Proposal for a New Competition Structure and Format!

[FigureSpins]

Saw this proposal on manleywoman.com's Facebook page:

Realizing Figure Skating's Potential: Proposal for a New Competition Structure and Format!
http://www.icecommand.com/pdfs/ProposalforChange.pdf
© 3/2014 Cecily Morrow

[Loops]

Interesting.  I feel like it's become a jumping contest as it is, so why not go there?  I like the idea of separating that from the artistic programs, and perhaps bringing back the 6.0 system, or a modification of it.  I would like to see the skaters have the freedom to do a Kwan-esque spiral, and a lot less of the frantic arms/legs as positions are hit for a flash.  Is it realistic though to have all those different categories for the jumps and spins etc?  That would get tedious I think, for the judges AND the audience.  The public would know a flip though when it's done!  But I'm not sure I'd want to watch all that.  Can you imagine Sectionals and Regionals with this sort of format?    Maybe they would have to limit the number of skaters....or like they used to do with figures choose three (or whatever) jumps and spins that the skaters must perform.

And shoot, I'll never ever disagree with anyone saying bring back figures!!!

[PhysicsOnIce]

As someone who is much more of a "classical" skater, I am all up for this system. Any system that allows skaters to truly express themselves is , in my opinion, a better system than the IJS. Personally, as it is right now we are training jumping jelly beans and contoriontist. I'm sorry but not ever skater out there will be as flexible as a rubber band. I don't have anything against skaters that are, but I don't think it should be rewarded as much as it is under the IJS. We still need grace in the sport.

That being said, I am not sure it is feasible to do multiple categories of short and long programs and on top of that jump and spin events.  Why not make the point distribution more even. I mean is really a pancake sit spin with 2+ revolutions much more appealing than a regular sit spin with 8+ revolutions or is an quad shal more exciting than a triple axel? Think about it, if want people to enjoy the sport it should not be about the numbers as it is now, but it should be about expressing an emotion. Whether that be thrill (as it is in the case of giant slalom ) or precision based anxeity (as it is in the case of Biathlon), or whatever emotion, it should be up to the skater but everything should be rewarded equally. Did anyone even notice the music of Yulia Lipnitskaya? Schindler's List a traget protrayal of an even more tragic moment in time... in my opinion that music at that level of skating should have brought 95% of the audiances to tears...Something I can with some confidence say did not occur. My point here is that we are getting too far away from the emotion of skating.

Lets bring that back instead of adding multiple categories and making things even more complex for the audience. There is reason why skating was so popular under the 6.0 system. No one is saying that was prefect but at least skaters had the ability to make the audience smile, cry, laugh, and get immersed in a character, theme, or emotion. Anyone remenber Philippe Candeloro, probably not by name, but ask skating fans of the 1990s about the crazy guy with the muskateers program and a spin where he spun on his boots and they will remenber. Same things goes for Elvis Stojko, or Irina Slutskaja or Ekaterina Gordeeva, etc.  That's why people who have no clue of technical figure skating loved skating, because it was fun to see what new character or what new theme a skater would protray through out the year. That's why shows like "Snowden on Ice" were so popular and why "disney on ice" still fills stadiums with little skaters and there families dressed in character dress

Sorry for the overly long post. This is a topic that always gets me going.