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Post by Admin on May 14, 2020 20:06:23 GMT
 Soviet and Russian figure-skating legend Tatiana Tarasova, who has brought dozens of athletes to Olympic glory, has said that the International Skating Union’s (ISU) present policy ‘puts the sport back 40 years’ The renowned coach criticized the skating governing body, which introduced restrictions on quads in women’s events, prohibiting female competitors from landing the extremely complicated jump in short programs. “In my opinion, nothing should be banned,” the 73-year-old said. “Quad jumps should be allowed in the women’s short program. They should be allowed! Let skaters perform to the maximum of their abilities, which will help to develop the sport. Why should anything be prohibited? It will not bring any victories or success. Why put figure skating back 40 years?” Under the current ISU regulations, quadruple jumps which have been performed by a few skaters, including Russian sensations Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova, could only be demonstrated in a free program. The strict rule sparked heated debates in the figure-skating community, with many pundits treating it as an attempt to end Russia’s dominance in ladies' skating.  “I think that the strategy chosen by the ISU is wrong. Some people think that the future of figure skating should be oriented around low-level skaters. But I personally wish the bar to be risen for everyone,” Tarasova added. Quad jumps have become a burning issue in figure skating, after more and more skaters have acquired the jump skill, substantially improving their technical content. 'Child factory & inhumane culture': Russia’s figure skating system faces lazy stereotypes simply because it’s winning So far only Eteri Tuberidze’s skaters and American Alysa Liu have confidently landed quads during international competitions. Some critics who speak in favor of raising the age limit in women’s skating have asked the ISU to ban quads altogether, insisting that young skaters push their bodies to the limit during intense training, which badly affects their health. The emergence of the quad-jumping generation caused a revolution in the sport, forcing the former leaders with less impressive technical skills to retire. Extremely high competition and rapid change of leaders has intensified speculation over the age-limit changes, after several top skaters finished careers having spent just one or two seasons at senior level. The ISU, which oversees figure-skating events, is facing a difficult dilemma of how to make athletes’ careers longer while at the same time not halting any progress triggered by the quad-jumpers. |
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Post by Admin on May 21, 2020 4:34:45 GMT
In the ever-changing calculus of figure skating’s mathlympics, the latest recalculations change some of Nathan Chen’s formula for success.
His two highest-valued jumps, the quadruple Lutz and quad flip, no longer add up to much – or as much – of an advantage.
When Chen hit his first quad Lutz in 2016, the element had a base value of 13.6 points, the highest score for a jump anyone has landed in competition. At that time, a quad Lutz was worth 1.3 points more than a quad flip and 1.6 more than a quad loop.
By last season, when Chen won his second straight world title with brilliant quad Lutzes in the short program and free skate, the jump’s value had been reduced to 11.5, compared to 11.0 for the flip and 10.5 for the loop.
Next season, according to the scale-of-value list the International Skating Union published last week, the Lutz, flip and loop all will have a base value of 11.0. And the Lutz now will be worth just 1.5 more than the mundane quad toe loop after having been worth 3.3 more back in 2016.
In practical terms, what does it mean that the three toughest quads – but especially the Lutz and flip – have lost value over the past several seasons?
If the current values had applied last season, with everything else equal, Alena Kostornaia (no quads) would have won the Russian Championship instead of Anna Shcherbakova (two outstanding quad Lutzes in the free skate).
Going forward, it means both the growing battalion of Russian women doing the toughest quads and also Chen, who routinely lands quad Lutz and quad flip, will have lost some of their edge in scoring potential. Plus, a lower base value also means fewer points to be multiplied in the grade of execution factoring.
“These changes being ‘new’ to 2020-21 have to be interpreted as a reaction to the Russian ladies’ dominance and that of Nathan Chen, too,” said Tom Zakrajsek, a top U.S. coach, in an email.
Chen said this week by telephone that he finds the new values fair but wishes there would be a bonus for skaters like him, Yuzuru Hanyu and Shoma Uno of Japan, Vincent Zhou of the U.S., Daniel Grassl of Italy and Alexander Samarin of Russia if they land more than one of the three hardest quads in a program.
According to skatingscores.com, Chen and Grassl are the only ones who have landed all three at least once in their career. Among men in major international competitions beginning in 2010-11, including Junior Grand Prix and Challenger Series events, 13 different skaters have landed a clean quad Lutz, six a clean quad flip, five a clean quad loop. By comparison, 93 have landed a clean quad toe loop and 42 a clean quad Salchow.
