Watching the flower skating competition, you can often see the audience throwing plush dolls into the infield. This little toy is a gift from fans to their favorite skaters. Why throw plush dolls instead of flowers or other food?
Shortly after a figure skater finishes his performance, fans who love the skater will gradually throw gifts at the ice rink. Over the years, fans have really thrown out some unusual gifts. According to NBC Sports, Sasha Cohen has received several cotton sweaters, Canadians Elvis Stojko and Chen Weiqun have received underwear, and Mr. Piotr Tomasz even received a box of Domino's pizza after the performance of 1987 Global Flower Slip Open. (Because Thomas joked before, why don't people "throw away some good products, such as pizza?" So another skater, Doug Matisse, threw a box of pizza on the ice rink. )
Apart from sugar and carbohydrates, clothes and trousers, most of the toys thrown by fans after the performance were fluffy animals. Although it is not clear how or when this custom came into being, the following two reasons help to express why plush dolls are so popular. First of all, in the past, some fans threw flowers at the flower skaters, which made the place very messy. Secondly, the ice boy who wants to leave during the program interval must collect all the gifts when skating. It's much easier to pick up plush dolls than to sort out the flowers and leaves falling from the bouquet.
There are no international restrictions on throwing flowers and bouquets on the skating rink, but several organizations have tried to stop this person's behavior in the past. 1989, the American Figure Skating Association once banned the sale of flowers in the exhibition hall market where the American Figure Skating Open was held. On the eve of the opening of the American Flower Show in 2002, the Institute completely banned fans from putting flowers (or other items) into the exhibition hall.
Larry Kriwanek, the current chairman of the organizing committee of this competition, told the Los Angeles Times reporter: "Throwing flowers at the skating rink has always been a problem. Even packaged bouquets, petals and leaves will fall out, leading to safety hazards. Flowers should be allowed to wither from the skating rink. It's just a matter of time. " Instead, fans can go to the venue to buy plush animal toys certified by official website, and then throw them to his favorite skaters.
Another advantage of choosing to send plush dolls is that fans can still choose more humanized gifts. Meryl davis, an American flower skater, said in an interview with NBC Sports: "People sometimes get customized plush animal toys, which can be matched with people's clothes." In fact, flower skaters usually bring back special meaningful or warm-hearted gifts.
Note: The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics came from the epidemic prevention regulations, which cancelled the stage of throwing small toys in the flower skating competition.