I'm looking around my area and reading reports from competitions saying that entries are down by 20%. That's 1/5. That's a lot. I know I'm not a math wizard here, but I believe this looks like a bad cloud is over our heads for the future of the sport. What's going on? Does anyone see similar "symptoms" locally or nationally? I know that in my locale, there used to be intense competition at every level. You could go to a local competition and see, for instance, 5-10 Sr. Men, or 5 pair. We're down to even 10 Novice women at "big" competitions(!) zero top pairs showing up, only 2-4 reportedly training in the section anyway, ONE lonely Jr boy and ONE sr. Man. It seems as though an entire generation of highly-tested skaters (approx. age 16-mid 20's) has just disappeared here.
I thought that, in an Olympic year, interest would be higher.
Any ideas? Answers?
I thought that, in an Olympic year, interest would be higher.
Any ideas? Answers?