Press on English about Evgeni after LP

Зимние Олимпийские игры 2010 в Ванкувере || Winter Olympic games 2010 in Vancouver

Re: ДОБРЫЕ ПОЖЕЛАНИЯ для Евгения || Good wishes for Evgeni...

Postby psk » 24 Feb 2010, 23:50

There seems to be alot of discussion in this forum about a protest, although I can only read the English components here or in the news or videos that are english, but it seems clear to me from the article posted at the entrance into this website that there is not going to be any formal protest.

"Plushenko just wants to move on, Zakarian said, and incidents like Tuesday don't help.

"Of course he's sad. He wanted to do his best," Zakarian said. "But it's past, it's done and he's looking forward to the next competition. This is history. It's over."
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Re: ДОБРЫЕ ПОЖЕЛАНИЯ для Евгения || Good wishes for Evgeni...

Postby Pascalou » 24 Feb 2010, 23:55

Use Google Translate it's nott 100% perfect but it does give a pretty good idea! :O) http://translate.google.com/#
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Re: ДОБРЫЕ ПОЖЕЛАНИЯ для Евгения || Good wishes for Evgeni...

Postby cekoni » 25 Feb 2010, 00:15

psk wrote:There seems to be alot of discussion in this forum about a protest, although I can only read the English components here or in the news or videos that are english, but it seems clear to me from the article posted at the entrance into this website that there is not going to be any formal protest.

"Plushenko just wants to move on, Zakarian said, and incidents like Tuesday don't help.

"Of course he's sad. He wanted to do his best," Zakarian said. "But it's past, it's done and he's looking forward to the next competition. This is history. It's over."

Your posts I moved here - I think that one topic should be left only to the wishes and messages for Evgeni's... you agree girls? :mi_ga_et:
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Re: ДОБРЫЕ ПОЖЕЛАНИЯ для Евгения || Good wishes for Evgeni...

Postby masha » 25 Feb 2010, 00:18

cekoni wrote:
psk wrote:There seems to be alot of discussion in this forum about a protest, although I can only read the English components here or in the news or videos that are english, but it seems clear to me from the article posted at the entrance into this website that there is not going to be any formal protest.

"Plushenko just wants to move on, Zakarian said, and incidents like Tuesday don't help.

"Of course he's sad. He wanted to do his best," Zakarian said. "But it's past, it's done and he's looking forward to the next competition. This is history. It's over."

Your posts I moved here - I think that one topic should be left only to the wishes and messages for Evgeni's... you agree girls? :mi_ga_et:

:a_g_a: :a_g_a: :a_g_a:
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Re: English Press about Evgeni after LP

Postby cekoni » 25 Feb 2010, 02:36

VIDEO (Plushy interview) .. and photos here: viewtopic.php?f=13&t=119&p=10963#p10963
------------------------

http://en.olympic.cn/news/sports_news/2010...24/1976687.html
2010-02-24 06:44:00 AIPS

Star-studded Laureus/AIPS "World Press Nite" Vancouver

Image
(L-R) Chinese pairs skaters Zhao Hongbo/Shen Xue, Russian ice skating star Evgeni Plushenko, Korean 500m gold medallist speed skater Sang Hwa Lee, Italian ski legend Alberto Tomba, Figure Skating queen Katarina Witt, , Italian gymnast Yuri Chechi, Italian cross country skier Stefania Belmondo who lit the cauldron in Torino and Laureus Academy member and former middle and long distance champion Kip Keino.

VANCOUVER, February 23, 2010 – Olympic stars and legends, past and present delighted 200 guests last night at Casa Italia during a special media reception hosted by the Laureus World Sports Academy and AIPS, in conjunction with the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI).

“Welcome to my house,” said the ever-popular and outgoing Alberto Tomba.

The renowned Italian alpine skier was one of three Laureus Academy members to attend the reception along with two other highly decorated global stars, German figure skater Katarina Witt and Kenyan middle and long distance runner Kip Keino.

