Post by HappyFan on Feb 20, 2022 18:04:51 GMT
The women's figure skating was a car crash this year. Absolutely unwatchable. The silver medalist ranting that she deserved a gold for some reason, the accused cheater crying inconsolably while her coach breated her, and the actual gold medalist looking like she had been hit by a car. It is imperative that the Skating Union and the IOC make some changes, which they almost certainly won't, knowing them.
Since it seems almost impossible to stop the ROC aka Republic of Cheaters from breaking the rules, and their rulebreaking is getting worse, the only solution as I see it (other than banning them completely) is to come up with rules that will minimize the gains cheating gets them (while still busting them when possible).
Here are a few easily enacted suggestions:
1. Raise the minimum age to at least 17.
There is a lot of support for this. This last eight years, the pattern is the same: the Russians (specifically a single coach in their in their system, Eteri) recruit barely pubescent girls, pump them full of drugs, and because they are lightweight and for other reasons, they can pull off jumps unimaginable before (and by 'before', I mean pre-2018). By the time they are 17, they are washed up, thanks to a combo of immense damage to their bodies from the high impact jumps, and the fact that they have gone through puberty and can no longer do the jumps. Seriously, not a single one made it to 18 in this system in the last 8 years. Try and create a sport where your stars last two years max.
One easy solution: raise the age limit. 18 would be ideal, but 17 would work. That would cut this form of cheating off at the knees. Also, it's utter nonsense that you cannot penalize Valieva for drug use because she's too young. The message there is that you have carte blanche to cheat, but only if you are really young. That encourages the abuse of young girls even more! The simple rule: if you're too young to be punished, you're too young to compete.
2. Limit quads
There should be a one quad limit in women's skating. It is demonstrably destroying the bodies of these young Russian girls. No one ever thought there would need to be a limit like this until they started pulling off four and five quads in a single routine.
3. Falls should be HEAVILY PENALIZED
A fall only costs a skater one measly point. Valieva was able to mop the ice with her body and still finished fourth. That's crazy. I would make them cost at least five points; ten would be better. Or how about ZERO points for any move involving a fall, no matter how risky? In the old days, one fall could cost you a medal. Now, with all these high point jumps, you can make more points missing a quad than hitting a triple, so OF COURSE it's worth the risk. If there is more risk they might resist trying them too often.
The Russians will fight any change like this tooth and nail, but if the officials don't make these changes, IMO the sport is over, with all the medalists in perpetuity being abused drug soaked Russian teenagers.
Since it seems almost impossible to stop the ROC aka Republic of Cheaters from breaking the rules, and their rulebreaking is getting worse, the only solution as I see it (other than banning them completely) is to come up with rules that will minimize the gains cheating gets them (while still busting them when possible).
Here are a few easily enacted suggestions:
1. Raise the minimum age to at least 17.
There is a lot of support for this. This last eight years, the pattern is the same: the Russians (specifically a single coach in their in their system, Eteri) recruit barely pubescent girls, pump them full of drugs, and because they are lightweight and for other reasons, they can pull off jumps unimaginable before (and by 'before', I mean pre-2018). By the time they are 17, they are washed up, thanks to a combo of immense damage to their bodies from the high impact jumps, and the fact that they have gone through puberty and can no longer do the jumps. Seriously, not a single one made it to 18 in this system in the last 8 years. Try and create a sport where your stars last two years max.
One easy solution: raise the age limit. 18 would be ideal, but 17 would work. That would cut this form of cheating off at the knees. Also, it's utter nonsense that you cannot penalize Valieva for drug use because she's too young. The message there is that you have carte blanche to cheat, but only if you are really young. That encourages the abuse of young girls even more! The simple rule: if you're too young to be punished, you're too young to compete.
2. Limit quads
There should be a one quad limit in women's skating. It is demonstrably destroying the bodies of these young Russian girls. No one ever thought there would need to be a limit like this until they started pulling off four and five quads in a single routine.
3. Falls should be HEAVILY PENALIZED
A fall only costs a skater one measly point. Valieva was able to mop the ice with her body and still finished fourth. That's crazy. I would make them cost at least five points; ten would be better. Or how about ZERO points for any move involving a fall, no matter how risky? In the old days, one fall could cost you a medal. Now, with all these high point jumps, you can make more points missing a quad than hitting a triple, so OF COURSE it's worth the risk. If there is more risk they might resist trying them too often.
The Russians will fight any change like this tooth and nail, but if the officials don't make these changes, IMO the sport is over, with all the medalists in perpetuity being abused drug soaked Russian teenagers.