Skating

For many years, I skated and taught artistic roller skating. You know, like the Olympic ice skating. I did the compulsory figures and, whenever I had a partner, dance. Never did better than regional championships, but I enjoyed it.

So, of course, over the years I watched ice skating regularly, attending all the local ice shows and goading the stars into doing their more difficult jumps, judging competitions from the comfort of my couch, and so on.

Then everywhere you turned, there was some kind of ice skating competition on tv. Fakey professional competitions. Nationals. Worlds. More fakey pro/am competitions. Overkill!

At that point, I quit watching anything more than an occasional glimpse of a competition here and there. Over the years what I saw was mostly average with little spark or excitement.

I did notice a couple of things. Ice dancing was rapidly becoming pairs skating with slightly lower lifts and men's singles had become a race to see who could do the most sloppy quads. Nope! Not for me!

This weekend the boredom factor around here was so high that I paused for longer than a few seconds on the televised National Ice Skating competition. And I was just in time for the inane spotlight pieces where each competitor rambles on in front of a camera for 2-3 minutes. YUCK!

Then the routines began. Ladies short program. Not bad, at least not the competitors I saw.

Next there was a special piece on the people who stand behind the JUDGES and tell them what each of the program elements are and whether they were completed correctly.

HUH?!?!?!

There's this part of me that understands the desire for a bit of objectivity in a sport that is largely subjective. But really? Shouldn't the judges KNOW what the competitors are doing and whether they've done it well or not?

I almost fled the scene in horror.

Remember me commenting on the boredom factor at my house yesterday afternoon?

Yep. Stayed around a bit longer. Just in time to see what they've done to ice dancing. Adding freestyle to the compulsory dances? Twizzles? SPINS??? GAH!!!

I think I'm declaring a permanent moratorium on watching ice skating.

(Probably not. I suspect there'll come a day when the boredom factor around here hits double digits again and I'll get suckered once again.)

But I sure do miss the good old days of ice skating!

You know, I'm really not completely averse to change and progress. But this doesn't feel like progress at all. *sigh*

(And, yes, I'm allowed to be contrary. Lifts on Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance are just fine. Just leave the pairs skating out of ice dance, thank you very much!)