What decade of skating do you rewatch most often?

What decade of skating do you rewatch most often?

  • only recent competitions (2020s)

  • 10s

  • 00s

  • 90s

  • 80s

  • only the classics, ma'am (70s and earlier)

  • I never rewatch skating

Results are only viewable after voting.
Bouffantrex

Bouffantrex

Banned Member
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266
Thanks to YouTube and dedicated fans around the world, we now have access to an abundant library of skating competitions from the last forty years. I myself am guilty of going down that YouTube rabbit hole this summer and couldn't help but wonder: what era of skating do you find yourself rewatching the most?

I assume, for most, the decade of skating you revisit most often is your favorite, and therefore "the best", but if not, please explain. It may make an interesting discussion.
 
The 1990s were fun, but I’m sure very frustrating for the skaters in the post-compulsory, 6-7 triples era where a skater not quite yet considered to be a medal threat wasn’t sure how exactly they could improve their standing even if we fans, in retrospect thanks to conditioning by IJS, could kind of see what more some skaters could have done. The 2002 Olympics Ladies SP for those ranked 4-12 or whatever must have been confusing for a lot of skaters as they don’t know what made their clean performance less-than or even more-than the other clean performances (except for Sarah Hughes who openly stated she should have been in the top 3 and would have given herself either a 5.8/5.8 or like a 5.8/5.9…something like that but she reached her goal in the end).

The 2000s started out promising but the middle part of it was ruined by the first incarnation of IJS with the growing pains to adapt, the ISU hadn’t not figured out how many elements and feature requirements work bests for a great breadth of skaters, and safe skating in Torino that still didn’t prevent some splat-filled or nervously executed competitions. The latter part had skaters learning how to best work the system leading to monotony and codification of programs on an unprecedented level only to be outdone by the next four years.

I really enjoyed the period of 2012-ish to now but ladies and pairs scoring need some major re-working and of course outside factors against the tenets of fair play come into it. Now, in the post-2022 era, I mostly fear for the direction of ice dance with all these choreographed elements that are worth tons of points collectively and are only scored by GOE aka reputation and minimizing consequences for errors to help the judges hold up their preferred teams (individual scoring of partners on certain elements so one mistake by one partner isn’t nearly catastrophic for the team’s score as it used to be).
 
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I primarily watch the women. So I suppose 90s, with everyone pushing the sport in different directions.

There's Ito and Harding in the early 90s with 3axels and big triples; Yamaguchi and then Kwan / Lipinski with the push for 7 triples and 2 3lutzes; Yamaguchi, Lipinski and Slutskaya on the big 3/3s.

And then there's Yamaguchi, Chen, Kwan, Butyrskaya etc pushing the artistic side and choreography, Gusmeroli pushing for innovation, Sato pushing the footwork, speed and basics, Krieg, Slutskaya and Ruh dazzling with the spins, and then there's Bobek and Baiul with undeniable charisma.
 
VGThuy said:
The 2000s started out promising but the middle part of it was ruined by the first incarnation of IJS with the growing pains to adapt, the ISU hadn’t not figured out how many elements and feature requirements work bests for a great breadth of skaters, and safe skating in Torino that still didn’t prevent some splat-filled or nervously executed competitions. The latter part had skaters learning how to best work the system leading to monotony and codification of programs on an unprecedented level only to be outdone by the next four years.
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I think the 2000s CoP had the better step sequence rules, especially between 2005-06 and 2007-08. They made sure the skaters did proper patterns with difficult content in them. It was also the era of CoP where we had skaters brought up in 6.0 who started doing CoP type content, leading them to train interesting transitions, spin positions, and content-filled step sequences, but still place emphasis on the overall quality of their programs. Stephane Lambiel's Dralion ends up being a unique program, as an example, and for me the best ever Men's SP.

But yes, it was also the era that marked a steep learning curve and an adjustment phase for some, and there are some things about that time's CoP that were just plain bad (URs being called downgrades which led skaters to be extremely careful with their content, spiral sequences becoming interminable which then led to their levels being watered down in 2010-11 and then completely canned starting 2012-13 season, pretty sure the quads had laughable base values, GOE scaling being quite illogical, frontloading).
 
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1960s all the way! Guaranteed gorgeous classical music. Replays of any fs from either Innsbruck or Grenoble Olympics are my non plus ultra!

1970s pretty good, too…but the original Frau Muller pushed Broadway show tunes a bit much…grrr.
 
