regardless of rankings, current hype, what female skaters would you pay most to see? | Golden Skate

regardless of rankings, current hype, what female skaters would you pay most to see?

Bijoux

Match Penalty
Joined
Jan 8, 2004
regardless of rankings, current hype, what female skaters would you pay most to see?

This will make you think about what you really appreciate as a single fan in great women.

There is no time factor. Obviously mature Gsers will have more memories to draw on. Then there is always Youtube for the younger folks here or any fan, who really like the top three eligibles and of course might only limit their likes to what they know.

I wish I could have gone to see any number of Michelle Kwan's competitions. I saw FOG as an exhibition and it was not her best. Competition brought out the fire I guess. I wish I were In Nagano to see Lyra Angelica. I loved Rach SP and also loved what she did with East of Eden both times in her career. There were so many greats and she was a solid skater with deep edges and bankable perfect jumps. As an eligible, she gave us many great competitive skates. She had a style that was more agressive, more powerful than Kristi who was more a float over the ice skater.

Michelle had those deeper, slower, long edges. Shizuka has those georgeous edges and is not a speed around the rink skater. I can enjoy the purity of her skating.

Nagano showcased three of the most elegant Ladies Skaters for me. Tara, who still hadn't peaked skated maturely, with amazing finesse for a 15 year old. Her technical content made it exciting. Her LP was flawless. Lu Chen, the real lady of the event skated a beautiful and moving LP. I would have given gold to see her. Memorable down to the perfect costume and exquisitely beautiful face.

Kristi Yamaguchi was an awesome show skater besides her amateur career. SOI gave her time to do every style, every kind of music, every beautiful costume while keeping her technical content so high. With the perfect little figure and total grace she must be the most elegant skater in history. Light and Lithe. I think only Yuka Sato could compete with her during those years. Yuka's soft knees and edges make every jump seem effortless. She was not as exciting as Kristi but did mature into a skater who could perform various styles. Katia Gordeeva did not need the jumps to keep me watching. She is elegance personified and in her youth the beautiful woman and ballerina skater that I see now in Ice dancer Tessa Virtue. All these women had the total package. The beautiful bodies, so petite but heathy looking.

Oksana Baiul's great skating was limited by her focus but I had never seen anything like her Swan Lake SP in Lillehammer. Her LP was not as good but gave us the chance to see Kerrigan perform a flawless, demanding LP in that Vera Wang creation. I was amazed at her skating and her Irish beauty.

While I wish I could have seen Witt perform her Carmen, I was always more impressed with the beautiful Roz Sumners as she matured on Stars on Ice. She really surpassed Witt and though she did more doubles, her skating, her everything was georgeous. Spins were so beautiful and fast. I miss seeing those high speed scratch spins.

I also found the mature Karyn Cadavy as elegant as any woman before or since. Lucinda Ruh is another golden era skater I could watch for hours. The triple jumps are not needed at all.

Janet Lynn, bouncy/joyous, the edges, so pretty. And beautiful was defined by the mature Dorothy Hamill. Her posture, carriage, stroking was magestic. None of the current ladies skate like these women, though we see shades in Rochette and potential in Nagasu. CoP being the reason, I guess.

Though not a great competitor and one who fell a lot, the most perfect pristine skater for me for a decade now has been Sasha Cohen. The falls mar the effect but for technique, this tiny dancer is without peer. When upright, every position is perfect and every one has stolen her spirals/spins/gestures. Everyone seems to emulate Sasha. Perhaps her jumping problems and competition jitters kept her humbler. She would have been unbeatable as an amateur had she not fallen from nerves. Alissa has this kind of extraordinary skating but I can't watch her compete. I hope she gets a chance to grow in SOI.

Despite the achievements like medals won, numerically high scores, I hope Asada and Kim should they continue, really watch the incredibly elegant women who came before. I know Asada can skate with more elan than this seasons unfortunate choices forced upon her. Yu-na can still learn so much from the ladies in this thread. I hope her coach will push her to become a better all around skater and will work on the areas where she needs much improvement. Sadly, these inflated scores under CoP won't convince her or Mao to work on the elegance that only Jo Ro demonstrates at times. These packed programs are really hindering Mao/YuNa from using the beautiful skills that Shizuka showed in her skating. There are so many elegant skaters not on this list. It isn't about titles for me. It's about line, technique, fluidity, flow across the ice. It's about beautiful skating.

