks like you have to be a top star to gain the most credibility and recognition.

Of course Charlie and Tanith did a great job together. They are always very on point and professional. I think Charlie helps to unstiffen Tanith a little and make her a bit more loose, relaxed and relatable. Overall, not a bad entertainment for a couple of hours, especially during these difficult times. But they really need to do a better job with the categories and the nomination process, etc. In the end, it's just a status quo, promotional awards show based on popularity largely and of course real merit. But the design of the award is so lovely, it's surely a nice award to receive.
 

misskarne

Handy Emergency Backup Mode
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23,456
:lol: given the criteria about fans, it was pretty much a given that he'd win that particular award. The only really interesting thing was the look on Lori Nichol's face when Shae-Lynn won the choreographer award.

Of course, but the Fanyus have spun an elaborate conspiracy about how the ISU is trying to push him to retire and how they would give Chen this award to tell him to go away. Now they are saying they managed to bully the ISU into giving Hanyu the award but that the ISU has given Hanyu the award as a ruse to make it look like they don't hate him, but they won't let him win, you see. :lol:
 

MsZem

I see the sea
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18,458
Of course, but the Fanyus have spun an elaborate conspiracy about how the ISU is trying to push him to retire and how they would give Chen this award to tell him to go away. Now they are saying they managed to bully the ISU into giving Hanyu the award but that the ISU has given Hanyu the award as a ruse to make it look like they don't hate him, but they won't let him win, you see. :lol:
Or perhaps this is meant as a retirement gift! Really, why was Kurt Browning given the Lifetime Achievement Award? Did he win two OGMs? Did he ever get a Rain of Poohs™?
 

Sonata

Well-Known Member
Messages
858
Here to defend Kurt Browning. There’s lots of people who could have won. (And maybe if vote took place before worlds, being Canadian tipped the scale - although I’m not sure when the vote took place.) But he’s a good first recipient. As a competitive skater, first man to land the quad, land two triple axels in the same program, do three triple-triple combos in a program, only skater to win worlds with and without figures. His Casablanca program had a huge influence on the way skating competitive programs were choreographed and how storytelling could be integrated into a program. Then he became a high level pro and helped elevate the caliber of pro competitions. He went on to continue to contribute to the sport both on and off the ice. Still skates in shows in his 50s, works as a choreographer, mentor and very strong supporter of younger skaters. Recently have seen him on tv/internet encouraging the public to stay active pre- and during co**d. He represents a bridge between old and new: pre- and post-figure competitive scene, amateur and pro careers, young brash skater and now choreographer, supportive mentor and ambassador for the sport and advocate for staying active throughout your life. So yes, I do think he’s a worthy lifetime achievement recipient. Lastly, he was appreciative. I’ve watched him for many years and this is one of the few times I’ve seen him a bit misty eyed with his voice cracking. And he showed up!
 

AngieNikodinovLove

Frangi & Piazza & Paul & Hektor & Theo. Oh My! 😝
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12,672
How did I miss this entire topic as well???

There were awards????

I need to find more time to get back here!!
 

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