Quote:
Originally Posted by APhiAnna
I LOVE snowboardcross. It is so exciting!
Figure skating is so blehh for me. I think the athleticism of the jumps and spins is incredible, but the way it is covered at the Olympics drives me nuts. First of all, the judging this year seemed so rigged...there were several times (including the gold medal) where I felt the judges were just assigned scores based on seniority or "sob stories" even when there were visible mistakes and falls. Second, I feel that four minutes is far too long...the majority of the interesting elements happens in the first half, and then it is two minutes of just skating around. I would LOVE to see something like the gymnastics, where everything is packed in to a shorter amount of time..
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The programs are not just jumping and "skating around..."
For the short program, there are certain requirements EVERYONE has to do. You have to do different footwork sections, spins, jumps, etc. They have three minutes to try and put all of these elements together in some sort of musical/artistic way. You are judged on each element.
There are also "kinda" requirements for the free skate/long program, as well. It used to be a free-for-all. But, it was becoming just a jumping sport. So, now, you have a list of elements to be judged on.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISU_Judging_System
Because of the judging issues in the past, they completely restructured the system. It is complicated. And, I am not a fan. But, it's better than when the competitions were influenced...
Basically, there is a reason for everything they do on the ice. It's an extremely intricate sport.