Fri. night: ABC does an injury piece on World News

[NoVa Sk8r]

Apparently, tonight on ABC World News (http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/) (6:30pm), they are doing a piece on injury in skating.

Here's what the site reads:
"Friday: With figure skating season opening, why are some of the very best skaters being forced off the ice?"

During my lesson this morning in Fairfax, Va., my pairs coach told Loops and me that ABC filmed a spot with Christine Brennan at the Fairfax rink. I've gotta see this ...
Tim Goebel trains there, so maybe they have footage of him?

[7302005]

Nothing new, except the blaming of the new scoring system...personally, I think injuries abound because of the jumps.

[skateflo]

Yes, I think the CoP is having an effect - the jumps have always been important but now they have to do much more physical things between, spins, footwork, etc. all to get the additional point scores. All of which means many run-throughs in practice, more hours on the ice and off-ice training. Add to that the various shows, charity events, and cheesefests etc. to earn more money (from the local level on up.) Some skaters handle it better than others. Some have to work harder and longer (more falls, near falls, twists, etc.) to get everything consistant, and the additional travel effects. The psychological pressure in this olympic year is tremendous - they are not just preparing for another competition - this is the dream year many have been working towards. And the media hounds them all. IMHO.

[Terri C]

Apparently, tonight on ABC World News (http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/) (6:30pm), they are doing a piece on injury in skating.

Here's what the site reads:
"Friday: With figure skating season opening, why are some of the very best skaters being forced off the ice?"

During my lesson this morning in Fairfax, Va., my pairs coach told Loops and me that ABC filmed a spot with Christine Brennan at the Fairfax rink. I've gotta see this ...
Tim Goebel trains there, so maybe they have footage of him?

Too bad you missed your moment of fame :P , but I did see your pairs coach in the report!!
On to the topic:
It's not just COP having a effect on this. It's the elimination of school figures, and the implementation of MIF. Nowadays, some kids have their Senior MIF passed by the ages of 10-13 and the body is not fully developed for the demanding jumps!!
The numerous competitions, exhibitions, and cheesfests are of no help either!

[jazzpants]

Here's the article:

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/ESPNSports/story?id=1237593

[Schmeck]

Caught a bit of it - Lipinski made an appearance (she looks rather old now!) to point out that her injuries came before CoP was in place...

[flippet]

"There are more injuries this year going into the season than I have ever seen in figure skating," said Christine Brennan

Um--how true is that, really now? So the top two happen to be out--suddenly that's 'more than you've ever seen'? Lots of years, lots of skaters start the season with injuries, miss competitions, or even miss the whole year--it's just that they're not the biggest names, so average Joe (and average skating reporter, apparently) doesn't pay any attention.


Gotta go for the flash, though--make people tune into the news and buy papers with hyperbole. :roll:

[LTM]

as I recall Elvis Stojko won his second silver skating with a groin injury and Alexi Yagudin required the kind of hip surgery
usually had by people in their fifties. Neither skater competed under COP.
Perhaps a few other things factor in. Perhaps methods of training skaters haven't
altered along with COP. There are a lot of younger coaches I notice but there's still plenty of the older ones who maybe haven't kept up with the changes in skating beyond figuring out how the points work. Perhaps skaters are staying in longer than they should. Maybe longer than is healthy for them.
How long has Kwan been competing anyway? Forget her chronological age for a minute and think of how many years her body's been put under the physical
stress of training and competing.
Once upon a time skaters didn't stay around in the competitive field as long as they do now. They did it for a few years then moved on, either out of the sport or into shows or coaching etc.
Let's face some facts. There are very few athletes (or dancers for that matter) who truely last beyond thirty - thiry-five years and those last years usually aren't peek. Joints stiffen a little, become less flexible, recovery time gets longer, repetitive stress injuries accumlate. And that stuff starts sooner than we think.
Christine Brennan claiming increased injuries are mostly due to COP is ignoring the bigger picture and not doing skaters any favors at all.

[daisies]

It's not just COP having a effect on this. It's the elimination of school figures, and the implementation of MIF. Nowadays, some kids have their Senior MIF passed by the ages of 10-13 and the body is not fully developed for the demanding jumps!!
WORD!!!

When there were figures, skaters didn't do back to back to back FS sessions. It was patch, FS, patch, FS ... it gave skaters time to decompress. Plus, as Terri C pointed out, skaters are moving up too fast. When we had to do figures, most skaters couldn't just sweep through the tests like they do now. Those figure tests were HARD. Plus, as the tests got higher, you had to do TWO figure tests before moving up. The 4th test was Novice, but then you still had to pass the 5th before you could take the Junior-level 6th. Then you had to pass the 7th before you could take the Senior-level 8th.

Oy, I could go on forever about this. But suffice it to say, it's ALL because of the elimination of figures. End of story.

[Tessie]

WORD!!!

When there were figures, skaters didn't do back to back to back FS sessions. It was patch, FS, patch, FS ... it gave skaters time to decompress. Plus, as Terri C pointed out, skaters are moving up too fast. When we had to do figures, most skaters couldn't just sweep through the tests like they do now. Those figure tests were HARD. Plus, as the tests got higher, you had to do TWO figure tests before moving up. The 4th test was Novice, but then you still had to pass the 5th before you could take the Junior-level 6th. Then you had to pass the 7th before you could take the Senior-level 8th.

Oy, I could go on forever about this. But suffice it to say, it's ALL because of the elimination of figures. End of story.

Well said and I couldn't agree more.