Who Needs Triple Axels and Toe Loops—Give Us ‘Compulsory Figures’
Skaters revive an event killed off long ago as excruciatingly dull, even for the competitors. With no jumping needed, ‘we don’t say anyone’s washed up at 13 or 16,’ says a league organizer.
www.wsj.com
Nice story on the resurgence of interest in figures -- and they've added new ones.
'The modern figures movement has tried hard to broaden its appeal, deploying black ice (to better see the figures), drones (to capture the figures for posterity), sequestered judges (to avoid corruption), smaller figures (involving more turns, and more “action”) and creative figures, of the skater’s own design (an activity the Olympic Games featured only once, in 1908). Designs this year included a ball of twine and a flower.
Ms. Kelly compared what she’s doing to preserving an endangered language.
“The knowledge was literally going extinct,” she said. For a figure called the Maltese Cross, “we realized there were probably less than five people alive who could actually still skate it. It’s really an exciting journey to dive into this knowledge and these geniuses and what they knew.”
In lieu of a television deal for now, she live-streams the event and provides enthusiastic commentary herself.
“Let’s see where he’s going to take his Maltese Cross. He’s going to start on his left inside edge… inside edge, inside edge, inside edge, pull … ahhhh, that was really well done! … Keep going, don’t put that foot down, oh, what an amazing recovery! … And, left forward inside, left backward inside, left forward inside—he saved it! … The top of that cross is not so precise, but he is making it happen!”'
