Figure skating, the Olympics and whatever else

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Comments by: YACCS

 
Every four years, the Olympics continues to stir my imagination. There's just something about the pagentry and spectacle that fills me with wonder and amazement. The torch relay has become an integral part of those preparations, lit in Greece and carried on its way to the Olympic stadium for the opening ceremonies. To experience just a small part of that journey makes me feel more connected to the Olympics.

I attended the relay for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics when the Olympic torch passed through Ballston. I remember braving a large crowd of people to watch the torch pass and vainly trying to get one picture of the event for posterity. People crowded on both sides of Fairfax Drive with vans from Olympic sponsors.

When I read the 2002 Torch Relay for Salt Lake City Winter Olympics would pass through the DC area, I was excited. Then this morning I heard the schedule, with absolutely no warning or planning ahead of time. The Post published the schedule in the 12/21 morning edition. I haven't heard whether they simply weren't particularly organized this time around or whether there were security concerns over broadcasting the route.

At 11 a.m., fearing the worst, I decided I wanted to check to see if the torch had already passed. Knowing my luck, the relay was running on schedule, meaning they had already passed down to the Iwo Jima memorial. So my mother and I drove down to Clarendon. The traffic seemed fairly calm until we actually came closer to Courthouse, near the county administration building. We saw more crowds of people, even one group surrounding a person in a white jumpsuit with an unlit torch. We nearly parked, then decided to keep going.

At 11:30 a.m., further down along Clarendon Boulevard, we still noticed clumps of spectators, leading us to wonder if the torch still hadn't arrived. The crowd would have dispersed if it had already passed. Finally we found a parking spot and Mom asked one shivering group if they were waiting for the torch.

The group happen to be a news crew and the torch was running late, so had not passed by their corner. They had sent one of their staffers to get coffee, which she returned in real coffee cups. Apparently the local restaurant hadn't heard about the torch either, otherwise the local businesses might have promoted it further. Again, they didn't know whether it was badly organized or being overly cautious.

Finally we saw motorcycle cops coming down Clarendon Boulevard towards us, which looked promising. We also saw the large vans which accompanied close behind the runner, premusably with backup flames and chauffering around the runners. As they approached, we realized we were going to witness a passing of the torch from one runner to another. To see the flame go by is one thing. To actually witness the passing of the torch is quite another.

The news crew seemed to know the new torch runner, so I was curious if it was one of their own news team. I had noticed the one camera person wore a FoxNews badge. The torch relay is mostly filled by people who were nominated to the Olympic sponsors for the honor, but also local celebrities and athletes.

At home, I watched the local news coverage of the event. The network affiliates focused on the torch passing through the Pentagon and being carried over the Wilson Bridge to D.C. The local Arlington County channel focused on the torch's arrival in Arlington with the speeches and ceremonial pomp, showing its travel down Courthouse Road. CSPAN also showed the passing of the torch at the Pentagon. Small wonder the torch ran late if everyone makes a speech everytime it arrives.

Since none of my photographs turned out from the event, I've uploaded a scan of my "I saw the flame" sticker from the 1996 Atlanta Torch relay and a picture from the event. I wish I could have gotten one for the 2002 Torch relay to complete the collection.




posted by Julia at 7:29 PM

 
Some call it progress. Figure skating has evolved over the years from simple tracing on the ice into powerful jumps and spins. Before the wars, the focus was on figures. If you could trace the different circles, you could win the Olympics. Freestyle was much less complicated. Sonja Henie turned into an artform, creating programs to music.

Then the North American athleticism appeared after WWII. Among other accomplishments, Dick Button landed the first triple jump in 1952, opening up the floodgates. Then Vern Taylor landed the first triple axel. Then Kurt Browning landed the first quadruple jump. And Elvis Stojko landed the first quad-triple combination. Quads went from being a novelty to being a necessity.

Some call it progress. School figures were eliminated in the 1990s, victim of glitzy television coverage and accusations of biased judging. Television people wanted excitement with jumps and spins and falls, not boring tracing of pictures on the ice. The purists note the sureness of edges or the control of the blade created by this training. USFSA has instituted "Moves in the Field" to compensate for the elimination, but the damage may be done.

