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2018 Pyeongchang KOREA WINTER OLYMPICS

PostPosted: Wed Jan 31, 2018 12:30 am
by Maleeva
The official entry lists are up. Russia did replace their pairs and dance teams with first alternates.

https://www.isu.org/events/eventdetail/ ... teParam=11

Re: 2018 Pyeongchang KOREA WINTER OLYMPICS

PostPosted: Wed Jan 31, 2018 4:11 pm
by Jonas
Interesting to see Duskova & Bidar on the pairs roster. IIRC, they surprisingly (at least to me) lost out on qualifying to Pyeongchang at Nebelhorn. They subsequently withdrew from their Grand Prix events and I don't recall them competing at Europeans.

Your thoughts...

Re: 2018 Pyeongchang KOREA WINTER OLYMPICS

PostPosted: Wed Jan 31, 2018 8:55 pm
by chuckiem
DUSKOVA / BIDAR haven't competed at all this season. I was suprised, too, to see them on the Pairs list for the Olympics. I guess when the North Korean pair gave back their spot, that gave them the qualification.

But now the North Korean pair are going to the Olympics as part of a unified Korean team along with a Pairs team from South Korea. And it looks as if the IOC allowed them two extra Pairs spots to do that: there are 22 Pairs for this Olympics, when there were only 20 in 2014.

Re: 2018 Pyeongchang KOREA WINTER OLYMPICS

PostPosted: Wed Jan 31, 2018 10:17 pm
by sms29s66
If they are adding pairs teams, shouldn't the US federation question why we aren't allowed to field two teams? Wasn't the only reason we don't have two slots is because there were only 20?

Re: 2018 Pyeongchang KOREA WINTER OLYMPICS

PostPosted: Wed Jan 31, 2018 11:44 pm
by tennisfan
The Czechs got the 2nd entry that France gave back. The Czech were 5th at Nebelhorn and then she was injured. It forced them to withdraw from the Grand Prix events and Europeans, but she is apparently making good progress and they expect to compete at the Olympics. When the North Koreans didn't register the entry they earned at Nebelhorn at the end of October it was given to the 1st Alternate which was Japan.

Re: 2018 Pyeongchang KOREA WINTER OLYMPICS

PostPosted: Wed Jan 31, 2018 11:47 pm
by tennisfan
sms29s66 wrote:If they are adding pairs teams, shouldn't the US federation question why we aren't allowed to field two teams? Wasn't the only reason we don't have two slots is because there were only 20?

The reason that the US only got one slot was because only 16 entries can be given out a the World Championships and after China, Russia, & Canada got 3, and Germany, Italy, France got 2 there was only one entry left for the US. In addition to the rule capping the number of entries that can be earned at the World Championships there is a rule that says that a country that earns an entry at the World Championships cannot earn additional entries in the same discipline at the qualifying competition. Hence the US was left with one entry.

Re: 2018 Pyeongchang KOREA WINTER OLYMPICS

PostPosted: Thu Feb 01, 2018 3:31 am
by sms29s66
Looks to me as though the rules are quite fluid. :wink: Plus, tennis, I don't understand your last sentence??? :?:

Re: 2018 Pyeongchang KOREA WINTER OLYMPICS

PostPosted: Thu Feb 01, 2018 8:41 am
by tennisfan
sms29s66 wrote:Looks to me as though the rules are quite fluid. :wink: Plus, tennis, I don't understand your last sentence??? :?:

The 'Hence the US was left with one entry'? The US earned one spot for the Olympics.

These rules have been in place for a few Olympic cycles now, I think since the breakup of the Soviet Union when the number of countries in the ISU increased quite suddenly. This was a scenario that was foreseen last season going into the World Championships, but I was expecting Italy to be the country that was going to get caught earning two entries for 2018 Worlds and only one for the Olympics. The US pairs were in rough shape last year and the injury to Alexa prevented the Knierim's from performing their best and by finishing behind the French and the Italians at the World Championships it cost the US an entry to the Olympics.

