Pro, Pro- Am, and Exhibition/ Show Schedule

[Patty]

Teenes, who runs The Kurt Files, has listed the Pro, Pro- Am, and Exhibition/ Show Schedule for the upcoming season on her site at 2002-2003 Events (http://www.kurtfiles.com/events0203.html) and in this FSUniverse thread: Are there any dates for upcoming pro events? (http://www.fsuniverse.net/cgi-bin/forums/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=001941)

For more information on Ice Wars, the future of World Pros, and a little on the Hallmark Skaters' Championship, go to Blades On Ice: August 1 News Briefs (http://www.bladesonice.com/mag/blaweb1.htm) and scroll to "Whatever Happened To Pro Competitions?"

I wonder who will skate in Ice Wars, and if anyone will actually decide to lose their eligibilty by being in Ice Wars? Do pairs still compete in that competition? Maybe S&P will officially turn pro there. They could have S&P on the World Team competing against M&S on the US Team.

[jcspkbfan]

If the competition formerly known as World Pros does become a pro-am event (and it looks more and more like it will be), I wonder how many top eligible skaters will show up? It's not listed on any website as far as I know, but I remember someone saying one of those USFSA pro-am thingys is scheduled for the same weekend. I know Michelle Kwan has a contract to appear at these USFSA pro-am events and I wonder how many other US skaters are in the same situation (and how that would affect some of the names the World Pros/Hallmark organizers might be hoping to get for their event?)

1999 was the only year pairs and dance have competed in Ice Wars (but if I remember correctly, their scores were separate from the singles skaters' and didn't count towards their teams' final results, which I thought was kind of unfair). That was also the year there were six singles skaters on each team instead of the usual four, which made the competition more exciting for me. I'm hoping Ice Wars will return to this format next fall, but if they're having that much trouble attracting skaters to appear, it doesn't sound too likely. :(

As far as I know, Ice Wars is currently the only purely unsanctioned pro competition left anymore, but I wonder how the recent ISU judging scandal will influence the decisions of skaters who are still "on the fence" in terms of turning pro or staying eligible?

Here's something else I noticed:

"Stars on Ice will be aired Jan. 5, 2003 from 4-6PM EST on NBC, and will also have an A&E broadcast."

Does this mean NBC will actually show a two-hour SOI broadcast next fall? I hope so, but even a 90-minute broadcast (which I thought was what NBC was going to do) would be an improvement over last year's NBC SOI broadcast! And will the A&E broadcast just be a repeat of the original NBC broadcast or will it be a taping of a different show with different footage (similar to what NBC and TBS used to do in the mid-'90s--TBS would tape and broadcast the opening Lake Placid show while NBC would tape and broadcast a different show about a month or so into the tour. I hope this is the route NBC and A&E will take next season).

[Teenes]

Whoops, I apparently forgot to edit my events page, and therefore wrote slightly incorrect info in my FSU post. Stars on Ice is being broadcast on NBC from 4:30-6PM EST. It used to be listed as 4-6, which was clearly incorrect since it's always been described as a 90 minute broadcast =).

I'm pretty sure A&E will tape at the same performance because there's probably lower overhead in having one set of cameras at one performance being used to capture footage for two broadcasts. Also, because NBC is not in charge of the Stars on Ice broadcast - Disson owns the rights for the NBC broadcast, but Disson isn't in charge of the production or actual taping of the show either. In the past, Insight/TWI has been responsible for taping and creating the broadcasts, and I'm willing to guess they're doing it again this year. A&E has done 2 hour broadcasts every other year they've had one, and I *think* (but I don't know) they'll do 2 hours again this year.

BTW I'm fairly sure the Hallmark Championships is a pro-am this year.

[jcspkbfan]

Thanks, Teenes, I kind of thought that two-hour NBC SOI broadcast listing was too good to be true--but like I said before, at least that's a half-hour more than what they gave us last year! :)

[Patty]

Originally posted by jcspkbfan
If the competition formerly known as World Pros does become a pro-am event (and it looks more and more like it will be), I wonder how many top eligible skaters will show up? It's not listed on any website as far as I know, but I remember someone saying one of those USFSA pro-am thingys is scheduled for the same weekend.

IIRC, Mary Lally posted that Hallmark and the USFSA pro-am will each be only one day on different days, so it would be possible (though I would think challenging) for skaters to do both competitions.

1999 was the only year pairs and dance have competed in Ice Wars (but if I remember correctly, their scores were separate from the singles skaters' and didn't count towards their teams' final results, which I thought was kind of unfair). That was also the year there were six singles skaters on each team instead of the usual four, which made the competition more exciting for me. I'm hoping Ice Wars will return to this format next fall, but if they're having that much trouble attracting skaters to appear, it doesn't sound too likely. :(

I think they may have to have pairs and maybe dance to fill up the rosters. Do you think Scott H., Kristi, Brian B. and maybe even Roz might come back for this? They should invite Tonia K. back. Her Marilyn number was fun.

As far as I know, Ice Wars is currently the only purely unsanctioned pro competition left anymore, but I wonder how the recent ISU judging scandal will influence the decisions of skaters who are still "on the fence" in terms of turning pro or staying eligible?

I think it depends on how the skaters interpret the situation, and what they think the outcome could be. This scandal could be the good swift kick in the pants the ISU has needed for a long time to finally actually do some things to help resolve the situation. Or it could end up being just business as usual. I think it's too early to tell what will happen, so I think most skaters will continue to take a wait and see attitude and stay eligible. JMO.

[Artemis]

Originally posted by jcspkbfan
If the competition formerly known as World Pros does become a pro-am event (and it looks more and more like it will be), I wonder how many top eligible skaters will show up?

That's one issue ... but I'm quite disappointed that it will be a pro-am for the sake of the pros. I have no objection to pro-am competitions in general, and when done correctly they can often provide a great venue for comparing the two "styles," but I feel strongly that the pros should have the "World Pros" as their own. Eligible skaters, after all, have plenty of competitions all their own.