Comments on: The Georgia Straight, Joannie Rochette, And “Racism”

By: Patrick Ross

Patrick Ross — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:58:01 +0000

Personally, I stopped reading after this:

“But I’ve got say, other than our beloved Governor General Michaëlle Jean, the incredible display of aboriginal culture, a lightning-quick shot of Patrick Chan, a few Asian-looking dancers, the performance of Measha Brueggergosman and Portuguese-Canadian Nelly Furtado, and a black Mountie…this was by far the whitest-looking opening ceremonies.”

Except for all of that, it was totally white out there.

This guy reminds me of the episode of Duckman where Ice T tells all of American’s white people that they have one week to settle their affairs then kill themselves.

(We have to decide who gets our Celine Dion CDs.)

By: fergusrush

fergusrush — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:52:19 +0000

Figure skaters are fabulous athletes capable of incredible physical feats, but the sport is judged and, therefore, open to abuse.

If the result cannot be timed, physically measured, or determined by objective point scoring such as balls in the net, the sport does not belong in the Olympics. Period. Objective “judges”, like unicorns, do not exist.

By: Beast

Beast — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:00:56 +0000

I make no apologies for going off topic as this one is hardly worth commenting on. I can’t wait for “darts” to be included in the Olympic games.

By: Adrian MacNair

Adrian MacNair — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 01:53:05 +0000

Frances,

I think the reason that judged sports are so enjoyed is that it more of an interactive experience. For instance, I like boxing because you watch the match and try and decide who is winning. With hockey or baseball you have less feeling of control [except with the umpires and refs] over what’s happening.

There are some Olympic sports I don’t think I’ll ever understand though. Like diving. Every single one of them looks good to me. So you kind of have to a pro to know what’s going on. Whereas with swimming, it’s easy to see the first guy to the finish and cheer along.

By: Frances

Frances — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:53:06 +0000

Okay, Adrian, we’re agreed. Actually, I often prefer to watch the ‘judged’ sports. Let’s face it, aerials on snowboard or skis, half pike, or figure skating can be a lot more interesting than watching a series of bobsledders go down the course. And I watched the sledding and was cheering the women on as well. It’s just that there’s a sameness about skiing or speedskating or sledding that there isn’t in the judged sports.

By: Gayle

Gayle — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 21:53:45 +0000

“Feel free to go off topic here, but the main point is that the only racist in this equation is the writer of the article.”

Actually, since I responding to your comment, I suggest it was YOU who went “off topic”.

By: Adrian MacNair

Adrian MacNair — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 21:46:00 +0000

Frances,

I don’t mind if we have these subjective sports in the Olympics. I just think that if you’re going to criticize a subjective sport, such as this racism accusation, you’re already arguing something that can’t be objectively proved.

By: Frances

Frances — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 21:44:27 +0000

Adrian – if skating’s not a sport because of the judging aspect, then you’re going to have to remove a lot of other competitions from that category, including a lot of snowboarding (moguls, half pike) and skiing events. Problem is, a lot of these events are extremely popular because of the moves the athletes make – precisely the moves that are judged.

By: Adrian MacNair

Adrian MacNair — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 19:50:49 +0000

Gayle,

Feel free to go off topic here, but the main point is that the only racist in this equation is the writer of the article.

By: Gayle

Gayle — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 19:48:22 +0000

I was not aware they use replays in order to determine if a penalty should be called in hockey. In fact, I am pretty sure they don’t. I know those of us watching see the replays and then complain that the ref did not make a call. A good, recent example would be the “too many men” call that should have been made when Canada played Russia, and the Russian player who was leaving the ice deliberately kicked the puck.

They do use replays in speed skating – and many of the skaters complain about the rulings. You can hardly say there is nothing subjective about making rulings based on replays.

The scoring in figure skating is designed to be objective. Each skater gets x points for x element. They use replays to ensure the skater did the full rotation on each jump, to ensure the skater did not “two foot” the landing and to ensure the skater did not put his or her hand down, amongst other things.

It is not perfect, but it is way better than before and most certainly is not “entirely based” on subjective judging.

I am going to suggest the reason you do not know how to judge between two good skaters is because you do not know how to judge good skating. The judges in figure skating are very experienced and are trained. They know what to look for. You don’t.