New short program inspires Leung 
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/Sports/short+program+inspires+Leung/1169839/story.html
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/Sports/short+program+inspires+Leung/1169839/story.html
New short program inspires Leung
- Thread starter Taan
- Start date
If the callers at nationals behave the way they have in previous seasons, there is no need for Mira to fix her UR problems for nationals. Obviously she has to fix them for international events.
Mira never gets dinged for UR where she goes for full rotation at nationals. The only time she gets UR at nationals is when she obviously popped a jump to a single ( and popping jumps is quite rare for her) In fact she even gets positive GOE's for her "rotated" jumps at nationals.
Somehow I don't think the caller at nationals will be that kind to Mira this year seeing that Phaneuf has had the better results this year. I hope Mira gets much more realistic marking at nationals this year.
Actually , it was 2 seasons ago in the 2006-2007 season. In that season the following happened
1. Mcleod dumps Mira.
2. Mira gets a "coach" who is only a placeholder to hold her guards and is not a coach.
3. Bad results on GP ( but not as bad as this year). Notably there is no conversation between "coach" and Mira.
4. Mira is ordered by SC to go back to Mcleod and does.
5. Mira gets new FP during Christmas.
6. Mira finishes 2nd at Canadians ( Hawker did beat her in short that year).
7. Mira finishes 24th at Worlds with Mira and Mcleod blaming it on injury after the fact.
The only difference this year so far ( steps 1-5) is that Mira has not gone back to Mcleod. Otherwise this season is exactly like the 2006-2007 season.
- Joined
- Jul 29, 2003
Actually, this is the third year in a row that she has shown up with a new SP at Nationals. Also, this is the fourth time she has shown up at nationals with at least one new program.
2006 - New LP Terracotta Warriors after using (IIRC) Alexander soundtrack and Salome at Grand Prix events
2007 - New SP Pink Panther after reuniting with McLeod. Had been using Olympic SP, but wanted to show a more playful side.
2008 - New SP La Bayadere to emphasize classical side. Pink Panther was not serious enough.
I would be interested to hear about practice reports rather than rely on this interview as it just seems to be more of the same.... :indiff:
Herm (sk8ngnutt)
Thanks. for adding to my previous post. I knew she had changed routines in previous seasons but could not remember all the details. The pattern is stronger than I thought. Maybe I picked out 2006-2007 season as that was the first time she left Mcleod.
The main person to look at though when Mira competes is the caller though. Mira could still finish 2nd if the caller does not give her UR calls ( as has always been the case at nationals in past years) . OTOH, if she gets a caller like the one at the Cup of China, she will definitely be off the podium. I think the caller will be somewhere between those 2 extremes ( ie give her enough UR calls to ensure Phaneuf finishes 2nd even if Phaneuf pops a few)
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2006
It seems that Mira has had bad coaching from way back. Now her problems are too deep rooted for her to recover from, despite her attempts to fix them (or improve other aspects of her skating).
Maybe, if she really wanted to, she could take a year off from competing and work hard core with a technique coach, (like Frank Carroll). Maybe then she would have a chance.
Maybe, if she really wanted to, she could take a year off from competing and work hard core with a technique coach, (like Frank Carroll). Maybe then she would have a chance.
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2004
I so hope Mira reads your post & takes your advice... For some reason, this skater brings out my maternal side and all I want in life (besides winning the mega millions jackpot...) is for her to have a great competition and silence her always vocal critics. Not because they are wrong about her skating issues, but because the constant "she's so unattractive, therefore she shouldn't win" kill me... totally kill me.
Having said all of that, however, if going to a great technical coach could guarntee better results, BeBe would've been national champion a coupld of times now...
But Mira's greatest strength is her ability to focus and always compete well. Having a great technical coach does not help if the skater doesn't compete well.
BeBe tends to melt under pressure and all the technical coaching in the world won't stop that.
If we married Mira's competitive skills ( which are amazing ) with good coaching ( which she doesn't get from Mama Leung, Mcleod or her fake "coaches") she really could be a world beater.
I totally agree with that last part...I would love to see Mira do well - her competitive skills really 'get me' and I just wish she could reach that next level.
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2004
True - my Mira & BeBe comparison was a poor one. I just want her to do well... so much of the arguement against her center around her appearance (which I blame on SC and her mom... how's that for uninformed basis against orgs & people I don't know?) vs. anything significant about her actual skating outside of coaching issues.
She always represents the difference between the have & have nots of elite skating. Here's hoping this change bring her a good worlds result.
Part of the objections to appearance may be that showing up to competitions looking sloppy and bedraggled makes it appear that she doesn't really care. And if she doesn't care about her presentation, why should the audience? Or the judges?Maybe if she skated better people might be willing to overlook that aspect, or at least cut her more slack, but it seems like her appearance reflects her skating and vice versa.
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2004
I disagree. I've watched competitions where her skating was good, not great but just as good as other skaters, and she was ripped a new one by the judges. Is this a sport or a beauty competition? And the skating fans! Oh my! Little was said about her skating vs. her skates. Its sad and unfortunate.
