Sports

[ICE TIME] Exhibition Galas are Canceled for Skate Canada and Finlandia Trophy

Skating officials in Canada and Finland say scheduling issues factored into decisions to eliminate the exhibition galas. Are these simply cost-cutting moves?

Published

3 weeks ago

August 27, 2024

Jack Gallagher

From left, Evan Bates and Madison Chock of the United States and Japan's Shoma Uno, Kaori Sakamoto, Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara participate in the exhibition gala at the World Figure Skating Championships on March 26, 2023, at Saitama Super Arena. Exhibition galas showcase show skaters' non-competitive skills in an entertaining environment. (ⒸSANKEI)

Read the full story on SportsLook - [ICE TIME] Exhibition Galas are Canceled for Skate Canada and Finlandia Trophy

Disheartening news arrived on August 22 with Ice Time's confirmation of the cancellation of the Exhibition Galas at Skate Canada and the Finlandia Trophy for the upcoming Grand Prix season.

Skate Canada will be held this season in Halifax, Nova Scotia, from October 25-27. Meanwhile, the Finlandia Trophy is set for November 15-17 in Helsinki.

A longtime staple of the GP circuit, the galas give fans a chance to watch their favorite skaters show off their non-competitive skills in an entertaining environment. Some supporters even like the galas more than the rigorous technical content required in competitions.

In response to a request for comment on the cancellation of their gala, Skate Canada's director of communications Karine Bedard wrote in an email to Ice Time, "We are running the competition over three days instead of two, so we had to remove the gala as there will be events on Sunday as well."

Salla Makela, the executive director of the Finnish Figure Skating Association, provided a detailed explanation of her federation's move to stop holding the gala.

"There are several reasons why we no longer have this," Makela replied to Ice Time's email. "First, the gala did not attract a large audience. Second, we wanted to shorten the competition days to create a more family-friendly schedule.

"Third, we want to give the audience the opportunity to return home between competition days to help them save on costs."

Are Canceled Exhibition Galas a Sign of a Deeper Issue?

The move to drop the two galas comes on the heels of the sudden decision to cancel the annual preseason Japan Open held at Saitama Super Arena each October and could make one ask what is going on.

While there may be people on both sides of the issue of staging the galas, one has to wonder if these apparent cost-cutting moves are actually a sign of a deeper problem in the sport, namely the lack of the superstars of years past.

Continue reading the full story on SportsLook.

Author: Jack Gallagher

The author is a veteran sports journalist and one of the world's foremost figure skating experts. Find articles and podcasts by Jack on his author page, and find him on X (formerly Twitter) @sportsjapan.