LADIES- Japanese Nationals (Senior) | Page 8 | Golden Skate

LADIES- Japanese Nationals (Senior)

silverlake22

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2009
Wow, close competition! I'm worried for Mao though, if she can't get what looks like a clean 3a ratified, at Japanese Nationals of all places, she's never going to beat Yuna. Remember last year at worlds? Plus a 3a-2t has a lower base value (9.5) than a 3lz-3t (10) and the tech callers at the Olympics won't give her +GOEs for an underrotated combination, and Yuna's GOEs are huge.

I was thinking about if she went back to Clare De Lune, but I just realized Mao can't do 3lz-3lo right? I thought she didn't have a 3lz in her arsenal, anyone know what this whole situation is? Plus the 3loop at the end of the combination is sure to be downgraded, so Mao's best shot would be to try a 3f-3t, but with her hammertoe and odd flip takeoff I don't know how well that would go over with the judges.

I'm a little worried that Mao could be passed over by Joannie and Miki like last year or even Costner or some other European like Lepisto because you know if a European lady skates well and lands, say 5 triples in the FS at an event, the judges will go crazy and that skater WILL do well. I mean Carolina won silver at worlds with a messy skate, and Kiira and Laura each medaled this GP season over skaters that were much better (at least technically, but probably artistically too) for reasons I still can't figure out. Sigh...if only they had let Mao go to the Olympics in 2006, she probably could have won there whereas now I bet she'll get 3rd or 4th at best, worse if she messes up. The worst part is it's not even Mao's fault, but without a 3lutz, a 3-3, and a 3a capable of being ratified, she just doesn't have enough technical difficulty in her programs to hold her up in the standings, even her 3loop and 3-2-2 combo has been marked UR in competitions this season...
 

feraina

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 3, 2007
Yeah, Mao looked good in the SP. Her spins were very good, centered and fast, except for the very last combo spin slowed down a bit toward the end.

That 3A looks pretty rotated, it should be ratified if the tech panel is having a good day. Too bad it wasn't ratified here... If it had been, she'd definitely score over 70. If she really doesn't have 3Z or 3-3 anymore, then I suppose she'd have to rely on the 3A. Or if she does, then I don't know *why* she is sticking to the risky 3A. *sigh*
 

coconutpunch

Rinkside
Joined
Dec 29, 2008
Wow, close competition! I'm worried for Mao though, if she can't get what looks like a clean 3a ratified, at Japanese Nationals of all places
You must have missed last year's Japanese Nats when the tech caller went on an all-out DG spree on pretty much all of the ladies (which was a big part of why Fumie was first in the LP last year). :frown2:
 

Nadia01

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 10, 2009
Yeah, Mao looked good in the SP. Her spins were very good, centered and fast, except for the very last combo spin slowed down a bit toward the end.

That 3A looks pretty rotated, it should be ratified if the tech panel is having a good day. Too bad it wasn't ratified here... If it had been, she'd definitely score over 70. If she really doesn't have 3Z or 3-3 anymore, then I suppose she'd have to rely on the 3A. Or if she does, then I don't know *why* she is sticking to the risky 3A. *sigh*

Actually Mao was going to attempt 3A/3T, but she ended up doing 3A/2T. (Fuji TV did an in-depth analysis on Mao's SP elements, etc. before she started. It was all in Japanese, so you may have missed it...)
 

Nadia01

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 10, 2009
Wow, close competition! I'm worried for Mao though, if she can't get what looks like a clean 3a ratified, at Japanese Nationals of all places, she's never going to beat Yuna. Remember last year at worlds? Plus a 3a-2t has a lower base value (9.5) than a 3lz-3t (10) and the tech callers at the Olympics won't give her +GOEs for an underrotated combination, and Yuna's GOEs are huge.

I was thinking about if she went back to Clare De Lune, but I just realized Mao can't do 3lz-3lo right? I thought she didn't have a 3lz in her arsenal, anyone know what this whole situation is? Plus the 3loop at the end of the combination is sure to be downgraded, so Mao's best shot would be to try a 3f-3t, but with her hammertoe and odd flip takeoff I don't know how well that would go over with the judges.

