2011 US Ladies World Team: What to expect?

[Layfan]

this is the strongest team we sent to worlds in a while. I predict Alissa will skate not a perfect, but almost so set of two programs and Rachael never implodes badly. I can't really predict placement because I don't know a.) who will show and who won't and b.) who will skate well/be scored well. If both american girls skate reasonably clean they should be in the top ten, with Alissa freshly legitimized as GPF champion, maybe her PCS will go up a few points or so.

All good points.

Well, before anyone else does, I'll note that RAchael of course did implode at the GPF but I think there is no question it was because of her lost training time. So I see it as a fluke.

I thought we had a pretty strong team last year too. It didn't work out for them unfortunately but we know for a fact that Rachael and Mirai were perfectly capable of earning the third spot because of how they did at the Olympics.Too bad that didn't count toward placement.

This year Alissa and Rachael won't have the Olymics in the way. Hopefully that will help.

[Olympia]

God, I just saw Mirai´s sp on HD and I m tempted to buy her an airticket and send her to Tokyo myself!

I know, Seniorita. Sigh. Everything worked about that SP: the eccentric combination of music, the emotional level, the beautiful moves, and the spins. Where did they all go in the LP? And we say that Alissa has a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde problem.

[Serious Business]

Oops, I kinda left out the other dudette on the US femme team to Worlds. Part of it is that Rachael is so trustworthy. It's not like there's a lot of guesswork with her. I take it for granted that she will execute the vast majority of her elements. She may not get stellar PCS internationally, but being able to land a lot of triples, most of it in the second half, creates concrete points that add up. I can't imagine she'd be too low in the rankings. I would be shocked if she's outside the top 10.

But about that PCS. Now that I have seen her SP, I think it has every chance of winning even international judges over to giving her more on the second mark. The thing about the East of Eden SP that works so great is that she connects to the music and feels it deeply and openly. That is really one of the most important criteria in pairing a skater up with music. The other criteria is, of course, whether judges and audience can connect to the music. Call me crazy but I think East of Eden is a crowd pleaser. It's a definite ear worm that I haven't been able to shake lose for days now. Now that I have seen the SP I think it is one of the greatest decisions Rachael and her team made this season. In fact, it's a shame that it's the SP music and not the FS. With the PCS getting a .8 discount in the ladies SP, the boost she gets in the PCS there is actually muted. It might have been a better idea to scrap her FS, which neither judges (both domestic and foreign) nor audiences nor the skater herself seem to totally embrace (although Rachael still performs as much out of it as she can), and use East of Eden instead. Not only would her improved PCS in the FS get a 1.6 boost, but the increased flexibility in the FS for choreography would allow more spirals and ina bauers and other highlights that Rachael can lavish the music with.

But that's just me musing. I think East of Eden is fine for her SP. Her improved impression there might boost her PCS in the FS, too. I do wish that they changed her FS music to something she connects more with, though.

[R.D.]

Let's see how it is received over at 4CCs. I definitely think she can't go wrong with it.

[pangtongfan]

I don't see why Alissa, if she goes clean, would not be able to beat the likes of Miki Ando and Murakami. Artistically, Alissa is better than those two, and the international judges do not seem to favor Miki in particular. Murakami is not there yet in terms of maturity and artistry.

And while Yuna SHOULD win the gold easily, given the circumstances (the championships being held in Tokyo, Yuna taking a year off, etc.) it may not be so easy... although I am certainly praying for two perfect performances by Yuna.

Czisny skated about as well as she could in the LP at the GP final and Miki Ando skating second which impaced her PCS still beat her by about 6 or 7 points. At Worlds Miki Ando will be on home ice. I much prefer Czisny to Ando but realistically even a clean Czisny isnt touching Ando unless Miki implodes in 1 of the 2 programs.

Murakami. Well Czisny could possibly beat her but who knows. Murakami is getting better all the time, is a rock solid competitor, and will also be on home ice. The two were very close at the GP final where Czisny won, I am not sure if Czisny can hold her off unless she skates her very best. Murakami wont falter I dont think.

[pangtongfan]

Rachael could definitely do better than that. She was 9th last year with bad programs.

Last years Worlds was one of the worst competitions ever. Many women skated worse than Flatt as far as their mistakes and still finished over her. Lepisto landed fewer triples than Flatt and fell on a double axel in the short and won the bronze medal. Yu Na Kim skated like she was in a coma, even said to her coach she didnt feel conscious to what she was doing out there after one of her programs, so was far more below her best than Flatt, and still won the silver easily and won the free skate.

And what do you consider bad for Flatt. If Flatt at last years Worlds was bad then her free skate that won her 2nd place at Nationals must also be bad, since it wasnt really any better.

And another way to look at things is Vancouver where the women skated more to their usual standard was the best Flatt could possibly skate and she still came only 7th. It is safe to say from her skating this season she isnt going to duplicate that level of performance.

I still think the judging at Nationals was poor in the singles all around, and Nagasu should have gotten 2nd instead of Flatt, and the judges will regret their sending a far less talented skater to Worlds over one who didnt skate that differently at Nationals. We will see though.

[R.D.]

Both Nagasu and Flatt were kinda meh. I knew it was going to be close.

At least Flatt has a new, more inspiring SP. Perhaps if she performs it well, she won't be buried in the standings after the SP. That can only be a good thing.

[FlattFan]

Last years Worlds was one of the worst competitions ever. Many women skated worse than Flatt as far as their mistakes and still finished over her. Lepisto landed fewer triples than Flatt and fell on a double axel in the short and won the bronze medal. Yu Na Kim skated like she was in a coma, even said to her coach she didnt feel conscious to what she was doing out there after one of her programs, so was far more below her best than Flatt, and still won the silver easily and won the free skate.

And what do you consider bad for Flatt. If Flatt at last years Worlds was bad then her free skate that won her 2nd place at Nationals must also be bad, since it wasnt really any better.

And another way to look at things is Vancouver where the women skated more to their usual standard was the best Flatt could possibly skate and she still came only 7th. It is safe to say from her skating this season she isnt going to duplicate that level of performance.

I still think the judging at Nationals was poor in the singles all around, and Nagasu should have gotten 2nd instead of Flatt, and the judges will regret their sending a far less talented skater to Worlds over one who didnt skate that differently at Nationals. We will see though.

Last year at world, Flatt didn't do well in both SP and LP. Hence, her placement.
At the Olympics, she got two dubious UR called that caused her about 8 points. She would be 4th or 5th without those calls. She can't beat Mao, Yuna, and Joannie at that point, but she was capable of beating Miki, Laura Lepisto. The Brit commentators were shocked she didn't place above Laura freaking Lepisto.

[Pikachuusb]

I'm expecting to not be stressing about 3 spots for the following year. I've learned after these last few years it does no good to worry. I'm just hoping they do well and have fun. If they beat my expectations and get us 3 spots...woohoo!!! But I'm not expecting anything from the ladies, men or pairs teams heading into worlds.

[R.D.]

Well, I won't be THAT hardcore about it- but it would be nice if we could do it. But again, like I said earlier- not optimistic.