Ross Miner wuz robbed!

[Isk8NYC]

Bah.

http://www.rockerskating.com/news/2017/12/19/figure-skating-entries-for-the-2018-winter-olympics

[Bill_S]

You have to feel for the guy. He has the skate of his life, gets a podium finish in an Olympic year, and someone else is chosen to go.

Reminds me very much of the Ashley Wagner vs. Mirai Nagasu selection in the last Olympic cycle.

[FigureSpins]

OOOooo0000...there's an online petition to get Ross Miner on the US Olympic team.  #TEAMUSA

https://www.change.org/p/u-s-figure-skating-put-ross-miner-on-the-olympic-team?recruiter=false&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=direct_to_combo&utm_term=share_petition

[icedancer]

Another Olympic cycle another controversial team selection - here we go again!

I wonder if it has something to do with trying to ensure (insure?) three spots for the Men's team for 2022? 

It sure doesn't seem fair to Ross Miner that is for sure!!

[Query]

Like almost everything in life, it's all about playing games.

Athletes are playing one game. If you know how to play the game, you can try to win it. It's difficult to know how to win the game, if there are no definite rules. So to athletes, it seems unfair if you have played the game to win, won, and don't get to claim the prize, because of the actions of a selection committee.

But to people on committees, it's a completely different game. The intermediate prize is getting on the committee, so you can have power and influence, the ultimate prize.

If the selection committee was required to automatically accept the people who had highest placement at Nationals, there would be no point to being on the committee.

Presumably they believe Ross Miner is less likely to do well in international competitions - i.e., that their primary purpose in being on the committee is to try to insure that U.S. athletes do as well as possible in international competitions, based criteria that include placement in US Nationals, but also on other factors up to their own best judgement. But if they aren't allowed to use their best judgement to make that happen, there is no point to being there.