Unpopular Opinions

[Taso]

In my mind, France won the 1998 bronze with the voidiest team ever

OH YEAH! And Ukraine just slipped in there for Gold in 1994

 

[tony]

OH YEAH! And Ukraine just slipped in there for Gold in 1994

But would Tonya have been kept on the team solely because she needed to skate one of the portions of the team event? That would've been the biggest 1994 rssif debate, surely.

 

[mjb52]

^^ Maybe skaters should have to perform different programs for the team competition and the individual competition. It's like how skaters used to have to skate 2 different LPs at the GPF a decade or so ago. Sure, it's more taxing for the skater, but hey, they're elite athletes and should be able to handle that demand.

I almost proposed this but I don't think the skaters would want to.

 

[Coco]

What if they require a country to have entrants in each of the 4 disciplines to be in the team competition, and for those entrants to compete, but then determine the order of finish by counting a country's 3 strongest disciplines. Basically, require teams to drop their lowest score. That might liven things up a bit.

 

[tony]

What if they require a country to have entrants in each of the 4 disciplines to be in the team competition, and for those entrants to compete, but then determine the order of finish by counting a country's 3 strongest disciplines. Basically, require teams to drop their lowest score. That might liven things up a bit.

That would knock the team event down to 7 countries as it is, and it would likely hand Russia the gold by an even bigger margin if they can just forget about the mens SP. Yeah, that'll go over well with much of skating internet. And it would probably put Japan a comfortable second, too.

 

[Lemonade20]

It would be fun to have a team number instead and the best performance gets the medal!

 

[skatingguy]

It would be fun to have a team number instead and the best performance gets the medal!

Yeah, it's too bad there's no figure skating discipline that involves a group of skaters who completed synchronized movements, tricks, and skills set to music.

 

[aka_gerbil]

But would Tonya have been kept on the team solely because she needed to skate one of the portions of the team event? That would've been the biggest 1994 rssif debate, surely.

There is a whole treasure trove of polls waiting for the off season regarding what would have happened if team events had happened in past games.

If there had been team events in 92 and/or 94, would Canada have medaled, making Kurt Browning a medalist?

 

[Karen-W]

There is a whole treasure trove of polls waiting for the off season regarding what would have happened if team events had happened in past games.

If there had been team events in 92 and/or 94, would Canada have medaled, making Kurt Browning a medalist?

Maybe? Maybe not? I'd say 1994 was more likely than 1992.

1992 - here are the countries that had entries in 3 or 4 disciplines - EUN (Unified Team - old USSR), USA, CZE, CAN, GBR, JPN (3), FRA, ITA (3), PRK. Going off the best SP and FS results - EUN 71 pts, USA 65 pts, CZE 60 pts, CAN 58 pts, FRA 56 pts

1994 - countries with entries in 3 or 4 disciplines - RUS (3 - no woman!), CAN, FRA (3), UKR, USA, GBR, BLR (3), GER (3), CZE (3). Going off the best SP & FS results - RUS 68 pts (even with a quota woman theoretically finishing dead last in each segment, lol), CAN 60 pts, UKR 58 pts, FRA 56 pts, USA 55 pts

And, since Kurt also competed in 1988...

1988 - countries with entries in 3 or 4 disciplines - USA, CAN, USR, FRG (West Germany), CZE, GBR, CHN, FRA (3), JPN (3), AUS (3), ITA (3), GDR (East Germany) (3) - I took AUS out of contention since their ID team finished last & their woman didn't make the FS and couldn't figure out which of the other teams to remove so I gave the 11th place team 0 points. Going off the best SP & FS results - CAN 71 pts, USA 70 pts, USR 69 pts, FRG 50 pts, CZE 43 pts. Interestingly, CAN only gets gold by using Orser in both segments - had they swapped Browning in for the FS then the Men's FS points would have flipped between CAN and USR - and that would have resulted in a 3-way tie with 70 points each for CAN, USA & USR. Tie break? # of 1st places? That would have resulted in 1st USR, 2nd CAN, 3rd USA.

 

[orbitz]

It would be fun to have a team number instead and the best performance gets the medal!