Canadian runner Charmaine Crooks, an Olympic Silver medallist in 1984 in the 4x100 metre relay, hosted the event on a night when Laureus and AIPS delivered their messages and celebrated their relationship.

Other Olympic champions on hand included Italian cross country skier Stefania Belmondo, Italian gymnast Yuri Chechi and German alpine skier Christa Kinshofer.

Current Olympic marquee medallists who cleared their busy schedules in order to attend were Russian figure skater Evgeni Plushenko, Korean speed skater Sang Hwa Lee and the Chinese pairs skaters Zhao Hongbo and Shen Xue.

Lee, the first woman from Asia to win Gold in speed skating from any distance, called her victory in Vancouver “very moving for me.” It was a nice birthday present for her as she turns 21 on Thursday.

Hongbo and Xue, husband and wife as well as partners on the ice, called their win in Vancouver the culmination of commitment and overcoming obstacles.

“It’s not an easy game,” Hongbo said. “There are lots of ups and downs and it’s important to be persistent.”

Plushenko enjoyed his on-stage interview with Witt, who admitted it was harder for her to watch the breath-taking Russian star from her seat in the stands rather than from her role as a commentator.

“To me it’s not about the medals,” said Plushenko who claimed Silver in Vancouver. “What I do is to build the sport of figure skating.”

Plushenko then ended his enthusiastic chat by inviting all to Sochi for the 2014 Winter Games.


The IOC was represented by new member Ms Marisol Casada, president of the International Triathlon Union, Mr Kevan Gosper, Chairman of the IOC Press Commission, General Gianni Gola, president of CISM and Lambis Nikolau of Greece. IOC Head of Press Operations Anthony Edgar and Lucia Montanarella, Director of Press Operations, VANOC joined the media for the evening.

AIPS president Gianni Merlo was delighted with the turnout and pleased that the goodwill will benefit everyone involved.

“The whole evening was a great success because the top champions came,” Merlo said. “It was not easy to have Evgeni Plushenko, Katarina Witt, Alberto Tomba, Kip Keino and the others here but they showed their support.

“The most important thing was that these champions and many IOC members were here. It meant that they recognize that AIPS is improving. To defend the right of our profession we must always be more recognized and that way we will talk in a better way regarding our problems.

“The profession of journalism, not only sports but all areas, is facing a big danger at this moment. We’re part of an evolution of not knowing what will happen in the future. So the first step is to establish an association that can go to discuss at every level with everybody to defend our dignity and our rights. A night like this is one of the steps. It’s not necessarily a party to enjoy but rather a function that will help us to build a new step towards the defence of our profession, our dignity and to stay at the same level of the others.”

Image
Yuri Chechi, Evgeni Plushenko and Charmaine Crooks.

--------------------------------------

www.sportsmediacanada.ca/?p=1757

Galaxy of stars at World Press Nite in Vancouver
....

Plushenko was absolutely terrific, as were all the athletes, but his wife, Jane Rudkovskaia, earned kudos for her outgoing personality and ensuring anyone who asked got a photo or autograph from her husband. Interviewed by Witt, Plushenko said he’s in the sport not as much for the medals as he is to advance the popularity of figure skating. Watch this guy skate and you’ll be a fan for life.....
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Re: English Press about Evgeni after LP

Postby cekoni » 25 Feb 2010, 11:55

OK - finaly, one serious, "no-spitting" analysis :plush34: .... maybe we can agree, or do not, learn something from this about the "new rules", draw some conclusions ... maybe is just "right" time, before the World Championship :mi_ga_et:
---------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.examiner.com/x-20118-Figure- ... h-analysis
February 20, 3:37 Figure Skating Examiner, Jackie Wong

Lysacek vs. Plushenko: An in-depth analysis

True to the drama that is figure skating, there have been a lot of emotions, outrage, and controversy surfacing since American Evan Lysacek defeated Russian Evgeni Plushenko in an oh-so-close decision on Thursday. The debate has been split between those who feel that Lysacek’s quadless all-around package deserved the gold and those who found Plushenko’s technically more difficult program to be the rightful victor.

