2016 Team Challenge Cup - Gen Info/Pre-chat

[Mrs. P]

Huge question--- so I wonder when they refer to ISU World Rankings...are they talking the ISU Season Rankings? Cause that's the only reference to rankings. The overall standings...doing use the ranking terminology.

 

[sequinsgalore]

Fan vote? Interesting... I wonder how they will go about it (internet-poll?)

Can I (as European) vote for every team, and say, vote on popular yet non-high scoring skaters for a team I don't want to win? (Kidding, as a skating fan I want to see high-level skating all the time )

 

[ice coverage]

Competition format:

Team Challenge Cup will feature two days of competition (tentative schedule below). Friday’s Singles Short Program will feature the ladies and men performing short programs for the distinction of Singles Short Program champion (team and individual). Saturday’s Singles and Team Free Skate segments will feature an aggregate scoring format to determine the 2016 Team Challenge Cup champion. Additional information about the event’s competition format and scoring will be announced at a later date.

Team Challenge Cup Schedule (tentative)
Friday, April 22 (evening): During the Singles Short Program, each singles athletes will perform his/her short program. The Team earning the most combined points (based on placement) will be crowned the Singles Short Program champion. Results from this segment will not carry over to Saturday's competition.

Saturday, April 23 (afternoon): The Team Free Skate will feature pairs and ice dance teams competing in an aggregate scoring format. Two pairs and ice dance teams from each Team will perform their free skates/dances, with the highest IJS scores in each discipline being added together for a total team score that will carry into the evening's Singles Free Skate.

Saturday, April 23 (evening): The Singles Free Skate will feature ladies and men competing in an aggregate scoring format. The singles athletes from each team will perform their free skates, with the two highest IJS scores in each discipline being added to the Team Free Skate score carrying over. The team with the highest aggregate IJS score will be crowned the 2016 Team Challenge Cup champion.

Sunday, April 24 (afternoon): An Exhibition featuring the best skaters from around the world.

http://usfigureskating.org/Story.asp?id=51443&type=media

 

[semosk8tfan]

Looking at the schedule, the singles skaters will do both a short and a long program but the pairs/dance will only compete their free. And the fan vote will only be for the 3rd singles slots. Sometimes the bias towards singles just ticks me off. (Sorry, rant over).

 

[Mrs. P]

Interesting, so it's sort of a Japan Open-style competition format with only the free skates counting toward the Team Challenge Cup overall prize....and a separate segment for the short program.

 

[sequinsgalore]

I don't like how the bottom-ranked skater(s) IJS score don't count towards the team result. Sometimes the lowest ranked skater(s) is pretty cut-and-dry, so they won't need to go all out. And it does not reward team depth which I fell a team comp should reward.

 

[ice coverage]

Interesting, so it's sort of a Japan Open-style competition format with only the free skates counting toward the Team Challenge Cup overall prize....and a separate segment for the short program.

And all in all, a unique format with substantial differences from the Sochi team event, from WTT, and from the Japan Open.

Haven't looked at all the documentation yet, but two inter-related things I'm wondering about:

- No mention of prize money? Or did I miss it? [ETA: Sorry, I did miss it. shiroKJ has enlightened me.]

- Top-ranked skaters will be "invited," but I wonder if ISU will have any leverage if a top-ranked skater declines the invitation?

ETA, a third thing:
- Will results count toward season's bests and personal bests?​

In other words, I'm wondering what the incentives are -- other than bragging rights and medals -- for top skaters to embrace another competition (and for some skaters, another long trip to the U.S.) just three weeks after Worlds in Boston? [ETA: again, sorry that I missed the prize money. :hopelessness:]

Don't mean to sound like Debbie Downer.
I think TCC will be exciting .

 

[shiroKJ]

And all in all, a unique format with substantial differences from the Sochi team event, from WTT, and from the Japan Open.

Haven't looked at all the documentation yet, but two inter-related things I'm wondering about:

- No mention of prize money? Or did I miss it?

- Top-ranked skaters will be "invited," but I wonder if ISU has any leverage if a top-ranked skater declines the invitation?​

Total prize money is $500,000. It doesn't mention how it will be split though.

 

[sequinsgalore]

- Top-ranked skaters will be "invited," but I wonder if ISU has any leverage if a top-ranked skater declines the invitation?[/INDENT]

They seemed to have leverage (something about not being able to skate in shows) for WTT, so I assumes the same applies here. What is the official acronym, TCC?

 

[ice coverage]

Total prize money is $500,000. It doesn't mention how it will be split though.

Ooops ... sorry that I overlooked it. Thx.

 

[ice coverage]

They seemed to have leverage (something about not being able to skate in shows) for WTT, so I assumes the same applies here. What is the official acronym, TCC?

Yes, the WTT leverage is exactly why I'm wondering whether the same applies for TCC (haven't seen comparable fine print yet for TCC, but perhaps it is yet another thing that I have missed :hopelessness.

I don't know the official acronym. I have been using TCC on an informal basis.

