How are quads fair (figure skating)?

Question

I've been thinking and I just don't see why we are pushing these atheletes to do such large jumps (quad and triple axel) when it's murder on their body. As a former figure skater I know how competitive everything is but we've got figure skaters like Alexi Yaguden (my favorite) out and with injuries.

Why can't we put in more artistry. It's becoming acrobatics on ice? It's all about the technical now it seems.

Am I alone in thinking this? Or maybe I'm just seeing things. I honestly don't know. I'd just like to better understand what's going on.

Answer 1

i totally agree, but i think the reason is because figure skating is considered a sport, not an art. sports are about physical accomplishments, not so much artistic talent.

Answer 2

seems to me like its getting more and more about the jumps and spins with each year. im an artistic skater, so we're seeing similar things. i think its because skating is becoming more and more popular with people who DONT compete, so they dont really understand the work that goes into getting a good routine - they just want to see speccy jumps. its not as bad with art skating, because its not as well known, but i think that especially because figure skating is in the olympics, and that public shows are becoming more common, there are more people watching it just for a thrill, and not because they want to see a good, creative routine.