Don't get me wrong - I'm a vain person (or maybe just who loves great clothes) has no problem dropping cash on shoes (shopaholics - using cash is the new black
) so I get that appearance matters esp. at that level but I've never heard of a male skater penalized because of his costume - even if some should
I'm only speculating, Kwanfordwife. I just know that people judge books by their covers, and how you present yourself sends a message. In a sport where presentation counts, "sloppy" does not send a positive message.
As for Mira's skating, this is how 2008 went:
Canadian Nationals: 162.10
Four Continents: 157.36
World's: 140.59
Skate America: 136.16
Cup of China: 114.05
Not a whole lot to talk about. The tech specialists have been harsh with UR and edge calls this season, which pretty much explains the scores. That and things like posture, line, interpreting the music. Didn't see a whole lot of that, unfortunately. And the sad thing is, she's capable of it. I thought she had promise back in 2006. After last year, I think she's in serious trouble. A new program isn't the answer to all those problems.
As for Mira's skating, this is how 2008 went:
Canadian Nationals: 162.10
Four Continents: 157.36
World's: 140.59
Skate America: 136.16
Cup of China: 114.05
Not a whole lot to talk about. The tech specialists have been harsh with UR and edge calls this season, which pretty much explains the scores. That and things like posture, line, interpreting the music. Didn't see a whole lot of that, unfortunately. And the sad thing is, she's capable of it. I thought she had promise back in 2006. After last year, I think she's in serious trouble. A new program isn't the answer to all those problems.
Whenever I see a discussion of Mira, there's always so much criticism of her person, and I am reminded of a joke made by Steven Pinker a few years ago in one of his engaging lectures that Cherie Blair could never garner the kind of public fandom that Princess Diana was showered with, this despite Cherie Blair having a very successful career as a lawyer and a working mother, while being married to the busiest man in Britain.
Let's face it, no matter how Mira presents herself, she will never be considered "beautiful" or even "pretty" by most people. To me, she has not shown up at any competition looking "sloppy" or "bedraggled" in recent years. Maybe she hasn't had the most expensive-looking costumes or expertly done make-up, but nothing really out of the ordinary, but then her family is not supposed to be financially well off or into high society, isn't that right? The truth is that Mira isn't naturally endowed with beauty, and a lot of people's perception of her as a skater, as a person, is probably influenced by that.
There is ample scientific evidence that people judge better-looking people to be more intelligent, more honest, harder-working, more successful, more kind-hearted, etc. just in general, better people -- and vice versa, for the unfortunate ones judged to be less good looking. (Kiira Korpi, for instance, comes to mind.) Studies show that when people are shown photographs of perfect strangers and asked to rank among all these different attributes, then their rankings are highly correlated with the "good-looking-ness" ranking provided by other subjects viewing the same set of photos. But of course, if you ask people why they rank someone more honest or kind-hearted, or more trustworthy, they'd never tell you that it's because they are better-looking -- this is a subconscious effect, and works much in the same way that subconscious gender discrimination persists in our society (evidenced in studies where subjects evaluate identical CV's differently depending on whether the name provided is obviously male, female, or ambiguous)...
Let's face it, no matter how Mira presents herself, she will never be considered "beautiful" or even "pretty" by most people. To me, she has not shown up at any competition looking "sloppy" or "bedraggled" in recent years. Maybe she hasn't had the most expensive-looking costumes or expertly done make-up, but nothing really out of the ordinary, but then her family is not supposed to be financially well off or into high society, isn't that right? The truth is that Mira isn't naturally endowed with beauty, and a lot of people's perception of her as a skater, as a person, is probably influenced by that.
There is ample scientific evidence that people judge better-looking people to be more intelligent, more honest, harder-working, more successful, more kind-hearted, etc. just in general, better people -- and vice versa, for the unfortunate ones judged to be less good looking. (Kiira Korpi, for instance, comes to mind.) Studies show that when people are shown photographs of perfect strangers and asked to rank among all these different attributes, then their rankings are highly correlated with the "good-looking-ness" ranking provided by other subjects viewing the same set of photos. But of course, if you ask people why they rank someone more honest or kind-hearted, or more trustworthy, they'd never tell you that it's because they are better-looking -- this is a subconscious effect, and works much in the same way that subconscious gender discrimination persists in our society (evidenced in studies where subjects evaluate identical CV's differently depending on whether the name provided is obviously male, female, or ambiguous)...
I'm not talking about whether Mira is pretty or not. It's a question of styling. Whoever is doing her hair and makeup is not helping her. The costumes don't always fit right. If these weren't issues for the poor girl, people probably wouldn't comment on them. And I don't think it's a question of money. Michelle Kwan didn't come from a privileged background; nor were her parents keen on letting their teen-aged daughter look "sophisticated" beyond her years. Even with conservative parents and a limited budget, Kwan always looked put together for elite competition. "Dress for the job you want." I think that's true in any field.
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