Writing as an analyst for Yahoo! Sports for Vancouver, two-time Olympic silver medalist Elvis Stojko was downright incendiary, practically saying that because of this decision, figure skating is no longer “a real sport.” The Figure Skating Federation of Russia has likened the result to the 2002 controversy in the pairs’ competition, very much in the same vein as their unsuccessful protests against Irina Slutskaya’s loss to Sarah Hughes during that same Olympics.

So what’s the conclusion? Was this the “night that killed figure skating,” as Stojko wrote? How did Lysacek win the gold? Or better yet, how did Plushenko lose it? Emotions aside, let’s take a look at what actually transpired.

Quad or no quad? Advantage: Plushenko

I agree with many skaters and judges who feel that quadruple jumps are not worth nearly as much in base value as they should be given their relative difficulty to triple jumps. In fact, the way that jump values are given needs to have a complete makeover. It’s ridiculous that, for example, performing a solo triple lutz and a solo triple toe will actually garner a skater the same number of points in base value as doing a triple lutz-triple toe combination. And to top it off, because Grades of Execution (GOEs) are given to each jumping passes separately, the two solo jumps would actually be worth more than the combination if both are executed comparably well.

Taking the skaters themselves out of the picture, what was reflected in the Lysacek vs. Plushenko battle in the technical department was the fact that skaters have been playing to the rules set forth by the ISU Judging System (IJS). While many of the elements seem to have the correct base values relative to one another, others do not.

Quads are undervalued. The increase of value from a triple lutz to a triple axel is 2.2 points, but the increase from a triple axel to a quad to is only 1.6 points. This difference just makes no sense, as a quad toe is relative much more difficult to a triple axel than a triple axel is to a triple lutz. Plus, skaters run the risk of falling on an underrotated quad, which takes the jump from 9.8 points to zero points.

So in essence, Plushenko deserved more for his quadruple toe.

Strategic error was detrimental for Plushenko. Advantage: Lysacek

What seems to have been missing from all of these arguments from the two sides of the debate is the rest of the jump content that the two skaters had. Lysacek landed eight triples with three combinations, one of which was a three-jump combo. Plushenko landed a quad and seven triples with three combinations, all of which were two-jump combos.

Whereas Lysacek maximized his technical content with his maximum eight jumping passes, Plushenko didn’t. Being the guy who has publicly stated that he focuses on the jumps, one would think he would have – and should have – had eight triples in addition to his quad. Another triple would have put him over Lysacek easily. In fact, even without the extra triple, had he just done a three-jump combination with a backend double loop (all singles skaters are allowed one in their free skates), he would have made up the final difference between him and Lysacek.

Another strategic error was the way that Plushenko’s program was structured. Only three of his eight jumping passes were placed in the second half of his program, where all jumping passes are worth an extra 10% in base value. Of the four jumps in those three passes, there was only one, the triple lutz, that was really all that difficult. In contrast, five of Lysacek’s eight passes were in the second half and he placed four difficult jumps in that period. The 10% boost is a nod to better conditioning and risk-taking.

If the competition was really just hinging on the quad, then you might as well just have a jump-off between the skaters to see what the most difficult jump they can land is and then award the medals according to that. There was no secret as to how each jump they did was going to be scored. And from Plushenko’s camp, there was little doubt as to the base value of the jumps that Lysacek had planned in the free skate. All the talk about the quad and no one has mentioned all the other jumps that they did. That was what made the difference.

Even with the quad, the total base value of Plushenko’s jumping passes was 59.33, whereas Lysacek’s maxed out jumping passes and strategic placement had a 58.23 base value. The advantage that Plushenko had with the quad toe was almost completely erased. Judges have always counted jumps, even before the IJS. This should not have come as a surprise.

