Evan Lysacek points to figure skating's shortcomings

It was not a surprise for figure skater Evan Lysacek to speak on Wednesday of going to the next Winter Olympics in Beijing.

The confusion was understandable because Lysacek has been hanging out with gymnasts who did compete in this past summer's Beijing Games.

The surprise was that Lysacek simply corrected the slip instead of using it as a segue to promote Sunday's NBC television special, "Progressive's Skating and Gymnastics Spectacular," in which he appears with such Beijing Games gymnastics stars as Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson.

After all, during a 25-minute teleconference, Lysacek's willingness to promote the folks who put bread on his table was quite evident in his repeated props for AT&T, the new title sponsor of next week's U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

(The event had no title sponsor last season after State Farm ended a 12-year commitment to the U.S. figure skating federation.)

Lysacek even managed to give the sponsor a plug for helping the sport make the best of a bad situation -- the general public's puzzlement about the New Judging System.

The question concerned whether Lysacek missed the notion of perfection, as acknowledged in the old system by a score of 6.0.  He indirectly answered yes.

"Regardless of how I feel, the truth is the 6.0 was a brand for figure skating worldwide, and it became a commonly used phrase: "I would give it a 6.0," Lysacek said. "Anyone could flip on the TV and know a 5.9 is pretty good and a 4.1 is not very good, so it was easy to follow, to cheer your favorites.

"Losing that brand was very difficult, and I think we have seen that hit quite a bit here in the U.S.," Lysacek said. "But it is really encouraging for us now to have AT&T onboard, the

support they are putting behind skating. It shows people still are appreciative of the sport regardless of how it's scored."

A few minutes later, Lysacek talked about how the quadruple jump had become a "brand" for men's skating over the last four to eight years.

That seemed mildly ironic because Lysacek also made it sound very unlikely that he would restore it to his programs as he tries to win a third straight U.S. title. He  landed a quad in both of the last two years.

"When I talk to people on the street about skating, there's one word they know, and that's the quad," Lysacek said. "From a business standpoint, I think it is important we try to promote athletes working on the quad. It is something recognizable to the general public ... I will decide at the championships, the AT&T U.S. Championships, whether it is worth it to put in in."

It would be if the knuckleheads who run international skating made it worth significantly more than a triple lutz (how about twice as much instead of 9.8 to 6.0?), a no-brainer jump for elite men.

Then there would be sufficient reward for the risk of trying what Lysacek calls a "quote-unquote, 'death-defying element' " that he feels displays skating's appeal as a sport even to the casual fan -- and brings applause rather than the silence of incomprehension.

And just in case you think it's only me bringing up issues about the judging system's failure -- mathematical, metaphysical and esthetical (the last of which I wrote about in Tuesday's Fabulous Forum) -- listen to what three-time U.S. champion Johnny Weir said Wednesday about another reporter's question about balancing the art with the endless technical requirements:

"The sport of figure skating has become some kind of national math contest, and this judging system is killing the sport," Weir said. "The free program  is supposed to be free, to put an image out there and tell a story, and it's next to impossible to do, unless you write the whole story on your costume ... The art of figure skating is lost because of this judging system."

I then asked Weir if the system's demands were partly responsible for the injuries decimating the sport.

"To compete in this system, you have to be prepared to run a marathon every day, so it's no shock to me that people are getting injured or getting sick," Weir said. "Injuries will come easier when you work yourself to the bone on a daily basis. This system is slowly killing everyone off."

But the sport's pooh-bahs are deaf to such criticism, even when it comes from their current champions, preferring to hear only the sound of unjustified self-congratulations.

Call it a failure of communication.

Maybe the new sponsor has a remedy for that.

Like demanding judging changes that would lead to a good return on its investment.

-- Philip Hersh

Photo: Evan Lysacek, during the Four Continents figure skating championships event on Feb. 9, 2007. Credit: Elaine Thompson / Associated Press

Comments

[Jessica]

It must be hard for the ISU to keep defending this absurd system when even some of the top skaters can't figure out what to do with it. Not that there's much they can do but go with it which I'm sure is even more frustrating for them than it is for us the fans and viewers. The skaters can no longer dream of that perfect program with the perfect 6.0's to match. And we no longer have the pleasure of watching the drama unfold in the kiss-and-cry, home to some of figure skating's most epic moments. It seems similar to the judging system change in gymnastics (even though in that sport a perfect score still exists but is next to impossible to achieve.) Nadia Comaneci's perfect 10 or Torvill and Dean's full set of 6.0's are now sadly only part of Olympic (and their respective sport's) history.

[babbette]

The frustrating thing about the NJS is that the ISU has traded the incomprehensible scoring of compulsory figures (pre 89) testing, and created an analog in the scoring of short program and free skate. Land on the wrong edge-there goes apoint , take off from the wrong edge there goes another. These distinctions are useful for those in the know, but the TV audience it must be incomprehensible--who among them knows a lutz from a salchow from an axel?
Also the emphasis on jumping and extreme flexibility is creating a generation of female singles skaters who quit once they hit their 20's. This means that it's the MEN and the ICE DANCERS that are more interesting because they're older, more able to emotionally interpret the music, and more powerful skaters.
I also think that the networks focus skating too much on the little girl audience. The lead in to last year's nationals with its 'little princess theme' was appalling. I think that by focusing on the athleticism of the sport--some slow-mo falls, technical discussions of the physics of skating with interesting animations, and showing what it takes to learn and excel in the sport would appeal even to guys.

[Jen]

Is it so difficult for the ISU to admit mistake and restore the old scoring system (albeit with more transparency)? It's like a man that refuses to ask directions while he gets the family more and more lost.

[zamboni_bill]

Like any sport you have to know the rules and stipulations to compete and win. The NHL added the space behind the net, the only area behind the goal line which they are permitted to play the puck and they adapted. This system change is for the better and while some people are having a hard time understanding it, it will take time to learn like anything else. The system is for the better of the skaters and its shown when a well known skater performs poorly and a lesser known skater has worked diligently to attain certain levels. This is creating a more "level playing field" and Weir and Lysacek can complain all they want about how this has created more injuries, however it could simply be that more skaters are attaining high levels and not physically preparing themselves by conditioning themselves properly and recognizing that they should rest when they notice injuries to themselves. Simply put, the system is there and it will work. GIVE IT TIME!

[Jen]

To zamboni_bill:

Maybe you are not a paid representative of the USOC, but "stay the course" is not a solution to the new scoring system's problems which are well discussed and illuminated.

Programs are becoming monotonous. We see the same exact elements being done in all the programs because of this point system. Skaters are forced to cram things in, jump jump jump, biellman. All the while, high risk elements like quads for men and axels for women are underscored.

The judges have not changed, so how does anonymous scoring help the sport? Flutzes are still ignored for the "darlings" and slight underrotations slash the scores for less favored skaters.

These problems and others will not get better with time. This new system has only made things worse. USOC ignores fans and athletes with a pigheadedness that is nothing short of napoleonic. It's been over FOUR YEARS. Enough of this garbage!