Re: 2018 Pyeongchang KOREA WINTER OLYMPICS

PostPosted: Thu Feb 01, 2018 4:40 pm
by sms29s66
tennis, don't misunderstand me. It isn't that I think the US deserves two spots in pairs. We haven't had decent, world-class pairs skaters since John Zimmerman and what's her name (who was probably doping) and Meno/Sand. BTW, I still don't understand your last sentence. The way I remember what was explained at world's was that after 16th(?) place, all counted the same. So the only reason placement counted at that point was when it came to the cut-off. Only then did it matter if your second team placed 16th or 20th. Since two extra teams have been added to the upcoming games, it seems obvious that there is nothing written in stone about the number of teams allowed to compete. Did I get something wrong?

Re: 2018 Pyeongchang KOREA WINTER OLYMPICS

PostPosted: Fri Feb 02, 2018 6:20 am
by tennisfan
sms29s66 wrote:tennis, don't misunderstand me. It isn't that I think the US deserves two spots in pairs. We haven't had decent, world-class pairs skaters since John Zimmerman and what's her name (who was probably doping) and Meno/Sand. BTW, I still don't understand your last sentence. The way I remember what was explained at world's was that after 16th(?) place, all counted the same. So the only reason placement counted at that point was when it came to the cut-off. Only then did it matter if your second team placed 16th or 20th. Since two extra teams have been added to the upcoming games, it seems obvious that there is nothing written in stone about the number of teams allowed to compete. Did I get something wrong?

There's supposed to be 20 pairs teams at the Olympics but have have been added because of unusual circumstances. So South Korea got a pairs entry because they're the host and that was in the ISU rules for Olympic qualification. The last country who needed to use host entries was Norway in 1994, but because their skaters didn't meet national qualifying standards they didn't send any figure skaters for the games. North Korea had earned a pairs spot but it was reallocated to Japan after the North Koreans failed to meet a deadline to confirm a it's entry. Getting North Korea in the games is a goal for the IOC because of what happened in 1988 in the lead up to the Seoul Olympics. The North Koreans blew up a South Korean airliner in 1987 as part of plan to undermine the hosting of the 1988 Olympics, which thankfully didn't work. But when the North Koreans made overtures to the South about competing the IOC and South Koreans jumped at the opportunity to negotiate places in the Olympics for the athletes. The IOC has the discretion to add entries to whatever events it wants and so we have 22 pairs teams.

Re: 2018 Pyeongchang KOREA WINTER OLYMPICS

PostPosted: Fri Feb 02, 2018 8:56 am
by sms29s66
So I'm right--the IOC has the discretion and can field as many teams as they wish. That being the case, I wonder why the US didn't petition for a second team. You don't need to respond. I get it! :wink:

Re: 2018 Pyeongchang KOREA WINTER OLYMPICS

PostPosted: Fri Feb 02, 2018 7:44 pm
by chuckiem
They can add as many pairs teams as they like, but in the end only 16 Pairs make it through to the Free Skate. So 6 of those 22 pairs will be on the chopping block.

Re: 2018 Pyeongchang KOREA WINTER OLYMPICS

PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2018 9:15 pm
by Maleeva
The tech panels for each event are posted below. Looks like the ISU selected some newer panels and did not go exclusively with the most tenured tech panel members available to them.

