Chief’s Suggestions a Little Off Mark

If it were up to Ottavio Cinquanta, the president of the International Skating Union, figure skaters would travel the globe to compete weekly and perform an assortment of programs, providing variety that would intrigue fans, make results less predictable and raise TV ratings.

During the World Championships in Vancouver, Canada, Cinquanta applauded Russian Evgeni Plushenko’s decision to skate different long programs in the qualifying and final rounds. Plushenko’s choice, Cinquanta said, “opens the door in figure skating and ice dancing.”

He added, “When the skater offers two programs, two different music, two different choreography, there is a wider range of opportunity. This is giving the discipline the opportunity to have more change in the results, and this is the basis of sport.

“I am strongly in favor of this revolution--you can say evolution. There will be room for more coaches and choreographers, and this is development.”

Two considerations Cinquanta has ignored: Plushenko’s programs showed little innovation, since one was from last season. And what of skaters who can’t afford the extra costumes, choreography, practice time and other expenses that go with developing more programs?

Cinquanta, an Italian whose background is in speedskating, discussed several issues during a news conference. One was the ISU’s decision not to identify judges by nationality in arenas, although that information is available to reporters. He said identifying judges as ISU members shields them from accusations of bias or bloc voting--but that only masks such problems and doesn’t remedy them.

“The athlete represents a country. The judges do not,” he said. “Anything we can do to protect the skater, first off, and the integrity of the ISU and judges, we have to do.”

The ISU is investigating a system that would assign the best judges to events, regardless of nationality, perhaps putting two compatriots on a panel.

“The problem is to find the best,” he said. “How do you determine the best? You may better determine what is the best red wine for a season.”

Cinquanta also said the ISU is not to blame for the poor sight lines many spectators will have at Olympic figure skating events at the Delta Center. To expand the ice surface to the required 100 feet wide and 200 feet long, several rows of terraced seats will be removed from the lower level, leaving the first row of seats 15 feet above the ice and blind spots for some spectators. Skaters at the Four Continents event in February said they felt removed from the fans and found it difficult to establish an emotional connection with the audience.

The Salt Lake Organizing Committee has said it proposed moving figure skating to the E Center, which is smaller but has better sight lines, but the ISU vetoed the suggestion.

Cinquanta disputed that, saying it wasn’t until after the International Olympic Committee chose SLOC’s bid that ISU officials were told of the problems. And he said SLOC promised to solve those by raising the surface but determined that would compromise the quality of the ice and decided instead to install in-arena screens so spectators can see the skaters.

“We are the ISU. We have to provide skaters and judges,” Cinquanta said. “We do not have a legal relationship with spectators. Our relationship with spectators is feeling [emotional]. I have been told by Mr. [Mitt] Romney [SLOC’s president] that it is not a big issue.”

Figure skating’s popularity remains high in North America and Japan, but crowds and TV ratings are flat in Europe. Cinquanta must be careful not to push skaters too hard and try to take too many golden eggs from this productive goose.

GOOD JOB, EH?

The enthusiasm and knowledge of fans in Vancouver made for a memorably lively atmosphere, which organizers of next year’s U.S. championships hope they can re-create at Staples Center.

“We’ve been thinking about how it’s possible to bring that kind of excitement to L.A.,” said Doug Williams, president of LA2002--the event’s organizing body--and a former international pairs skater. “Canadian crowds are great. I don’t know if we can generate the same excitement, but we can certainly do a good job selling out the arena and giving people an idea how exciting it is.”

Marketing and sales efforts will emphasize that the U.S. championships determine the Olympic team. Prominent skaters from the area, such as U.S. champion Michelle Kwan of Torrance, Angela Nikodinov of San Pedro, Sasha Cohen of Laguna Niguel and Naomi Nari Nam of Irvine, will be promoted.

“My feeling in Southern California is, we love to support our own,” Williams said.

“If people get an idea of how exciting this is, we think they’ll want to be there. With Michelle and Angela being on top [at the world competition], that generates a lot of interest.”

PUCK PICKS?

Of all the preliminary picks announced last week for the men’s Olympic hockey tournament, only Russia made some unexpected choices.

The absence of Detroit Red Wing forward Sergei Fedorov, who played for Russia’s silver-medal- winning team at Nagano in 1998, and Dallas Star defenseman Sergei Zubov might reflect continuing strife over who will run the team.

Many Russians playing in the NHL detest national team Coach Boris Mikhailov and don’t want to play for him. However, they’d be happy if Viacheslav Fetisov, a legend on defense for the Red Army team of the former Soviet Union, is appointed general manager. Fetisov has said he wants the job but only if he can choose the players and coaches, a power Mikhailov won’t relinquish.

Canada’s first eight picks reflected a bias toward veterans, although Scott Niedermayer of the New Jersey Devils will add speed and creativity on defense.

“We wanted guys who are committed both ways, offensively and defensively,” said Wayne Gretzky, Team Canada’s executive director. “One of the things we felt we lacked in ’98 [in a semifinal loss to the Czechs] was offensive firepower. . . . We wanted guys who will go to the net, and we felt this is a strong group that can score goals.”

Finland’s first eight provide great speed and skill but not much size. Reuniting the successful 1998 unit of Jere Lehtinen, Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne was a great idea, as was appointing Jari Kurri an assistant coach. He’s revered by his countrymen and will give Coach Hannu Aravirta scouting reports on NHL players.

IN THE LONG RUN

Running USA and USA Track and Field will operate the first West Coast training center in the Team USA distance-running program, which was launched last July with the aim of returning U.S. athletes to prominence in distance running.

The training center, called Team USA Southern California, will be directed by former UCLA track coach Bob Larsen and former Adams State coach Joe Vigil. Among the members are Agoura High graduate Deena Drossin, a Sydney Olympian, and UCLA alum Meb Keflezighi. They are the U.S. cross-country, 10,000 and 15K women’s and men’s champions.

The team will have a low-altitude base at the U.S. Olympic training center in Chula Vista and a high-altitude base at Mammoth Lakes, beginning in April.

HERE AND THERE

Figure skating commentator and promoter Dick Button, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and five-time world champion, is recuperating at home from a head injury he suffered in December. He missed the U.S. and World championships but is expected to return to the TV booth next skating season. . . . Canada’s Elvis Stojko, who turned 29 Thursday, plans to try for an Olympic berth next year, despite a horrible free skate and a 10th-place finish in the World Championships.

Heather Olson, Olympic synchronized swimming gold medalist, was named national team director for the U.S. synchronized swimming team. . . . Three-time Olympian Tara Cross-Battle will be player-coach of the U.S. women’s national volleyball team starting in May. . . . Jeff Greenwood of Hartford, Conn., and Rosey Fletcher of Girdwood, Alaska, won slalom titles at the U.S. snowboard championships last week in Newry, Maine. The overall champions and Grand Prix winners will be determined today.

Hayley Wickenheiser, who led Canada’s women’s hockey team to a silver medal at Nagano in 1998--and played on Canada’s softball team at the Sydney Games last summer--recently suffered torn cartilage in her right knee and probably will sit out the women’s World Championships, to be held April 2-8 in Minnesota.

Only 320 days until the Salt Lake City Winter Games.