Just like the good old days of Dick Button's World Professional Championships. That would be fun to see, but I think it would turn the event too much into a show instead of an athletic competition.

 

[olympic]

I liked Chock / Bates FD that one year to 'Under Pressure' by David Bowie / Freddie Mercury

 

[screech]

Though they'd never do it, it would be fun if they did a mixed team event. Like you pool the top 10 ranked (attending) skaters in each discipline, and then do a random draw for each team's lady, gent, pair and dance. You could end up with a team of Nathan, Anna, Papadakis/Cizeron and Sui/Han versus Yuzuru, Kamila, SinKats and Mishina/Galliamov

 

[hanca]

Though they'd never do it, it would be fun if they did a mixed team event. Like you pool the top 10 ranked (attending) skaters in each discipline, and then do a random draw for each team's lady, gent, pair and dance. You could end up with a team of Nathan, Anna, Papadakis/Cizeron and Sui/Han versus Yuzuru, Kamila, SinKats and Mishina/Galliamov

It is actually an interesting idea. Having the team event based not on countries, but on a random draw. And having it from the ten best skaters/pairs/couples in each discipline. So someone like Yuna Kim, for example, would be still able to be a part of the team, even though Korea doesn’t have any strong men/pairs/ice dance. It would be good for the audience because only the strongest skaters would take part. the mixed teams would make it more inclusive, less nationalistic.

 

[Rhumba d’Amour]

It is actually an interesting idea. Having the team event based not on countries, but on a random draw. And having it from the ten best skaters/pairs/couples in each discipline. So someone like Yuna Kim, for example, would be still able to be a part of the team, even though Korea doesn’t have any strong men/pairs/ice dance. It would be good for the audience because only the strongest skaters would take part. the mixed teams would make it more inclusive, less nationalistic.

They already do this at the Youth Olympics!

 

[icenut84]

May or may not be an unpopular opinion, but I miss seeing programmes with drama, originality and/or a fast beat - it seems like the vast majority of skaters these days pick slow classical or generic ballads most of the time! I didn't really warm to chock & bates too much before this season but I'd actually really like to see them win oly silver now (behind p&c) because they're one of the very few teams actually doing something different in their free.

I miss voidy artistic programmes like khokhlova/novitski vamping it up to Night on Bald Mountain, pechalat/bourzat doing a circus theme, takahashi and his hip hop Swan Lake... to me, an artistic skater isn't just someone elegant or with good lines, it's someone actually doing something original and showing they're a good dancer. Maybe it's the technical requirements these days, who knows, but I miss the variety in styles we used to get.

On a related note, for me, anyone who voids it up at the Olympics should get a mandatory 10 point bonus!!

 

[Pink Cats]

Last night I watch, Kamila Valieva LP, "Irina Rodnina's Cup" 2015, and was very impressed by her skating at 9. However why would they think it appropriate to put a 9 year old in a Belly Dancers Costume.

 

[screech]

May or may not be an unpopular opinion, but I miss seeing programmes with drama, originality and/or a fast beat - it seems like the vast majority of skaters these days pick slow classical or generic ballads most of the time!

YES! And the fact that slow, sappy songs are even the norm in the galas now too. Galas are supposed to be fun! I miss the early 90s where I actually recorded the Worlds galas on VHS and watched them repeatedly. Viktor's twist. Bowman's Rolling Stones medley. Brasseur/Eisler's cross dressing. Most of Kurt's gala performances.

And as choppy as they could be, I also miss the days when a long program had a fast section, a slow middle section, then a fast ending section.

 

[icenut84]

Another one - I don't think kim was robbed in sochi, I think sotnikova deserved the win with the performances she put down. If anything, it was close/debatable who should win (certainly not the slam dunk for Kim that a lot of people say) but I'd have given it to sotnikova. But asada should have been a clear winner in the free.

 

[once_upon]

I dont think Alysa Lui is the next best thing to happen in US ladies.

 

[Lemonade20]

I dont think Alysa Lui is the next best thing to happen in US ladies.

That's a huge statement

 

[once_upon]

That's a huge statement

It is the unpopular opinion thread.

About the only teen great hope that really did the hype was Kwan.

