Is it just me?

[Ziggy Stardust]

Does anyone else think that the quality of skating has gone down hill lately? I just think the sport is moving in directions, which I don't think capture the essense of the sport. I mean for one thing, despite what everyone and the press says, I don't really think MK has a strong competitor. I mean she has the Russian duo of Maria and Irina, but really either of them are consistent. Maria has just fallen apart this season and Irina, who is really athletic, isn't very artistic. It's just annoying how in the men's competition they always bring up the quad and now in the women's it's always Michelle's Education. Don't you think it's becoming the same old song and dance???

[Beth2000]

Depending on how you are looking at it. I have to agree with Scott Hamilton that since they have taken the school figures out skating is getting to the point where you just have a few skaters that are truly artistic and pay attention to their edges and lines (MK for one). As for the men their skating has become a whole jumping thing. As for the ladies and I am sorry if I hurt anyone's feelings but alot of the girls are just jumping beans and they totally forget about the artistic part.

[Rene]

It is true what Scott said about school figures. To be honest, I was happy when they went. I hated seeing lousy freestlye skaters doing well. It's too bad that they didn't keep them in some way, say to pass the test to Senior or something like that. Everytime I hear people complaining about women not progessing very much since '92, I think the same thing. All jumping and no time for much else is as boring as all presentation and no jumping. As it is now very few seem to have much time at all for anything interesting. Imagine what it would be like if you HAD to have 2 3/3's to get in the top 3? As it is now, it seems like the free program is just a longer SP with more(attempted) triples. I was very happy for Irina, but her GPF program didn't thrill me at all. She did her 3's, then what? Same stuff as the short program. It was a great skate for her, but do you really remember the PROGRAM? I don't. I used to like alot of skaters style. Now there are very few. Since most programs are basically the same now, I just root for whoever seems "like a sweet person".

[Ice Butterfly]

I feel the same way too sometimes. I think that in this day in age, because of the lucrative endorsement deals that await professional skaters, more and more turn pro before they hit their peak. This forces the average age of eligible skaters down, younger and younger to those tiny jumping beans that may not look very pretty but can do all those quintuple jumps which impress the judges. In the men's world, I think it's a real shame that no man can even be considered for a medal unless he can do a least one quad. This eliminates many qualified skaters who may not have any quads, but have beautiful edges, line and artistry.

[Armchairskater]

I was thinking along similar lines Sunday watching Dorothy Hamill perform live at COI. I was thinking how she wouldn't even rise out of novices today. Even if she were coming up today with the pressures to do triples, she likely would fall along the wayside, because her body is more womanly than that of a top jumper. That really made me sad, because her artistry is built on edges, which comes from figures. Therefore, we are unlikely to see any Dorothy Hamills rise up through the ranks today. Even the most artistic and edge-conscious eligible skaters tend to be Michelle's age or older, meaning that they got in quite a bit of training in figures before they were abolished. Since figure skating is classified as a sport rather than an art and sports are the money-draws in our society, I think we must live with the present situation. Also, jumping is an athletic skill and good jumping should be rewarded. However, my idea was that the figure skating world needs to emphasize that the technique is as much of an athletic skill as jumping and perhaps institute another competitive level that would reincorporate the figures as an event, would cap the number of revolutions of jumps (perhaps two for women and three for men) and emphasize edges and spins in the judging. It might never have the prestige and money attached of the more jumping-oriented competition, but at least it would provide a way for the great artists and technicians to move up in the sport and gain publicity and hopefully tour invitations to accompany the publicity.

[Ziggy Stardust]

I agree with you there. Plus, jumps are easier to score for the judges. It's just upsetting to see a lack of artistry and more techical pushes. I watched some pro skating the other day and it just turned me off. They have to wear these ridiculous costumes just to stir the audiences. It was a real letdown.

[Beth2000]

That's why alot of the professionals let their 3's fall to the way side. Alot of them figure that they are done with the eligibles so why should they keep up with the jumps. Not all of them just a few of them. That is what I like about MK she is doing the edges and lines but also the jumps.

[taf2]

I agree with everything said, except about Dorothy Hamil falling by the wayside if she were coming up now. Dorothy was considered an athletic skater when she started out & she excelled at the technical side of the sport. At the Dec. Keri, she did a beautiful 2-lutz-a jump she hadn't done in 10 yrs. If she were 19 now (the age at which she won the Olympics) I think she would be doing all the jumps. I do know she's one of the strongest skaters I've ever seen. She won World Pros 4 yrs in a row-the last one 9 yrs after her Olympics.