The non-jump elements and execution

What do you mean the spins and footwork count? Advantage: Lysacek


In interviews that Plushenko has given during his comeback season, he has continuously mentioned this “new system” and the changes that judging has gone through. He makes it seem like the IJS didn’t exist when he won the Olympics. He had plenty of practice with the IJS in his heyday, and had no complaints about it when he was pummeling the field, even though the same issues with undervalued jumps, giving points to spins and footwork, and his favorite transitions component existed.

And again, amidst all the talk about quads, most have neglected to mention that there are other elements that count for points in figure skating. The spins and footwork done these days are exponentially more difficult and physically taxing than the ones done during the 6.0 era. I do think that there have been some detrimental effects to the purity of spins and the speed and musicality of footwork, but skaters are finally starting to make them work better.

Plushenko had 15.7 points for his spins and footwork, whereas Lysacek had 16.7 points. Lysacek had the advantage of a more difficult sit spin and a more difficult circular footwork sequence. Both of Lysacek’s footwork sequences were, in reality, exceedingly more difficult than the ones that Plushenko did.

Again, if skating is all about jumps, then you might as well just have skaters have a jumping contest. No music, no spins, no footwork, just jumps. But then again, wouldn’t that not be figure skating?

Execution of elements. Advantage: Lysacek (slightly)

I wrote in a preview profile of Plushenko that if he skated two clean programs, I would have a tough time seeing the judges give the gold to someone else. And while he landed all of his jumps, some of the execution was neither strong nor clean. A weak landing on his first triple axel that could have been considered a step out. He landed on his toepick on the quad and on the wrong edge on second lutz, which all were execution errors.

Lysacek also had execution issues on some of his passes. He had a weak landing on his toepick on his second triple axel and a questionable takeoff edge on his triple flip. In terms of the execution of the other elements, Lysacek was slightly stronger.

Plushenko had a total of +7.60 in Grades of Execution for his elements, whereas Lysacek had a total of +9.64. And all else equal (and this was certainly the case considering they tied in Program Components Scores), the execution was really what won the Olympics for Lysacek.

Who took the Program Components? Advantage: Plushenko

It may seem strange that I gave the advantage to Plushenko with the two skaters tied in their PCS, but while the IJS undervalues some of the harder elements, the judges themselves have a tendency to incorrectly value the individual components marks. The idea of breaking up the old presentation mark into five different “components” is so that intangible aspects like skating skills can be properly distinguished from things like choreography and interpretation.

In skating skills, Plushenko does have a slight edge over Lysacek. He has an ease of movement and quiet ability to generate power that is often underappreciated.

In transitions, there is no question that Lysacek should have been way higher than Plushenko, and the difference that the judges awarded was too minimal. It is questionable how two judges gave him an 8.75 for transitions when he has very few. One wonders how this would have panned out without the Joe Inman email controversy. There have been criticisms about this mark because some equate transitions with slowness. But the best transitions are the ones that allow skaters to maintain the speed and power throughout while doing more than just crossovers, something that Lysacek does very well.

In choreography/composition, Lysacek has the slight edge. He fills out the rink more with his program and there was more choreographic interest throughout. Where Plushenko misses out is during the first sections of his free skate where the jumps are the main focus.

In performance/execution and interpretation, it can be argued that the marks can go either way based on personal taste. Plushenko’s performance and interpretation was much freer than that of Lysacek, who seemed a bit tentative in spots, especially at the beginning. But his relation to the music was more campy, whereas Lysacek’s was more sophisticated. It’s a question of whether blowing kisses to the judges and the audience multiple times is more your cup of tea than touching yourself multiple times to the nuances of the music.

The reason Plushenko gets the advantage here is that while both skaters scored a total of 82.80 in their PCS, Plushenko’s total mark should have been lower, particularly as a result of an almost deficit number of transitions and linking footwork that was overmarked by the panel.

Ok, so who should've won? What’s the conclusion?

The treatment that some have given Lysacek as a result of his win has been downright brutal. Plushenko said that a “true champion” would have a quad in his program. To his credit, Lysacek refused to become embroiled in the pettiness of some of the comments, instead giving due respect to Plushenko for what he has done for the sport. Great PR or genuine feelings? No one will ever know, but he is saying the right things.

