Junior Ladies LP

[oleada]

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/figureskati...75236044&tab=0 the the entire junior ladies free from CBC

Thank you for the link! Love hearing PJ's comments.

Vanessa had a rough night. But she's done pretty consistent free programs all year. One bad skate should not make you need a complete overhaul. Just learn from it and move on! These Jr girls were a tough bunch. Just making the Finals is huge. I'm sure she will clean it up for Nationals. The Short program was wonderful, so the basics are there.

I don't think it's necessarily the rough skate that people are talking about; rather, her jump technique is not the best, to say the least. She's got a flutz and her jumps get very little height. They don't look like jumps that will survive any growth or weight gain, which given that she is still quite young, is likely to happen. Also, she's never going to get much GOE on them, regardless.

[used2sk8]

The Short was beautiful. Her Freeskate moved her way up last time out, so yes it was a rough skate here at the final. Most posters are great fans but have never really been out there. Sometimes things get away from you. Vanessa has improved her overall skills this year. Her technique is sound but left her tonight.

[burntBREAD]

The Short was beautiful. Her Freeskate moved her way up last time out, so yes it was a rough skate here at the final. Most posters are great fans but have never really been out there. Sometimes things get away from you. Vanessa has improved her overall skills this year. Her technique is sound but left her tonight.

Vanessa has great spins and strong footwork, but no, her technique on the jumps (mostly the lutz and flip, the axel is fine and the loop is okay) is not good. Like oleada said, it doesn't matter whether or not she is having a good day or not, her jumps are always under examination because they are so small and she will probably not get +GOE on them aside from the axel (and she also flutzes).

[christinaskater]

Zijun Li is also beautiful! If she grows up really well after puberty-she can become a force to reckon with.

[christinaskater]

Polina Korobeynikova is spectacular! I love her! Reminiscent of Yu-Na Kim, Carolina Kostner and Alissa Czisny combined!

[sky_fly20]

me too love her light and polished skating

and she is starting to make her trademark spin while putting her hand against her chest as if
she was holding a rose. very lovely to watch

[Mrs. P]

I don't understand why Polina K. doesn't get higher PCS than Lipnitskaya? The latter of course has all the flexi moves, but Polina is much more polished and knows how to move IMO. I really can't see how Lipnitiskaya is so head and shoulders above the rest like her marks indicate. Polina is the only one who looked like she's ready for the senior rank IMO.

Actually Polina K was my favorite Russian junior from the beginning -- I think her programs are well-choreographed. And it's fantastic that she upped her tech content.

I see she's coached by Viktoria Volchkova -- a skater that had some of the best technique in the business: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pbZsz7ENVU&#t=1m14s

Not surprising that Polina K inherited some of that good technique!

[christinaskater]

I love Viktoria! She was one of my faves and I love her "Gone With The Wind" program.

[sky_fly20]

Not to mention, Polina K's. jumps are huge
pointers from Volchkova definitely have helped also with her progress

[bigsisjiejie]

It's stupid to believe miracle will strike you and your jumps can be 'fixed' by just switching to another coach. Arutunian couldn't fix Mao's jumps, how the hell do you expect him to 'fix' Vanessa's jumps? There is no miracle coach who can make any person become a world champion,.Vanessa's jumps were tiny from beginning. There's limitation to every skater's natural talent...

By the way, the jump content of these Jr. skaters put almost all the senior skaters into shame.

You're missing my point. I have no idea if Arutunian or anybody can fix Vanessa's jumps. And perhaps the aim isn't to make her a World Champion. But given the competition around her, if she wants to get anywhere further with her skating, she needs to try. And whatever she's doing now, ain't getting the job done. If her jumps aren't improveable--as you seem to be saying--then perhaps she should just hang it up and retire from competitive skating, and stop wasting her parents' money--I think she'd be hard-pressed to ever podium at US Sr Nationals with her current jumps. My guess is that with the right inputs, she should be able to greatly improve her current jumping, though she's likely never going to be a big jumper.

[oleada]

Actually Polina K was my favorite Russian junior from the beginning -- I think her programs are well-choreographed. And it's fantastic that she upped her tech content.

I see she's coached by Viktoria Volchkova -- a skater that had some of the best technique in the business: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pbZsz7ENVU&#t=1m14s

Not surprising that Polina K inherited some of that good technique!

I'm really impressed by Volchkova as a coach. All her students seem to have nice basics, good jump technique and understanding of the music. Polina K was the only competitor here who did not get any URs or edge calls - that is going to serve her extremely well in the future. It's so great to see former competitors do so well as coaches.

[ayayukiituka]

Off the trend,Zijun was great with so much flow,speed,well-centered spins and those jumps. What I love her the most is her presentation using full body.
I can't help looking forward to seeing how she grows as a skater.
Maybe she'll move up to senior level?