2012 GPF Ladies' Free Skate LP

[MK's Winter]

I'm not sure if this was posted yet but there is a picture posted on Ashley's twitter with her and Christina Gao and Ashley is on crutches:( The pic is really sweet though, they were at a spa that was closed.

[Tonichelle]

Perfectly said! Attack-y seems to be the the long term trend in women's sports generally. Look at tennis players, for instance. Maybe this trend will overtake figure skating, too.

I prefer it to the timid doe-eyed look myself... I like intensity when the music asks for it - which Ashley's LP does.

[gmyers]

I think there is something you are misunderstanding, and let get it straight, a tripple jump remains as a ratified tripple when it gets one > call, but when it receives two >> calls that's when the jump gets downgraded to a double!

She didn't get point value of a triple because it was underrotated. The base value is different because it was not a full triple.

[mary01]

She didn't get point value of a triple because it was underrotated. The base value is different because it was not a full triple.

well we can both agree that a slightly underrotated jump isn't a perfect triple, but the jump remains a triple in the protocol and gets 70% of the base value!
therefor it's misleading to count triples according to wheter they are perfect, cause that usually doesn't give a clear or accurate picture of the actual performance nor the scores, take for example a 3lz even with a underrotation call, the jumps value remains that of a triple, and namely the same as the base value as a 3f or 3S!

[Reginald]

Forgive me R.D. for the mistaken quote.

[Mathman]

I prefer it to the timid doe-eyed look myself...

Although...

http://web.icenetwork.com/images/201...2/j5aUGDHP.jpg

[Tonichelle]

Although...

http://web.icenetwork.com/images/201...2/j5aUGDHP.jpg

that's just an awkward, unflattering photo all around IMO lol

[Mathman]

Well, if you mean she looks like she is about to fall over the railing backward, yeah.

[Layfan]

I thought Mao redeemed herself here after NHK. I still think her UR problem is a big issue, but at least she didn't double & pop jumps left and right. And I thought she skated with more energy here.

Ashley...:sigh: I know she's now America's #1 but I never liked her style of skating. And someone earlier got it (sorry I cannot remember the poster's name) -- her arm thrusting is extremely distracting, esp. because her arms appear really stiff when she does it. There's no fluid elegance to her arm gesture at all, and when all you do is just thrust your arms here and there to the music, while keeping them stiff, things get really old fast. I also don't believe that she's a naturally lyrical or musical skater, so she really works on those qualities (tho it doesn't always work...). Her skating feels very attack-y to me, but I think she did well here and really fought for her program.

Akiko is just... I can't even describe how disappointed that she didn't get to skate well here, and that she'll always be Japan's #2...maybe #3.

Funny, that is a bit how I felt about Ashley last year. Everyone raved about her Swan program and I wasn't sold at all. I thought she looked like she was trying so hard to be the swan and the swan arm movements were all wrong for her. You could see her thinking through it and and trying to be all feathery and floaty and fly-y. And just ... no.

But this year I feel completely differently! I think it's just the programs are so much better suited for her. I agree she is attack-y and she makes it look that way but this year's programs suit that. They are dramatic and they are not meant to be delicate. Ashley's not inelegant or anything but she's not a delicate type a la Mao so I think these programs work great for her.


Speaking of delicate (but strong) I just watched Mao finally with music and I love her final foot sequence. Phew! I kind of agree with Blades of Passion about the first half of the program not being the most original I've seen but I think she could still make everyone believe it is as the season progresses and her performance improves. But the last sequence - it seems very intricate yet powerful. Just me?
Really hope that girl continues to improve.

[sapphiresky]

Did anyone see the French Canadian broadcast with Joannie's comments at the end? I tried to follow as much of the French as I could but would appreciate rough translations from French speakers

[Ilvskating]

Congratulations Mao! I hope Yuna's return can give Mao new drive to be better. I hope Mao get her 3-3 and 3A back soon.

[Tonichelle]

Well, if you mean she looks like she is about to fall over the railing backward, yeah.

the pose and angle in general is not the best.

[Tinymavy15]

Mao was a diffrent skater out there. I wonder if it has to do with that old competitive fire coming back with Yu-na's return. She skated with speed, fire, and that footwork sequence was simply fantastic. Now she just needs to start rotating those 3/3s.

[Olympia]

I have great hopes for Mao. It's wonderful to see the spark starting to come back.

[creme cup]

Mao pulled through a seemingly well done program though it wasn't technically intact. This will give her more confidence and motivation!
What I still don't quite understand is her strategy... She will be able to get bonus points if she does 3S jump just a few seconds later.
At first I thought she's gonna fix it but obviously she's just sticking with it.....