# Olympic Figure Skating
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-figure-skating/344105
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [February 12, 2006, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-figure-skating/344105 "2006-02-12T13:00:47Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 5
### Author:  [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2006, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-figure-skating/344105/81 "2006-02-20T16:43:43Z")
Apparently, we aren’t the only ones who hate the figure skating costumes: [see here](http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060220/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_olympics_figure_skating_fashion;_ylt=ArCYPX__mOAPkMpRhZCKJYrtiBIF;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--).
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### Author:  [@annieclaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/annieclaus)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2006, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-figure-skating/344105/82 "2006-02-20T16:46:02Z")
I found myself wondering if the feathers that flew off the skirt of the Israeli (I think it was) skater had anything to do with the number of falls that came after. You hit a feather on the ice and it could trip you up, no? (And it was a really dopey looking costume!)
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### Author:  [@tarragon918](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tarragon918)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2006, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-figure-skating/344105/83 "2006-02-20T17:06:37Z")
> [@annieclaus](#):
>
> I found myself wondering if the feathers that flew off the skirt of the Israeli (I think it was) skater had anything to do with the number of falls that came after. You hit a feather on the ice and it could trip you up, no? (And it was a really dopey looking costume!)
Heh. No, I don’t think that was it. Although I’ll just bet that many of the ice dancer pairs who fell are looking for something like that. Geeze, that was an extraordinary number of falls and in ice dancing - incredible. That said, imho the American pair who skated last did a wonderful job, esp. the guy. Those costumes though … ::shudders:: … they were awful!
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### Author:  [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2006, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-figure-skating/344105/84 "2006-02-20T17:15:02Z")
> [@twickster](#):
>
> I’ve been watching figure-skating for 20 years, and I’ve seen more ice-dancers fall tonight than I had during the rest of that period combined. What the hell is going on?
Maybe the ice was slippery or something? 😃
> [@mr. jp](#):
>
> The male figure skaters, are they actually all gay?
You sound like my husband. He swears they’re all gay. I like to toy with him and shout comments to him in the other room (he refuses to watch figure skating with me), such as, “Wow! Honey, this guy looks even gayer than the last!”
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### Author:  [@Balduran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balduran)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2006, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-figure-skating/344105/85 "2006-02-20T17:18:59Z")
On the CBC commentary to the ice dancing, the number of falls was discussed. Apparently under the new scoring system it is really worth your while score-wise to attempt riskier moves. I don’t remember seeing such elaborate lifts as they do now.
I hope the Italian duo aren’t a married couple. From the look she was giving him, if they were a couple, he’d be spending the next year sleeping on the couch.
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### Author:  [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)
#### Post date: [February 21, 2006, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-figure-skating/344105/86 "2006-02-21T06:12:24Z")
I think the deal was that if he got through the final program without dropping her, she’d let him visit his testicles on the weekends.
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### Author:  [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)
#### Post date: [February 21, 2006, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-figure-skating/344105/87 "2006-02-21T12:32:39Z")
Damn, was that cheesy overemoting or what? The icy looks, the careful refusal to make eye contact … and then the kisses when it was all over. Sheesh.
I’m happy for Belbin and Agusto, though. They’re good skaters, and they seem like genuinely nice kids, and they managed to do what they needed to do when they needed to do it. A nice finish to a bizarre event.
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### Author:  [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)
#### Post date: [February 22, 2006, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-figure-skating/344105/88 "2006-02-22T00:41:46Z")
heh! i call it chicken feathers. i wonder what he called the “tassle outfit”?
that italian couple, what a pair! i believe i saw him give her the shoulder bump as he walked by her.
i think the crowd loosened them up a bit. they did ease up about one-third into the routine. the crowd really was doing all they could. cheering, clapping to the music, etc.
the interview with the canadian pair was bittersweet. he couldn’t even talk, just kept whipping away tears when they asked him why he touched the rings in the ice at the end of the practice. she jumped in to answer the question. aaaaawwww.
i just tuned into the ice dance. still boycotting the rest of figure skating until they start skating and stop doing gymnastics.
i did find out about a new ice skating book, “frozen in time.” about the 1961 team that was killed in the plane crash. i’m rather surprized that it took this long for a book to be written… could you imagine how many books would be written if this crash happened now? as far as i know they haven’t come up with an offical reason for the crash.
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### Author:  [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)
#### Post date: [February 22, 2006, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-figure-skating/344105/89 "2006-02-22T01:55:10Z")
> [@rocking chair](#):
>
> i just tuned into the ice dance. still boycotting the rest of figure skating until they start skating and stop doing gymnastics.
Not only that - but ice dancing still has compulsories. They’re a bit cheesy at times, but they’re compulsory.
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### Author:  [@ladybug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladybug)
#### Post date: [February 22, 2006, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-figure-skating/344105/90 "2006-02-22T02:14:03Z")
> [@Balduran](#):
>
> I hope the Italian duo aren’t a married couple. From the look she was giving him, if they were a couple, he’d be spending the next year sleeping on the couch.
For a few seconds, when she was glaring at him after the original dance, I really thought she was going to slap him in the face.