She has the triple axel. As Shaina says - that don't impresssa me much

 

[Seerek]

May or may not be an unpopular opinion, but I miss seeing programmes with drama, originality and/or a fast beat - it seems like the vast majority of skaters these days pick slow classical or generic ballads most of the time!

I wonder if the ISU would ever consider a BPM minimum requirement for the short programs for singles and pairs.

 

[clairecloutier]

I don't typically get excited about young female skaters who are "great hopes" in skating.

The only skaters whom I have ever really loved at a young age were Michelle Kwan and Mao Asada. All the others, my reaction is, Let's see what happens.

 

[Vagabond]

Every player on a hockey team gets a medal, even the ones that sat on the bench for most or all of the game.

Hockey is a team sport.

When is the last time you saw a Team Event at a Challengers Series event? Or a summer club competition?

hanca's opinion may be unpopular, but I share it.

 

[escaflowne9282]

Hockey is a team sport.

When is the last time you saw a Team Event at a Challengers Series event? Or a summer club competition?

hanca's opinion may be unpopular, but I share it.

Eh, I am not sure yours and hanca's opinions are so unpopular. I remember when they first introduced the event, I was completely nonplussed. I remember thinking "this is why everyone makes fun of the millennial generation". It just feels like a participation medal.

That being said ,I have warmed up to the idea to a degree in the sense that it allows more skating to be shown at the Olympics. I also don't hate the prospect of the top two American dance teams walking away with an Olympic medal. Otherwise, meh, I'm not invested .

 

[hanca]

I do understand that not everyone within the team won’t be super great; of course there will be weaker and stronger skaters. But how the scoring is done, three strong ones can easily make up even for a very, very weak one and still be good enough for a medal. If it was based on sum of points earned, then the bad performance of the weak one would have more impact on the overall result of the team, and the team would not get the medal. So someone who may score less than average junior would not end up with the olympic medal. I think when someone gets olympic medal, they should be at least reasonably competent in that sport, not comparable to junior level.

 

[Pink Cats]

I do understand that not everyone within the team won’t be super great; of course there will be weaker and stronger skaters. But how the scoring is done, three strong ones can easily make up even for a very, very weak one and still be good enough for a medal. If it was based on sum of points earned, then the bad performance of the weak one would have more impact on the overall result of the team, and the team would not get the medal. So someone who may score less than average junior would not end up with the olympic medal. I think when someone gets olympic medal, they should be at least reasonably competent in that sport, not comparable to junior level.

Whom are you referring to?

 

[Vash01]

I wouldn't compare the FS TE with hockey, but gymnastics is a better comparison,based on the number of players. A team medal in gymnastics is respected. I don't see any reason to not give the same respect To a team medal in FS. In gymnastics an athlete can win 4-5 medals. I like it that in FS now an athlete can win two medals, instead of just one.

I would like them to change the rules and allow splitting in all four disciplines, so more skaters have that opportunity.

 

[Lemonade20]

I do understand that not everyone within the team won’t be super great; of course there will be weaker and stronger skaters. But how the scoring is done, three strong ones can easily make up even for a very, very weak one and still be good enough for a medal. If it was based on sum of points earned, then the bad performance of the weak one would have more impact on the overall result of the team, and the team would not get the medal. So someone who may score less than average junior would not end up with the olympic medal. I think when someone gets olympic medal, they should be at least reasonably competent in that sport, not comparable to junior level.

That's how I feel when Daleman got a gold medal. She calls herself an Olympic gold medalist, but it really should be Olympic TEAM gold medalist.

 

[Vash01]

That's how I feel when Daleman got a gold medal. She calls herself an Olympic gold medalist, but it really should be Olympic TEAM gold medalist.

In football (just an example), a punter or a backup offensive lineman gets the Super Bowl ring, as per my understanding. So what if a weak skater in the TE gets to call herself Olympic gold medalist? She is not called an Olympic Champion.

TBH I am not entirely comfortable about this, but may be Olympic Team Gold medallist as you suggested, is a way around it.

Again, I am trying to compare with gymnastics. The gold medal in individual apparatus is still a gold medal. A team gold is still a gold medal. So there is no differentiation.

May be we just have to get used to it. The team event is still quite new in FS.