I read an article in the Wall Street Journal today at work about how the injury rates in the sport have skyrocketed since they eliminated the compulsories--which used to account for about 50% of your score--which are very delicate manuevers, and have sorta of upped the ante on what it takes to win the skating portion... the athleticism level has gone way way up... higher jumps, more rotations, etc... therefore harder landings... MUCH harder...

apparently the landing on that little blade is the pressure of 8 - 10 x the skaters body weight...

okay, ballerinas and basketball players mitigate this pressure by landing on their toes thus utilizing the ankle as a shock absorber--apparently the ankle is the best shock absorber in the body MUCH better than the knees and hips-- but because the skater's boot is so rigid, they can't bend at the ankle, and they land full force on their heel and all the shock just rockets up through the knees and hips

ice skate boot technology has not changed or advanced in over a century... we are using pretty much the same boots with the same sorts of lasts, as they were using in the 1800s

skaters as young as 10 or 11 have fractures of the lower back and hip... one as young as 33 had to have BOTH hips replaced... it is common for skaters even in their mid-20s to have hip surgeries and replacements and to have multiple and repetitive fractures of the hips and lower back

i can't remember the entirety of his ritual, but johnny weir, at what? 21, 22 years old... described his nightly routine of wrapping his feet, ankles and hips in all sorts of poultices and towels before he goes to sleep

OKAY, so what? well, sports medicine doctors, who specialize in working with skaters... incl doctors who work for the US Olympic committee and the US figure skaters organization have BEGGED both organizations to put money into R & D for a better and safer boot desing

the response? each organization says it's the reponsibility of the OTHER organization to do that... they spend their money only on things that will make US skaters more competitive and likely to win, but refuse to spend anything on their health or safety

these same doctor's have gone to Nike and begged for their help... Nike refused because, unlike say running or basketball shoes, where they can get ordinary consumers to buy the product, thus making a profit from the research... the market for skate boots is obviously very small....

there was guy who worked for small skate manufacturer who came up with a boot that had lateral motion so the ankle could bend forward over the foot... Nike bought that company and instantly put a stop to research and production of the boot... when drs said there were several hundred thousand skaters who could benefit, Nike's response was that they think in millions, not hundreds of thousands

the USOC and US Figure skating org did agree finally to talks about improving the boots, then refused to fund the R & D unless the resulting product was shared only with US skaters... the maker obviously wasn't willing to do that...

a new company has just been started to continue work on producing this boot... they had a photo of it, so it does exist... it just needs to go beyond prototype and be manufactured on a scale such that it is available to all skaters..

wow! huh? this is the sort of story that puts me off sports, ya know? I mean, i know it's about money and winning, but does it need to be only about that? to the point where the professional sports organizations flat out say "hey, we don't care about their well being at all, we just want them to win.. we will spend $ to help them win more, but when it comes to injuries... FUCK THEM!!! just WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN.. then go away and nurse your battered and ruined bodies quietly in a dark corner...

UNBELIEVEABLE!!!!