Sale & Pelletier

[radaro]

How do you non-Canadians feel about the ice skating judging where the Canadians, Jamie Sale and David Pelletier, got the silver medal and the Russians, Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze got the gold?

To be perfectly honest, I haven't been watching the Olympics so I can't give a personal opinion on this specific event but I have always felt that the judging in this event is very subjective.  Also, if you don't have a "name", it doesn't matter how well you skate, you won't have the opportunity to win.

[dedlered]

RadarO, word is, they just got the gold.  That is what is on the news now.

I think that they should have received the gold, they were much better but then again, I am not a judge nor am I trained in figure skating.  



Laura
Deskdemon Forum Board Staff

[workerbee2]

Why should the Olympics be any less corrupt than anything else?  For as long as there have been games, there has been vote trading, scandals, and politics.   The entire Olympic Planning Committee has been under fire the last couple of years, for all the corruption that goes on in selecting cities, paybacks, bribes, etc.

Glad the skaters got the gold, but as the commentators were saying on TV this morning, they received much more publicity NOT getting the gold.  

Cynical, but happy to see justice finally prevail,

Elaine

[chris68]

Well, I ususally follow the ice skating but this year don't seem to be too interested in it.  Don't know why but usually to me that is the best part of the olympics next to the skiing and speed skaters of course.  But that is my opinion.

My take on it is if the Canadians had an overall better program, skated clean, and did all of the requirements needed for that program then I feel the best skaters should win.  

Besides that the judge ended up leaving the panel and going home for further review right?  So I don't think she's even part of the equation anymore.  And your right CG, they did get gold, its on MSNBC.com website with big letters GOLD!  

I've seen enough ice skating shows and have watched how the judges are and how particular they are that I don't see how this could possibly be such a controversy.  This should have been one of those things of the football game replay issue, I think they need to do that in ice skating??  But if the judge was persuaded to vote one way then I believe the Canadians were deserved in the gold.

Why does it always seem to be the ice skaters that get all the attention in these olympic games?  It seems to be less exciting of a sport than say speed skating or downhill skiing or the ski jumps.   DH seems to think that ice skating gets too much publicity, I say they don't get enough GOOD publicity.



Chris68
Deskdemon Forum Board Staff

[spitfire78]

I am a HUGE figure skating fan.  I follow it year-round Olympic year or not.  And I have been watching it for years.  That certainly doesn't qualify me as a true "judge" but I know quality skating when I see it.  I absolutely love the Russian pair.  I've been watching them for a long time, and I think they are beautiful skaters.  I also love the Canadian pair and have been following them for the last 2 seasons.  However, the Russians were definitely off their game that night.  It wasn't just the step-out on the double axel.  They seemed to hold back and skated cautiously.  The Canadian team poured all of their heart into their skating that night.  They were relaxed, confident, free, and full of smiles throughout the entire performance.

And, the judges do have instant replay.  I didn't know it myself until that night.  They mentioned it earlier in the competition (well before the controversial decision).  The commentators said that the judges have instant replay and can use it if there is something they want to see before posting their scores for each competitor.

So, to answer the question -- I am THRILLED that this decision was made.  I am so happy for Sale and Pelletier - in my mind they definitely deserved the gold.  I think a true measure of their character has been how they have handled this whole controversy.  Even though they felt they had been cheated, they were "good sports".  I saw them in several interviews and they were exceedingly gracious.  It is sad that this event marred what should be one of the best times of their lives.  I just hope that the sport of figure skating has learned from this and proceeds to clean up their act.  It is subjective judging and I don't know if that can ever be fully changed.  However, there has to be some way to make sure that deals aren't made like this.  I felt the same thing happened in Nagano with Bourne and Kratz, who were also cheated out of the medal (in my opinion).  I was sorry more wasn't done at that time.  If the problem had been dealt with at that time, maybe this latest incident wouldn't have happened.

[execsec]

I, too, am a huge figure skating fan and have followed it for years.  My two daughters are up and coming figure skaters and were intereviewed on our local news station about their opinion of the whole deal.  I'm glad the Canadians ended up with the gold medal that I felt they deserved in the first place.

I know first hand from local competitions that sometimes the judges minds are made up before the skaters even skate.  They watch the skaters "warm up" and pretty much have them ranked at that time. If they skate clean, they get the marks.  How else could they give the first skater a "1" when they haven't even seen the others skate yet?

I'm sure that judging on that particular level (Olympic) is much, much harder.  Anyway, glad to see the Canadians get their gold.

[spitfire78]

Execsec, I hope in future years it will be your daughters I'm rooting for!!!  I know there's been all kinds of talk on changing the method of judging.  Obviously it cannot be totally objective because grace and artistry are all a part of the sport.  However, I hope they can find a way to level out the playing field.  It seems to me that judges base a lot of their scores on reputation.  I watched Sarah Hughes through the entire Grand Prix series, and for most of it she was not give the scores I felt she deserved.  I think it was because she didn't have the "name" behind her.  Maria Butryskaya (sp??) and Michelle Kwan were given better scores than I felt they deserved several times, and I think it was just because the judges know they can do it so they score them well even if they didn't do it that day.  One of the things I heard mentioned was that they might ban the judges from the practice sessions.  I think that would be a good thing because I think sometimes they make up their minds based on what they see there.  I feel it should be based on what the skaters do for that particular performance.  In skiing, for instance, it doesn't matter if you're a world champion or a novice, if you get down the slope faster than anyone else on that particular day, you win.

[countrigal]

I agree that the judges shouldn't be allowed in during practice sessions.  I mean, you get a great skater who's tempermental and throws a fit during practice, should that have any bearing on their scores when they skate next?  Or if they consistently miss a jump during practice but happen to land it during competition should that get weighed in?  I think it should be more like other sports... what you do in practice is just that, practice, and not part of the rating.  Then what you do under pressure and in front of the judges is all that weighs on your score.  High jumpers may be able to hit a specific height when practicing and miss it during competition, should we give them partial credit because they can do it but didn't?

As for the scoring... I always thought they scored them 1st, 2nd, etc based on who has the highest scores, so that the first skater only has to beat a 0 score in order to be in first place, bu the next skater has to score higher than the first in order to be placed in first place.  So of course, the rankings they put under the scores would just show how they fall at any one time and not the finale.  And when you're adding in multiple scores, the one who gets 2 scores first would take 1st place again until more folks get those extra scores figured in and start dropping them back in the queue.  Is this not how that is done?

CountriGal
Deskdemon Editorial Board Member

[daisylee]

How weird...I just found out that the Russians pratice at the ice arena in my sub-division in Bensenville!  Guess I need to scout the place out more carefully!
(But I'm glad the Canadians got the gold too!)

Daisylee....in Bensenville, home of Olympic skating hopefulls!