What is special about the ladies? | Page 5 | Golden Skate

What is special about the ladies?

Lamente Ariane

Skating Skills -5, Fashion +3, Camp +4
Record Breaker
Joined
Apr 5, 2017
I will say first of all that at this point I watch all of the events. Sometimes I'm frustrated with the scoring in Ladies, but never enough to stop watching, and in the end years down the line the scoring becomes less important in my mind than the performance.

Ladies skating was my introduction to the sport. This is going to date me, but as a little kid I came across a VHS recording of Oksana Baiul skating to Swan Lake. I was a huge ballet fan (still am, really) and Swan Lake was my favorite... instantly hooked! 1998 was the first Olympics I was aware of, and I read about Michelle and Tara in the fan books I was able to buy at school book fairs and cheered for Michelle (later Sasha as well) until her retirement. It took a bit longer for me to get pulled into the other events, especially since for ages Olympic broadcasts were the only skating I had access to, but Ladies will always have a special place in my heart.
 

LadyB

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 7, 2016
Never ever watched Ladies when I was younger. It's still my least favourite discipline, but I don't mind them now at bigger events.

What can I say, I just love watching the (pair/dance)boys more. They kind of grab my attention faster, stronger, longer.
No, nothing to do with the sport.
There. I said it. :biggrin:
 

ancientpeas

The Notorious SEW
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 11, 2014
I should have just given my definitive answer to this thread earlier:

Sugar and spice and everything nice. :halo:
 

andromache

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Since it's Olympic season and the casuals are tuning in, I can say that the casual viewers in my life have enjoyed the ladies WAYYYY more than the men so far. The men fall all over and skaters with falls score higher than skaters without falls (and I do explain to them why that is). The ladies are skating much cleaner.
 
Joined
Dec 9, 2017
They are boring with a pre-ordained winner this quad.

So naturally the ISU has manufactured a showdown between Med and Zag. Bet this pulled in around a 1000 more audience members than it would have.

Whatever works. Just let's not pretend that they are far better the rest of the field. They land jumps, but that's about it.
 

LiamForeman

William/Uilyam
Medalist
Joined
Nov 24, 2006
Since it's Olympic season and the casuals are tuning in, I can say that the casual viewers in my life have enjoyed the ladies WAYYYY more than the men so far. The men fall all over and skaters with falls score higher than skaters without falls (and I do explain to them why that is). The ladies are skating much cleaner.

ITA 100% I'm trying to get my partner/husband to get into the skating and he's disgusted with the men's competition. I tried to prepare him for the inevitable falls programs scoring higher than an Adam because of the point system. So the average viewer who can't tell the difference between a quad and a triple can't understand what's the point in watching if you can wipe the ice all over and still win/medal. I've also prepared him for Carolina Kostner overscoring, but this time it's because she gets highly overrated second marks (IMO).

The IJS is a joke. Falls should get ZERO points. And the PCS "corridor" makes a mockery of the actual components they are evaluating. Uggh. Oh well, like the poster upthread said, I too just enjoy the good clean performances and don't worry about the placements.
 

kwanfan4

Rinkside
Joined
Oct 27, 2014
I will say first of all that at this point I watch all of the events. Sometimes I'm frustrated with the scoring in Ladies, but never enough to stop watching, and in the end years down the line the scoring becomes less important in my mind than the performance.

Ladies skating was my introduction to the sport. This is going to date me, but as a little kid I came across a VHS recording of Oksana Baiul skating to Swan Lake. I was a huge ballet fan (still am, really) and Swan Lake was my favorite... instantly hooked! 1998 was the first Olympics I was aware of, and I read about Michelle and Tara in the fan books I was able to buy at school book fairs and cheered for Michelle (later Sasha as well) until her retirement. It took a bit longer for me to get pulled into the other events, especially since for ages Olympic broadcasts were the only skating I had access to, but Ladies will always have a special place in my heart.

I am dated as well. There was a time when I wouldn't miss the ladies skate. I have watched so many-Janet Lynn,Debbie Thomas, Oksana, Michelle and man, many others. Also watched some of the great pairs skaters but the only name I can remember is the Propofalls or something like that.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Also watched some of the great pairs skaters but the only name I can remember is the Propofalls or something like that.

"Protopopov" is actually not too hard to commit to memory, because in English it ends with the humorous sounding "pop-off." Belousova -- well, you're on your own there. :)

Four time world champions and two time Olympic champions, their technique has never been matched (sorry, Gordeeva and Grinkov fans). They started the Russian pairs dominance and invented a lot of moves, such as the death spiral. The were still performing in shows and charity events in their seventies, almost up to the time of her death last September at 81.

I once saw a show on TV in which the P's made a guest appearance. The camera panned over the other performers and there were Scott Hamilton. Kristi Yamaguchi, Kurt Browning, etc. just standing there agog with their mouths hanging open like they were in the presence, not of royalty, but of diety. We shall not pass this way again. :(

(But go Sui and Han!)
 

ancientpeas

The Notorious SEW
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 11, 2014
"Protopopov" is actually not too hard to commit to memory, because in English it ends with the humorous sounding "pop-off." Belousova -- well, you're on your own there. :)

Four time world champions and two time Olympic champions, their technique has never been matched (sorry, Gordeeva and Grinkov fans). They started the Russian pairs dominance and invented a lot of moves, such as the death spiral. The were still performing in shows and charity events in their seventies, almost up to the time of her death last September at 81.

