- Joined
- Jun 21, 2003
Having 6 Russian ladies at GPF is bad for ISU and Lakernik is a part of ISU. No one will watch such a competition in the U.S.A. I am not sure but like with UN I understand that big federations contribute financially, don't they? And the lack of interest to the discipline because one country drove over everyone else in a 100 thousand pound truck would lead to some unpleasant consequences.
Another point is that with 6:0 and even 5:1 the current status quo: meritocracy for GP series and quota system for the worlds/Olympics would come to the direct confrontation. One will have to admit that the half of the best skaters in the world are just cut from the main event for the rule sake with a dubious excuse of bringing smaller federations there.
I will try to be more open minded about all the possibilities.
However, to address the two points that you make in this post. (1) No one in the United States will watch the Grand Prix Final no ,matter how many Russians or Americans are there. Only a tiny handful of people in the U.S. even know that such a thing as the Grand Prix of Figure Skating exists.
In particular, I do not expect to see a boom in interest in skating in the U.S. because Mariah Bell lucks into the last spot in the Grand Prix Final along with 4 Russians and Rika Kihira, and finishes last, 30 points behind Alexandra Trusova. (But Go U.S.A.!)
As for where the ISU gets its money, I don't know (but there are many required financial documents in the public domain for this non-profit organization). A couple of decades ago a big chunk came from their multimillion dollar contract with U.S. ABC television. (In fact, securing this contract was touted as the shining accomplishment of the early career of then-ISU president Ottavio Cinquanta and propelled him to a twenty-year reign as a financial wizard.) I don't know what favors the television network or the USFSA got out of it. (But U.S. skaters did do pretty well in the 1990s. )
Later the U.S. television interest got a couple of perks for sure. In the 2009-2010 Olympic season, for instance, the ISU agreed to change the Grand Prix schedule around to put Skate America later (closer to the Olympics) so that American television could market a trifecta of Skate America/U.S. Nationals/Olympics to its audience.
Now the U.S. television money has dried up. Far from the networks giving money to skating organizations for the rights to televise events, he USFSA basically must find advertisers on its own before the television networks (reluctantly) agree to show anything at all on TV. The year after the 2010 Olympics they tried to get Evan Lysacek to participate in Skate America, but negotiations between Lysacek's agents and the USFSA fell through -- no money (so it was reported at the time.) About the same time (2008?) the ISU threatened to withdraw its sanction and financial support from Skate America in Washington State because the local organizing committee could not come up with enough money from local sponsors. (The U.S. had just tumbled into economic recession, and the State of Washington reneged on its pledge of contributing a few hundred thousand for the glory of good old Washington State.
Now the money has migrated to Japan. Again, this is more because of corporate sponsors than because of any official acts of the Japanese Skating Federation. In return Japan gets to have the Japan Open and the World Team Trophy as sanctioned ISU events. If you want to dance, you have to pay the piper.
(2) About the second point, that the ISU wants to avoid discussion of Grand Prix individual meritocracy in contrast with a Worlds format where every member federation gets to take part -- this debate has been going on for years (with everyone making the same points pro and con over and over). I don't see how this discussion embarrasses the ISU or, frankly, that it has much to do with the question of fair judging. Fans, federations, and the ISU alike expect fair judging whatever the format.
Personally, I don't see anything wrong with having different events organized by different sporting principles.