American International Skating Talent: Severe lacking? Or just lacking dominant individuals?
So, I’ve been talking with a lot of skating fans this past month, and more often than I expected the America-is-lacking-serious-senior-level-international-talent view point has come up.
Sorry, I believe this viewpoint is wrong, or at least it’s a very skewed perspective to have.
What we’re lacking is serious-American-senior-level-international domination. What we have is a swell of great talent in the senior international levels. It’s just very inconsistent / sometimes injured talent, with a lot of fellow country men who are just as talented.
We’ve been spoiled with the dominance of Michelle & Tara, Michelle & Sasha, Michelle & Sarah & Sasha, Todd & Mike, Mike & Timothy, etc. The dynamics of the sport have gradually changed over the past two decades, and the new judging system seems to really distinguish the top skater’s great performances from their mediocre performances. That “5.7” was always relative to that particular night’s skating… so now two programs that both could have received a 5.7 in their respective scenarios, could now differ by double-digits in points. This makes the inconsistency of skaters even more quantifiable, than under the previous judging system.
Anyway, let’s compare America to the overall amount of talent this year in other countries:
2008-09 Senior Grand Prix final standings,
top 4 countries with skaters in the top 21:
Ladies:
US: 8
JPN: 5
FIN: 2
CAN: 2
Men:
US: 7
CAN: 4
FRA: 3
JPN & RUS: 2 each
RUS: 2
Pairs:
CAN, CHN, RUS, USA: 4 each
Dance:
US: 5
RUS: 5
FRA: 3
CAN & ITA: 2 each
2008-09 Junior Grand Prix final standings,
top 4 countries with skaters in the top 21:
Ladies:
US: 7
JPN: 5
RUS, RUS, GER: 2 each
Men:
RUS & US: 5 each
CHN: 3
JPN: 2
Pairs:
RUS: 7
US: 5
CAN: 4
CHN: 2
Dance:
US: 7
RUS: 5
CAN: 4
UKR: 2
World rankings (as of Dec. 8, so pre-GPF) on icenetwork.com,
Top 4 countries with skaters in the top 20:
Ladies:
USA: 7
JPN: 5
CAN & FIN: 2 each
Men:
USA: 7
FRA & JPN: 3
CZE: 2
Pairs:
CHN & RUS: 4 each
CAN & USA: 3 each
Dance:
USA: 5
RUS: 4
CAN & FRA: 3 each
So, while we may not have 1 or 2 skaters dominating internationally right now, you can’t deny that we do have strength in numbers with several talented international competitors when compared to every other country.
Besides. In closing, the international competitions in the past year (along with the U.S. National Championships) have been some of the most exciting that I can ever remember. I cannot wait for Nationals this year because I really believe in the running for the medals this year are at least 12 ladies, 8 men, 8 pairs, and ice dance is looking particularly competitive this year.
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