- Joined
- Jun 3, 2009
Here is my take on the age thing. Can a 14-year-old child out skate 24-year-old women?
I don't know. Let's have a skating contest and find out.
Would you replace the 14-year old with a 12-year old? How about a 10-year old?
Here is my take on the age thing. Can a 14-year-old child out skate 24-year-old women?
I don't know. Let's have a skating contest and find out.
I believe this is some kind of classical ballet position. Dick Button popularized (invented?) this arm position for jumps back in the 40s and 50s. As a commentator he used to criticize skaters' arm positions, saying "your arms are supposed top look like you are hugging a beach ball."![]()
I think it's OK to do two triple Lutzes, two triple loops, and two double Axels(?) The triple toe is OK because she doesn't have another one in her program, right?
2 wins in the GP when I was a kid of 14 before puberty. That makes you a well trained monkey.
No. She's a day too young.
I like Czisny's new jump layout. Assuming the third element is supposed to be 2A+3T, this gives her a solid six triple layout that is within her reach.
Actually it is quite meaningless that a 14 year old wins over ladies. Has been done before. Jury is out until post puberty. Just an FYI. It is quite well known in skating circles that these young Russian girls have some funky eating habits going on. Without getting into details...it ain't pretty...it can be quite a shock to a childs self esteem, when puberty sets in and their bodies are unable to perform the "tricks" of pre puberty.
disagree, That GP was just before Olympic Season and it was hard for Mao to beat other top senior skaters.Slutskaya crushed Mao at Cup of China with something like 20 points and Liza won both of her GPs so at this point she's better than Mao. We'll see how she will do in GPF. Has Czisny qualified too?
Would you replace the 14-year old with a 12-year old? How about a 10-year old?
Actually, Mao did not win both of her GP events as a junior. Liza just did.
Also, Mao had won everything the previous season as a junior, but Liza lost twice to Adelina.
Based off of what evidence are you assuming that Alissa's 2A/2T is actually supposed to be a 2A/3T? I suspect that Alissa would have difficulty getting any combination with a backend 3T ratified. She hasn't had any success with the 3Lz/3T that she planned this season.
I think a 3T/2t or a 3T+2A SEQ would be more realistic than a 2A/3T, thus allowing her to have a planned 6-triple layout.
I don't know. Sonia Henie competed in her first Olympics at age ten, finishing last. If you want to keep ten year olds out I think you could have some kind of skating standard, rather than an age standard, to weed them out.
The question of ten-year-olds, however, is moot. A precocious ten-year-old would not be competitive as a senior competitor.
But some skaters, like gymnasts, hit their peak at fourteen or fifteen. It seems strange to have a "World Championship" whose winner says, "Yay, I'm the best in the world (except of course for those two youngsters who can mop up the ice with me -- thank goodness they're not here!)"
But Mao won the Grand Prix final at age 15, beating Slutskaya, didn't she? That was a bad omen for Irina, who had been undefeated for over a year prior to that, going into the Olympics.
I think Alissa's coaches were pushing the whole "up the ante" thing this year. There was a lot of talk about all the triple-triples Alissa was supposedly working on. And to her credit, Alissa gave it the old college try. Her double Axel is usually a pretty good jump for her, so maybe a 2A+3T could be on the table as something to run up the flag pole.
What isn't fair? Every skater has been 14 at some point. And there are many who were actually better technically after puberty, including Arakawa, Kim, Slutskaya, Butyrskaya, Harding, etc. Caro and Alyssa didn't lose because Liza is 78 lbs, they lost because each needed one more triple to catch her.
If Adelina's mother had known that Adelina would take up figure skating, perhaps she would have used forceps to bring her into the world a couple of days earlier...
So silly...
Is it wrong to think Mao had a higher lever of competition than Liza does today. I think of the depth of skaters Mao went up against being a step above although I do like Alissa and Carolina much better than say a Irina.
I have cheered for older skaters and I will cheer for the young ones too. It's about the prowess of the athlete, not age. Excellence and winnings should be celebrated at the time of achievement, not discounted or postponed for a probable future success. Different athletes peak at different ages. Eligibility to compete should be decided by level of skills, besides by gender and discipline, not age, or height, or race, nationality, etc.
It's not a fair competition if a strong competitor is kept out because of age. As for the protection of young skaters, they are going to train and compete with the most difficult moves they can do anyways even if they are made to stay out of the Senior level. All available knowledge and technology should be applied to the training to minimize any adverse effect and risk, for all ages with particular attention to the young ones. Health protection is not accomplished by prohibiting competitions.
2 wins in the GP when I was a kid of 14 before puberty. That makes you a well trained monkey.