Ok, so my Canadian pride is a bit wounded right now. And if ANYONE makes a crack about being prideful about a bunch of figure skaters....
Not since Lillehammer in 1994 have I *EVER* been so disgusted with figure skating.
Elvis Stojko nailed a quad, but the Russian (his name was Alexai Urmanov) that fell THREE TIMES!!! won the gold. Elvis took home silver. Many people considered that Alexai won the gold because it was his 'swan song' performance. That might have been a nice gesture, all other things being equal. But again, Elvis fell zero times, Alexai, three times. No contest!
Tonight, our pairs team (Sales and Pelletier) skated a perfect performance. There was NOT one flaw. I admit, the Russian team was pretty good, but the woman (I forget her name) was a bit unsteady.
Once AGAIN... the Russian voting block results in the Russian team winning when clearly, the Canadian team deserved it.
Well.. I'm sure I'll have a mad Russian down my throat sometime soon. (you know who you are) LOL
And take it easy all, I'm not that much a figure skating fan.. but PUH-LEASE. That sport needs its judge's bench cleaned up but seriously! Speaking of corruption in sport! [ February 11, 2002: Message edited by: Mike Curwen ]
Figure skating ranks close to boxing for objectivity in its judging.
Lew Trotsky
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Staying on your feet doesn't entitle you to an olympic gold. It was a decision based on superior presentation. Falling down is no big deal. I fall down whenever I have too much vodka. He was expressing his artistic temperament by falling down. A Canadian knows as much about art as a polar bear knows about Wedgewood china so I woudnt expect you to recognise an artistic temperament if it was served to you on a plate with watercress around it.
I'm sure I'll have a mad Russian down my throat sometime soon.
Bullying a poor defenceless Russian woman, mate ? Why dont you pick on someone your own size?
Dave Vick
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I agree that the Canadians performance was better but I also heard that the Russian program was harder?!? I am no expert at it but I assume from everyones reaction on TV last night that something was done that was not totaly agreed upon. I saw the same thing watchig the snowboarding - there was one judge that gave people incredible low marks (as compared to the other judges) and gave really high marks to other people - I dont know how they pick them but they should really do a better job of it. On the other hand the Russian girl was better looking !!! Dave
Originally posted by Lew Trotsky: Staying on your feet doesn't entitle you to an olympic gold. It was a decision based on superior presentation. Falling down is no big deal. I fall down whenever I have too much vodka. He was expressing his artistic temperament by falling down. A Canadian knows as much about art as a polar bear knows about Wedgewood china so I woudnt expect you to recognise an artistic temperament if it was served to you on a plate with watercress around it...
I'm not much of a figure skating fan, but I was watching the last three pairs and I must say I was very disappointed. As to the artistic temperment of the Candadian program, it had been getting perfect scores at all the events leading up to the Olympics. They executed what looked flawless. The Russian guy fell(and I think it does matter if you fall!). No contest right? I was watching an American morning show and they thought it was unbelievable as well. Even more disgusting, I thought the Chinese pair that won the bronze was horrible. Since I did not see the previous skaters, I can't rant too much about this, but the previous skaters must have really messed up! But, I'm not a trained judge, so I don't understand the whole "I'll vote for your country, If you vote for mine" scoring method. Jamie [ February 12, 2002: Message edited by: Jamie Robertson ]
Erik Dark
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Ok, so my Canadian pride is a bit wounded right now. And if ANYONE makes a crack about being prideful about a bunch of figure skaters....
If I were Canadian I'd feel more wounded because of Jeremy Wotherspoon...but h�, I'm Dutch !! Erik Dark
Johannes de Jong
tumbleweed
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Hey Erik I bet your wounded because Gerard van Velde's was 2/100 th of a second to slow
Nigel Browne
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Originally posted by Jamie Robertson:
As to the artistic temperment of the Candadian program, it had been getting perfect scores at all the events leading up to the Olympics.
Maybe the judges just got bored of seeing the same routine over and over. Then again I can't tell the difference between a 5.9 and a 6.0
I guess there is now an inquiry going on. So they can find a single scape goat, claim everything is fine and dandy... until the next olympics. The should just change the event to skate jumping. Where the put some sort of ice ramp on the ice and people jump off it and perform tricks. Skaters will be measured on height, distance, number of rotations, difficulty of the trick and have a mark for the landing. Problem solved. Why is it that in other judged sports(eg. gymnastics), this is never a problem? Jamie
Thomas Paul
mister krabs
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Originally posted by Jamie Robertson: Why is it that in other judged sports(eg. gymnastics), this is never a problem?
"Staying on your feet doesn't entitle you to an olympic gold. It was a decision based on superior presentation. Falling down is no big deal." Speaking as an artist (in a former life) it is true that 'falling down' is a technical issue and artistic perfection is, ultimately, the ideal (why else would you persue the art?). However, technical deficiencies in a performance have a direct impact on the artist's ability to express themselves. Until you are completely competent technically you will not be able to free yourself of the tecnical issues in order to truely give 100% to the interpretation. In a truely great performance the audience shouldn't even be aware of the tecnhnical demands on the performer. When you fall on you ass while skating, the audience (but obviously, not the judges) are immediately jarred from the essence of the performance. As any good conductor knows, the performance of a symphony, for instance, requires that you capture the pure beauty of a work from the first note to the last with every note having is own significance and purpose in building the 'house of cards' that is a great performance. Considering the reputation and history of judging in skating I don't even understand why this is an issue - if it looks like a duck, .... Sean
Jason Menard
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Supposedly three of the five judges who gave the Russians better marks (from Russia, Ukraine, and France I think) gave the Russians equivalent marks in technical execution to both the Russians and Canadians. This is not such a subjective area as presentation. Different moves are rated with certain amounts of difficulty, and the Russians and Canadians were skating a program that was technically similar. So since it was so blantantly obvious to the world that a duo who skates stiff-kneed and does not cleanly execute their moves is not skating a program as technically sound as the duo that performs flawlessly, the judges come off looking like biased, which they apparently they are.
Erik Dark
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Sorry for the firgure-skating fans we Dutch cross your thread..
Hey Erik I bet your wounded because Gerard van Velde's was 2/100 th of a second to slow
Yes Johannes, was quite sick about it but h�, it's a non-judgement sport so the final score is not discussable... Erik Dark
erich brant
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Eat your sorrows away with White Russian Kalua ice cream!
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(you know who you are) LOL
