How do the Special Olympics figure skating rules differ from the traditional Olympics?

Why is a "sport" like figure skating part of the Olympics?

• I'm watching the Olympics tonight and they keep showing figure skating even though it doesn't even remotely resemble a sport. I thought the Olympics was supposed to be a ...show more

• Answer:

  Myth: Figure skating isn’t a sport because it’s set to music. It’s an art, like ballet. Reality: Well, it’s both. Yes, there’s an artistic component, but it’s strongly linked to the athletic component. In other words, it’s not enough to jump, swizzle, and spin. Skaters have to make it look easy and beautiful. That, readers, is athleticism. All kinds of people can score goals, run fast, or jump high in a sloppy way. Figure skaters can’t. Jumping takes amazing muscle control and power, especially the quad jumps we’ll be seeing in the men’s division. Height, speed, agility, form, power, and art and beauty. It’s a sport with a bonus: art. More reality: You think other sports aren’t set to music? Think again. High school basketball teams have the pep band, major league baseball has an organ, and professional football teams have cheerleaders at halftime. Sure, they don’t pass, kick, or bat to a rhythm, but there’s a strong musical component all the same. Myth: Figure skating isn’t a sport because the judging is subjective. Reality: It’s pretty hard to name sports without some sort of judging official or referee. Racing sports are pretty cut-and-dried, but team sports all have refs. We’ve all seen a heartbreaking game where the outcome rested on a ref’s bad call. The International Judging System (IJS) isn’t perfect, but the system attempts to quantify a figure skater’s elements and assign them point values. It’s an effort to make subjective scoring more objective. (I’m not going to start an IJS debate here because I’m simply not smart enough. If you’d like to have a debate in the comments, feel free.) Myth: Figure skating isn’t a sport because figure skaters wear embellished costumes. Reality: Beach volleyball players wear as little as possible. Professional football has cheerleaders in spangles and tassels. That’s not to say those sports aren’t sports. It’s just that the dress conventions are different for each one. Figure skating is both an art and a sport, so it makes sense for the athletes’ clothing to have an artistic component. Myth: Figure skating isn’t a sport. It’s just something that appeals to the female viewer and brings TV ratings. It’s entertainment. Reality: Let’s face it: some sports play better on TV than others. It’s tough to watch hours of sailing. The Winter Games’ biathlon and the Summer Games’ modern pentathlon don’t get much airtime either. I’m not sure if it’s the number of events or the rifles, but I never see those athletes on TV. Figure skating is neat to watch on TV and even neater to watch rink side. Just because it appeals to women doesn’t mean it’s not a sport. Shame on you. More reality: Ever been to a minor league baseball game? The entire game has a huge side show. Hand clapping, music, crazy mascots, bobble head promotions, spectator games, and sausage races keep the fans entertained while the real attraction – baseball – runs into extra innings. Don’t tell me that a huge part of the Super Bowl’s TV appeal isn’t the clever commercials and the halftime show (with or without wardrobe malfunctions). Even more reality: Of course it’s entertaining! All sports are entertaining. This is recreation, people. Athletes love to compete in their sport and spectators love to watch. Making it entertaining and fun is recreation. Just because it’s entertaining does not cheapen it as a sport.