2008 World Figure Skating Championships

I've been a fan of figure skating for a very long time, but I have to admit that lately I've been feeling less and less excited about the sport. Part of that is the fact that for me, the way the sport has changed in recent years in an attempt to make judging more objective has only resulted in making it - if not necessary, then easier for skaters to perform all of the same elements in the same way in order to maximise their point values, rather than developing distinctive styles and exploring all of the technical elements that can be worked into a program.

And in men's skating, which has always been my favourite of the four main disciplines (men, women, pairs, dance), the goal for much of the last decade has been to do as many quads and combination jumps as possible, often at the expense of spins, footwork, transitional moves, unique jump sequences (when was the last time anyone did a delayed single axel in amateur competition? - I haven't seen one since the last time I saw Joseph Sabovcik compete in a pro competition), intricate choreography - all the things that may be somewhat more subjective, but which also have always been the hallmark of the very best skaters, the legends like Toller Cranston, John Curry, and Kurt Browning. And very few have ever excelled at both the demanding athletic elements and the complex, more interpretive elements - Kurt in his day, Alexei Yagudin in his.

So I was delighted today when Jeffrey Buttle won the men's competition and was crowned 2008 world champion. Because Buttle isn't the greatest jumper - he doesn't have a quad to speak of. But what he does bring to a program is some of the most intricate and sophisticated choreography out there (developed in an amazing artistic partnership with his choreographer David Wilson), amazing musicality and emotion, complex and difficult footwork, unique, well-executed spins, and a richness of transitions and connecting moves that very few skaters manage to put into a single program. And this year he put the whole package together, with good, solid jumps - but not even an attempt at a quad - and he proved that a skater can still win the field without that single big trick.

I'm very happy today