I'm a little worried that Mao could be passed over by Joannie and Miki like last year or even Costner or some other European like Lepisto because you know if a European lady skates well and lands, say 5 triples in the FS at an event, the judges will go crazy and that skater WILL do well. I mean Carolina won silver at worlds with a messy skate, and Kiira and Laura each medaled this GP season over skaters that were much better (at least technically, but probably artistically too) for reasons I still can't figure out. Sigh...if only they had let Mao go to the Olympics in 2006, she probably could have won there whereas now I bet she'll get 3rd or 4th at best, worse if she messes up. The worst part is it's not even Mao's fault, but without a 3lutz, a 3-3, and a 3a capable of being ratified, she just doesn't have enough technical difficulty in her programs to hold her up in the standings, even her 3loop and 3-2-2 combo has been marked UR in competitions this season...

That's precisely why Mao is trying to do 3A/3T these days. That's the combination she tried at Nat, but she ended up doing 3A< / 2T.

She can't do 3Lz b/c she flutzes. ! can be costly when your competitors are very strong.
 

life684

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 8, 2007
Mao's sp was really good. in fact, i think she pacing herself well for the olympics. we already seen Rochete having problems,and Yuna doesn't look as strong as she was after TEB.

if she has a strong Lp i think she would go back to being joint favorite for olympic title with Yu na.
 

I-witness

Rinkside
Joined
Nov 16, 2009
I think call on her 3A was rather harsh. It seemed to me little underrotated but no mroe than 1/4. In fact, after watching slow mo, a commentator on Japanese TV,who was first not sure it was rotated enough, was fairly confident that it was.:agree:. This reminded me of what Machiko Yamada recenlty said.She hinted that Mao's 3A tends to be downgraded nowadays because of preconception on the part of callers.

Apart from it, her performance was encouraging. I could really see that Mao was really nervous from practice but she pulled it off. I also thought that the new step sequence was improvement and matched the concept of the entire program.

Mao is quoted as saying that she might change 3A-2T to 2A-2T. If she plans to compete at 4CC, it may be a good idea to go for a safe jump layout and then give a go for two 3As at 4CC.
 

silverlake22

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2009
Mao is quoted as saying that she might change 3A-2T to 2A-2T. If she plans to compete at 4CC, it may be a good idea to go for a safe jump layout and then give a go for two 3As at 4CC.

Yuna will not be at 4CC so that is probably a good idea. A clean, strong 2a is probably worth more than a UR 3a because of the GOEs. I think this is why Miki has only been doing the 3-2 recently. I do think she should still go for the 2a-3t though, 3t are not as easily downgraded as 3lo
 

I-witness

Rinkside
Joined
Nov 16, 2009
Yuna will not be at 4CC so that is probably a good idea. A clean, strong 2a is probably worth more than a UR 3a because of the GOEs. I think this is why Miki has only been doing the 3-2 recently. I do think she should still go for the 2a-3t though, 3t are not as easily downgraded as 3lo

I am sorry, what I meant is that it is a good idea to try a safe jump layout here at Japanese Nationals to secure her place in the olympic team and then try more ambitious one at 4CC.

By the way, here is the protocol of ladies SP.
http://www.skatingjapan.jp/National/2009-2010/fs/national/data0203.pdf
 

Iscariot

On the Ice
Joined
Apr 18, 2009
is there any posibilities that mao's 3A got DG because of the take off, i know normally a 3A has a little bit of prerotation but dont know what to think abut this one:unsure:
 

Tinymavy15

Sinnerman for the win
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 28, 2006
is there any posibilities that mao's 3A got DG because of the take off, i know normally a 3A has a little bit of prerotation but dont know what to think abut this one:unsure:

I guess it is possible. If the tech caller added up the pre-rotation and the landing rotation together he would have arrived at over 1/4 turn cheat. Honestly though, Mao is experiencing a lot of sexist judging with this jump. When male skaters like Evan cheat the 3 axel everybody looks the other way because they are supposed to be able to land them with ease.
 
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