Lysacek is a true champion in the fact that he had to clean programs and skated strategically appropriately, whereas Plushenko’s program construction was not strategically strong and he had questionable execution on some of his elements. The IJS was designed to make things more transparent, and this is one occasion where it did.

Yes, the base value of quads need to be reconsidered (and perhaps due to this controversy, they may be). But the judges’ scoring for individual components marks also needs to be reconsidered.

It was a close call, but Lysacek deserved it in a photo finish.
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Re: English Press about Evgeni after LP

Postby cekoni » 26 Feb 2010, 17:58

http://www.nbcolympics.com/olympicpulse/bl...ver+with+plenty
Feb 25, 7:28a ET

Weir still in Vancouver, with plenty to say :co_ol:

You know an athlete has something of a cult following when close to 100 people show up for his press conference a full six days after he competed in his one and only event on the Olympic program...

... Beyond that topic, Weir addressed some other key figure skating issues during his 30-minute press conference.

For one, Weir shared that he had talked to Yevgeny Plushenko in the wake of the Russian skater's comments about how "a true men's champion" should have the quad, a perceived slight against American Evan Lysacek.

Weir paraphrased Plushenko as saying, "You know Johnny, it was taken completely the wrong way than what I meant it. I wanted it to be a message that I felt like a quad is needed for the progress of men's skating." Weir went on to add, "[Plushenko] in no way was attacking Evan. ... He just wanted his opinion to be heard and it came off the wrong way....


:plush40:
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Re: English Press about Evgeni after LP

Postby cekoni » 26 Feb 2010, 18:06

One "older" text....

www.nytimes.com/2010/02/20/sports/olympics/20longman.html
By JERÉ LONGMAN Published: February 19, 2010

Placing Consistency Above the Big Trick

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Evan Lysacek of the United States took the gold medal in Olympic men’s figure skating Thursday, winning an event that was as much a philosophical debate as an athletic contest.

“It’s fine to be the best jumper in the world, but does that mean you’re the best figure skater in the world?” Frank Carroll, Lysacek’s coach, said in reference to the complaining of the silver medalist Yevgeny Plushenko of Russia. “It’s not figure jumping; it’s figure skating.” (really - Lysacek is best skater on the world? :-) ::yaz-yk: )

And yet it was Plushenko, the 2006 Olympic champion, who showed more ambition, if less poise and stamina, in the free skate. He landed a quadruple jump, which requires four rotations in the air, while Lysacek did not attempt one at the biggest moment on skating’s biggest stage.

Plushenko, who returned after a three-year retirement, views skating the way Shaun White views snowboarding: for a sport to grow, the tricks must become more intricate and daring. The quad has been a part of skating since Kurt Browning of Canada first landed one in 1988.

“If the Olympic champion doesn’t know how to jump quad, I don’t know,” a dispirited Plushenko said. “Now it’s not figure skating. Now it’s dancing.”
...

Small technical differences put Lysacek on the top rung of the podium and Plushenko on a slightly lower rung after they received identical artistic scores.

Lysacek made five jumping passes in the second half of his program, gaining a 10 percent bonus for each under the new points-based scoring system, while Plushenko made only three passes.

Plushenko landed his quad heavily, rescuing a triple toe loop but lacking sufficient speed to add a double loop on to a planned three-jump combination.

Lysacek received only a judges’ warning for a wrong-edged takeoff on his triple flip, not a 2- or 3-point deduction that would have changed the outcome, which was narrowly decided in his favor by 257.67 points to 256.36.

Lysacek’s spins were fast and lithe and centered, while Plushenko’s were pedestrian.

Jumping unsteadily, Plushenko twice landed in a tilted position and nearly stepped out of a triple axel. And for all of his reliance on the quad, he attempted only one, not two, as he had a number of times before.

