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Our faith in figure skating
Renewing love for the dramatic, graceful winter sport can be intoxicating
| Source: |
CBC Sports |
| Date: |
October 31, 2007 |
| Author: |
Scott Russell |
Just the other day I told a friend of mine that I was excited to begin
my new assignment as play-by-play voice for the upcoming figure
skating season on CBC. "Figure skating!" he huffed. "That's a dead end
street. No one believes in figure skating any more."
As he went on to babble about the Toronto Maple Leafs and his
conviction that this would "absolutely" be the year they would end
their Stanley Cup drought, I found my thoughts wandering back to
skating.
Maybe he was right - maybe figure skating isn't what it once was. It
seems that corruption in judging, lack lustre champions and general
apathy have conspired to push something that was always considered
magical, out of our consciousness and subsequently, right out of a
prime time TV slot.
Then again, maybe we, the spectators, are looking for the wrong things
in figure skating. Perhaps we're trying to turn one of the last great
spectacles in all of sport into something far too ordinary.
It strikes me the fantastic appeal of figure skating lies LESS in the
marks or results and MORE in the impressions it can create. Let's face
it, this sport is about glamour, intrigue and the struggle to survive
in the face of your detractors, and frankly, what's wrong with that?
"This is about a very personal drama," Olympic medallist and CBC
figure skating analyst, Tracy Wilson says. "Those skaters are all
alone on the ice. They either make it or they don't. There is nowhere
to hide."
Memories of the "Battle of the Brians"
That's the kind of suspense that made me watch figure skating in the
first place. I recollect being riveted by the "Battle of the Brians,"
Boitano and Orser, at the 1988 Calgary Olympics. It made little
difference to me who won the gold medal. It was a barn-burner in front
of a packed house and it was suspenseful beyond belief.
The same was true of watching Kurt Browning in his prime. He did the
unthinkable and attempted the "quad" at those same Olympics and landed
it at the world championships in Budapest later that year. The
four-time world champion never captured an Olympic medal but went onto
become one of the most revered characters in the sport. It's because
he took a million risks in order to heighten his performance and
excite the crowd.
"I'm not too happy with our sport right now," Browning sighs. He'll be
working with us in the play-by-play booth this season and defiantly
beats the drum for a return to the foundation of figure skating
success. "We've got to turn things around and celebrate talent," he
continues. " There is a bigger group of great skaters on the planet
than ever before. But this is about more than going from jump to
jump. This should be about having something to say on the
ice."
Indeed, the fallout from the 2002 Olympics when Jamie Sale and David
Pelletier were almost robbed of a gold medal due to criminal judging
based on political alliances, has resulted in a more clearly defined
set of standards in the new scoring system. That said, the skaters of
today are more restricted and it has a tendency to show in their
routines. They sometimes appear to be jumping through hoops and
ticking off tricks in order to build marks at the end of the
day.
Where is the magic?
"With all the rules and points and categories of marking, there is no
box for magic," says choreographer, NBC analyst, and former Canadian
Olympian Sandra Bezic. "That individuality is what drew in the
audience. The human element is what was most alluring, the ability to
develop a unique artistic voice."
When considering the figure skating season to come, it makes sense to
celebrate the differences that the sport uncovers - the rare jewels
revealing themselves along the way. Moments such as a 14-year-old by
the name of Caroline Zhang, spinning effortlessly at centre ice at
Skate America in front of a silent throng. She executed something
called "The Pearl" and I wondered how she could possibly do it. Zhang
didn't score highest when all the points were tallied, but she made an
indelible impression on the audience in attendance and those watching
on TV. It was a truly wonderful moment in sport -
breathtaking.
We try so hard to quantify the athletic endeavour these days, enforce
our limits upon it. There must be winners and losers and everything
has to be fair - you'll get no argument from me. Still, in all of our
due diligence, let's not destroy what we love most about figure
skating. At its best, it is an awesome display of talent and skill
where judges will be villains and the vanquished can claim hero
status.
Simply put, this icebound sport, which we have found so intoxicating
in the past, can move us to great emotion again, if only we will let
it. Our faith in figure skating means letting go long enough to enjoy
the show.
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