Entry #1: Events
So you want to get into watching figure skating but don't know where to start?
Entry #1: Events
This will be a short, but important entry, explaining what competitions will be occurring when, especially when considering many people don't realize that there are events in the figure skating world other than the Olympics.
This page is a comprehensive list of major events in the figure skating 2012-2013 season:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012-2013_figure_skating_season
DISCIPLINES/STRUCTURE OF EVENTS:
This will not include specifics, just the very basic of what you should know going into watching the sport.
There are four disciplines: men's, ladies, pairs, and ice dance. For men's ladies', and pairs' events, there is a short program and a long program (aka a freeskate)
Pairs involves lifts, throws (yes, the man will basically throw the girl into a jump), side-by-side jumps (synchronized jumps), death spirals (significantly less dangerous than they sound, and twists (which is the name for the move in which the girl is kinda thrown in the air and caught).
Death spiral:
Ice dance is essentially what is sounds like: dancing on ice. There are no jumps in ice dance, but it is still one of the more entertaining to watch, since they HAVE to make their program match the music. For ice dance, there is a short dance and a free dance. Before the 2010-2011 season, there was a compulsory dance, original dance, and a free dance. The short dance has to be a certain type of dance and music and you will be ready to punch anyone who dares to play that style of music by the end of the season. Last year was the samba or rumba, and this year is the yankee polka. The freedance is, as it suggests, much less structured.
JUNIOR GRAND PRIX
The junior grand prix is a series of of events that occur every weekend from August 23rd to October 13th. Junior level skaters are ages 13 up to 18 or 19 (I get confused on that point honestly) and up to 21 for male ice dancers or pairs. No skater or team can participate in more than two events as far as I know.
In each event, the top placing skaters or teams are awarded a certain number of points for their placement. When all of the events are complete, the skaters/teams in the top 6 for points will be assigned to the Junior Grand Prix Final, which will take place with the Senior Grand Prix Final.
For the US, three junior ladies will be competing in the junior grand prix final: Hannah Miller, Angela Wang, and Leah Keiser. The other competitors are Satoko Miyahara (Japan), Anna Pogorlaya (Russia), and Elena Radionova (Russia-the top qualifier for the jgp final for ladies).
So far for men, two US men have qualified (Jason Brown, aka the one with the ponytail, and Josh Farris) as well as one Chinese man (Jin Boyang). There are still 3 spots left, since the final part of the men's junior grand prix actually happens tomorrow and will decide the final spots.
For ice dance, only one US team qualified (Alexandra Aldridge and Daniel Eaton) and no US pairs qualified for the jgp final, and honestly I don't care about those events nearly as much.
GRAND PRIX OF FIGURE SKATING (Senior)
The grand prix events for the senior grand prix are laid out much like the junior grand prix, and the events start in a week. Like the junior grand prix, skaters/teams only compete at two events.
These are the events for this season:
Skate America, October 19-21
Skate Canada, October 26-28
Cup of China, November 2-4
Cup of Russia, November 9-11
Trophee Eric Bombard (France), November 16-18
NHK Trophy, November 23-25
If you see the events advertised at all on TV, they are showing them normally weeks after they actually happened because nobody in the media cares about figure skating. Icenetwork.com used to be the only place to watch them live, but this year they are only showing Skate America, which kinda makes me want to cry because it means we have to cross our fingers and hope some sketchy stream is showing it.
The junior grand prix final and the senior grand prix final take place at the same time, December 6-9 this year.
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Each country that is majorly involved in figure skating has their own national championships. The US Championships occur January 19-27.
Often, the national championships determine who will be sent to the world championships, but it is up to the federation. The US goes strictly by the results of the National Championships, but some countries don't.
FOUR CONTINENTS/EUROPEANS
Europeans is a competition just for European countries, and it is taken very seriously. Four Continents (4CC) was supposed to be like Europeans for everyone else, but it has pretty much turned into (1) a chance for some skaters to practice for worlds and (2) a conciliation prize for skaters who just barely missed out on a trip to worlds. Both are senior events
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
The world championships are the most important events other than Olympics. The number of people from each country who can compete is determined by the results of the year before. If two skaters/teams are sent, their combined positions must add up to 13 or less to earn three positions for the next year.
This season's worlds are extra important since they determine how many positions each country will have at the Olympics.
The US currently has 2 positions for pairs, ladies, and men's, and 3 for ice dance.
NOTES:
A skater, if the right ages, can compete both on the junior level and the senior level in the same season. Often, skaters will compete as Seniors on a national level, but juniors on an international level.
Okay yeah, sorry, this turned into a monster.
THANK YOU FOR READING! HERE IS A PICTURE OF ADORABLE RUSSIAN BB MARIA STAVITSKAIA AND HER TERRIBLE ILLUSION MESH, WHO EARNED HER FIRST JUNIOR GRAND PRIX MEDAL TODAY!!!
