2 Comments

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  Katie - 13 years ago

  I am a Japanese figure skating fan living in Tokyo. At this time we are enduring serious power shortage due to nuclear power plants providing energy to Tokyo were hit by tsunami. Aside from the fear of radiation contamination, we cannot rely on those plants in the future, being filled with seawater to control the damages. The venue, Yoyogi Gymnasium, is located in central Tokyo but it would take huge amount of energy to produce ice rinks and air-condition the venue throughout the championship. I have learned that one of the options is to move the championship in September or October. However, for the past few years we have been having hot Septembers and not-so-cool Octobers, meaning extra energy would be needed for ice maintenance and cooling the venue, not to mention how the lodgings for the contestants and practice rinks could be manageable in the heat. At this time, we have no idea how the power company is going to provide the huge amount of electricity that was lost by the earthquake. I have been longing to see all the best skaters gather in Tokyo to compete, but the reality is that Japan should give up the 2011 championships and have a fresh championship in the future.

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  elizabethdehoff - 13 years ago

  Moving Worlds to another country and holding the event in April or May is the fairest thing the ISU could possibly do for all concerned. Let Japan recover, and give Tokyo its day in the sun when it's truly ready to host the event -- Japan's focus right now is, rightfully, on the suffering of its people and the recovery of its infrastructure and economy. Let Worlds be a subdued, scaled-down affair, but let it be held; for one thing, I daresay skaters such as Takahashi, Ando and Asada deserve a chance to skate for their country without having to worry about whether their country is diverting much-needed resources to a sporting event.