Several weeks ago in this column, I expressed hope that the International Olympic Committee would approve women’s ski jumping for the Winter Games. U.S. women ski jumpers have been fighting this uphill battle for some time. But there may be some hope on the horizon.
According to the New York Times, Jacques Rogue, president of the IOC said women’s ski jumping is being added to a Winter Youth Olympics in 2012 and has a “strong case” for being part of a future Olympics. While it maybe too late for the Vancouver Olympics in 2010, there's still hope for 2014.
In other Olympic news, NBC has extended its broadcast deal with the U.S. Figure Skating Association through the 2014 Winter Olympics in Solchi, Russia. The network will provide live coverage of the national figure skating championships and Skate America. That's good news for the sport which has had declining viewership and attendance in recent years.
Let's hope that NBC provides the coverage on its parent station and does not bury the event on its Oxygen network, like it did for the World Figure Skating Championships in Los Angeles last March. Some cable companies do not carry Oxygen, or if they do, it's at a premium, and many households don't have access to it. Despite this minor issue, the extended contract guarantees that figure skating will continue to have some exposure to American audiences.
Showing posts with label U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Show all posts
Showing posts with label U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Show all posts
Friday, August 28, 2009
Monday, February 18, 2008
Change Is in the Air For U.S. Figure Skating Championships
The Chicago Tribune learned that the U.S. Figure Skating Championships will be spread out over nine days and two weekends in 2010 to provide for live coverage of the sport on NBC leading into the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Under the new format, which will only be in effect for 2010 and other Olympic years that follow, the senior men’s and pairs competition would take place during the first weekend and the ladies and ice dance would be the second weekend. The juniors and novice competitions will take place the week in between. In non-Olympic years, the schedule would revert back to its current setup with all four free skate programs taking place on the same weekend.
The move will allow NBC to telecast the short and free skate programs of each of the four disciplines to give figure skating a bigger national TV audience and generate interest in the Winter Olympics. While I can understand U.S. Figure Skating and NBC wanting to capitalize on its recent successful coverage of the national championships in St. Paul, Minn., which increased 65 percent over last year’s coverage on ABC/ESPN, I think this plan is risky and could harm attendance. I know of few people who would be willing to attend an event over two consecutive weekends. For the diehards, it means staying an extra couple of days. For the not-so-diehard, it means choosing one weekend over the other or staying home altogether. With the sport already struggling to attract fans, it can’t afford to lose more of their in-person audience.
In related news, NBC will provide coverage of the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships in Los Angeles next year. I would think that this development closes the door on any possible agreement between ABC/ESPN beyond this year when the current contract expires. Furthermore, if NBC’s ratings for these figure skating events continue to rise, look for a longer-term deal with the network after the Vancouver Olympic Games.
The move will allow NBC to telecast the short and free skate programs of each of the four disciplines to give figure skating a bigger national TV audience and generate interest in the Winter Olympics. While I can understand U.S. Figure Skating and NBC wanting to capitalize on its recent successful coverage of the national championships in St. Paul, Minn., which increased 65 percent over last year’s coverage on ABC/ESPN, I think this plan is risky and could harm attendance. I know of few people who would be willing to attend an event over two consecutive weekends. For the diehards, it means staying an extra couple of days. For the not-so-diehard, it means choosing one weekend over the other or staying home altogether. With the sport already struggling to attract fans, it can’t afford to lose more of their in-person audience.
In related news, NBC will provide coverage of the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships in Los Angeles next year. I would think that this development closes the door on any possible agreement between ABC/ESPN beyond this year when the current contract expires. Furthermore, if NBC’s ratings for these figure skating events continue to rise, look for a longer-term deal with the network after the Vancouver Olympic Games.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
U.S. Figure Skating Championships -- Rewind
Miscellaneous thoughts and musings from the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Paul, Minn., which concluded last weekend.
I was as stunned and suprised as everyone else when pairs skater John Baldwin proposed to partner Rene Inoue after their free skate program. A touching moment to be sure, but if that happened to me, I'd smack him. Wouldn't it be better if he proposed in private?
The overall quality of the skating in all four disciplines was much better than I expected, and I think much of that has to do with the young skaters competing at the senior level for the first time.
As I watched Caroline Zhang perform to “Ava Maria” I was spellbound and nearly moved to tears. I said to myself, “We may be watching the second coming of Michelle Kwan.”
The future of women’s figure skating looks very bright. Not only did Zhang sparkle in her free skate, but 2008 national champion, Mirai Nagasu, silver medalist Rachel Flatt and bronze medalist Ashley Wagner also impressed me. Three of these four ladies participated in their first nationals at the senior level; this was the second year for Flatt. And they all skated with a poise and maturity that was far beyond their years. It is going to be wonderful to watch them grow and compete at the national and international level.
