GOODWILL GAMES : Day Brings Elements of a Farce

No ice, no wind. What next?

The Goodwill Games teetered on the edge of farce Wednesday as the showpiece figure skating competition was postponed until tonight because of a shortage of ice at the main rink.

Games officials said they planned to move to another venue. Later, they said they might stick with the original site. By the end of the day, the figure skating situation was as confused as ever.

Embarrassed at the latest mix-up, American Goodwill Games officials broke from their diplomatic niceties and said they had been misled by incompetent Russian rink managers--and suggested they should be fired.

The figure skaters practiced without any certainty of when, where or if they will compete. One Russian pair went through their routine in a parking lot. Other skaters looked up in surprise when a sputtering Zamboni suddenly lurched onto the ice during the middle of practice.

“We’ve been dealing with so many things this past week--starting over here, switching over there,” said U.S. skater Todd Eldredge. “It’s kind of been one thing after another. I guess you could say it’s an adventure.”

There were other headaches Wednesday. All three yachting events were abandoned because of a lack of wind on the Gulf of Finland. Weather permitting, the races will be added to today’s program.

In events that did take place Wednesday, Russians swept the top three places in the men’s all-around gymnastics; Chinese diver Chen Sheng won gold in the 1-meter springboard, with Kevin McMahon of the United States finishing third; the U.S. women’s basketball team routed Italy, 92-37, in a first-round game; and the U.S. women’s volleyball team defeated China, 3-0, to advance to the final against Russia.

But the main subject of conversation Wednesday concerned the Yubileiny Sports Palace, where the boxing competition was held until last Saturday. Since then, a heat wave, a brownout and other problems have combined to thwart the ice-making process.

“I think you’re going to find that a number of people at Yubileiny may not be employed at Yubileiny in another day or two,” said Goodwill Games President Jack Kelly.