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ETA:

From Sept. 23-Oct. 1, all-event ticket packages will be available to those who have received a presale code. Click here to purchase tickets with your presale code.
http://www.teamchallengecup.com.prod.sportngin.com/presale​

 

[sequinsgalore]

So is this quadrennial team cycle?

Year 1: OWG Team competition
Year 2: World Team Trophy
Year 3: Team Challenge Cup
Year 4: World Team Trophy

With Japan Open every year? Quite different formats, though I feel we haven't found the ideal scoring/placement format yet...

 

[Mrs. P]

The money aspect alone will make it compelling to participate, me thinks, especially for those in Team North America.

 

[shiroKJ]

The money aspect alone will make it compelling to participate, me thinks, especially for those in Team North America.

WTT's prize money is $1 million and even then, some skaters (mainly from NA) complained about having to participate. And if I'm counting correctly, Team Challenge Cup will have 14 members per team (6 singles, and 4 pairs) whereas WTT only has 8 members to split the money amongst. So I doubt the prize money will have much luring power for the top skaters.

*ETA : Just realized that since there are only 3 teams for TCC, the total prize money give to the top 3 are pretty much the same give or take a few thousand. But still, splitting between 8 people and 14 is a pretty big difference...

 

[ice coverage]

The money aspect alone will make it compelling to participate, me thinks, especially for those in Team North America.

Agree. :agree:
(One of the reasons I originally asked my question about leverage is that I stupidly had overlooked the reference to prize money in the press release.)

So I do think the prize money will be a good incentive.

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Meanwhile, more about IN streaming:

The #TeamChallengeCup will be streamed live to a worldwide audience. No blackout restrictions will apply.
https://twitter.com/icenetwork/status/646767069002924032​

Detail about the exhibition:

The exhibition will feature 24 performances from Team Challenge Cup competitors and invited guests.
http://www.teamchallengecup.com.prod.sportngin.com/format[/INDENT]​

 

[Mathman]

It sounds to me like the ISU does not have much involvement in this event, except to give the USFSA its blessing to organize and try to sell it.

I like the rule that the top two cannot both be from the same country. Otherwise the ladies competition would just be USA versus Russia versus Japan.

Has Gracie Gold been pre-selected for the North American team regardless?

 

[ice coverage]

Huge question--- so I wonder when they refer to ISU World Rankings...are they talking the ISU Season Rankings? Cause that's the only reference to rankings. The overall standings...doing use the ranking terminology.

I see now that "ISU World Standings" is the language in the USFS press release.

http://usfigureskating.org/Story.asp?id=51443&type=media​

It was a page on the TCC website that said, "ISU World Rankings" hwell:. So happens that the text that I copied and pasted into my post above was from that TCC page.

http://www.teamchallengecup.com/athletes​

My guess is that "ISU World Standings" is what was intended.
(It's not the first time that USFS has been inconsistent and therefore imprecise in its exact wording .)

 

[CoyoteChris]

Thanks! Hope to see you and many GSers here!
(Gracie looked great but uncomfortable at the announcement)
http://s1217.photobucket.com/user/C...gracie small_zpsqoeqyamf.jpg.html?sort=3&o=62

FYI for diehards, today's announcement will be streamed by KHQ, a local Spokane news channel site. 11:45 am Pacific time.

The article that mentions the streaming (this link is not for the streaming itself):

http://www.khq.com/story/30091776/spokane-expected-to-host-first-ever-team-challenge-cup​

ETA, the STREAMING link for the announcement:

http://www.khq.com/story/30091776/w...xpected-to-host-first-ever-team-challenge-cup​

(LOL, earlier today, KHQ was live streaming the Pope at the White House. From the sublime to the ??? ...]

I have no idea whether all the team captains will be announced today .
Presumably a USFS press release will be forthcoming today ... as well as a flurry of coverage/mentions by Spokane media and figure skating reporters.

https://twitter.com/USFigureSkating/status/646724352881246208 #TeamChallengeCup​

But how much/little information will be announced today (other than Spokane's selection as the site) remains to be seen.

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Glad that attending another comp this season is in your future, Chris .

 

[NaVi]

I like the rule that the top two cannot both be from the same country. Otherwise the ladies competition would just be USA versus Russia versus Japan.

I don't really care that much at all, but dislike this rule... I was hoping the event would be a more concentrated and "higher octane" version of the WTT... and I'm not really a fan of fans voting on the 3rd spot either.

I would have preferred them taking the top 2(out of some list... Worlds, season's best, whatever) and then take diversity into account on the last spot provided it didn't reduce quality all that much.

 

[CoyoteChris]

Interesting about the "invited guests" part....
Even I would go to the Gala see MK and Yuna skate! OK, so I can dream.....
However, my dream would certainly sell tickets.....

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Detail about the exhibition:

The exhibition will feature 24 performances from Team Challenge Cup competitors and invited guests.
http://www.teamchallengecup.com.prod.sportngin.com/format[/INDENT]​

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