How young is too young? Because of the ISU’s age requirement, the only medal finisher to go to Worlds this year will be Wagner, along with Meissner and Bebe Liang, who finished fifth. In order to keep three places on the ladies team, our top two American women must finish with placements equaling 13. For example, if two women finish fifth and eighth, we’ll keep our three spots on the team. If they finish worse than that, then the U.S. will only be able to send two ladies to the 2009 World team.
Is Kimmie Meissner’s career finished? The 2007 national champion fell three times during her free skate to finish seventh overall. Clearly, she lacks confidence in her skating. She’s got the talent, but does she have the desire to keep competing, especially with the likes of Mirai Nagasu and Caroline Zhang entering the foray? If Meissner wants to reach the Vancouver Olympics in 2010, she’ll need to make some changes and work on her mental approach, which may mean working with a sports psychologist or changing coaches. (Note: Yesterday, Meissner announced that she has left long-time coach Pam Gregory and will be working with Richard Callaghan for the next six weeks leading up to the World Championships in Sweden.)
I was encouraged by the TV ratings for NBC’s telecast of the championships. The ladies event which was broadcast live Saturday night had a rating of 3.8, a 65 percent increase over last year’s telecast on ESPN. The men’s free skate on tape delay on Sunday night drew a 3.5 rating compared to 0.59 last year, when it got buried in late night coverage on ESPN. Overall, the telecasts of the championships reached 12.5 million people compared to 4.7 million last year. NBC and U.S. Figure Skating need to continue to telecast these competitions in primetime to rebuild their audience. As the young faces of skating become more familiar, more people will likely tune in next year.
Evan Lysacek may be focusing much of his time and energy on the quad jump in competition, but his straight line step sequences are impressing audiences and judges alike. Both sequences were given a grade level 4 for difficulty, the highest possible mark, plus a grade of execution of more than two. You may not like his style, but it’s getting a lot of points.
So was Johnnie Weir robbed of a gold medal and a national title? Most fans seem to think so, and I certainly did at first when the men’s competition concluded. But in a fluke of the judging system, both skaters had the identical score 244.77, but Lysacek was awarded the national title for winning the free skate, the tie breaker. Looking at the scores for both skaters (available on U.S. Figure Skating’s Web site), two things stand out: Lysacek’s straight line sequence was a full two points higher than Weir’s, and a base value of 1.80 was given to Weir’s upright spin. According to the Pioneer Press, a change of edge in mid spin was not visible to the judges, who gave the spin a base value of 1.80. With the change of edge, the base value would have been 3.00.
I was as stunned and suprised as everyone else when pairs skater John Baldwin proposed to partner Rene Inoue after their free skate program. A touching moment to be sure, but if that happened to me, I'd smack him. Wouldn't it be better if he proposed in private?
The overall quality of the skating in all four disciplines was much better than I expected, and I think much of that has to do with the young skaters competing at the senior level for the first time.
As I watched Caroline Zhang perform to “Ava Maria” I was spellbound and nearly moved to tears. I said to myself, “We may be watching the second coming of Michelle Kwan.”
The future of women’s figure skating looks very bright. Not only did Zhang sparkle in her free skate, but 2008 national champion, Mirai Nagasu, silver medalist Rachel Flatt and bronze medalist Ashley Wagner also impressed me. Three of these four ladies participated in their first nationals at the senior level; this was the second year for Flatt. And they all skated with a poise and maturity that was far beyond their years. It is going to be wonderful to watch them grow and compete at the national and international level.
How young is too young? Because of the ISU’s age requirement, the only medal finisher to go to Worlds this year will be Wagner, along with Meissner and Bebe Liang, who finished fifth. In order to keep three places on the ladies team, our top two American women must finish with placements equaling 13. For example, if two women finish fifth and eighth, we’ll keep our three spots on the team. If they finish worse than that, then the U.S. will only be able to send two ladies to the 2009 World team.
Is Kimmie Meissner’s career finished? The 2007 national champion fell three times during her free skate to finish seventh overall. Clearly, she lacks confidence in her skating. She’s got the talent, but does she have the desire to keep competing, especially with the likes of Mirai Nagasu and Caroline Zhang entering the foray? If Meissner wants to reach the Vancouver Olympics in 2010, she’ll need to make some changes and work on her mental approach, which may mean working with a sports psychologist or changing coaches. (Note: Yesterday, Meissner announced that she has left long-time coach Pam Gregory and will be working with Richard Callaghan for the next six weeks leading up to the World Championships in Sweden.)
