Hersh: on Nam and Hughes and 2000 Worlds
ann...@my-deja.com
6100080,00.html
Basically, the ISU has said that junior-aged skaters that are trying to
qualify to Worlds through Junior Worlds are exempt from the roster
deadline of 21 days prior to the event.
The pertinent info:
"The kids can play: The International Skating Union
has relented on its hard-line stance to give both
Sarah Hughes and Naomi Nari Nam a chance to
compete at the 2000 world championships although
they won't meet the age minimum--15 by July 1,
1999.
Hughes, 14, made it to the 1999 world meet at 13
because she won a medal at the world junior meet.
Despite a seventh at the senior worlds, she would
have needed to win another world junior medal to
qualify again until the ISU council decided that her
1999 finish was qualification enough.
Nam, 13, the runner-up at this year's U.S.
championships, had been caught in a different bind.
She did not skate in the 1999 world juniors and
needs a medal at the 2000 world juniors to qualify
for the world senior meet. The problem was the
deadline for 2000 senior meet roster submissions
comes before the world juniors end, but the ISU
decided to give any world junior medalist an
exemption from that deadline.
That means it will be up to the U.S. Figure Skating
Association to keep a roster spot open if Nam
finishes second or third at the 2000 nationals.
"I can't speak for my entire committee, but who's to
deny her?" said Robert Horan, chairman of the
USFSA international committee, which selects the
world and Olympic teams.
At its 2000 Congress, the ISU likely will close the
loophole that allows underage skaters to qualify
through the world juniors." end quote
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ann...@my-deja.com
ann...@my-deja.com wrote:
>
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/printedition/article/0,1051,SAV-990
> 6100080,00.html
>
> Basically, the ISU has said that junior-aged skaters that are trying
to
> qualify to Worlds through Junior Worlds are exempt from the roster
> deadline of 21 days prior to the event.
Sorry - I just re-read my own post. Before I posted, I didn't even see
the good news for Sarah Hughes: that she is exempt from having to
compete at Junior Worlds to qualify. Just NNN will have to jump through
all those hoops to get to compete in Brisbane (providing she finishes in
the top 3 at Nationals, of course).
DG511
see good arguments on both sides. But for now, this seems fair to both Sarah
and Naomi.
As far as this part goes:
> At its 2000 Congress, the ISU likely will close the
> loophole that allows underage skaters to qualify
> through the world juniors."
I have already stated my opinion that perhaps the way to handle the situation
with talented youngsters is to get the junior worlds on TV and then have a
special exhibition (televised, of course) just for them. One of the
knowledgeable "matriarchs" of this news group (in terms of evident experience
and wisdom; I have no idea how old anyone is) explained previously that this
had been considered and gave a reason why it wasn't likely to happen, but it's
still what *I* would like to see.
Daria
erik...@my-deja.com
ann...@my-deja.com wrote:
> the good news for Sarah Hughes: that she is exempt from having to
> compete at Junior Worlds to qualify. Just NNN will have to jump
through
> all those hoops to get to compete in Brisbane (providing she finishes
in
> the top 3 at Nationals, of course).
Well that is certainly good news. Now at least Naomi knows that if
she medals at Nationals and then JrWorlds then she is going to SrWorlds.
The article on NNNs quest for the lutz sounds promising too. Before
Natls I heard that she WAS landing lutzes, so at least now it is public
knowledge.
Since I am bored, I was thinking who could displace NNN from the top
3 at next years Nationals. Does anyone really think that Bobek is going
to be a contender next year? I sure don't. How many programs has Bobek
done in the last four years that have had more than 4 triples in it?
She peaked at 98 Nat'ls with five but that was the best I'd ever seen
her skate, flutz withstanding.
The "elder" ladies in the US just aren't that strong. Brittney
McConn is a good skater, but she's not great. NNN could eat her for
lunch. Amber Corwin just does not have "it". She's a very sloppy, ugly
skater who only occasionally hits a nice position (I'm trying to think
of even one spin of hers that ever looks world-class, and can't come up
with anything), plus Amber doesn't have a successful 3flip or 3lutz.
She just looks gangly and awkward out there. Andrea Gardiner is
history. Sydne Vogel is in the "Whatever happened to...." wonderland.
I've read that Sasha Cohen is good, but is not as far along with
spins and presentation as NNN. Deana Stellato? The "novice" with the
3lutz?? I read reports that her skating is just dreadful, with the
exception of her 3lutz.
It will be interesting to watch the progress of these up and comers.
It's sad because I know for darn sure that the Brittney McConns and the
Amber Corwins are going to show next to no progress. I think Amber has
gotten worse over the past two years and Brittney just doesn't have the
natural talent to take her to that next level.
