I see a trend here. The players who are absolutely, indisputably the best in the world, all compete in choreographed routines. They see something you guys obviously don't about what it means to be an awesome freestyler. (E.g., Jorden's comments above.) The folks who complain the most about freestyle routines are the folks who could never in their lives actually do one.
Who would you guys all list as the "best" freestylers in the world? Now, go look at the results from Worlds for the last 3 years, and -- for those people who could go to Worlds (sorry, Dave) -- weren't they
all in the finals of the routine competition? Ahem, you guys are fixing a problem that's not broken.
Routines are about
combining and
balancing all four aspects of freestyle -- difficulty, execution, variety, and presentation. Routines are the pinnacle of competition, and the best opportunity for us to showcase the sport in a way that the public will understand.
This thread can be interpreted about 5 different ways, though.
If the question is who's the best "shredder" in the world, then probably Circle is just as good a way to determine that as anything. However, the definition of "shredder" is not clear. You guys may all have your own innate sense of who's best, but .. unless you pick the right judges who all share your opinion .. how do you know the Circle contest will determine who that really is?
I've judged Circle twice now. I think both times I was conflicted about which was more important and often had to arbitrarily pick between two awesome players because one just "seemed" better than the other. I think the judging criteria for Circle would need to be nailed down a little tighter before we call that the definitive test of who's the best shredder -- much less overall freestyler.
That's why we have systems. Albeit sometimes imperfect systems... The judging system in routines can use improvement, but it's pretty clear what judges are looking for. Same for 30-second shred. If you want to make a more formal set of rules for Circle and put them in the rule book, great, we can do that, too.
Thus, my argument (which I use a lot) is if you guys feel so strongly about it, get with the program, be part of the organized side of the sport, and help evolve it. Don't just stand on the sidelines calling out moves.
Frickin' forum rats.
The whole reason we have different competitions is to offer players a chance to show their particular talent.
In figure skating, they have long program and short program -- each measures a different set of skills.
If the question is "overall" -- i.e., who wins the over all prize of the best freestyler on the planet -- then we already have a system for that, too. We have an overall system that used to be used for years and years until around 2000. For example, Yours Truly got 6th over all in 1997 -- because I competed in every event, and each event awards points towards your overall, and I did okay in net and freestyle, and I played open-singles-freestyle, open-doubles-freestyle, open-mixed-doubles-freestyle as well as open-singles-net, open-doubles-net, and even golf and consecs -- that put me in 6th place.
But I dare say even in 1997 when I was at my peak (I could hit paradox torque on both sides back then) there was no way I was really the 6th best in the world.
So, any system that tries to mathematically compute the best overall freestyler by taking scores from each freestyle discipline is probably doomed to failure for the Scott Davidson effect.
Now, specifically with regard to Circle, let's give it some more time before we declare it the end-all, be-all solution to all of freestyle. There is a lot we need to visit on this front. For example, so far, Circle has taken an inordinate amount of time to run. Since no preparation is needed, the number of entrants would need to be limited somehow.
Also, I think it's curious that several of you (mostly Eli) have repeatedly said on this thread that Circle somehow demonstrates "performance" or "presentation" skills. My ass it does! There's certainly an element of Circle that's about being original and insane, etc., but that's not the same as putting together a planned routine with music, possibly a costume, a full program choreographed down to the last toe stall, etc.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that routines are the only way to judge players nor that Circle fails to provide an adequate measure of a freestyler's capabilities vs. other freestylers. But, seriously guys, you have to see that eliminating routines (if that's the ultimate goal here) would cause the demise of our sport within 5 years.
'Nuff said.
