We have been watching the Figure Skating at the Olympics. The scoring system is slightly confusing and whilst I am no expert, seems a little biased to me. Having said that the athleticism and artistic interpretation is breathtaking. Flying around the ice and then taking off in the various jumps shows a level of skill and courage that only constant training can give you. I suggested to Wendy at our advanced age we should take up ice dancing, she gave me one of those looks, only she can summon and suggested just learning to skate would be unlikely! I have only been on ice skates maybe once or twice and have no memory of my performance but I would imagine it was very bad!
The training and dedication that must go into becoming that good is astonishing. We watched a documentary on BBC3 called Freeze which portrays the British skaters who aspire to the Elite squad. They are young, dedicated, enthusiastic, committed but from what we saw a million miles off the level that we have just watched competing at the Olympics, even the lower ranked skaters. We have a male figure skater our UK Champion, who does compete at the World level but since Covid seems unable to complete a Triple Sulko and therefore will never get a decent mark. It isn’t that he cant do it he just cant land it and it was painful watching as he constantly hit the ice. Before anyone says so I am aware that we have an Ice Dance couple who are in the top 10 to 15 in the world.
There is some controversy over teenage girls competing and the way they are treated and then discarded, specifically by the Russians. Apparently teenage girls being smaller and with narrower hips are more able to produced quad jumps, which the more “mature” women are not quite so able to do? To clarify quad jumps have a higher tariff and therefore you score is higher. This takes nothing away from their skill and indeed these girls are brilliant skaters.
There is nothing else we watch in the Winter Olympics, frankly the rest of it is of no interest and to my eyes boring but thats just my opinion and no reflection on the competitors skill.
Stay well
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