Piper Gilles “I think it’s sad that the world’s top athletes are all getting level ones. It looks as if we’re juniors, but that’s not the case – no one should be receiving base or level one at this level of skating. It’s frustrating and unpleasant.”
Canadian figure skater Piper Gilles, who competes in ice dance with Paul Poirier, commented on the judging in the rhythm dance at the Finland Grand Prix in Helsinki.
original source: Sports by Maya Bagriantseva
Canadian figure skater Piper Gilles, who competes in ice dance with Paul Poirier, commented on the judging in the rhythm dance at the Finland Grand Prix in Helsinki. Her comments were reported by Sports journalist Maya Bagriantseva. Here’s a translation.
“I think it’s sad that the world’s top athletes are all getting level ones. It looks as if we’re juniors, but that’s not the case – no one should be receiving base or level one at this level of skating. It’s frustrating and unpleasant.
I think the technical committee has room to grow – to understand that we put our whole heart and soul into this, and getting level ones at this stage is a bit upsetting.
We love this sport. But I feel like our system is at a crossroads, and the audience understands that we’re in the same boat as them. They also don’t understand why an exclamation mark appears in the protocol – what does that even mean? There are certain moments in our sport when we’ve lost connection with both the audience and those who determine our fate. That, in my opinion, needs to change.
Judges should judge what they see – the beauty and artistry of our sport. Our fate shouldn’t depend solely on one or three groups of people. It shouldn’t be that way.
I hope we can move forward and be creative, because that’s what fans want. They want to come back and support this sport. But if the system stays as it is now, I don’t think we’ll be able to keep attracting people – because we’re discouraged, and the audience is discouraged too.”
Related topics: Grand Prix Finlandia Trophy, Piper Gilles Paul Poirier
The French, Canadians, and Georgians all had complaints about the fishy judging situation at Finlandia. That technical controller needs to go back to school.