“I kept thinking, When is the second one coming?” said Brian Boitano, the 1988 Olympic champion and the last American men’s gold medalist before Lysacek. “I was really surprised when it didn’t. Plushenko thought one quad would be enough if he skated clean. But it’s not enough just to be clean. You have to be clean and good.”

At the finish of his free skate, with no competitors remaining, Plushenko raised his index fingers to signal that he was No. 1. But his tired body and resigned face suggested that he was No. 2 to Lysacek.

“Evan is such a strong mental skater,” Boitano said. “He has that unspoken quality.”

It was not a classic gold medal performance, merely a sufficient one. Still, there is much to be said for composure in an urgent moment, an entire career compressed to four and a half minutes. An American Olympic champion was desperately needed to provide economic ballast to a sinking sport, Boitano said.

Aleksei Mishin, Plushenko’s coach, did not agree. He called Lysacek, the reigning world champion, a respectable skater, but said that his victory was “nonsense.”

Some journalists and judges have become “Cyclops,” Mishin said, myopically focusing on transitional moves between jumps instead of on the difficulty and innovation of the jumps themselves. It is the equivalent, he insisted, of judging the 100-meter sprint on style instead of speed. :-)

If quadruple jumps carry so little weight, Mishin said, “What’s the difference between men’s singles and women’s singles? Maybe we should combine them into a unisex event.”
(... Mishin read what I wrote before ;;-))) )

It has been a deflating start to the Olympics for Russian figure skating. Its pairs teams failed to win a gold medal for the first time since 1960. And now Russia has only one real chance for a gold medal — in ice dancing.

It may be thin consolation, but there is no small sympathy for Plushenko’s point of view about the quad. Boitano, who always viewed himself as an athletic skater, said, “I agree with him that figure skating needs to progress and get more technical.”

Philippe Candeloro of France, the 1994 and 1998 Olympic bronze medalist, said: “Evan did a very good job; all the jumps were clean. But my problem is, I didn’t see any quad. For me, it could be much better for the ice skating world if Plushenko can win. It would be more respectable. People who like skaters like warriors.”


Yet, Boitano and Candeloro thrived under the old 6-point scoring system. There is a new system in place now, one that values completeness over big tricks. Plushenko did not calibrate his Olympic program accordingly.

“If it was about doing one jump, they would give you 10 seconds and no music” to complete the free skate, Lysacek said. But there are four and a half minutes to fill, not just with jumps, but with connecting steps, turns and spins.

“Many of these boys are supertalented, but they can’t put a whole package from start to finish out there,” Carroll said. “And Evan is a master at that. So many times you’ve seen him skate from the start to the finish and he doesn’t make a mistake. That’s his strength, consistency.” (... and nothing more ::yaz-yk: ... Interestingly, this also has said and Scott Hamilton :)-(: )
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Re: English Press about Evgeni after LP

Postby cekoni » 26 Feb 2010, 18:07

http://collegecandy.com/2010/02/24/is-figu...ort/#more-54649
February 24, 2010 - 5:00 pm By Sara C - Fordham

Is Figure Skating A Sport?

Figure skating: the marquee event of the Winter Olympics. Characterized by grace, agility, skill, charisma and intense facial expressions, figure skaters capture the hearts of fans around the world once every four years. Top skaters can earn more than $5 million in endorsements and grace more magazine covers in a year than Gemma Ward.

There’s no question that the spectacle of figure skating is enchanting, but given recent criticism of its methods– is it a sport?

A sport should require athleticism, of which figure skating has plenty. Training for figure skating requires hours of strength training and conditioning. The skills executed in programs, from jumps to spins to spirals, are not easily acquired. Take away the glittery costumes and lilting music, and figure skating programs appear grittier and tougher.

But athleticism means nothing if there isn’t an objective and regimented manner to determine winners. At the moment, all competitions operated under the International Skating Union (including the Olympic Games) adhere to a scoring system that assigns points for the difficulty of skill and the quality of their execution. But consider that in this year’s men’s singles division at the Olympics, Evan Lysacek captured the gold medal despite his failure to attempt any quadruple jumps (the most difficult skill to execute). Other skaters, including silver medalist Evgeny Plushenko, successfully landed quadruple jumps.
Some argue that Lysacek’s win is fair, because artistry should be just as crucial to scoring as difficulty, while others believe the Olympic champion should be someone who performs to world-class standards, quad jumps and all.