Erik
LD
DG511
in prime time
Robert Dister
> Nam, 13, the runner-up at this year's U.S.
> championships, had been caught in a different bind.
>
> She did not skate in the 1999 world juniors and
> needs a medal at the 2000 world juniors to qualify
> for the world senior meet. The problem was the
> deadline for 2000 senior meet roster submissions
> comes before the world juniors end, but the ISU
> decided to give any world junior medalist an
> exemption from that deadline.
>
> That means it will be up to the U.S. Figure Skating
> Association to keep a roster spot open if Nam
> finishes second or third at the 2000 nationals.
>
> "I can't speak for my entire committee, but who's to
> deny her?" said Robert Horan, chairman of the
> USFSA international committee, which selects the
> world and Olympic teams.
>
> At its 2000 Congress, the ISU likely will close the
> loophole that allows underage skaters to qualify
> through the world juniors." end quote
>
>
Not knowing N3's exact birthday, does this mean that if she doesn't get
into the 2000 Senior Worlds AND the ISU closes this "loophole" at its 2000
Congress, she might not be eligible to compete in the 2001 Senior Worlds?
It seems like that would be the case if she turns 14 after July 1, 1999.
It will be interesting to see the reaction of the sponsoring American TV
network if a newly-crowned United States Senior Ladies Champion is
prevented from competing in the World Championships because of the age
rule. That should make ABC really enthusiastic about paying top dollar for
television rights...."but the ISU has to protect the U.S. Champion from
the media exposure, bone stress, and lifetime psychological damage that
could occur if she skated at Worlds -- not to mention the unfairness to
older, more full-figured skaters...."
ann...@my-deja.com
rdi...@spectacle.berkeley.edu (Robert Dister) wrote:
> It will be interesting to see the reaction of the sponsoring American
TV
> network if a newly-crowned United States Senior Ladies Champion is
> prevented from competing in the World Championships because of the age
> rule.
It happened in gymnastics in 1997 - Vanessa Atler was the new
co-National Champion, but stayed home from the 1997 Worlds Championships
because she was 6 weeks too young. ABC mentioned it, and did a little
piece on Vanessa and the other 2 athletes that were left home for the
same reason (3 that qualified were too young). I realize skating is a
lot more popular than gymnastics, but I can't really see ABC caring
much, other than to do some sort of "fluff" piece about it.
Louis Epstein
:
: At its 2000 Congress, the ISU likely will close the
: loophole that allows underage skaters to qualify
: through the world juniors." end quote
Damn it,what they NEED to do is lower the minimum age so it doesn't
exclude potential medalists!!
WIsil
am wondering if anyone has thought that Naomi is not ready to commpete at the
senior level yet? So what if she did place second at nationals this year?
That fact is, she can not compete seriously on a senior international level yet
if she only has two triples or maybe three. You need at least five to six to
even be considered a serious contender. Some might argue that she is being
cheated out of valuable experience. I don't agree. She is getting invaluable
experience competing at the junior level as these are the ladies she will be
competing against in the future. She will also have the opportunity to let her
talent grow at a natural pace instead of being pressured to become the new
Tara, champ at 14, gone at 15. I think Naomi is right where she needs to be
right now. And how fortunate is America that we have such talent and high
hopes in the junior department. We have a lot to look forward to. I might
have been a good driver at 13, but no way was Florida going to give me a
drivers license until I was old enough. That's life. You can understand the
political process at 10 but you can not vote until 18. Same with drinking.
There are rules to life. I think everyone would probably be much happier is
they just accepted that as fact and stopped trying to always find a way around
the rules, like them or not. I think generally the rules are in the skater's
best interests.
Wendy
Louis Epstein
: There are rules to life. I think everyone would probably be much happier is
: they just accepted that as fact and stopped trying to always find a way around
: the rules, like them or not. I think generally the rules are in the skater's
: best interests.
: Wendy
Robert Dister
My thinking is that ABC probably pays a lot more for skating rights than
gymnastics. It also promotes skating a lot more to casual fans who would
probably be much less likely to tune if a big-name draw is absent. This is
exactly what might happen with NNN, who is now familiar to a lot of casual
fans through her silver medal win and appearances on various talk shows
and magazine articles. (I'm sure not too many people have a clue who the
reigning US silver medalist is in women's gymnastics.) I think ABC and
it's skating sponsors would scream bloody murder if they were paying the
ISU big bucks to televise a World Championship without NNN, especially, if
for some reason -- which I'm sure Il Doofus could come up with -- Michelle
Kwan were not competing. Tonite, see Corwin, Nikodinov, and McConn take
on the World!