“It makes sense they are similarly valued, but there should be some extra incentive to do all the three hardest ones because it is difficult for some skaters to do some,” Chen said. “The loop is a very difficult jump for me; for others, it is quite easy.
“There are pros and cons to these changes for each athlete. I have a Lutz, and because they are reducing its value, that does negatively impact me. At the same time, I can work to get my loop consistent (he has tried just one, in 2017) and to improve the grade of execution on my jumps.”
Including the U.S. Championships, Chen has done 34 quad Lutz jumps in competition, 16 combination. Twenty-four of the 34 were judged clean, and all but two receive full base value credit.
Which quad is hardest of the “big three?”
And of the two pick jumps, the Lutz and flip, which have different takeoff edges, is one harder?
“For me, the Lutz is the most difficult jump technically, the loop the most difficult physically,” said Russian coach Oleg Vasiliev, the 1984 Olympic pairs champion, in an email.
“The difficulty of (quad flip vs. quad Lutz) depends mainly on the body of the skater,” Fabio Bianchetti of Italy, chairman of the ISU singles and pairs technical committee, said via email. “Quad loop, if you see the statistics, is probably the most difficult quad, but this also depends mainly on the body of the skater, so we decided to give all three of those quad jumps the same value.”
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Post by Admin on May 21, 2020 19:51:34 GMT
For next season, the ISU’s technical committee for singles and pairs has added another level of complexity to a rotation evaluation that already included “downgraded” (half a revolution short, indicated by “<<” on results sheets) and “under rotated” (between one-quarter and one-half revolution short, indicated by “<”). Both those errors affect the base value of a jump by a defined amount.
Now the technical panel is being asked to indicate jumps that are exactly one-quarter rotation short. Such jumps, to be designated “q,” on results sheets, will get full base value but bring a subjective deduction by the judging panel for grade of execution.
And the ISU is cracking down on “cheated” jumps. Some are jumps where there is “excessive rotation on the ice” before takeoff. Others, referred to as “toe Axels,” occur when the backward takeoff for a jump that uses the toe pick has a half-rotation on the ice and begins like the forward takeoff for an Axel.
The rotation decisions mean that more than ever, a call made by the technical panel can have a huge impact on the result.
“Based on the view we have had, I feel very confident about the calls we have made,” said technical specialist David Santee, who finished fourth in men’s singles at the 1980 Olympics and sixth in 1976. “If the call was close, I gave the benefit of the doubt to the skater.”
The ISU’s Bianchetti said that adding the “q” designation would make the technical panel’s work easier by not forcing it to choose between calling a jump either under rotated or fully rotated when a jump is one-quarter rotation short. Calling these “borderline cases” under rotated, he noted, would bring deductions in both base value and grade of execution that could amount to five points on high-value jumps – and the three-person technical panel often is split on which call to make.
“Adding to the job of the technical panel with only one camera angle creates not only a burden on them but… gives even more power to the technical panel to determine the results of the competition,” Zakrajsek said.
Santee’s concern about the new designation is based on how few chances he and other technical panel members may have to get used to it in lower-level, “pre-season” events because many such events already have been cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s going to be a challenge getting kinks worked out before the (2021-22) Olympic season,” Santee said, noting the uncertainty over the fate of all this season’s events.
Bianchetti felt that even if more events were cancelled this season, there would be enough time for technical panels to practice with the changes before the Olympic season.
“I like that they have added the ‘q’ and the ‘toe axel’ and that they are going to account for them in GOE,” Chen said. “There will be some questionable calls over the next couple seasons because of camera angles and the speed things happen.
“We have to figure out how to make it truly fair and for everyone to get the marks they deserve.”
Bianchetti agreed that IJS is not easy to explain “to ordinary people and by TV commentators, but I don’t see any difference (in that) from the past season with the changes introduced now.”
Arutunian figured that in the end, it is up to each skater to leave no doubt about his or her superiority.
“Our sport has always been subjective, regardless of the accepted system of judging,” Arutunian said, “I don’t believe in complete objectivity in cases where people, with or without the assistance of machines, are making the decisions. A figure skater must be a head taller than the rest and just deal with it.”