Essentially, there are concerns about the validity of the scoring system for this very problem. The fact that a skater like Lysacek can go home with a gold medal without having performed the most technically difficult program sends a message to young skaters that you can train as hard as you can to be the most technically proficient as possible, but the subjective evaluations of the judges are the only key to gold. The result is that figure skating rests precariously between sport (such as skiing) and art (such as ballet). There is definitely a competitive and athletic component to figure skating, but it also has a subjective quality, one that emphasizes certain skaters at certain times for certain reasons.

Despite these concerns, figure skating is and will remain the marquee event of the Winter Olympics. There will always be something charming about girls who achieve celebrity and world-class validation before they are even old enough to drive. There are few among us who can’t relate to childhood dreams of becoming an Olympic (or Super Bowl, or World Series) champion, and the thrill of watching it happen in a visually pleasing manner is timeless. In the moment a young skater recieves her gold medal, the quarter-turns and point-deductions and quadruple jumps all melt away.

As such, figure skating may not be a sport–but does it matter?
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Re: English Press about Evgeni after LP

Postby cekoni » 27 Feb 2010, 09:28

OK :plush34: ... "debate" started - about artistry, athleticism and ... mathematics :-)

--------------------------------------------------------------

Here's one text and 2 videos :-):
(videos I can see :-( ... please, girls - try to "download" video from some of this links :mi_ga_et: )

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... bs%3Dvideo
Olympics: Arithmetic or Artistry in Skating Scores 2/25/2010 11:01:20 AM
WSJ's Geoffrey Fowler tells Kelsey Hubbard why the Russian skating federation believes there's a problem with the new judging system.


http://online.wsj.com/video/olympics-arith...e_videoCarousel

Interesting, there video not play :du_ma_et: here - also: :ne_vi_del:
www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/oly...B5-075B31C16191
... here I get message: "The page you requested cannot be found.": :plush38:
www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Arithm...go=&form=VBREQY
.. one more link: rtmp://cp49988.edgefcs.net/ondemand/749 ... udging.flv

Olympic Medalists on Figure Skating's New Judging 2/25/2010
Former Olympic medal winners Sasha Cohen, Katarina Witt, Michelle Kwan and Peggy Fleming comment on the judging rules for figure skating and the impact on skaters.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... bs%3Dvideo
... or here:
rtmp://cp49988.edgefcs.net/ondemand/749 ... kating.flv

:du_ma_et: ... they ask only women ;;-)))

I just managed to get this pic from there.... :plush32:

Image


... text (probably with same content as 2 videos above).... :mi_ga_et:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405...cleTabs%3Dvideo
25.02.2010. By GEOFFREY A. FOWLER and PHRED DVORAK

Time to Restore the Perfect 6.0?
Plushenko's Silver Sparks New Criticism of Figure Skating Judging; Arithmetic Trumps Artistry

Some current and former skaters say the new merit-based rules, which have been used in the Vancouver Games, sacrifice artistry to arithmetic. Others think the system is just as subjective as the old one.

The loudest complaints are coming from members of the Russian skating federation who think silver medalist Evgeni Plushenko was short-changed out of a gold medal in last week's men's competition.

Mr. Plushenko has been suggesting publicly he was robbed because judges didn't award him enough points for completing skating's hardest jump, the quadruple toe loop. After his performance, Mr. Plushenko said "now it is not men's figure skating—no, it is dancing."

In an interview Wednesday with Rossiyskaya Gazeta, the president of the Russian Figure Skating Federation, Valentin Piseev, said that the new rules system "distorts the meaning of sport. Who does not understand that jumps are the basic element in figure skating?"

