Wednesday, February 13, 2002
Judging joke beyond contempt
By ERIC FRANCIS -- Calgary Sun
SALT LAKE CITY -- Let me start by saying I hate figure skating. It actually angers me.
However, even though I couldn't tell you the difference between a triple lutz and a triple bypass, I know enough to realize Jamie Sale and David Pelletier got jobbed.
That much was clear.
And while Canadians from coast to coast rant about the latest injustice to mar the sport, it should be pointed out our American neighbours feel the same way.
You couldn't walk through a security checkpoint here yesterday without hearing somebody whine about the silliness that cast a long, dark shadow over the world's slipperiest sport.
At the conclusion of the event, an NBC commentator said on air she was embarrassed for her sport. A newsflash on VH1, of all channels, echoed the same sentiment.
Walking into a crowded restaurant shortly after the skate, the bartender's first unsolicited words to me were: "You Canadians just got robbed."
Robbed, jobbed, however you describe it, the end result stinks more than the Great Salt Lake.
It was impossible to find anyone who disagreed. Anyone except the judges. But then, that's figure skating.
While I'd be the first to admit figure skaters are better athletes than 90% of the participants in these Winter Games, I have a hard time stomaching a sport in which the best performers are often not rewarded with victory.
Why aren't the snooty volunteers who continually humiliate their sport screened like NHL, NFL and NBA officials?
Those who continue to make obvious errors in judgment should be removed. Surely the sport deserves as much.
Make no mistake, Sale and Pelletier will wind up being bigger Canadian heroes for the way they handled things than they would be had they struck gold.
Instead, their plight has struck a chord with the public and a skating community that should be ashamed of a system that allows this to happen.
An inherently different sport, devoid of clocks or scoring of any kind, it's clear there will always be a subjective, human element tied to determining winners.
But how such power can be placed in the hands of the same nameless, faceless skating officials with political agendas is a crime.
While an inquiry into the whole mess will undoubtedly uncover little more than a series of denials and sad justifications, something much bigger needs to happen here.
The judging setup needs to change to a more common-sense system.
Maybe the audience should be given voting keypads like they have on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. Or perhaps the Internet could be used to account for a small percentage of the scores. Maybe let average fans take part.
I don't know, and frankly, I don't care.
As long as I see perfect routines like those overlooked on a stage as grand as that of the Olympics, I have no interest.
Monday night, I stopped dead in my tracks to watch a figure skating routine that mesmerized and genuinely entertained me. I was thoroughly impressed.
At its conclusion, the crowd rose, stunned by a flawless performance that was nothing but golden in their eyes.
Could everyone outside of Russia and the judges' panel really be that wrong?
Only in figure skating.
2002 Games Columnists