I once saw a show on TV in which the P's made a guest appearance. The camera panned over the other performers and there were Scott Hamilton. Kristi Yamaguchi, Kurt Browning, etc. just standing there agog with their mouths hanging open like they were in the presence, not of royalty, but of diety. We shall not pass this way again. :(

(But go Sui and Han!)

I loved them! Loved them. What a lovely story. What wonderful classic Russian skating. :love:
 

PaulE

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 5, 2008
Country
United-States
All these old timers who started watching skating in the 90s! That must make me really ancient (which I am of course) since I got interested in figure skating when my parents took me to Sonia Henie movies in the 40s. My wife and I got to watch the Protopopovs practicing on the old rink in Lake Placid when we attended a Junior Grand Prix (featuring Mirai) in 2007. It was a once in a lifetime and wonderful experience that I still treasure.
 

[email protected]

Medalist
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 26, 2014
They are boring with a pre-ordained winner this quad.

So naturally the ISU has manufactured a showdown between Med and Zag. Bet this pulled in around a 1000 more audience members than it would have.

Whatever works. Just let's not pretend that they are far better the rest of the field. They land jumps, but that's about it.

Of course, Medvedeva and Zagitova are much better than the rest of the field, actually by 10 pts. in the short and 20 pts. in the free as was shown during the team event. It's not only about jumps - it's about everything. Who is at their level? May be theoretical clean Caro could challenge them but even if she manages somehow to show in a week what she was not able to show during the last 2 seasons it will not be the proof - it will be a miracle like the holy fire which falls on Jerusalem just once in a year and never in between.

But I was perplexed by the opening sentence. Who is the pre-ordained winner? I am not sure it is clear, if Zagitova or Medvedeva is going to win.
 
Joined
Dec 9, 2017
Of course, Medvedeva and Zagitova are much better than the rest of the field, actually by 10 pts. in the short and 20 pts. in the free as was shown during the team event. It's not only about jumps - it's about everything. Who is at their level? May be theoretical clean Caro could challenge them but even if she manages somehow to show in a week what she was not able to show during the last 2 seasons it will not be the proof - it will be a miracle like the holy fire which falls on Jerusalem just once in a year and never in between.

But I was perplexed by the opening sentence. Who is the pre-ordained winner? I am not sure it is clear, if Zagitova or Medvedeva is going to win.

Pre-ordained because there really was no one getting better than Medvedeva in this quad. So we all knew who was going to win, until Zagitova came in. The PCS rise for Zagitova has been insane and I think it's been done to create the showdown we're going to have soon.

I think Medvedeva should've won the WCs she did, and Zagitova should be leading on FS scores. I just don't think their scores should be as huge as they are.
 

jenaj

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 17, 2003
Country
United-States
To answer the thread's question, maybe it's because skating attracts more female fans than other sports?
 

Putina

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 31, 2017
^ That is empirically true. Figure skating is perhaps the only sporting event I see a larger female audience in an arena.

But I am not sure that explains why female skaters are the ones who generate more attention than male skaters. Wouldn't female audience be more interested in male skaters?
 

Ballade88

On the Ice
Joined
Apr 19, 2017
Because it is one of the few sports that appeals to interests typically associated with females. Skating has elements of theatre, dance, music, and fashion. These aspects are more prominent in the ladies discipline than the men. Furthermore, the US has a history of ladies champions, so much of our association with the sport is with the ladies field. Pairs skating also used to be quite popular because it had the added element of romance. I recall G & G being quite popular in the US and there were quite a few skating movies that featured pairs skating.
 

jenaj

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 17, 2003
Country
United-States
^ That is empirically true. Figure skating is perhaps the only sporting event I see a larger female audience in an arena.

But I am not sure that explains why female skaters are the ones who generate more attention than male skaters. Wouldn't female audience be more interested in male skaters?

No, just like male audiences are more interested in male sports, female audiences like female sports--or at least a female sport like ladies figure skating that includes artistic expression, both in movement and in packaging.
 

chairmanmao

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 10, 2013
They are boring with a pre-ordained winner this quad.

So naturally the ISU has manufactured a showdown between Med and Zag. Bet this pulled in around a 1000 more audience members than it would have.

Whatever works. Just let's not pretend that they are far better the rest of the field. They land jumps, but that's about it.

That's because they are. I mean who is the ISU going to pit splat queens Osmond and Kostner? I suppose instead of pretending the Russians are a class above we could always pretend not seeing the splats, the lack of transitions and the incessant crossovers, the less than ideal spin positions etc.
 
Joined
Dec 9, 2017
That's because they are. I mean who is the ISU going to pit splat queens Osmond and Kostner? I suppose instead of pretending the Russians are a class above we could always pretend not seeing the splats, the lack of transitions and the incessant crossovers, the less than ideal spin positions etc.

Did I disagree with Alina and Evgenia dominating this field?

I don't see where.

I am allowed to say that they aren't far better than the rest of the field. Their PCS is hyper-inflated to give them the win. But their wins themselves are usually deserved. Not always, as I disagree with a few of the GP results we had this season, but usually.
 

Ladskater

~ Figure Skating Is My Passion ~
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
Well, since I'm a lady and I figure skated for a number of years, of course I watch the ladies skate! Karen Magnussen is still my hero and who inspired me to skate when I was young. You ask what is special about the ladies? I would answer everything! The ladies bring the feminine, artistic side to skating. Of course, there are a lot of athletic women skaters, but they still have that feminine side that makes you feel as though you're at the ballet. The male skaters have always made it exciting to watch because they can do the big jumps, but I still enjoy watching the artistry of the ladies.
 
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