Things You’re Embarrassed to Admit as a Fan

[bladesofgorey]

As both a former skater and a fan:
Pretty much can't identify an s step (choctaw) vs a rocker vs a counter for the life of me, especially in free dances. Moves in the field were before my time, I never ice danced, and even though I passed my Novice freestyle on the first try I guess my program footwork back then was fairly rudimentary (lots of brackets, toe-turns etc. but no complex edge turns and steps). I may have actually performed those elements at some time as choreo (on shallow edges no doubt) but am clueless now.

edited to add: I think the requirements were all straight-line footwork sequences which isn't much of an excuse but I'll use it

 

[escaflowne9282]

Ok. So....sometimes out of sheer boredom I play videos of skaters and mute the sound and I play something else as their music

My favorite combination so far is last part of Sinkats 2022 FD with the theme song from the Jeffersons.

 

[Icetalavista]

Ok. So....sometimes out of sheer boredom I play videos of skaters and mute the sound and I play something else as their music

My favorite combination so far is last part of Sinkats 2022 FD with the theme song from the Jeffersons.

I hope you’ve seen sinKats’ timeless dance segment done to Pirates of the Caribbean, compliments of Andrew aka Pushkin.. the music swap is a perfect fit

 

[Icetalavista]

Sorry Andrey not andrew

 

[Icetalavista]

Many years in, I have no clue re IJS scoring or abbreviations, other than the tech tracker some tv coverage has in the corner. This is why I appreciate FSUers who know the system

 

[skateboy]

I was just a kid and starting skating myself when Trixi Schuba won the Olympics. Now, as an adult, I find her (much maligned) free skating honest and charming.

Figures have always been fascinating to me and I love watching them, and loved doing them. I wish they had not taken them away. (Frank Carroll said it was the equivalent of taking balance beam out of gymnastics.)

I actually enjoyed some of Daniil G's choreography of certain Eteri skaters.

In my opinion, Hanyu is extremely overrated and was lucky to have won both of his gold medals. (Not saying he didn't deserve them. I'm saying that he didn't skate all that great at either of those Olys in the FP and lucked out because Patrick/Nathan blew it worse overall.)

 

[ChelleC]

@skateblessing If you have the chance to go see a competition, definitely go! I've been a fan for 30 years, while I've not had the opportunity to go to a competition, I've been able to go to exhibitions. Seeing skating live is so much fun, and there were definitely skaters I appreciated more after being able to watch them live.

 

[Private Citizen]

As well as I could gather from things that I read in the factored placements 6.0 era, before 1980 judges awarded scores for each competition phase (separately for each figure or compulsory dance) and the actual scores, rather than placements, were factored. At the end of the competition (or the end of each competition phase for interim standings), the factored scores were added up and those totals on each judge's card created ordinals.

Thanks! This was my recollection, too -- that each judge produced one ordinal across all segments of competition, and those ordinals determined the outcome. Beyond that, I don't know any details.

 

[Andora]

I actually enjoyed some of Daniil G's choreography of certain Eteri skaters.

Damn, this is a thread-winner for me.

(But I agree re: Hanyu)

 

[sadya]

I´m still kinda embarrassed that I spend so much time watching figure skating online and discussing it on forums and still not been going to a single live competition yet. I really don´t have a good excuse, because there have been international competitions in my country at least 3 times now since I started watching. I could go there easy with bus and it compared what others have to pay it would probably be cheap. Tickets would not be an issue since people don´t really care much about skating in Norway and they are probably fairly cheap compared to other competitions. I wish I had been more into skating in 2016, I can´t believe I missed out on Youth Olympics in my country in 2016. I had started watching figure skating then, but only EC and WC, and I did not have a clue we had Youth Olympics and how big names there was! I could have seen Kaori Sakamoto back then, Deniss, Sota, Junwha, Roman S etc. Later I have missed seing Deniss again when Nordics was in Norway, I did consider going. And last season, I could have seen Lara Naki and Lukas Vaclavik at Sonja Henie Trophy.
Well, I will have my shot again this season - there will be both Nordics and Sonja Henie Trophy in the same area, I can basically take a direct bus that takes about 6 hours. I can live with friends even in that area. I just have to make it happen, make room for it and not chicken out going.

Don't be embarrassed about not attending a skating event! I'm from the Netherlands and my parents are South - Asian (Azad Kashmir, Pakistan) and very very very strict. They hated my love for figure skating. I began watching it in 1994 as a 15 year old, the Scandal brought a lot of extra attention and I fell in love with the spirals, jumps and spins. By the time I was 16 later that year, I was addicted. But my parents never allowed me to go to a skating event anywhere. Even watching it on TV was a battle, often having to record it when they were home (and we were so lucky, in those days Eurosport used to air most ISU skating events! And they'd repeat those events too! Often more than once!).

In the 80s and part of the 90s there used be a lot of ice here and almost every year, people would skate on ponds. Every white Dutch child I knew, had skates. My parents wouldn't allow me to skate however. I'd sit and watch my class fellows and teacher skate on the pond behind our school, longing to find out how skating would feel, what would it feel like to glide on the ice? People often think that as a skating fan you probably skate or you long to be a figure skater, for me this was never the case. Before I even knew figure skating, skating on ponds and just gliding on the ice was my skating dream.

