BOSTON -- Ashley Wagner and Ben Agosto cognize what it's similar to measurement disconnected the crystal astatine the fig skating satellite championships and consciousness arsenic though they've conquered the sport. And what it feels similar erstwhile the notoriously fickle athletics bites back.
So erstwhile the International Skating Union enactment successful question its ambitious “Vision 2030” plan, which is designed to turn and grow the athletics done improved instrumentality engagement, it made consciousness that they would telephone Wagner, a three-time U.S. champion and erstwhile satellite metallic medalist, and Agosto, who won an Olympic metallic medal with crystal creation spouse Tanith Belbin.
If anyone was going to interrogation athletes astatine this week's satellite championships astatine specified an emotionally earthy moment, the infinitesimal aft their programs person concluded, it ought to beryllium idiosyncratic who has been done it themselves.
“I would person loved this erstwhile I was an athlete, to person the post-skate interviews close successful the kiss-and-cry, erstwhile the emotions are truthful fresh,” Wagner said. “That's thing being brought into this production. We've ne'er seen thing similar it.”
Look closely, and you mightiness announcement a batch of things ne'er seen earlier astatine this week's worlds: cutting-edge LED dasher boards surrounding the rink, expansive entrances for the athletes, and much energetic euphony — similar the rocked-out mentation of “I'm Shipping Up to Boston” by the Celtic punk set Dropkick Murphys that keeps blaring wrong TD Garden.
The thought is simple: The ISU wants to marque fig skating consciousness chill again.
Or astatine least, chill to much people.
Those who emotion the intricate, nuanced athletics — the spins and jumps, the superb landings and bitter falls — thin to travel it year-round. But determination are conscionable arsenic galore fans that tune successful erstwhile each 4 years, during the Winter Olympics, erstwhile similar a shooting prima the athletes outpouring onto the nationalist consciousness and past fizzle arsenic soon arsenic it ends.
"Skaters are the crushed wherefore this athletics exits," explained ISU president Jae Youl Kim, who granted The Associated Press a behind-the-scenes circuit of the satellite title setup Thursday, soon earlier the commencement of the men's abbreviated program.
“We are truthful arrogant of our athletes and we privation to marque definite we radiance a brighter, stronger spotlight connected our skaters.”
That is wherefore those superb LED dasher boards are showcasing each athlete's societal media tag, and wherefore each is being introduced individually for the archetypal time, thing way and tract and different Olympic sports person embraced implicit the years.
The ISU wants to make a spectacle for the 14,000-plus fans successful the arena, on with the millions watching astir the world.
“There's overmuch much to come. I mean, we tin brainstorm present a batch astir imaginable selling and sponsorship activations arsenic well,” said Wieland Lüders, who manages the satellite championships for the ISU. “Each skater has their ain partners, potentially, truthful determination are galore much thoughts. But for now, we are conscionable astatine the beginning. This is the basal concept.”
In the future, the Vision 2030 program hopes to amended the TV presentation, simplify the sport’s analyzable rules, summation sponsorship and grow gross streams. It volition besides beforehand skating done grassroots initiatives, reimagine the season-long calendar, and research caller exertion that could assistance to usher the athletics into the modern era.
The athletes aren't conscionable benefiting from accrued exposure, and the imaginable boon for their pocketbooks, but besides from back-of-the-house upgrades that are a portion of Vision 2030. In Boston, an expansive lounge is disconnected limits to everyone but competitors, and backmost astatine their hotel, determination is simply a calming country implicit with a rotating formed of therapy dogs.
Kim visited it this week. Nobody paid immoderate attraction to the ISU president due to the fact that everybody wanted to spot Penny, the dog.
If the calming country is meant to destress, the caller blistery spot successful the arena volition astir apt bash the nonstop opposite.
Much similar the clip proceedings successful Olympic cycling, wherever the person sits uncomfortably connected a throne until idiosyncratic other takes the lead, the ISU has created the aforesaid happening astatine the satellite championships. But alternatively than immoderate roped-off backstage area, wherever leaders person waited for decades, the blistery spot is close adjacent to the kiss-and-cry country successful the bosom of the arena.
The athletes who are coming disconnected the crystal aft their show can't assistance but look down whomever is successful the lead.
“We privation the fans to spot however that idiosyncratic is reacting erstwhile helium oregon she climbs implicit to instrumentality the throne, oregon however they are reacting erstwhile they cannot marque it,” Lüders said. “They could person interactions with each other, immoderate hugging oregon high-fives, thing similar this. So we anticipation we get much engagement betwixt the 2 skaters.”
Ultimately, much engagement with the fans, too.
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