Late 90s through the aughts. That's when I was actually 'invested' in skaters. Now, there's the odd skater that I get somewhat invested in (most recent were Fernandez and to a lesser extent Chan), but I don't feel the need to watch every competition, and cheer for any given skater like I used to.
 
I am pleased to see the 1990s winning in a landslide. To be honest, I may have had a conniption had the 2010s or 2020s won by such a margin.

Habs said:
I am all about the 90s. I was a HUGE Kurt Browning fan. Loved Bourne & Kraatz. A pro competition on TV every weekend with over the top programs and costumes. What a time to be alive.
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This speaks to me!
 
I started watching FS in the 80s. Sarajevo 84 to be more precise. But the '90s are my favorite and the period I re-watch the most.
 
For me it’s around 98-04. With the exception of pairs as that would miss out M/D and Y/G.
 
The reason it's the '90s for me is because that's when I began watching and, to date, it was the decade in which I had the most time to devote to following sports without the constraints of work/little to no TV access/etc. I think there's a lot to be said for having the most interest in a time period of music/sports when one started in on the hobby/interest, and there's no denying that since I was in the U.S. all throughout the '90s, I was a part of the era of many, many broadcast events. Also: U.S. TV did all those fluff pieces in that decade, and that somehow made me more interested in how the skaters performed and placed. I've read that some people loathed that use of air time, but I think the human interest angle is quite interesting as long as it doesn't lead to people getting Chacked :).
 
Plusdinfo said:
The reason it's the '90s for me is because that's when I began watching and, to date, it was the decade in which I had the most time to devote to following sports without the constraints of work/little to no TV access/etc. I think there's a lot to be said for having the most interest in a time period of music/sports when one started in on the hobby/interest, and there's no denying that since I was in the U.S. all throughout the '90s, I was a part of the era of many, many broadcast events. Also: U.S. TV did all those fluff pieces in that decade, and that somehow made me more interested in how the skaters performed and placed. I've read that some people loathed that use of air time, but I think the human interest angle is quite interesting as long as it doesn't lead to people getting Chacked :).
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All of this. I got into skating when I watched the 1993 World Championships and until I graduated high school in the mid-2000's, I watched just about everything on US television and recorded the majority of it to VHS as well. 1995-2002 or so really were the peak years of skating in the US IMO, with the pro events and Grand Prix giving us something to watch every week. I also think the ABC production team really did a fantastic job of making each event exciting. I learned so much from listening to Dick Button's critiques and I enjoyed the fluff stuff as well.

One of the most exciting things for me, pre-FSVids, YouTube, streaming links, etc. was waiting for the weekend or whenever ABC/ESPN/Lifetime was broadcasting some event and finding that they were showing a skater who had never made any US telecast before. I still remember, as an example, how excited US fans were when Galina Maniachenko had a breakthrough SP at the 2000 Skate Canada. I also remember the 2001/2002 Grand Prix Final broadcast being live, at least for the men's and women's final rounds, and the Yagudin and Plushenko battle was so intense. And we bring up those Lifetime pairs/dance telecasts often to make fun of them, but they really were far ahead of their time and really gave insight into the drama we wouldn't otherwise have known about because skaters only had very basic official websites back then- no real place to share their lives/thoughts as they have on social media now.

I also remember how pissy we all started to get when ABC insisted, for many seasons, on re-airing the short programs that had already been telecast on ESPN or elsewhere at major competitions like Worlds (especially womens SP) rather than show earlier flights in the LP. Streaming has made skating access so much better obviously, but there was always an intrigue for me to see who would be aired.
 
tony said:
All of this. I got into skating when I watched the 1993 World Championships and until I graduated high school in the mid-2000's, I watched just about everything on US television and recorded the majority of it to VHS as well. 1995-2002 or so really were the peak years of skating in the US IMO, with the pro events and Grand Prix giving us something to watch every week. I also think the ABC production team really did a fantastic job of making each event exciting. I learned so much from listening to Dick Button's critiques and I enjoyed the fluff stuff as well.

