1972 Sapporo Figure Skating Highlights - Janet Lynn Trixie Schuba Karen Magnussen

[pelicanus11]

How asinine school figures were.

Trixie couldnt hold a candle to Janet as far as freeskating went!

[npe1]

@pelicanus11 School figures were not asinine. They are the basis of skating. How sad it is today to see skater have poor edges when they skate, that's because they never did school figures. I agree that back in 1972 too much weight was given to school figures but to have got rid of them altogether was wrong. I think the compromise reached by the late 1980's was about right: 50% free programme, 30% short programme and 20% school figures

[bassethound1]

@skatenater Janet ushered in no such thing. Look to Zayak and that early 80's era for that complaint,

[pelicanus11]

Stupid school figures! Janet is superior!

[pelicanus11]

Trixie thunder thighs

[Sephiroth9611]

@pelicanus11 What do you mean by 'thunder thighs'?

[pelicanus11]

Love Janet Lynns style of skating!!!

[mlc2005]

Yes, SOME elite skaters today have shallow edges, just as they did back then. But many elite skaters today have amazing edge quality, and of course they are doing much more difficult elements than before. For those that can't let go of figures, maybe there needs to be a separate event in which skaters trace drawings on the ice... something tells me there would be many seats available if you wanted to attend ;)

[mlc2005]

Don't young skaters still have to do figures in order to pass tests? In other words, figures weren't eliminated from skating training, they were just eliminated from international competitions. The reason, imo, figures do not belong in competition is that, as Button said, you become good at them by simply doing them over, and over, and over, and over again, And, btw, Schuba, who was obviously a GREAT figures skater, could not really skate, so I'm not sure how they make skaters better.

[Sephiroth9611]

@mlc2005 I have been wondering about your paraphrase of what Dick Bottom said about figures and how you use that as a point for how figures should not be a part of competition. By your reasoning, should we take out of any sport any activity that requires skill gained by practice? Off the top of my head I can think of free-throw shooting in basketball: just a player, the ball, and the basket.

[mlc2005]

@Sephiroth9611:That's a good point. I don't have a problem with figures being part of competition, per se,but perhaps they just needed to count a lot less. If it had been, at the time: 20% of the total that would have been okay. What frustrated so many people is that mediocre skaters won due to an event that was basically closed to the public and to tv audiences (not good in a sport with a history of corrupt judging). The Lynn's, Ito's, Cranston's, and Beillmann's of the world deserved better.

[mlc2005]

@mlc2005: I'll try to find the clip with Button's comment. It was in reference to school figures and how they are judged, and he said that, to be good at them, required years of doing them repeatedly. Of course all sport has practice, but one must admit that free skating requires much more athleticism, stamina, and fitness than figures. I also disagree with generalizations re: the end of figures means that ALL skaters now have "shallow edges and can't skate."

[frostdiamond1]

@SkateNater I definitely agree. I'm so tired of seeing shallow, shaky edges. I don't think figures should have been worth as much as it was before they eliminated it, but doing away with it altogether was a big mistake. Flutzing is a direct result of the loss of figures. That's one of the major reasons I like watching skating early '90s skating so much. The girls looked stronger. Kristi Yamaguchi was no great jumper, but her landings looked SECURE.

[PecanSandees23]

This was great to see, especially the figures. Although I wish we could have seen more of the "tracings" and less of the skaters from the waist up.

Janet Lynn, a very talented skater. I believe they invented the Short Program because Janet, who was well loved, was not very good in figures. Until that fall in the flying sit spin, the program was flawless. She's still very loved in Japan.

[Sephiroth9611]

@PecanSandees23

This is another vid showing the skating portion of Shinoda's documentary from Sapporo. The other clip I've seen at YouTube, Sapporo Olympic Ladies Compulsory Figure, is just of the figures. The comments for that clip are fascinating.

[MrDolenz]

god could she skate? indeed a swan- and an incredible person to boot.

[MrDolenz]

oh, and how bad was Julie Lynn Holmes in the freeskate ?

[MrDolenz]

great to see Sapporo on here what ever happened to the CBS coverage ?