As a recent example, at the Hersheys Kisses Challenge, Dick Button ranted on the tendency for the American ladies skaters to switch edges during a lutz, creating a "flutz". He would very carefully point out in replays when a skater shifted from one to the other. During the entire show, he pointed out *two* outstanding lutzes -- Dorothy Hamill and Todd Eldredge. "*That* is a real lutz!" Both skaters learned school figures in their youth.

Older skaters worry about new generation of skaters who never learned figures. And yet there are some younger skaters who have excellent edges. I personally worry about the next generation of coaches who never had that foundation. Even Carol Heiss Jenkins recently said in otherwise awful "Celebration of Gold" special on Fox that she missed the figures because she saw how it taught her students blade control and edges. She missed having that other way of explaining things. The students don't learn that discipline or that concentration involved in tracing the figures.

Some people call it progress. I call it depressing. There may be some wonderful skaters out there who will never be Olympic or World champions because they don't have a quad. Or they'll stress themselves out or worse injure themselves trying to land one "bloody quadruple". Which is more important? One jump? Or a great clean performance with style and speed and verve?


posted by Julia at 8:44 PM

 

I mentioned the magic of experiencing Sale & Pelletier's long program at Worlds. That program had one small flaw, a singled jump. Their second long program at Grand Prix Final had none, their performance effortless both technically and artistically. That combination is rare in skating. Usually skaters are either technicians or artists, growing into the other as they acquire more experience. To see their "Love Story" was magic. There was no other explanation for it, no other sporting hyperboles. The skating just seemed to flow out them naturally.

"Love Story" is a classic program. Being a little younger, I am not that familiar with the tearjerker that inspired the program, though I've heard the theme music. That didn't ruin my appreciation for the program. It was easy to picture *a* love story, not necessarily the one from the movie, filled with the joy and the heartbreak. Jamie & David's interaction made me believe and brought me to tears.

Dick Button seems enamored of certain euphemisms for skaters. All the guys need to have a "song and dance" quality. For the pairs, Button wants to see the romance that being in love makes you feel like you're flying. At one point, watching Jamie & David, I found myself asking aloud, "Well, Dick, is this what it feels like?" However, I disagree with his suggestion on using "Love Story" for the Olympics. I wish they'd stick with their new Rachmaninoff program for the Olympics to see if they can develop it further.

The Russians have dominated pairs skating since the Protopopovs won the Olympics in 1964 and 1968. Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze vary widely between disaster and perfection, sometimes making one wonder what the fuss is about this team. The Russians do always seem to find the grit and moxie to pull it out in the end, but I wonder if they haven't met their match. From the historical perspective, it's interesting to note that in 1960, the Olympics were again in the United States in Squaw Valley. Who won the pairs event? A Canadian team, also reigning World champions, named Barbara Wagner and Robert Paul.


posted by Julia at 8:43 PM

 
The other night I found myself watching part of the documentary on the making of the animated "Charlie Brown Christmas" special. They introduced some of the child actors who voiced the famous roles and the trouble they had even convincing the networks that an animated Charlie Brown was a good idea! In one scene, the "Charlie Brown" actor admitted having a hard time understanding Charlie Brown's speech about being depressed over the Christmas holidays. How could he be depressed with all these toys and presents?

Today I could understand. I don't know why, but for the last couple of years, I just haven't felt in the mood for Christmas. Oh, there's some excitement at seeing what my presents are, but I seem to dread the season now, rather than embracing it. I see the tinsel and decorations going up in the mall and sigh "Is it Christmas *already*?"


posted by Julia at 8:41 PM

 
Normally I don't do this. I travel using the Metro every day in D.C. And invariably I have to stand for part of my trip. That's fine. I've accepted it as a fact of life. But why do people insist on leaning against the pole so no one can hold onto it? I am fairly short so there's no way I can comfortably reach the bars above me. I actually envy the New York subway riders, because they have handholds within easy reach. Yesterday I actually asked a rather tall man if he could please move slightly so I could hold onto the pole. There wasn't any other spots available and I wasn't standing without some brace for the long ride on the Yellow line.


posted by Julia at 8:40 PM