I was encouraged by the TV ratings for NBC’s telecast of the championships. The ladies event which was broadcast live Saturday night had a rating of 3.8, a 65 percent increase over last year’s telecast on ESPN. The men’s free skate on tape delay on Sunday night drew a 3.5 rating compared to 0.59 last year, when it got buried in late night coverage on ESPN. Overall, the telecasts of the championships reached 12.5 million people compared to 4.7 million last year. NBC and U.S. Figure Skating need to continue to telecast these competitions in primetime to rebuild their audience. As the young faces of skating become more familiar, more people will likely tune in next year.
Evan Lysacek may be focusing much of his time and energy on the quad jump in competition, but his straight line step sequences are impressing audiences and judges alike. Both sequences were given a grade level 4 for difficulty, the highest possible mark, plus a grade of execution of more than two. You may not like his style, but it’s getting a lot of points.
So was Johnnie Weir robbed of a gold medal and a national title? Most fans seem to think so, and I certainly did at first when the men’s competition concluded. But in a fluke of the judging system, both skaters had the identical score 244.77, but Lysacek was awarded the national title for winning the free skate, the tie breaker. Looking at the scores for both skaters (available on U.S. Figure Skating’s Web site), two things stand out: Lysacek’s straight line sequence was a full two points higher than Weir’s, and a base value of 1.80 was given to Weir’s upright spin. According to the Pioneer Press, a change of edge in mid spin was not visible to the judges, who gave the spin a base value of 1.80. With the change of edge, the base value would have been 3.00.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
U.S. Crowns New Champions
At the U.S. Figure Skating Championships that wrapped up this weekend in Spokane, Wash., it was clear that change was in the air. When the competition concluded, new champions were crowned in three of the four disciplines. That's nothing new in the season following the Olympic year when many skaters leave the sport to pursue other interests or turn pro.
As expected, Belbin and Agosto won the ice dance competition with a new free dance to "Amelie." It was their fourth national title.
The big surprise was in pairs in which Brooke Castile and Benjamin Okolski, former Jr. champions, won the title over 2006 champions Rene Inoue and John Baldwin -- by less than one point.
In ladies, 2006 world champion Kimmie Meissner was favored to win over what many called a weak field. She won the title, but by less than one point over Emily Hughes. If Hughes had not fallen midway through her free skate, she may have upset Meissner.
America's New Quad King
But the talk of the competition and the marquee matchup was the rivalry between three-time U.S. champion Johnny Weir and two-time World bronze medalist, Evan Lysacek. The short program lived up to its billing with both skaters performing clean routines. Lysacek led by less than one point going into the free skate Saturday night. By the end of the night, it was no contest.
After opening his program with a quad toe-triple toe combination (which he had practiced only once before and did not do cleanly), Lysacek was off and running. He proceeded to complete eight triple jumps in all and skated flawlessly for the entire four-minute and 30-second program, bring the crowd to its feet. It is considered one of the best free skate performances in the history of the U.S. championships. I thought his free skate at the 2006 Olympics was pretty remarkable, but it pales in comparison to what he did Saturday night.
Weir followed immediately after with a sloppy program. When he fell midway through his program, he knew he lost the competion. He finished third behind Ryan Bradley, a good 35 points behind Lysacek, who won his first national title of his career.
The championship recap program will air next Sunday, Feb. 4 at 12:30 eastern time. The show will be worth checking out just to see Lysacek's performance. It was that good.
As expected, Belbin and Agosto won the ice dance competition with a new free dance to "Amelie." It was their fourth national title.
The big surprise was in pairs in which Brooke Castile and Benjamin Okolski, former Jr. champions, won the title over 2006 champions Rene Inoue and John Baldwin -- by less than one point.
In ladies, 2006 world champion Kimmie Meissner was favored to win over what many called a weak field. She won the title, but by less than one point over Emily Hughes. If Hughes had not fallen midway through her free skate, she may have upset Meissner.
America's New Quad King
But the talk of the competition and the marquee matchup was the rivalry between three-time U.S. champion Johnny Weir and two-time World bronze medalist, Evan Lysacek. The short program lived up to its billing with both skaters performing clean routines. Lysacek led by less than one point going into the free skate Saturday night. By the end of the night, it was no contest.
After opening his program with a quad toe-triple toe combination (which he had practiced only once before and did not do cleanly), Lysacek was off and running. He proceeded to complete eight triple jumps in all and skated flawlessly for the entire four-minute and 30-second program, bring the crowd to its feet. It is considered one of the best free skate performances in the history of the U.S. championships. I thought his free skate at the 2006 Olympics was pretty remarkable, but it pales in comparison to what he did Saturday night.
Weir followed immediately after with a sloppy program. When he fell midway through his program, he knew he lost the competion. He finished third behind Ryan Bradley, a good 35 points behind Lysacek, who won his first national title of his career.
The championship recap program will air next Sunday, Feb. 4 at 12:30 eastern time. The show will be worth checking out just to see Lysacek's performance. It was that good.
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