Tanith Will Get US Citizenship in Time!!!

[dbny]

Congress Clears Way for Ice Dancer to Represent U.S. (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/23/sports/othersports/23skate.html?oref=login)

You have to register to read this article in the NY Times, but it's free and you won't get spammed. Here's the first paragraph:

"Congress cleared the way yesterday for the figure skater Tanith Belbin to gain United States citizenship in time to represent the country in the Turin Olympics, where she and her ice dancing partner, Ben Agosto, are favored to win a medal."

[NoVa Sk8r]

The bill also affects Max & Morgan.
(Here's USFSA's take. (http://www.usfsa.org/event_story.asp?id=32465))

[Kylen15]

I cannot say how happy I am for the dance teams in question. While there are other pressing issues to be resolved in Congress right now, I am happy to see this one resolved.

For the first time in many years, the U.S. will have an opportunity to send their very best dance teams to the Olympics, without worrying about citizenship. Hurrah!

[schnood]

Congress Clears Way for Ice Dancer to Represent U.S. (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/23/sports/othersports/23skate.html?oref=login)

You have to register to read this article in the NY Times, but it's free and you won't get spammed. Here's the first paragraph:

"Congress cleared the way yesterday for the figure skater Tanith Belbin to gain United States citizenship in time to represent the country in the Turin Olympics, where she and her ice dancing partner, Ben Agosto, are favored to win a medal."

Good for her for hopefully getting her citizenship in time....I wouldn't say that they're exactly favoured for a medal in Torino with the way things in ice dance have gone this year, and especially with F-P & M and D & V back in the mix.

I think their silver at worlds last year was a consolation prize for not being able to go to the Olympics, as it looked like at the time.

I hope Ben is healed enough to skate now that it looks like they'll be able to go to the Olympics!!

[Samskate]

I'm so glad. That whole situation was ridiculous. It would have been a shame for them to not be able to go, especially since they're arguably the best team the US has had in a very long time, if ever. When you get right down to it, all it needed was for someone to use a little common sense to get it settled. I'm very pleased for them. They both seem like such nice people in addition to being very talented.

[Nicki]

So happy this passed. It was ridiculous that people who appiled for citizenship when Tanith and Max did were still waiting to get it, while others who applied afterwards were already citizens. I wish Ben a speedy recovery and hope to see them representing the U.S. at the Oylmpics.

[stardust skies]

What I've always thought is that either there should be citizenship restrictions for Worlds and other international competitions, or there shouldn't be restrictions on anything, including the Olympics. The ISU needs to make up its mind, IMO.

I know Tanith has lived here a long time, but she is here to train. She may stay once she's done skating, but regardless, while I'm glad she's able to get her citizenship in time, I think it's very sad that a human being has to switch nationalities JUST to have a shot at a medal in their chosen sport. Sport is temporary, citizenship is lifetime. I don't think athletes should be forced to do that, not like it'd be hard to honor both countries if a team with citizens of different nationalities won a medal.

[NoVa Sk8r]

What I've always thought is that either there should be citizenship restrictions for Worlds and other international competitions, or there shouldn't be restrictions on anything, including the Olympics. The ISU needs to make up its mind, IMO.Right, but ISU does not run the Olympics. The IOC does, and competitors need to follow their rules.

[Kylen15]

I'd like to add two comments:

1) Tanith and Ben might very well deserve a medal in Torino, and they certainly are a terrific dance team. But whether the U.S. finally gets any respect at an Olympic Games (for reference, I point to 1984, 1998 and 2002, where teams got routinely screwed after strong Worlds performances the year before) will depend on just how solid the judging system turns out to be.

2) Frankly, if it's the IOC making the distinction, then the IOC needs to make new rules to adjust to the changing international scene. It's not just the U.S. dance teams being affected. It affects athletes in general who decide, for WHATEVER reason, that they do not want to live in/represent the country they were born in.

[stardust skies]

Right, but ISU does not run the Olympics. The IOC does, and competitors need to follow their rules.

Hmmm...then Cinquanta needs to kick their butts so that they get with the program, already. I wonder why nobody has tried to change this. Or they have and it just hasn't been widely advertised. Either way, I wish it would happen.

[Mel On Ice]

I know Tanith has lived here a long time, but she is here to train. She may stay once she's done skating, but regardless, while I'm glad she's able to get her citizenship in time, I think it's very sad that a human being has to switch nationalities JUST to have a shot at a medal in their chosen sport. Sport is temporary, citizenship is lifetime.

People do it all the time in cases of marriage, work, escaping oppression, etc. I've known Mexican farmers, Canadian pharmacists, and Russian physicians who had adopted this country for those reasons. It's a matter of retaining your heritage while adopting your new identity. I love being an American, but am proud of my Polish and Italian roots.

Tanith has proven herself to be an upstanding person on both sides of the border, in her charity work and in the field of ice dance. She's not going to forget she's Canadian, but she will now be a Canadian/American.

[loveskating]

I'd like to add two comments:

1) ...But whether the U.S. finally gets any respect at an Olympic Games (for reference, I point to 1984, 1998 and 2002, where teams got routinely screwed after strong Worlds performances the year before) will depend on just how solid the judging system turns out to be.


I disagree. US dance teams were generally third rate, and only recently, with international help and coaching and participation, have come up to snuff -- and IMHO Punsalen & Swallow only reached top tier at end of 1998, IMHO, and made so many mistakes it was pathetic too! Ice dancers like Klimova and Ponnamarenko, Grishuk and Platov, Navka's husband and his partner, Klimova and Ovsiannikov and others were magnificant ice dancers who simply raised the bar.

In any case, Tanith and Ben are first rate, special, unique, smart, high level of technique, totally open and vulnerable, and and I cannot wait to see them win an OGM! I really, really hope they do! But if Navka and Kostamarov or Grushina and Goncharov outskate them, so be it. They are all very close, IMHO.

[Jim D]

basher – Personal attacks on skaters or other posters are not tolerated on this board. … Make your vacuous comments elsewhere.

[crayonskater]

Oh, please, Tanith is doing it for purely selfish reasons.
By the way Canadians think of themselves as CANADIANS, not some Canadian/American hybrid. That's a rather dumb ugly american comment.

Upstanding citizen? LOL The little honey couldn't even pretend to be sorry when her grandfather recently died. She's cold, shallow and selfish. She doesn't give a damn about the U.S. it's just her stepping stone to fame.

basher, basher. Reading comprehension. It's not hard. The PP didn't say all Canadians were Canadian/American, but that Tanith is now Canadian-American. Kind of a big difference, you see?

Not too much concerned with what you think of Tanith Belbin, but you might want to check your medication if the thought of someone switching citizenship gets you so upset you start losing your ability to read.