all 14 comments

[–]Datachost 9 insightful - 7 fun9 insightful - 6 fun10 insightful - 7 fun -  (3 children)

Canada trying to act like this is about equality, when really they're just trying to assemble a team capable of pulling off the Iron Lotus

Also why are there so many sporting bodies changing these rules on national level, knowing full well it'll hurt their chances at international level?

[–]ClassroomPast6178 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

Also why are there so many sporting bodies changing these rules on national level, knowing full well it'll hurt their chances at international level?

Maybe once they’re ensconced in the national bodies they can begin to work on the international bodies. Also, as true believers they honestly believe that they will provide the evidence that dudes in dresses pose no danger.

Did you know that Vice had cameras at the trans NHL match…all the footage has mysteriously been shelved after the injury to the bearded lady.

[–]Enemycupcake 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Gotta work hard at information keeping when what you want doesn't match reality.

[–]OuroborosTheory 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

national bodies in international spaces

[–]LtGreenCo 7 insightful - 6 fun7 insightful - 5 fun8 insightful - 6 fun -  (1 child)

Ugh, just rename yourselves Trannies on Ice and get this charade over with.

[–]ClassroomPast6178 6 insightful - 6 fun6 insightful - 5 fun7 insightful - 6 fun -  (0 children)

Hold on, I have an idea for a new model of Zamboni, the Tranboni.

[–]clownworlddropout 3 insightful - 3 fun3 insightful - 2 fun4 insightful - 3 fun -  (0 children)

Love the sports stuff, nothing peaks folks quicker. Full speed ahead TRAs! Ride that tranny train straight off the cliff.

[–]IMissPorn 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (4 children)

Don't necessarily see a problem with this this one. Theoretically a team of two guys could probably pull off some more athletic stunts than a mixed team, but since they're supposed to be judged on skill and artistry I don't know if it'd really be an advantage.

Time will tell I suppose.

[–]LyingSpirit472 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

Honestly, I wouldn't be sure of that: You'll get the strength advantage men have, but in exchange you lose out on the flexibility advantage women have...and in pairs figure skating/ice dancing, the partner being more flexible is at a premium, where a partner who's also strong wouldn't have much benefit.

[–]Wanderingthehalls 6 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 0 fun7 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

Men aren't really that much less flexible, men who train for flexibility, like most figure skaters do will be extremely flexible. On the other hand, side-by-side quads will be much more possible for a male-male team as quad jumps aren't really possible for adult women. Quad jumps in women's skating are done by teenagers, who are starved and likely on puberty blockers to prevent them from reaching women's natural adult body weight levels. Currently, quad jumps aren't encouraged in pairs skating like they are in singles, as the additional points for the fourth rotation in pairs are minimal. But for two men s-b-s quads, won't be too much of a risk to aim for, so there are points available to a male-male team that aren't available to a male-female team.

The potential loss that a male-male team may suffer is in lifts, throwing and catching. It will be harder to lift the weight of a male partner. It may be harder to throw a male partner in thrown jumps, where the male skater throws the female in the air with enough force for her to execute multiple rotations. And it will almost certainly be harder to perform twists, ie where the male throws the female above his head in a horizontal position. She executes multiple rotations in the horizontal position and he catches her, still horizontal and then assists her in a perfect one foot, backwards landing. Throwing a male skater like that will be harder, it will be unlikely he could execute as many rotations from that throw. And if he could be thrown high enough for a triple rotation, catching him on landing would be incredibly difficult as the rotations increase the force of their weight.

But outside of ultra-endurance events, where women do appear to have a very real natural advantage, sports where women have an assumed advantage, like types of gymnastics, acrobatics, etc often turns out to not be true when men train to a high standard. So I wouldn't be at all surprised if it turned out that the male-male teams have no disadvantage and do have clear advantages. Also considering the not particularly beautiful Brian from Derry, who recently won a beauty contest, despite clearly not being even close to beautiful. I also wouldn't discount a male-male team from just being awarded extra points for artistry due to how stunning and brave they are.

And lastly, female pairs skaters struggle due to the fact that there are a lot more women who train for the sport than men. Women in this sport have incredible levels of competition and often end up competing below their natural level as they may not find a partner who can qualify for their level of competition. Getting a high level male partner, very often requires extensive bribery. Adding a bunch of men who weren't good enough to compete in male singles into the pool of women looking for a pairs partner, will worsen that.

[–]LyingSpirit472 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

And lastly, female pairs skaters struggle due to the fact that there are a lot more women who train for the sport than men. Women in this sport have incredible levels of competition and often end up competing below their natural level as they may not find a partner who can qualify for their level of competition. Getting a high level male partner, very often requires extensive bribery. Adding a bunch of men who weren't good enough to compete in male singles into the pool of women looking for a pairs partner, will worsen that.

But, this fact also means that fewer men's skaters will agree to be in an all-male pair due to the elephant in the room of pairs skating: Female pairs skaters DO usually need extensive bribery to get a high-level male partner, and invariably the bribe ends up "the skater pays them with her body"; indeed, it's part and parcel of pairs skating that figure skating pairs are pretty much expected to be a couple off the ice. This would dramatically lessen the amount of men who weren't good enough to compete in male singles who'd agree to pair with another man; if the man is straight they'd inevitably choose to go for a woman looking for a pairs partner and get that fringe benefit (with only gay men choosing to be in a two-man pair.)

[–]Wanderingthehalls 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

One of the many reasons I'm mostly glad I never had the opportunity to pursue figure skating when I was young. It's an amazing sport but so fucking grimy.

You make good points but on the other hand we're talking about Canada, so I could see some men pairing with another male for the notoriety. And if a coach worked out a routine that maximised points through having two males, there would likely be some men who were otherwise unlikely to get podium who would try a male partner.

[–]cant_even 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Can "genderfluid-doubles" tennis be far behind?

[–]UncleWillard56 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Cool. I would totally watch skating for the first time if you made one of those little 100 lb women lift up some tranny weighing 175.