#heck one of the arena guys at my rink retired

[figure-skating-avocado]

Super niche, but I just saw someone comment on something saying that they can't comprehend the fact that figure skating qualifies as a sport and as a figure it kind of just ticked me off? Of course the skaters seen on TV are really good at it and they make it look easy but the amount of work that goes into training that isn't seen in competition isn't as pretty as what's shown on the screen. There's a lot of off ice training for cardio and strength in the form of fitness classes and there's also the on ice cardio training which is running program parts in addition to the full run through. AND THEN, so it looks good, there's ballet, and on ice movement, and theatre on ice etc. etc. etc. which makes you THINK it's more of an artform but I've gotten so many bruises from falling that I don't think I can call it art, more like pain. Honestly figure skating is a dangerous sport, there's so many risks that can lead to injuries, I've a couple of friends who have gotten concussed from bad falls and I call myself very fortunate for not having gotten any bad injuries that cause me to take time off (knock on wood) but all of the gross stuff that happens out of the shiny costumes is what gives figure skating the right to call itself a sport.

#Obviously I mean no offence to the person who commented saying that #It's just that this has been sitting on my chest for a while and I needed to get it off #And I don't expect people to know what goes on at the rinks during training when we're not competing #Because it's not like it gets shown in competitions on livestreams and whatnot #But I really believe that figure skating deserves to be a sport #My friends and I actually had a discussion about how we believe it's one of the hardest #because most other sports are scored based off of time or getting an object into a certain target #whereas in figure skating (and gymnastics and probably synchro swimming(?)) #it's scored based off of how easy you make it look #the difficulty of the skills which you are doing #how well you execute what you are doing etc. #I don't think you can get points taken off in hockey or in soccer for falling #Do with it what you will #but I'm going to stand by my opinion #also #there is no romance with zamboni guys #most of them are old enough to be our parents or even grandparents #heck one of the arena guys at my rink retired #but then he came out of retirement to return to being an arena guy because he was bored at home or something #figure skating #And #figure skating and ice dancing are the same thing