NPR Morning Edition spot on figure skating

[Rob Dean]

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123529251

From this morning's show....another non-fan of the IJS.

[Isk8NYC]

I really don't think we can blame the decline in figure skating popularity on IJS. I think the decline started with the knee capping - that generated very high "sensationalist" ratings on TV, but gave the sport a black eye.

Personally, I think figure skating has lost its ability to reach common folk, young and old. They've priced themselves out of the market.

I remember watching during the 60's and 70's and being awed by how ordinary the skaters were and how hard their families worked to get them to the upper echelon competitions. A 6.0 was HARD to get and the skaters tried their best, but often they'd lose without a fall on a triple-triple. Their mothers and grandmothers created their costumes and the skaters really weren't focused on "telling a story," they were demonstrating their skills.

It was great fun to go to a professional skating show and see the costumes and fancy skating, along with fun routines and interesting tricks. That's where the story thread went through. Today, you can see the glittering ladies and men with snakes or tassels at any figure skating competition, lol.

I really think that "glamming up" the competitions has put figure skating out of people's minds as a reachable sport. The exorbitantly-priced costuming and choreography/coaching is beyond people's boggle factor. The ISU Grand Prix purses - attractive enough, but how much money do you have to spend to win it? Hours and hours at the ice rink - one look at the price of freestyle sessions scares off many parents from having their kids take private lessons.

Rinks, coaches and organizers all say that "it's a very expensive sport" without an apology. There should be ways to conserve money for the really important things. My kids don't have Zuca bags. I carefully plan and buy their boots/blades to get a good price. I also won't waste my skating parents money. Example: several students are preparing for their first USFSA tests. I told them to wait until after June to pay for a full-year Club/USFSA membership. There are only four months left and the cost can't be pro-rated. That saved $70-$140 per family.

Little, if any, effort is made by the industry to provide cost-conscious entry into the sport. The group lesson, bridge, and vacation programs are available, but many skaters have to switch to privates when they reach middle school because of school schedules. Contracts and commissions, however small, cost money to create and track. That cost is being passed along to the students and their families.

Rinks don't have after-school public skating sessions any more. Ours ends at 4pm at the latest. In elementary school, the kids get out at 3:30 - you can't even drive to the rink before the session's over. Instead, Friday nights are teenage wilding parties, saturday and sundays are packed. It's really not fun to skate unless you enjoy riding the subway and not being able to fall down.

Many parents just don't want to get involved with a sport that could end up requiring a second job and mortgage. I think that fear is larger than the impact of IJS.

[TreSk8sAZ]

While it is true that the cost keeps people out of the sport, I think the article does hit it on the head regarding spectators (those outside of the skating world, and even some in) who found skating somewhat ruined by IJS. I don't think the article was really about those people who want to join in skating. The focus was more on those that wait for four years just to watch Olympic skating. These are the people that tune in to watch the skating in the Winter Olympics, but have no desire to do it themselves or to put their children in it, but just want to watch because it's figure skating (kind of like Summer Olympics where everyone tunes into gymnastics because it's so hard and graceful and just because they want to watch - not because they want to do it or have their kids do it).

For the person that has no knowlege of figure skating, but enjoys watching the sport, IJS does take some of the fun out of what they're watching. They see essentially the same jumps, spins in lots of awkward positions but generally the same in most programs, lots of falls, and a footwork pass or two. It's hard to explain the intricacies of the programs under IJS to someone who just wants to be excited to watch them, but doesn't want to have to care about GOEs and jump percentages.

In years past, spectators could be excited when someone skated cleanly, obviously had a wonderful program, and then wait with them to see the marks appear one by one. Now they see a bunch of numbers come up that they likely don't understand, and there's no real anticipation as they come up -- they're just there. And many times, skaters who didn't thrill the crowd or who fell end up doing better than those that skated clean or had an amazing performance.

People are going to get annoyed with something they don't understand when it's supposed to just be something they're watching for fun. When they don't understand or are annoyed, they aren't going to watch. Then that trickles down into all other aspects of skating because it has lost it's luster to them.

[doubletoe]

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123529251

From this morning's show....another non-fan of the IJS.

What he seems to be missing is that IJS wasn't made for fans; it was made for judges and skaters! If figure skating competitions were about what the fans liked, they wouldn't bother having judges, they'd just let the fans vote for their favorite skater. That's what ice shows and exhibitions are for (and previously, professional skating competitions).
Honestly, there were many times under 6.0 when the audience thought they had seen a great program, but that skater did not win. They were just as unhappy then. Fans just don't like it when the skater they thought was best doesn't win. No matter how you slice it, fans are not judges and someone will always fail to understand the results no matter what judging system is used. With IJS, at least there are scoresheets they can look at to see what got marked down. With 6.0, there was no explanation at all.

[Spider68]

Fine and dandy. The new scoring system is for the skaters and insiders. However, it is Joe-Public that watches television and goes to the skating shows. Frank Deford is correct - the sport is dying as a large market spectator sport. If we are happy becoming that small niche sport (curling, speed skating, etc.) then we also need to accept that there won't be skating spectaculars on television, and ice rinks will slowly close due to lack of interest. The premier public sporting event at the Olympics has become snowboarding and the other X-game type events. The public has moved on.