One of the most exciting things for me, pre-FSVids, YouTube, streaming links, etc. was waiting for the weekend or whenever ABC/ESPN/Lifetime was broadcasting some event and finding that they were showing a skater who had never made any US telecast before. I still remember, as an example, how excited US fans were when Galina Maniachenko had a breakthrough SP at the 2000 Skate Canada. I also remember the 2001/2002 Grand Prix Final broadcast being live, at least for the men's and women's final rounds, and the Yagudin and Plushenko battle was so intense. And we bring up those Lifetime pairs/dance telecasts often to make fun of them, but they really were far ahead of their time and really gave insight into the drama we wouldn't otherwise have known about because skaters only had very basic official websites back then- no real place to share their lives/thoughts as they have on social media now.

I also remember how pissy we all started to get when ABC insisted, for many seasons, on re-airing the short programs that had already been telecast on ESPN or elsewhere at major competitions like Worlds (especially womens SP) rather than show earlier flights in the LP. Streaming has made skating access so much better obviously, but there was always an intrigue for me to see who would be aired.
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There was a real sense of it being an “event” with those airings. I too remember when my entire week or month (looking at the TV guides or weekly newspaper tv channel guides when we used to get newspapers) was scheduled around those skating airings, especially the Friday/Saturday night ABC primetime airings. My family would join and we’d have dinner and watch.

The way those comps were presented gave you a sense that this was more than a “mere” skating competition. It was like an incredibly important event that made or broke careers of skates whom you either became or were already invested in thanks to how the select skaters showcased were presented by the network and had highlights and fluff pieces devoted to them…even when there were always other comps and skaters could always have multiple peaks and valleys throughout their career.

As a skating fan, skating accessibility is much better these days with all these streaming options and ability to watch live and/or choose to watch later (thanks to work and stuff). And you get to see the entire field! Not to mention the social media that you referenced existing now where fans can follow skaters and their coaches and even their pets 24/7. But you do miss the production aspects of the older style broadcasts and the lack of social media made the skaters seem so much larger than life and special.
 
Erm, 1970's and earlier which will be no surprise if you subscribe to my youtube channel :rofl: My current fix is early 1960's ice dance - love those organ tunes!! - but I do also love the 80's too and after a dip in interest in IJS skating, I'm pretty much back onboard, particularly with dance.
 
Figure skating is one of my favourite sports, so I watch as many competitions as I can - I started following the sport in the '80s. YouTube and dedicated fans around the world, such as "our" Amantide, make our task of finding vids extremely easy, by posting hundreds of competitions, even those held many years ago. If I have to choose, I'd say '00 onwards; we live in the present, and the past just makes me feel sad sometimes - when you're getting old, remembering the good old days is never a great option...:lol:
Ciao.
 
Rob said:
Voted 00s, but it is a toss up with 90s. I became a fan in the 60s, loved the 70s/80s, but Kwan, Cohen, Bobek, Yags, Buttle, lLambiel, Chen Lu, Kulik, G/G, K/P were some of of my all time faves.
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I agree. I probably watched more from the 2000s. But if I go back and count all the times I have watched Artur and Natalia as well as Isabel and Lloyd and also some Kristi all of their performances of those three from the 90s probably equals the 2000s for everybody lol
 
In the 90's there were programs. In early skating there were a lot of fast changes of music to show versatility. (I do like these sequences of double, hop, a turn or two and another double, etc.). Now, particularly in the mens it's mostly setting up quads and 3As at the ends of the rink. Women's programs often look similar. In the 90's there was athleticism but also stories. The skating looked better.
 
SkateFanBerlin said:
In the 90's there were programs. In early skating there were a lot of fast changes of music to show versatility. (I do like these sequences of double, hop, a turn or two and another double, etc.). Now, particularly in the mens it's mostly setting up quads and 3As at the ends of the rink. Women's programs often look similar. In the 90's there was athleticism but also stories. The skating looked better.
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Amen.

I don't even think COP or bad judging is skating's biggest problem the last 20 years, it was the decision to allow vocals in competition. This generation of skaters seems to be overly reliant on the vocal music to tell the story, instead of telling a story through thoughtful choreography and emotion.
 
The 90s for sure - Kwan, Bobek, Naomi Nari Nam, Baiul (brief as their stars were), Chen Lu...great programs to beautiful, interesting music.

The early 2000s saw the rise of yucky tinkly piano programs, the aggressive promotional vehicle behind Slutskaya (BARF) and the setting of Kwan's golden age.

Then IJS came along and destroyed the ability for skaters to have programs actually set to music, with spins continuing right through dramatic music changes, footwork starting and ending through random passages of music just to fit everything within the time allotment, etc.
 
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