The one skater who generated great excitement with speed and jumps was very flawed but I'd pay to have seen the mature Irina who worked very hard on presentation. I was not a huge Hughes fan as she was very gangly and though I appreciated her layback and great SLC performance, we did not get to see her mature, stay in shape and compete much after the olympics. She was a great technical skater but lacked the elegance of these other young women. I ubderstand why she left but she is an unfinished Oly gold skater for me.

Having missed most of the last three years of competitions, I'm thrilled with the technical content of Yu-na /Mao but a little surprised at all the hyperbole. The uberscores and gushing commentators I find a bit humorous. Orser should apply the standards he skated to towards his own pupils and I hope Mao finds her way back to a more pleasant, all around elegant skater to watch. I don't need all the triple axels. She is a lady and that was a program showing mainly how powerfully strong she is. Powerful skating is beautiful skating. These are just my opinions. So please don't tell me what to enjoy and I won't quibble with your tastes. Feel free to disagree with detachment. Only that makes "taste" discussions possible.

After watching Vancouver/Worlds, I find myself wishing for a better judging system as this racking up points thing is not bringing out the best, at least in the ladies where we have so many beautiful skaters to remember. Vancouver was a good olympics with history made, but INO not the best skating.
 

aurora100

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 3, 2009
This will make you think about what you really appreciate as a single fan in great women.

There is no time factor. Obviously mature Gsers will have more memories to draw on. Then there is always Youtube for the younger folks here or any fan, who really like the top three eligibles and of course might only limit their likes to what they know.

I wish I could have gone to see any number of Michelle Kwan's competitions. I saw FOG as an exhibition and it was not her best. Competition brought out the fire I guess. I wish I were In Nagano to see Lyra Angelica. I loved Rach SP and also loved what she did with East of Eden both times in her career. There were so many greats and she was a solid skater with deep edges and bankable perfect jumps. As an eligible, she gave us many great competitive skates. She had a style that was more agressive, more powerful than Kristi who was more a float over the ice skater.

Michelle had those deeper, slower, long edges. Shizuka has those georgeous edges and is not a speed around the rink skater. I can enjoy the purity of her skating.

Nagano showcased three of the most elegant Ladies Skaters for me. Tara, who still hadn't peaked skated maturely, with amazing finesse for a 15 year old. Her technical content made it exciting. Her LP was flawless. Lu Chen, the real lady of the event skated a beautiful and moving LP. I would have given gold to see her. Memorable down to the perfect costume and exquisitely beautiful face.

Kristi Yamaguchi was an awesome show skater besides her amateur career. SOI gave her time to do every style, every kind of music, every beautiful costume while keeping her technical content so high. With the perfect little figure and total grace she must be the most elegant skater in history. Light and Lithe. I think only Yuka Sato could compete with her during those years. Yuka's soft knees and edges make every jump seem effortless. She was not as exciting as Kristi but did mature into a skater who could perform various styles. Katia Gordeeva did not need the jumps to keep me watching. She is elegance personified and in her youth the beautiful woman and ballerina skater that I see now in Ice dancer Tessa Virtue. All these women had the total package. The beautiful bodies, so petite but heathy looking.

Oksana Baiul's great skating was limited by her focus but I had never seen anything like her Swan Lake SP in Lillehammer. Her LP was not as good but gave us the chance to see Kerrigan perform a flawless, demanding LP in that Vera Wang creation. I was amazed at her skating and her Irish beauty.

While I wish I could have seen Witt perform her Carmen, I was always more impressed with the beautiful Roz Sumners as she matured on Stars on Ice. She really surpassed Witt and though she did more doubles, her skating, her everything was georgeous. Spins were so beautiful and fast. I miss seeing those high speed scratch spins.

I also found the mature Karyn Cadavy as elegant as any woman before or since. Lucinda Ruh is another golden era skater I could watch for hours. The triple jumps are not needed at all.