Well, in my 40s I finally attended my first skating event ever. I went to the Challenge Cup a few years ago and it was amazing how different skating is when you watch it live. Being a skating fan since I was 16 and only watching an actual skating event in my 40s, I finally skated too that same year. Now I know how ice feels and how special it is to see skating in person. I almost didn't go to that rink, the hurdle was big to both watch an event and to skate myself (and I wasn't feeling well at the time, that added to the hurdle).

There is nothing for your to be embarrassed about, skateblessing. There is a time for everything. I hope you'll finally be able to go and enjoy the skating!

 

[Aceon6]

I occasionally embarrass myself when posting that I preferred X to Y when X stopped competing before many posters were born.

 

[VGThuy]

I occasionally embarrass myself when posting that I preferred X to Y when X stopped competing before many posters were born.

So relatable.

 

[livetoskate]

I'm embarrassed to admit I used to read all those rec.skating newsgroups decades ago, and every so often I remember funny or witty things people wrote many years ago. A few days ago, I suddenly wondered what happened to Trudi, who was a big fan of Brian Orser? Is Sandra Loosemore still around? And who said after seeing Tatiana Malinina, "Da*n, girl, have a cheeseburger!"? I feel old....

 

[PRlady]

I'm embarrassed to admit I used to read all those rec.skating newsgroups decades ago, and every so often I remember funny or witty things people wrote many years ago. A few days ago, I suddenly wondered what happened to Trudi, who was a big fan of Brian Orser? Is Sandra Loosemore still around? And who said after seeing Tatiana Malinina, "Da*n, girl, have a cheeseburger!"? I feel old....

I remember the late David Forberg calling me a Russian Sob Sister. Many times when I’m posting that I hope the Russians continue to be banned.

 

[olympic]

Thanks! This was my recollection, too -- that each judge produced one ordinal across all segments of competition, and those ordinals determined the outcome. Beyond that, I don't know any details.

Yes.

To determine final placement, the scores across the 3 segments were added up, and the total would determine their ordinal, and as long as skater a had 5 superior ordinals, their placement would be above skater b.

 

[olympic]

Hard to admit - I love seeing good-looking male skaters in tight costumes.

 

[Alilou]

Hard to admit - I love seeing good-looking male skaters in tight costumes.

Oh I think many of us enjoy good-looking male skaters in tight costumes (or nothing at all ) hence PSOTY

 

[skatfan]

I'll admit that when I saw Ina and Zimmermann warming up at Skate America right after 9/11, I blurted out, "Omg, John Zimmermann is wearing leather pants." Embarrassing, but I wasn't wrong.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

I loved Dance Compulsories. Everyone had to abide by the same rules.

OMG

I do as well, the last time I went to skate Americas that still existed. I miss that. They chop everything off and get rid of so much just to save money.

 

[Private Citizen]

I remember the late David Forberg calling me a Russian Sob Sister. Many times when I’m posting that I hope the Russians continue to be banned.

I thought of David Forberg last week when Sophie Joline Von Felten came out of nowhere to win JGP Slovenia. He would've been her biggest fan. I was imagining the SkateFans post he would've written, touting her as the next great thing, and all of the cat ladies (said with love) who would've jumped all over him for it.

Gone way too soon, but never forgotten.

 

[barbk]

I thought of David Forberg last week when Sophie Joline Von Felten came out of nowhere to win JGP Slovenia. He would've been her biggest fan. I was imagining the SkateFans post he would've written, touting her as the next great thing, and all of the cat ladies (said with love) who would've jumped all over him for it.

Gone way too soon, but never forgotten.

He was a delight in person...and a devil on the boards. Didn't he also follow the Grand Slam circuit in tennis?

Definitely gone way too soon.

 

[flyingsit]

I’ve watched maybe 4 dance programs since the Shibs stopped competing. Just don’t care at all about the discipline.

And I could go to competitions but I’d rather use my time off for other things (like the past 10 days in Spain).

 

[once_upon]

I'm embarrassed to admit my lack of ability to identify jumps or spins or lift names.

I know it is very North American focused, but I cannot identify the European or Asian skaters because I can't pronounce names or spell them. Until I can put faces to names I'm truly lost with Intials.

Juniors and Senior skills look very much alike and I really can't say - she skates very juniorish or whatever.

I'm a bad fan.

 

[tangerine dream]

I sometimes watch skating videos at 1.25x speed. It makes everything seem more impressive.

 

[canbelto]

I'm embarrassed to admit how the secret baby blog was my guilty pleasure read. It was so delulu.

 

[Firedancer]

My peacock still says coverage will begin shortly

 

[Wyliefan]

My peacock still says coverage will begin shortly

You might be in the wrong feed. That's what I did. Make sure you're in the world feed.

 

[Firedancer]

You might be in the wrong feed. That's what I did. Make sure you're in the world feed.

That was this issue. Thanks!

Also, sorry wrong thred

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Are the Georgians channeling Gabriel and Guillaume?

 

[nuge]

Are the Georgians channeling Gabriel and Guillaume?

Who Davis/Smolkin?