European Figure Skating Championships: Aesthetics in sport

Hence sitting down on Sunday afternoon with a group of friends I found myself obsessively trying to keep them up to date with a constant stream of skating jargon. I was gabbling on about the differences between quads, triples and doubles (fairly obvious), the different difficulty of spins (a little harder to explain) and the difference between loops, flips and axels (which resulted in me trying to show them the different take offs of certain jumps in our living room). And in-between the commentary I was frequently pleading that we should instantly run down to Sheffield to jump on the ice, as seeing others skating makes me jealous.

Of course none of them were interested in me trying to explain why a triple axel is harder than a triple lutz, for example. The guys were mainly interested in trying to guess what marks they should get in relation to how attractive they were, or how often they obviously stumbled. How ridiculous their costumes were, and whether their programs had a plot, and if so what it was, also came up. The Russian dance pair, Khokhlova and Novitski, who came 3rd, dancing to the Stravinsky’s Firebird, came under particular scrutiny; not only was her costume colourful and strange, but she wasn’t a stunning beauty and they couldn’t work out the plot in their free dance.

So why the ridicule? I don’t think it can be debated whether or not it is a sport, the Olympic question tends to stop that; of course, it could just be that only I was interested in watching it, but one of these friends is quite happy to sit down and watch formula one racing. This is apparently fascinating, and yet he cannot appreciate a couple gliding around effortlessly on ice. He can’t doubt the skill; anyone who has ever tried to skate knows it is not as easy as these people make it look. For everyone who vainly tries to stand upright, the idea of building up the speed, balance and agility to throw oneself into the air and rotate multiple times before landing feet first is almost something of a myth (I’m sure gravity is supposed to kick in at some point.)

So ultimately I think it came down to looks, probably not helped by the emphasis competitive skating places on the performance. But why should a sport not tie in closely with aesthetics? Or perhaps I’ve just missed the point of watching sports; tennis, rugby and the like have a certain beauty in the strength and skill of the various athletes, but I personally think they can’t compare to watching individuals glide around on ice.

I am probably biased. I defiantly miss learning to skate, and of all the sports I’ve tried I don’t think any can complete with that perfect split second when the jump is just right and it feels as if you’re almost flying. I wouldn’t judge other sports based on the looks of their competitors, (although I think that could be the basis of some female friends watching the rugby), but I think marks for grace and audience approval shouldn’t be a bad thing.

Khokhlova and Novitski's Free Dance to Stravinsky's The Firebird. Highlights of the Championships are also still watchable on iplayer.

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