Janet Lynn, bouncy/joyous, the edges, so pretty. And beautiful was defined by the mature Dorothy Hamill. Her posture, carriage, stroking was magestic. None of the current ladies skate like these women, though we see shades in Rochette and potential in Nagasu. CoP being the reason, I guess.

Though not a great competitor and one who fell a lot, the most perfect pristine skater for me for a decade now has been Sasha Cohen. The falls mar the effect but for technique, this tiny dancer is without peer. When upright, every position is perfect and every one has stolen her spirals/spins/gestures. Everyone seems to emulate Sasha. Perhaps her jumping problems and competition jitters kept her humbler. She would have been unbeatable as an amateur had she not fallen from nerves. Alissa has this kind of extraordinary skating but I can't watch her compete. I hope she gets a chance to grow in SOI.

Despite the achievements like medals won, numerically high scores, I hope Asada and Kim should they continue, really watch the incredibly elegant women who came before. I know Asada can skate with more elan than this seasons unfortunate choices forced upon her. Yu-na can still learn so much from the ladies in this thread. I hope her coach will push her to become a better all around skater and will work on the areas where she needs much improvement. Sadly, these inflated scores under CoP won't convince her or Mao to work on the elegance that only Jo Ro demonstrates at times. These packed programs are really hindering Mao/YuNa from using the beautiful skills that Shizuka showed in her skating. There are so many elegant skaters not on this list. It isn't about titles for me. It's about line, technique, fluidity, flow across the ice. It's about beautiful skating.

The one skater who generated great excitement with speed and jumps was very flawed but I'd pay to have seen the mature Irina who worked very hard on presentation. I was not a huge Hughes fan as she was very gangly and though I appreciated her layback and great SLC performance, we did not get to see her mature, stay in shape and compete much after the olympics. She was a great technical skater but lacked the elegance of these other young women. I ubderstand why she left but she is an unfinished Oly gold skater for me.

Having missed most of the last three years of competitions, I'm thrilled with the technical content of Yu-na /Mao but a little surprised at all the hyperbole. The uberscores and gushing commentators I find a bit humorous. Orser should apply the standards he skated to towards his own pupils and I hope Mao finds her way back to a more pleasant, all around elegant skater to watch. I don't need all the triple axels. She is a lady and that was a program showing mainly how powerfully strong she is. Powerful skating is beautiful skating. These are just my opinions. So please don't tell me what to enjoy and I won't quibble with your tastes. Feel free to disagree with detachment. Only that makes "taste" discussions possible.

After watching Vancouver/Worlds, I find myself wishing for a better judging system as this racking up points thing is not bringing out the best, at least in the ladies where we have so many beautiful skaters to remember. Vancouver was a good olympics with history made, but INO not the best skating.

I live in Canada, northern Canada. I forked out money for me and my mom to see Yuna at the Worlds in LA in March 2009 because I knew she would win the Words, and to Lake Placid NY for Skate America in November 2009 because I knew that would be as good as watching her at the Olympics, which it was. Interestingly three of the four Olympic Gold Medalists were there (Lyschek and Shen and Zhao). I would have gone to the Olympics in Vancouver to see Yuna but it was busy time at work for me.

The last time I followed around skaters were for Gordeeva and Grinkov and Sale and Pelletier.
 

Tinymavy15

Sinnerman for the win
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 28, 2006
I wish I could have seen Michelle Kwan in competition and Sasha. 2002 Nationals or Olympics. Wow
 

prettykeys

Medalist
Joined
Oct 19, 2009
I'm the King of the World, and I have a time-travel machine and a magical spell to make skaters skate cleanly and to 100% of their ability...

Past:
Cecilia Colledge for that old-time flavour
a Janet Lynn free skate
Midori Ito when she had that cute short hair
Michelle Kwan's US Nationals Lyra Angelica (I used to think her Aranjuez was her best LP, but I changed my mind); Rachmaninoff SP

Current:
YuNa's Tango de Roxanne; Lark Ascending; Danse Macabre
Mao's Nocturne; Tango exhibition
 

brianjyw

Rinkside
Joined
Mar 16, 2010
Having missed most of the last three years of competitions, I'm thrilled with the technical content of Yu-na /Mao but a little surprised at all the hyperbole. The uberscores and gushing commentators I find a bit humorous. Orser should apply the standards he skated to towards his own pupils and I hope Mao finds her way back to a more pleasant, all around elegant skater to watch. I don't need all the triple axels. She is a lady and that was a program showing mainly how powerfully strong she is. Powerful skating is beautiful skating. These are just my opinions. So please don't tell me what to enjoy and I won't quibble with your tastes. Feel free to disagree with detachment. Only that makes "taste" discussions possible.