Chuckie can you please tell us their respective countries?

http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1718/owg2018/

Re: 2018 Pyeongchang KOREA WINTER OLYMPICS

PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2018 9:23 pm
by tennisfan
Here is the list of ISU officials for 2017/18 so that anyone can look up nationality if they're interested.
https://www.isu.org/communications/1212 ... -2111/file

Re: 2018 Pyeongchang KOREA WINTER OLYMPICS

PostPosted: Thu Feb 08, 2018 4:15 pm
by chuckiem
Here are the tech teams:

MEN
Referee Chihee RHEE KOR
Tech Controller Rafaella LOCATELLI ITA
Tech Spec Konstantin KOSTIN LAT
Asst Tech Spec Ricardo OLAVARRIETA MEX


LADIES
Referee Beatrice PFISTER SUI
Tech Controller Susan LYNCH AUS
Tech Spec Jae-Eun CHUNG KOR
Asst Tech Spec Evgeny MARTYNOV RUS


PAIRS
Referee Rita ZONNEKEYN BEL
Tech Controller Anna SIEROCKA POL
Tech Spec Simon BRIGGS GBR
Asst Tech Spec Todd SAND USA


ICE DANCE
Referee Ingrid Charlotte WOLTER GER
Tech Controller Hilary SELBY GBR
Tech Spec Slavka GRINCOVA SVK
Asst Tech Spec Tae-Hwa YANG KOR

Re: 2018 Pyeongchang KOREA WINTER OLYMPICS

PostPosted: Thu Feb 08, 2018 5:12 pm
by Virginia
Last night I looked up the competition times. (find them here: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1718/owg2018/)

I was assuming that the skaters would be competing in the afternoon and evening, as usual, with the broadcast edited and tape-delayed for other time zones. That's what happened in Sochi. Not so.

Most of the figure skating events begin as early as 10:00 AM Korean time, which coincides with 8 PM EST. They're 14 hours ahead of the US east coast (and the most populous regions of Canada). This is familiar territory for me because we live in Virginia; my brother and his family are stationed in Japan (same time zone as SK), and we have to juggle our Skype dates accordingly -- usually 10 PM Saturday or later for us, midday Sunday for them).

But again: The figure skating events begin at TEN IN THE MORNING. TEN IN THE MORNING! 10:00 AM!!!

World-class skaters are NOT used to competing at such an hour!

I seriously have to question the wisdom of this decision. I don't think the IOC or the Pyeongchang Organizing Committee should have pandered to NBC on this issue, no matter how many millions they're paying for the broadcast. It seems quite likely to me that some skaters won't perform their best due to the crazy scheduling. The US can survive with a tape-delay; we're used to it, and IT'S NOT ABOUT US. It's about the athletes.

Thoughts?

Re: 2018 Pyeongchang KOREA WINTER OLYMPICS

PostPosted: Thu Feb 08, 2018 5:21 pm
by Maleeva
Thank you chuckie !

I did not realize that Virginia thanks for pointing that time out so I watch tonight. I agree that is very early and hope we can still see some quality skating!

Re: 2018 Pyeongchang KOREA WINTER OLYMPICS

PostPosted: Thu Feb 08, 2018 6:13 pm
by bumphystars
Virginia wrote:I seriously have to question the wisdom of this decision. I don't think the IOC or the Pyeongchang Organizing Committee should have pandered to NBC on this issue, no matter how many millions they're paying for the broadcast. It seems quite likely to me that some skaters won't perform their best due to the crazy scheduling. The US can survive with a tape-delay; we're used to it, and IT'S NOT ABOUT US. It's about the athletes.

Thoughts?


I'm not sure I agree, Virginia. The skaters have certainly made adjustments in order to perform at this time. After all, they have known the schedule for months. I can't see why it will hurt them if they have prepared properly. They are professionals, after all.

And, well, it kinda is about us. Getting people to pay attention to figure skating, at the Olympics especially, is key to the growth of our sport, which means more opportunities for the skaters in the end.

Re: 2018 Pyeongchang KOREA WINTER OLYMPICS

PostPosted: Thu Feb 08, 2018 7:33 pm
by ihsia
I also think that the elite skaters travel all around the world for competitions. Adjusting to the time difference is what they've been trained to do.

Re: 2018 Pyeongchang KOREA WINTER OLYMPICS

PostPosted: Fri Feb 09, 2018 2:23 am
by Virginia
Okay, so the men just finished polishing the ice with their behinds ... ummm, morning skating perchance????