Word: systemic
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...legacy of poor political participation. The government reported 23% voter turnout in the last presidential race, but analysts say that statistic is likely to be inflated. Many Egyptians are apathetic about participating in elections because they don't believe they can effect change in a corrupt system. Others say they simply have other things to worry about. The U.N. says 23% of the Egyptian population lives below the poverty line...
...Regardless of where you weigh in on the debate, that's the thing that should be worrying skating officials and athletes alike: that the scoring system may be sucking out the drive and inspiration for innovating and evolving the sport that jumps like the quad represent. The stricter scrutiny that the system places on the execution of elements is biasing skaters to play it safe and skate programs that are constructed - move for move, from fingertip to toe point - with an almost passionless precision...
...skater, the reason for quad queasiness is simple. If you can't land it, it's not worth even trying under the current scoring system. A quadruple toe loop jump, the most popular version of a four-revolution jump, gives you a base score of 9.8 points. You can add on a point or two for performing it well or lose a few points for bobbling the landing, but 9.8 is what the judges start with. A triple-triple jump combination yields 10 base points, without the hammering on your ankles and the angst of launching yourself into four revolutions...
...doing the quad will be going backwards in time," he said after the men's short program on Tuesday, in which he was the only skater to land a quad cleanly. Following his silver-medal finish, he was pessimistic about the place the quad would have in the new system but remained adamant that such innovations be recognized and rewarded. "I was sure that I had won my second Olympic Games," he said. "But my basic position and attitude is that movement must go forward - never stop, never go back...
...that the past two world champions earned their titles without a quad, and now, after three consecutive Olympic champions winning with programs that included a successfully landed quad, Lysacek has won without one. It's no coincidence that all of these titles were won under the new scoring system. And Lysacek himself couldn't have articulated better how the new rules may be pushing elements like the quad into the deep freeze. "I used to really enjoy training the quad, and I thought it was really important to try it in every competition," Lysacek said after the short program...