If Phaneuf has a better showing in the GP and skates well at 2009 Nationals, Mira might find herself getting dinged for the URs she'd been getting a pass on at previous Nationals. Mira might then find herself rooting for Cynthia to skate well enough at 2009 Worlds to gain 3 spots for Canada for the Olympics. Wouldn't that be ironic?
Cynthia wasn't all that consistent skater even before the injuries, however she has something that draws the audience into her performance, which is missing in action with Mira. If Cynthia has a half decent showing at upcoming GP events, Skate Canada will be smart to start ding Mira's URs and help Cynthia move one place up.
Do "smart" National Federations do that? Do they instruct their judges to call underrotations on one skater because they want another skater to move up? Wouldn't it be easier just to tell them to adjust the PCSs to produce the desired winner?If Cynthia has a half decent showing at upcoming GP events, Skate Canada will be smart to start ding Mira's URs and help Cynthia move one place up.
You have to wonder why Skate Canada ignored edge irregularities altogether across the board for all their skaters. Several Canadian men have been dinged during the GP and other events for flutzing and lipping, but there wasn't even a symbol for and edge deduction on the Canadian Nationals score sheet.
Same thing with Mira's underrotations. She has been dinged for URs at every single international competition over the past two years, sometimes for multiple URs in one FS. Yet Mira has never been called for underrotating at Nationals.
The USFS also inexplicably had few edge calls at Nationals, and that may have given skaters like Mirai Nagasu and Ashley Wagner false feedback that backfired on them at subsequent competitions.
I agree with the comment that skating has become more of a job for Mira. But unfortunately at Canadians she seems to skate better and seems to enjoy if more. Had she skated the way she did at Nationals this year she would have been top 10 at worlds. But watching her World FS I really got the feeling she just didn't care. Like she had given up. Maybe cause she knows no matter what her PCS marks will be low. Which in itself is a catch 22!
Interesting comment about her not caring at Worlds. I remember her making a comment after missing a couple jumps somewhere and I was really surprised at her nonchalant attitude whereas at CANs she also missed her jump(s) and said that she could kill herself over it.