The solution to girls dropping out of sports is to find sports that they can play, engage with and enjoy all their life.:agree: accommodating dropping out is admitting failure and contrary to the principles of sport, IMO.
The solution to girls dropping out of sports is to find sports that they can play, engage with and enjoy all their life.:agree: accommodating dropping out is admitting failure and contrary to the principles of sport, IMO.
And denying acknowledgement and achievement because someone is too young is sporting? While commending young overachievers in practically every other sphere of life. He was king and a warrior at 14! She taught herself to read at the age three! He was a virtuoso pianist at nine! Etc, etc, etc. But you skate good? Yeah, forget it.
Of course you didn't say speed skaters were invited, you just mentioned them as a comparison. That's what made me laugh. Not at you, but at the comparison as speed skating and Figure Skating are so different. But obviously everyone wants to win. I've never denied that. I just wish skaters to root for over a period of time, as a watcher not as an athlete. In speed skating that's normal by the way. Us Dutchies are all rooting for Kramer (the Speed fans that is) and he's been on the scene for many years! Many people worry about his injuries, but because we like him to be back in medal contention, and admire him for going on. Even though he never managed to get the 10 km Olympic gold. The same longevity thing: we don't want a one day champ, a fluke, we want someone to follow through the years. Even in speed skating.
I’m afraid I don’t know who is doing all this commending dor other “young” achievers, but it isn’t me? and in fact, piano is a good example. A 13 year old may play the Emperor Concerto note-perfect and up to tempo. A 13 year old has nothing to say about the Emperor Concerto that I want to hear.
I prefer it when I don’t know who will win in advance. I would love it if the top ten ranking all had a chance to be on the podium, and not just in the running for bronze. I want to see new faces, new ideas, new daring rewarded, not put into a queue.
No. Valieva won over Liu who had landed 2 quad lutzes and 3A.With the current system in the ladies, we already know anyway. Whoever has the quads & 3A and lands them wins.
No. Valieva won over Liu who had landed 2 quad lutzes and 3A.
With the current system in the ladies, we already know anyway. Whoever has the quads & 3A and lands them wins.
With the men, one never really knows, esp during 2015 to 2018 season when the quad craze was on. The men do multiple quads, ice is slippery.
With a vast majority of other sports, the athletes compete 2 Olympic cycles at least. These days even women's gymnastics has longer active careers than Women's Figure Skating. Longevity is a factor to consider when parents want to sign their kids up for a sport.
I support the raising of age limit. It's been done in gymnastics and there are still tiny girls who benefit from their size, but there are also bigger women who benefit from strength, power, or increased artistry. But my biggest reason to support older skaters is that they would be women, not children. A child of 11, 12, etc does not fully get to decide how much they skate, how often they train, whether they need to back off due to injury, etc. They are more likely to be led (or even forced) by the parents and the coaches. A young women of 16 is better able to stand up for herself, to say "no" when she's hurting, to better make her own decisions to guide her skating career. Having the mental confidence and autonomy that comes with age is ultimately in the best interest of the skater, herself. And, if that translates to longevity, all the better.
How could any new rivalries develop if it’s all the same small pool of skaters for many years? If barrier to entry into competitive events is too low, it’s unfair to those not selected of equal capabilities. If the barrier is as high as it is now, it is taxing to the point when maintaining competitive shape for a number of years borders on health issues.
Males develop slower and retain lean mass better over years, because they don’t have hormonal reproductive pressure. They perform better when lean, handle fasting better.
Pushing for delay of entry into the competition, and insisting on longer stay in the sport for women will result in selection leaning towards either the ladies predisposed naturally to higher levels of male hormones or the ones that would jeopardize their hormonal balance by the simplest method possible, food deprivation. It’s by far more dangers imo, than letting the vibrant teens compete. They had years of training.
Not to take anything away from her very legit win, but Valieva barely beat Liu who had 3 underrotations and a fall on said quad lutzes and 3A in her FS.
Arutyunyan is quite the mysoginist for comparing Tutberidze’s Terrific Trio to disposable cups.
Arutyunyan is quite the mysoginist for comparing Tutberidze’s Terrific Trio to disposable cups.
No. Valieva won over Liu who had landed 2 quad lutzes and 3A.
They are all envious. Raf is just lucky to win a jackpot with Nathan Chen. I am sure any other good coach would do no worse than him with such a student. They even live in different cities while Nathan is doing his studies. Eteri's success has nothing to do with luck - it's a system. And she is also on the ice every day with all of them (except competitions and vacations). Nothing like long-distance coaching.
Back in those days, didnt the skaters had shows where they can money from? Wasnt that one the reasons some retired early?Longevity is not a factor for everyone; there have always been skaters with longer and shorter careers. Even when Witt and Kwan had their dominance, there were also many skaters who stopped earlier. And AFAIK, Tuktamysheva is still skating competitively at 23. And Carolina Kostner was still medalling very late into her career. We can't expect everyone to have long careers, quads or not. Even during Michelle Kwan's time, there was only one Michelle, not 20. And there was also Tara Lipinski who compete against her as a teen.