After watching Vancouver/Worlds, I find myself wishing for a better judging system as this racking up points thing is not bringing out the best, at least in the ladies where we have so many beautiful skaters to remember. Vancouver was a good olympics with history made, but INO not the best skating.

"The uberscores" under CoP is nothing compared to the super-duper ubersocres under 6.0 judging system. How was it possible for a skater to get 6.0 (perfect score) when the skater is far from being perfect?

If you watch peformances of top skaters in the past on Youtube, you will see gushing commentators all the time, even more gushing than the currrent commentators.
 

museksk8r

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 31, 2006
Country
United-States
I'm assuming you mean current eligible female skaters. My choices would be Joannie Rochette, Yu-Na Kim, Carolina Kostner, Akiko Suzuki, Ksenia Makarova, Alena Leonova, and Sarah Meier (though I believe she may be retiring).
 

koheikun90

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 25, 2010
Any competition where Yu Na Kim and Mao Asada go head to head. It's my most favorite FS rivalry of all time.
 

Barb

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 13, 2009
I don´t have money, but definitly I know that I can´t die without watch to Mao skating in live:bow:, then I am saving money and may be in 2 or 3 years I will do it:rock:.
 

Wrlmy

Medalist
Joined
Jun 17, 2007
These are just my opinions. So please don't tell me what to enjoy and I won't quibble with your tastes. Feel free to disagree with detachment. Only that makes "taste" discussions possible.

After watching Vancouver/Worlds, I find myself wishing for a better judging system as this racking up points thing is not bringing out the best, at least in the ladies where we have so many beautiful skaters to remember. Vancouver was a good olympics with history made, but INO not the best skating.

No I don't want to quibble with your tastes nor do I want to dictate what you ought to enjoy. But it amuses me you can pass judgement on current skaters after confessing you have been away from the sport for last three years. But aside from that, I mostly agree with your post except for MK's FOG being weaker tham her competitive programs.

Anyway, I enjoyed your post and found myself agreeing for the most part. I just could do without the undercurrent of negativity.
 

Jaana

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Country
Finland
Current eligible skaters: Yu-Na Kim, Mirai Nagasu and Laura Lepistö

Past: Shizuka Arakawa and Sasha Cohen
 

lavender

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Michelle Kwan...

I would like to see a lot of past skaters (singles, pairs and dance) plus a few current and somewhat current ones like Stephane, Jeff B, Takahashi, Mirai and even Sasha.
 

fairly4

Medalist
Joined
Oct 28, 2007
past--michelle kwan/ peggy fleming, carol heiss/tenley albright/ use to kristi--maybe i am not sure now/janet lynn/linda fratianne/ tiffany chin/ irina slutskaya/ chen lu/
maribel owen/ theresa weld blanchard/ svea noren/barbara scott - the 1964 medal winners gold silver and bronzethe older skaters who won medals before 1948 except for sonja henie, caryn kadavy
past still skating--yuka sato/
current skaters--mao/yu-na/ shizuka/
i have seen sasha-3 times is enough plus video is available so i don't want to see her anymore and the current united states youngers--not really maybe zhang and mirai-not sure
sadly more of the older skaters i want to see and pay for than the younger skaters
 

iluvtodd

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 5, 2004
Country
United-States
Midori, Michelle, Kristi, Yuka, Fumie, Katia, Shizuka, Sasha, Alissa, Joannie, Mao, Miki, Yuna, Akiko, Sarah Maier, Yukari, Yukina, Mirai, Rachel, Kimmie ...

If I had to choose just one, it would be Midori! :love:
 

RockTheTassel

Rinkside
Joined
Apr 9, 2010
My top choiced would be...

Current: Mirai Nagasu, Yuna Kim, Joannie Rochette, Ashley Wagner

Past: Michelle Kwan, Shizuka Arakawa, Sasha Cohen
 
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