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Posted: Fri February 13, 1998 at 12:05 PM ET 
Ask a question of our experts in Nagano! Q: During a speed skating race, if one person is knocked down by another, is that person allowed to race again? Why is indoor speed skating faster than outdoors?
Axel Deneselya Answer from TNT expert Eric Heiden: If a person is knocked down by a competitor, the skater is permitted to re-skate at the end of the competition. In the case of The Netherlands' skater you saw in the 5,000-meter event, he would have been allowed to skate after the last group in the event. However, he suffered a dislocated shoulder and could no longer compete. Ice conditions are always perfect when skating indoors. And, there is no wind, no snow and no rain. When I was skating, there were no indoor facilities. The first one was for the Calgary Olympics in 1988. When you are skating indoors, it is also not as difficult to sustain your body temperature. In other words, skaters who had to skate outdoors could expend much more energy just to keep their body temperature and warm up properly. There are now four indoor rinks in the U.S., including Lake Placid, Milwaukee and a new facility in Salt Lake City for the 2002 Winter Games. Thank you for watching. We hope you are enjoying the speed skating. It is a wonderful sport and all of us hope it will become more popular in the U.S. Q: How do the judges for figure skating get selected (in terms of nations represented and those not represented)? I am 14 years old and in 8th grade. Thanks!
Megan Friend Answer from TNT expert Peter Carruthers: The International Skating Union (ISU), the governing body of international figure skating, selects judges from around the world and requires that they follow a training program for trail judging before quali fying to become an international judge. International judges are the most experienced in the sport and are not limited geographically, but must meet ISU criteria. In my opinion, figure skating judging will always be part of the news of the sport because, after all, it is subjective, meaning that different judges look at different skating programs in a different manner. Thank you for watching and for your questions. It sounds like you follow figure skating pretty closely and are probably aware that Tara Lipinski, one of the favorites for the Olympic Gold medal, is just one year older than you are. Q: When the pairs are skating their program, is there any verbal communication on the ice? I'm enjoying your coverage and The Cutting Edge. Thank you.
Nancy Pope Answer from Carruthers: Yes, when the pairs are doing side-by-side spins, one partner counts out loud to keep a rhythm so that they do not get out of sync. Also, while skating their routines, the skaters might talk about whether to do side-by-side double or triple jumps. Q: Maybe this isn't the forum for this type of question, but this has been driving me nuts! What is the difference between a triple toe loop, a triple Axel and a triple Lutz (I think that's what it's called)? Every time, I listen carefully to the ann ouncer, and look at the positions of the hands, feet, toes ... and I can't figure out what the difference is! I'm not a skater, but I really enjoy watching this sport.
Kevin S. Leonhardt Answer from Carruthers: It is very difficult to describe to you via e-mail the differences. Basically, all of the jumps look the same in the air and all land the same way. However, the difference in the various jumps is in the take off. For examp le, an Axel takes off with the skater taking off into the jump while all others take off backwards. The names you used -- triple toe loop, triple Axel and triple Lutz -- are correct. In the men's short program, for example, the required triple jumps include one triple jump of your choice out of a footwork sequence, and a triple jump in combination with another jump -- double or triple. Thank you for your interest. We are glad to hear that you are enjoying The Cutting Edge. We are having a lot of fun putting together each day's program and still have lots of interesting stories to tell. Q: My name is Melissa and I love figure skating, both pairs and single. I just got done watching the pairs' final skate. Now, I have to admit I am a little shocked on what happened and how they scored the skaters. Can you please tell me how and why we didn't even place? Now I agree we didn't deserve a gold m edal, but I do believe we deserved the bronze, if not the silver! Now on this final skate we didn't even fall or touch the ice and the one team that took the bronze (the one they called the Crystal Vase), she and her partner both fell and yet they got 5.7 -5.9s. Now, I don't know how they came up with those scores but they seem to be a little off to me. So if you could explain this to me I would greatly appreciate it.
Melissa Weidmaier Answer from TNT expert Rosalynn Sumners: It is just part of Olympic figure skating. The judging is a subjective element. In the long program, there are no required elements. You are only judged on what you did -- not on what you do not do. So, e ven though Russian couple made mistakes, the judges still thought that what they did do was worth more than the combined elements done by the other pairs teams. Q: I think you are doing a great job; we're enjoying it so much! TNT always seems to show so much more competition ... and we really appreciate it. Here's my question: Why an outside set, particularly since you start at 3 a.m.? I could see an indoor se t that LOOKED like it was outdoors, but an outdoor set that looks like it's indoors seems like the worst of both worlds. This is not to say that it doesn't look good, you understand, but we see the steam coming out of your mouths and there's a bit of cogn itive dissonance there, and we can't help wondering why TNT did it. Stay warm and have fun! Thanks.
Barbara Davis Answer from TNT producers: The Zenkoji Temple is the most unique and identifying part of the Nagano region -- the centerpiece of most all activities. Having the TNT set there presented a very special opportunity. Part of our strategy was that bei ng located above the city of Nagano gives us an opportunity to see the city at night and also take advantage of the morning sunrises over the Japanese Alps. We initially misjudged how cold it gets at Zenkoji and it has taken us a couple of days to adjust the heating on the set. The announcers are now much more comfortable. Our host, Jim Lampley, has loved his set location from the day he arrived in Nagano, in particular, because being located high above the city gives him many opportunities to talk abou t this beautiful city. Q: We heard about the Canadian snowboarder who was stripped of his gold medal for testing positive for marijuana. We are interested in learning more about drug testing in the Olympics, such as when and how the athletes are tested. Thank you.
The 6th grade at Chauncey School Answer from a variety of TNT experts: It is a good question and difficult for a television broadcaster to answer. We have tried to answer these questions on the air in our coverage. The responsibility for Olympic drug policies, including testing, r ests with the International Olympic Committee. We are going to ask an IOC representative to follow up with your class, but cannot promise anything. Thank you for watching and for your excellent question. |
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