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New Verve In World Figure Skating.
| Source: |
San Francisco Chronicle |
| Date: |
December 15, 1997 |
It's not the Olympics, but the World Professional Figure Skating
Championships is taking a few steps to gain more respect as a serious
competition.
Kristi Yamaguchi won the women's title for the fourth time Saturday
night, while Kurt Browning took the men's crown for the third
consecutive year. The difference this time is that it took them two
days to do it, skating a technical program Friday and an artistic
routine Saturday.
In previous years, the whole event was crammed into a one-night
marathon that took its toll on skaters as well as fans. The new format
reminded Browning and Brian Boitano of their Olympic days.
"I like two nights, even though it puts more pressure on you," said
Boitano, who finished second to Browning. "When you have two numbers
in one night, you have a tendency to not get so serious about the
second number. You go, 'OK, I'm tired.' When you have a whole day to
prepare, it gets a little more intense, but I think it's better for
skating."
There were other signs that the 24-year-old world championships is
trying to distance itself from made-for-TV, pseudo-competitions that
seem to pop up every other week.
There was a bigger pool of judges, and those judges consistently
valued content over reputation. In the dance, for instance, Renee Roca
and Gorsha Sur had the most technically demanding program and earned
two perfect 10s to upset heavily favored Maia Usova and Alexander
Zhulin.
"I never expected that," Roca said. "It's really nice because it
didn't go in the predictable order that it usually goes in. It's
really a big surprise."
Still a problem is the television lag time. This year's competition
won't be on NBC for another six weeks, but promoter Dick Button said
there are serious talks broadcasting next year's event live.
"If it went live, it would be great," Browning said.
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