baron-pierreIV Posted December 2, 2021 Report Share Posted December 2, 2021 Oh no, Latest prognosis with Omicron in the picture = NOT GOOD. ISU (or rather Skating Japana) cancellted the Grand Prix finals in Osaka starting next week. Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final cancelled over Japan's Omicron border closure (insidethegames.biz) Not a good sign. If Beijing is cancelled; does the ISU Figure Skating World's at Montpellier also be in danger?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quaker2001 Posted December 3, 2021 Report Share Posted December 3, 2021 3 hours ago, baron-pierreIV said: Oh no, Latest prognosis with Omicron in the picture = NOT GOOD. ISU (or rather Skating Japana) cancellted the Grand Prix finals in Osaka starting next week. Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final cancelled over Japan's Omicron border closure (insidethegames.biz) Not a good sign. If Beijing is cancelled; does the ISU Figure Skating World's at Montpellier also be in danger?? What's Borjing? There is zero chance the Olympics are affected. Japan had their Olympics. Because of that, China will refuse to let theirs be affected. Yes, the ISU Worlds could be in danger. Any event with less resources than the Olympics (which is just about everything) might have to re-think things. But it's too early to talk about signs. Omicron has some people freaking out, but as more and more people get vaccinated, I don't think it'll be a major issue after a month or so 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karenina Posted December 3, 2021 Report Share Posted December 3, 2021 1) The ISU has not cancelled the GPF/JGPF - they've postponed it until after Worlds. Now, it might come to pass that the ISU decides to cancel it outright in another month or two but I'm not convinced they will because both events have an impact on world ranking points and those are important heading into next season, especially for junior skaters moving up to the senior level and some of those juniors might not be at Jr Worlds given the 3 entries per country limit for ISU Championship events. 2) Asian countries seem to be cutting off travel and entry to non-citizens which is not the situation in the rest of the world at the moment - there are two figure skating competitions in Europe next week (ISU Challenger Series Golden Spin of Zagreb and Santa Claus Cup in Budapest) that are going forward (and the entry lists for both events are about 6 times as large as the GPF/JGPF entry lists), plus there are several national championships in the coming weeks. I have a hard time believing that France is going to head in that direction - there are too many protests already in western Europe over new lockdowns and mandates. In addition, Worlds is another 3.5 months away. Who knows where we'll be but France was willing to hold not one but two Junior Grand Prix events back-to-back in Courchevel when Delta was running rampant so I don't think there is any reason to think Worlds is in jeopardy. 3) I'm more concerned about Europeans & 4 Continents, which are scheduled to be held in consecutive weeks next month in Tallinn, but everything still appears to be moving forward with both of these ISU Championships. 4) None of what happens with these ISU events or other international competitions is going to have any impact on the Olympics. At this point, just 2 months out from the start of the WOG, they're not getting cancelled unless Omnicron is way worse than Delta at its peak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron-pierreIV Posted December 3, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2021 /\/\ That's you wishing it will just go away. But we know that the virus-- any virus -- does not recognize anyone else's boundaries or calendar. Better safe than sorry. Except for those retiring from a competitive career, there's always next season. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBModerator Posted December 3, 2021 Report Share Posted December 3, 2021 All athletes and stakeholders entering China for the Winter Olympics (remember, no international fans and limited support people) already have to follow strict safety rules and will exist virtually in a bubble for the duration with frequent testing and mandatory vaccination. Other than athletes who may not be able to compete because of close contact or other risk - I think the impact will be minimal like it was in Tokyo. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SportLightning Posted December 3, 2021 Report Share Posted December 3, 2021 Borjing? That's the dumbest thing i've ever heard. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quaker2001 Posted December 3, 2021 Report Share Posted December 3, 2021 4 hours ago, GBModerator said: All athletes and stakeholders entering China for the Winter Olympics (remember, no international fans and limited support people) already have to follow strict safety rules and will exist virtually in a bubble for the duration with frequent testing and mandatory vaccination. Other than athletes who may not be able to compete because of close contact or other risk - I think the impact will be minimal like it was in Tokyo. My thoughts exactly. China has what I imagine is an almost unlimited set of resources to keep everyone safe from COVID. We saw that was very effective in Tokyo. Remains to be seen what happens if athletes or anyone else test positive, but that Tokyo managed to award every medal that was scheduled, we can be sure China will be driven to do the same. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karenina Posted December 4, 2021 Report Share Posted December 4, 2021 12 hours ago, baron-pierreIV said: /\/\ That's you wishing it will just go away. But we know that the virus-- any virus -- does not recognize anyone else's boundaries or calendar. Better safe than sorry. Except for those retiring from a competitive career, there's always next season. Uhm, no. It's presenting facts, which clearly don't line up with your "OMG, the sky is falling!" prognosis. There isn't any reason to believe, based on France's ability and willingness to host two JGP events back-to-back in August, with at least as many participants as will be participating at Worlds in March, that Worlds will be any different. Of course, I acknowledged in my post that we don't know what will happen yet with Omnicron but if it's like Delta, then I'm fairly confident in stating that Worlds will be held. The decision to postpone the GPF/JGPF was made because the Japanese government couldn't figure out what it would allow/not allow with regard to non-citizens entering the country to compete in a strictly controlled bubble in a timely fashion this week. And it was only earlier today that they finally decided that Japanese athletes returning from training overseas to participate in upcoming national championships in various sports would be allowed to continue training at sports venues while quarantining for the mandatory 14 days. Only time will tell whether or not the Japanese government made a knee-jerk decision to ban all international travelers from entering the country for the month of December, but I'll be blunt - if the GPF/JGPF were scheduled for any other country save Korea or China - it would be going forward next week as scheduled. Other countries are proceeding as normal with regard to international sporting events this week and next week despite WHO declaring Omnicron a "variant of interest". 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron-pierreIV Posted December 4, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2021 /\/\ Yeah, yeah yeah. But you are NOT the one hosting an international event. Apparently, the Japanese are more judicious about their duties as an international host -- both for their own people and not contributing to the spread via additional international travel for like 300 more people -- than you would be. You are just so gung-ho in wanting competition to take place REGARDLESS OF THE SIUTATION OR reality of things. Am I glad you are not on the WHO board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karenina Posted December 5, 2021 Report Share Posted December 5, 2021 12 hours ago, baron-pierreIV said: /\/\ Yeah, yeah yeah. But you are NOT the one hosting an international event. Apparently, the Japanese are more judicious about their duties as an international host -- both for their own people and not contributing to the spread via additional international travel for like 300 more people -- than you would be. You are just so gung-ho in wanting competition to take place REGARDLESS OF THE SIUTATION OR reality of things. Am I glad you are not on the WHO board. Okay, Jan. Tell that to the organizers of the other skating competitions still taking place around the world - there's a World Cup Speed Skating competition going on in SLC this weekend, there are hockey and basketball games still being held, Broadway hasn't shut its doors, etc. The reality, whether you like it or not, is that the world is moving on and dealing with this virus and accepting a certain level of risk. The Japanese chose not to accept a degree of risk that other countries have determined is acceptable. That's their choice. But, what I'm telling you is that it unless Omnicron is much worse than Delta was last summer, the likelihood of an event like Worlds being cancelled is pretty damn low. I'm glad I'm not on the WHO board also. I wouldn't want to be a stooge for China the way they were when this started two years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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