NLathy
am wondering if anyone has thought that Naomi is not ready to commpete at the
senior level yet? So what if she did place second at nationals this year?
That fact is, she can not compete seriously on a senior international level yet
if she only has two triples or maybe three.>>
Nam attempted 4 different triples (toe loop, Salchow, loop, and flip) in her
free program at 99 Nationals and she landed three of those successfully (she
2-footed the loop). She did the 3 toe and the 3 flip in combination. With the
addition of a Lutz, she could compete rather well with the top ladies in the
world.
Nat
SKATEJOAN
>It happened in gymnastics in 1997 - Vanessa Atler was the new
>co-National Champion, but stayed home from the 1997 Worlds Championships
>because she was 6 weeks too young. ABC mentioned it, and did a little
>piece on Vanessa and the other 2 athletes that were left home for the
>same reason (3 that qualified were too young). I realize skating is a
>lot more popular than gymnastics, but I can't really see ABC caring
>much, other than to do some sort of "fluff" piece about it.
First of all, the only network I have seen cover gymnastics lately is NBC -
they do a nice, TIMELY show when US Nationals takes place. As far as World's
coverage, my impression is that these days it might be covered in a late night
ESPN show several months after the fact. I believe part of the reason behind
the demise of the sport on television is the fact that the BEST athletes are
not there!
ABC has paid A LOT OF money to cover World figure skating. While you may only
see a fluff piece on the air, I would imagine they might be working behind the
scenes to effect changes that make their investment worthwhile. Otherwise, we
might only be getting US Nationals on a timely basis, and the Worlds could just
be consigned to a late night ESPN spot totally removed from real time!
If you take the best US athletes out of a sport, US viewers are likely to lose
some interest--especially an event like ladies figure skating which has been
the mainstay in this country..
Jean Lenzi
Kaiju
SKATEJOAN wrote:
> First of all, the only network I have seen cover gymnastics lately is NBC -
> they do a nice, TIMELY show when US Nationals takes place. As far as World's
> coverage, my impression is that these days it might be covered in a late night
> ESPN show several months after the fact.
Huh? ABC/ESPN covered the Worlds and the Nationals either the same day or
within a day of the actual competitions. I'd say that was very timely. THEN
they re-ran the competitions later on ESPN/ESPN2...to the gratitude of most
skating fans. I really don't know what you're trying to say here.
> I believe part of the reason behind
> the demise of the sport on television is the fact that the BEST athletes are
> not there!
Well, those who have been closer to the situation might not agree. There were
more factors involved than this, at least in the case of this past season.
Kaiju
--
Blessed are we, the die-hard fans
Who read this group in the off season;
We delete in bulk the zombie threads
That have lost all sense of reason.
-- Peg Lewis
Jocelyn
>SKATEJOAN wrote:
>
>> First of all, the only network I have seen cover gymnastics lately is NBC -
>> they do a nice, TIMELY show when US Nationals takes place. As far as
>World's
>> coverage, my impression is that these days it might be covered in a late
>night
>> ESPN show several months after the fact.
>
>Huh? ABC/ESPN covered the Worlds and the Nationals either the same day or
>within a day of the actual competitions. I'd say that was very timely. THEN
>they re-ran the competitions later on ESPN/ESPN2...to the gratitude of most
>skating fans. I really don't know what you're trying to say here.
She was talking about *gymnastics* tv coverage in the first paragraph.
Joan, BTW, when was/are Nationals/Worlds for gymnastics aired? I hope I
haven't missed it, I haven't seen much gymnastics since Atlanta. :-(
Jocelyn
--
http://minya.8m.com/
HASEK - He's a brick wall.... Go Sabres/Stanley Cup!!!
only when the questions become more important than the answers,
will the solutions emerge
Kaiju
Jocelyn wrote:
>
> Kaiju wrote:
> >SKATEJOAN wrote:
> >
> >> First of all, the only network I have seen cover gymnastics lately is NBC -
> >> they do a nice, TIMELY show when US Nationals takes place. As far as
> >World's
> >> coverage, my impression is that these days it might be covered in a late
> >night
> >> ESPN show several months after the fact.
> >
> >Huh? ABC/ESPN covered the Worlds and the Nationals either the same day or
> >within a day of the actual competitions. I'd say that was very timely. THEN
> >they re-ran the competitions later on ESPN/ESPN2...to the gratitude of most
> >skating fans. I really don't know what you're trying to say here.
>
> She was talking about *gymnastics* tv coverage in the first paragraph.
Sorry. I thought we were discussing skating. I hadn't noticed the word
"gymnastics" somehow.