Reached in Vancouver on Wednesday, Mr. Piseev said the new system doesn't reward athletes who try difficult and risky moves and thus puts countries with the best-trained skaters at a disadvantage. "This system was adopted to even out all countries," he said. Mr. Piseev said he's planning to send a letter to the International Skating Union expressing his concerns.

Many experts believe skating's international judging system, or IJS, has brought more stability to one of the most subjective competitions in sports—and one long-known for expressions of nationalist bias and other antics. The debates that have emerged in Vancouver revolve, for the most part, around rivalries on the ice—between individual competitors—rather than off the ice, between countries.

The ISU didn't respond to queries about Mr. Piseev's latest complaints. But in an interview on Monday, ISU president Ottavio Cinquanta said that while the new system was "not perfect," its "structure is good and satisfactory" because it quantifies a subjective concept.

"How many people can understand if a piano player is perfect? Figure skating is the same," Mr. Cinquanta said, adding that the ISU will continue to adjust the values assigned to specific figure skating moves.

Mr. Cinquanta said skating needs well-rounded competitors and shouldn't be boiled down to simply who does the most jumps. "If you want to jump, go do track and field or pole vault," he said. "This is not the circus." :angry:

Under the old system, judges compared one skater to the next. A rating of 6.0 would be assigned for a perfect performance, but specific moves weren't graded. Under the scoring system instituted in 2004, each skater is judged on his or her own performance, by a combination of judges and technical experts. There's no perfect score—instead, points are assigned for completing certain moves as well as for the artistry of the overall performance.

For instance, a triple axel jump earns 8.2 points in the men's competition, with points added or subtracted based on how well the jump is executed.

Figuring out how to win a competition involves a lot of math. Italian ice dancer Massimo Scali felt the bite of the new system during a performance last week. Mr. Scali said he lost two points because he only touched the back of his skate blade during a complicated move, instead of grabbing it. The next night, Mr. Scali said he paid closer attention to the move and earned full marks.

Many skaters think the new system gives them more useful feedback. Canadian Scott Moir, who won a gold medal here for ice dancing, said under the new system "you get rewarded for exactly what you do." If the marks are unsatisfactory, "you can see it there on a piece of paper and go home and improve."

Vancouver organizers introduced a live radio broadcast called Axel Radio that offers audiences live commentary on how skaters are accumulating or losing points. When audiences boo a low score for a performance that wowed the crowd, Axel announcers take pains to explain the judges' rationale.

Katarina Witt, who won two Olympic gold medals in women's figure skating under the old scoring system, said the new one is "more accountable" but "makes the sport about [simply] collecting those points." She adds: "Sometimes it is difficult then to really be emotionally involved."

Sasha Cohen, the U.S. skater who won silver at the 2006 Games, said the new system also forces competitors to focus on counting even while they're on the ice. "It takes away the individuality and a little bit of the freedom of the sport," Ms. Cohen said. "If you hold something one second less, your whole spiral sequence doesn't count and that's eight points less."

Critics also have dinged the IJS for making judging more anonymous. Under the old system, judges' scores were presented along with the countries they represented. Now, judges' names are revealed but scores are randomized. In theory, that keeps the focus on the skaters rather than the judges, and it also relieves pressure on judges.

Yet Dartmouth Economics Professor Eric Zitzewitz argues the anonymity has possibly made things worse. His analysis found that under the new system, skaters have benefited even more from having a fellow countryman on the judging panel. On average, the home-judge advantage of the part of the score that judges influence is 20% higher than under the old rules, Mr. Zitzewitz said.

Ted Barton, a consultant to the ISU who helped develop the new system, said it has "hugely reduced the ability of any one individual to make a difference in a final score."

The judges are chosen randomly, he noted, and the highest and lowest of their scores are dropped. The ISU also reviews judges' performances. Judges found wanting can have their judging privileges revoked, as happened to one judge before the 2006 Games.

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Really? ISU make reviews for judges?! :sh_ок: .... very good way for intimidation and corruption.... :ze_le_ny:
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