Maleeva wrote:Tanith White said on nbcsn coverage that the US might not get two teams in pairs next year because of some complex rule that only five countries can send 3 and 2 teams in pairs. And since Italy placed higher than the US they get to send two teams and not the US. I may have gotten the details wrong but that was the jest of what she said.
I've never heard of this rule. Anyone know the facts?
Maleeva wrote:
Tanith White said on nbcsn coverage that the US might not get two teams in pairs next year because of some complex rule that only five countries can send 3 and 2 teams in pairs. And since Italy placed higher than the US they get to send two teams and not the US. I may have gotten the details wrong but that was the jest of what she said.
I've never heard of this rule. Anyone know the facts?
Trilogy86 wrote:
I am not sure of that rule, but the standard rule is if there are two teams entered, the total placements need to add up to 28 or less in order for 2 teams to qualify for the Olympics. In this case, USA was 10 and 20, which adds to 30, and therefore only one spot earned.
Virginia wrote:Maleeva wrote:
Tanith White said on nbcsn coverage that the US might not get two teams in pairs next year because of some complex rule that only five countries can send 3 and 2 teams in pairs. And since Italy placed higher than the US they get to send two teams and not the US. I may have gotten the details wrong but that was the jest of what she said.
I've never heard of this rule. Anyone know the facts?
I don't know the facts, but Christine Brennan of USA TODAY is reporting the same thing -- without explaining the "arcane rule": http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2017/03/30/us-figure-skating-one-pairs-team-olympics/99846036/
Nothing from Philip Hersh of the Chicago Tribune yet; I find him to be one of the most knowledgeable and reputable of the sportswriters who cover skating.
I suspect this particular bombshell just broke this morning -- and I fully expect the USFSA to protest.
I understand that the Olympic organizers are trying to limit the number of athletes, but pairs, after all, is the most thinly populated of the disciplines. They also need to take into account the fact that the USA is a shoo-in to make the Olympic team event, and one pair really isn't enough. This lone couple will have to skate the short and the free in the team event, then gear up immediately to repeat both in the individual pairs competition, which is almost sure to follow immediately after (I've noticed that the Olympics always follow the traditional competition order of pairs - men - dance - ladies).
Russia complained, very reasonably in my view, that it was unfair to expect their lone male entrant to Sochi to carry the burden in both the team and individual event -- and indeed, that lone skater was physically unable to compete in the men's event once the team gold was secured, leaving no Russian man on the ice. A second Russian skater could have shared the burden, allowing Plushenko to try to compete in the individual competition. (There's no way to know if his injury would have allowed it or not.)
The US is facing in the same position next year in Pyeongchang with a lone pair -- and our second pair is being held back by an "arcane" and "complex" rule which really doesn't make any sense. Somebody needs to take a second look at this.Trilogy86 wrote:
I am not sure of that rule, but the standard rule is if there are two teams entered, the total placements need to add up to 28 or less in order for 2 teams to qualify for the Olympics. In this case, USA was 10 and 20, which adds to 30, and therefore only one spot earned.
According to what Tanith said on the air last night, anybody who placed 18th or lower is assigned the number 18 -- so Denney and Frazier get an 18. The Knierims needed to be in the top 10 to get to the magic 28, which they just managed. But now, it seems, an arcane rule is being dusted off to deny the US the second spot!
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