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Post by Admin on May 26, 2020 20:39:17 GMT
With many nations around the world rebounding from the COVID-19 pandemic, figure skating is slowly getting back on track. Training centres around the globe have reopened the past three weeks and more are getting set to do so starting May 25 — all with tight restrictions re the number of skaters permitted on the ice at one time, along with strict rules re cleaning and sanitizing processes. Despite the various restrictions, skaters are excited about the opportunity to be able to return to a modified training regimen in preparation for the 2020-2021 competitive season.  In the U.S., some rinks (the ones we know of) are open in Colorado, Alaska, Texas and Florida with more scheduled to reopen on May 25. The World Arena in Colorado Springs commenced operations on May 4 — attendance is strictly limited to its coaches and their students. Only 10 people are permitted on the ice at the same time. After a two-month break, Marina Zoueva′s International Skating Academy in Estero, Florida, reopened May 21 with strict social distancing measures in place. ″We just have to be careful for each other. We have to help each other stay healthy and still keep working,” Zoueva said. Skate Canada provincial sections are still working on Stage 1 of a return. When rinks reopen in Ontario (possibly sometime next week), only five people (including the coach) will be allowed to attend a session, and the protocol is strictly limited to high performance figure skaters, pairs and ice dance teams at the junior and senior levels. In Québec, sports excellence is currently listed in Phase 6 of the rollout. In some rinks, the ice is being melted with no expectation that those will reopen until September. Elite level skaters have returned to training in Germany and Switzerland. Only national team members can train in Germany, and only five skaters can be on the ice together. Coaches must be behind the boards. In Bavaria, pairs and ice dance teams can train but they are not allowed to do pair elements. In Berlin, there are no restrictions. In Japan, ice rinks are still closed. Most of the year-round rinks are planning to reopen on June 1, except those that are owned by universities. The rinks at both the Kansai and Chukyo universities will remain closed, along with everything else on campus, until further notice. Yuzuru Hanyu’s home rink in Sendai is scheduled to reopen June 1. Italy’s Daniel Grassl reported he had been training in Bolzano with his coach Lorenzo Magri. “Now I train in the morning for three hours at home, then I have lessons, and then leave for Bolzano to the coach. In general, everything already resembles a normal life.” Matteo Rizzo is also back training at the Ice Lab in Bergamo, his home rink. French authorities originally ordered all rinks closed until at least June 2, but the de-confinement law of May 11 permits high-level athletes (other than group sports) to resume training. Skaters will return to the ice in Courchevel on May 25. Kévin Aymoz tweeted he is excited to be back on the ice. South Korean skaters have also resumed training at the Mokdong Ice Rink in Seoul. In a recent interview, Young You said she has two new programs (choreographed by Lori Nichol in Canada in late March) but, as both her coaches — Tammy Gambill and Mie Hamada — are in the U.S. and Japan, respectively, her mother has been sending clips of You′s training to Hamada. The Russian Figure Skating Federation has confirmed that two training camps for national team members are set to open: the Olympic centre in Novogorsk on May 25 and the other in Kislovodsk in early June. National team members are scheduled to begin training in Novogorsk this coming week. All personnel will be tested for coronavirus and skaters who receive a medical clearance will remain at the training base for the foreseeable future. (Team Russia 2020-2021) Nina Mozer confirmed that Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov will attend the camp in Novorgorsk, as will Eteri Tutberidze and her team. “Sitting at home is simply impossible,” said Anna Shcherbakova. ”If, at the beginning of quarantine there was some enthusiasm, now I want to quickly run out onto the ice. I think we will go out and just learn to jump again. Putting on skates is already unusual. And after such a break it’s even harder to imagine.” The students of Alexei Mishin (Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, Sofia Samodurova, Anastasia Gulyakova, Gleb Lutfullin,and Yevgeny Semenenko) will attend the camp in Kislovodsk, as will those of Evgeni Plushenko. “Our team, together with Sasha Trusova, Veronika Zhilina, Sofia Titova and Cyril Sarnovsky, is going to a training camp in Kislovodsk. I made an application to the federation, and the federation completed everything. We leave on June 1,” said Plushenko, who trained at the mountain base during his competitive career. Alexander Samarin, Dmitri Aliev and Makar Ignatov will also attend the camp in Kislovodsk. Akiko Tamura and Tatjana Flade contributed to this report. |
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