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### Author:  [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)
#### Post date: [February 22, 2006, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-figure-skating/344105/91 "2006-02-22T02:28:18Z")
a few seconds!! i thought it was a full 20 hours of glare-stare on the ice.
i thought there would be a flood in that rink. she was really, really, burning with the controlled fury of 10 thousand nuns.
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### Author:  [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)
#### Post date: [February 22, 2006, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-figure-skating/344105/92 "2006-02-22T04:08:38Z")
> [@Dick Button](#):
>
> I hope I’m not being unkind.
Hee!
I love Dick Button.
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### Author:  [@Q.N.Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.N.Jones)
#### Post date: [February 22, 2006, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-figure-skating/344105/93 "2006-02-22T04:59:54Z")
> [@rocking chair](#):
>
> i did find out about a new ice skating book, “frozen in time.” about the 1961 team that was killed in the plane crash. i’m rather surprized that it took this long for a book to be written… could you imagine how many books would be written if this crash happened now? as far as i know they haven’t come up with an offical reason for the crash.
Thanks for the information on this. When I was really interested in figure skating, about 10-15 years ago, I tried to research the subject and found there was almost no available information on it. Yet the prominent U.S. figure skaters from that time say the accident shaped the whole future of the American skating program. I’ve seen Carol Heiss discuss it in interviews.
I’ll look for it.
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### Author:  [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)
#### Post date: [February 22, 2006, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-figure-skating/344105/94 "2006-02-22T13:16:35Z")
So, the ever-so-scary Sasha Cohen is 0.03 points ahead of who-doesn’t-love Iriina Slutskaya. The long programs should be interesting.
Enjoyed seeing the Turkish skater last night – did anyone catch her scores?
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### Author:  [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)
#### Post date: [February 22, 2006, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-figure-skating/344105/95 "2006-02-22T13:53:53Z")
NBC did. 😉
[http://www.nbcolympics.com/results/1500481/detail.html](http://www.nbcolympics.com/results/1500481/detail.html)
Tugba Karademir
Elements 25.70
Components 18.50
Deduction 0.00
Total 44.20
22nd place, so she’s in the free skate (just barely).
Go Sasha!
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### Author:  [@The\_Punkyova](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Punkyova)
#### Post date: [February 23, 2006, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-figure-skating/344105/96 "2006-02-23T03:59:50Z")
Plushenko’s official site has pictures and commentary from his [recent wedding](http://www.evgeniplushenko.net/wedding.shtml). The pictures of the bride aren’t flattering, but she looks like the type that most Eastern Europeans consider exotic.
I noticed that when he saw the camera on him while waiting for his scores, he waved excitedly and kissed his ring. Since it’s on his third finger, I thought he might be signalling his mother, but now I’m guessing it was his new wife. He looked so eager and happy, much more emotional than he did on the ice. I hope they’re happy.
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### Author:  [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)
#### Post date: [February 23, 2006, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-figure-skating/344105/97 "2006-02-23T05:50:34Z")
I think US male skaters are more likely to be gay than men from other countries. Here we have this stupid macho bullshit attitude about men doing sports that aren’t “manly”, so young boys are more encouraged to play football or baseball or something. Gay boys already get labled as “unmanly” and worse, so maybe they figure they have nothing to lose.
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### Author:  [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)
#### Post date: [February 23, 2006, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-figure-skating/344105/98 "2006-02-23T15:19:35Z")
I’m amazed China can only put out one top-ranked female skater and she placed 15th.
They are huge in doubles, where they had three out of the top four spots.
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### Author:  [@annieclaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/annieclaus)
#### Post date: [February 23, 2006, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-figure-skating/344105/99 "2006-02-23T15:43:37Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#):
>
> I’m amazed China can only put out one top-ranked female skater and she placed 15th.
>
> They are huge in doubles, where they had three out of the top four spots.
I think the number of skaters a country may enter into Olympic figure skating depends on the placement of that country’s skaters at the previous year’s World competition. If Chinese female skaters didn’t do well in that competition, then it’s very possible that the country was only allowed to enter one. Can anyone confirm this?
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### Author:  [@Ms\_Macphisto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Macphisto)
#### Post date: [February 23, 2006, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-figure-skating/344105/100 "2006-02-23T16:40:52Z")
> [@annieclaus](#):
>
> I think the number of skaters a country may enter into Olympic figure skating depends on the placement of that country’s skaters at the previous year’s World competition. If Chinese female skaters didn’t do well in that competition, then it’s very possible that the country was only allowed to enter one. Can anyone confirm this?
Yes, that’s the case. However, what I think **Mahaloth** was getting at is that it’s amazing that China is so dominant in pairs, but the best they can do in women’s singles is one skater who can’t even crack the top 10. After all, if you just looked at the pairs results and thought that that should apply to how a country does in all of the figure skating disciplines, China should be occupying all of those spots currently held by the US in the ladies competition.
As for why China’s weak in women’s figure skating, I don’t have an answer. They do appear to have concentrated their efforts on pairs, since they have some decent men but no one who’s a real medal threat and I’m not sure I’ve even heard of any Chinese ice dancers.
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