Predictions for Junior Ladies

[sky_fly20]

Some of her jumps do look a bit wobbly on the landing, a bit out of control and they are not (yet) the most aesthetically pleasant jumps but they are big and power jumps. I bet her jumps will survive puberty and will get more stable and beautiful. She listens to the music and is nice to watch. I don't expect to see Kostner skating when I watch a 13 year old girl on the ice. If she has fun, I do and Radionova is fun to watch.

I think Elena is a lively girl and shows in her performance but she usually just smiles
but I disagree she is that musical, Julia is equally musical and has an edge that people draw into her which has imo the " it factor "
age isn't really much an excuse there are equally musical girls like Sotskova who will be turning 13 too : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-_p5EH5qJI

[shine]

Give me Radionova over Lipnitskaya anyday. Lipnitskaya shouldn't receive higher PCS because flexibility =/= elegance or grace. Julia skates through the music and does those annoying random leg lifts over and over that I can't stand watching her skating. I prefer Radionova's presentation to hers infinitely.

[silverlake22]

I'm sort of hoping Elena and Anna can go 1 and 2 here. I think Anna could maybe beat Julia, she already did in the FS at Russian Juniors and Anna herself had some uncharacteristic mistakes there. I really like Pogorilaya she is a fighter, so fierce, I like her 3lz-3t and 2a-3t-2t combos plus her long lines and exotic beauty and presentation on the ice. I think she could really be a future star.

[Jammers]

Lets see where all these Russian girls are in about 2 years when they have gone through there growth spurts. Until then it's almost pointless to guess which of them will survive puberty.

[silverlake22]

I think Pogorilaya is already tall though? She certainly would appear that way, or at least significantly taller than Miller and Radinova. So further changes might not be so drastic or effective of her skating, sort of like how Shelepen kept all her jumps after she shot up (before she switched coaches and got injured - i'm talking 10-11 and 11-12 seasons). Plus Anna's jumps at least leave the ice. Radinova's do too. In terms of losing jumps Julia worries me most because her jumps are so tiny and that axel technique is just . Maybe she can pull a Lipinski and win OGM before puberty monster really attacks though, girl is driven!

[sky_fly20]

I think Pogorilaya is already tall though? She certainly would appear that way, or at least significantly taller than Miller and Radinova. So further changes might not be so drastic or effective of her skating, sort of like how Shelepen kept all her jumps after she shot up (before she switched coaches and got injured - i'm talking 10-11 and 11-12 seasons). Plus Anna's jumps at least leave the ice. Radinova's do too. In terms of losing jumps Julia worries me most because her jumps are so tiny and that axel technique is just . Maybe she can pull a Lipinski and win OGM before puberty monster really attacks though, girl is driven!

Radionova has better lutz but her 3lz-3t is a bit shaky and her jumps tend to be wobbly, also she Lips
I even see her jumps as smaller than Julia's, Anna P has nice spins but her Lutz isnt that great either
Anna P. reminds me of Shelepen with a bit better technique and musicality

[vera01]

Radionova has better lutz but her 3lz-3t is a bit shaky and her jumps tend to be wobbly, also she Lips
I even see her jumps as smaller than Julia's, Anna P has nice spins but her Lutz isnt that great either
Anna P. reminds me of Shelepen with a bit better technique and musicality

Elena has better 2A than Julia's. Julia flutzes, and she got an edge call on her flip at Cup of China last year. I don't think Julia's jumps are better than Elena. Elena and Julia has much worse jumps compared to Adelina or Liza. What happened to Russian girls? They had nice jumps, but younger girls don't.

[sky_fly20]

Elena has better 2A than Julia's. Julia flutzes, and she got an edge call on her flip at Cup of China last year. I don't think Julia's jumps are better than Elena. Elena and Julia has much worse jumps compared to Adelina or Liza. What happened to Russian girls? They had nice jumps, but younger girls don't.

Julia's weakness is her 2A and Salchow and she knows it, Elena's 2A has better technique but the jump is not huge either.
but she makes up for it with her other skating components and her spins are lvl 4's
overall Julia is better than Elena imo. and I think Julia has something that draws you in her and I'm not just talking about her flexibility

Liza and Adelina always were standouts because they had huge jumps even when they were juniors , there are younger girls that have good jumps
like Sakhanovich has big jumps but has ugly bent knees landings, Sotskova is very nice with good jumps, technique and has speed.

[silverlake22]

Radionova has better lutz but her 3lz-3t is a bit shaky and her jumps tend to be wobbly, also she Lips
I even see her jumps as smaller than Julia's, Anna P has nice spins but her Lutz isnt that great either
Anna P. reminds me of Shelepen with a bit better technique and musicality

Anna is a bit like Shelepen yes, but doesn't ignore the music quite so much. Shelepen was actually developing quite nicely too before she switched coaches and got injured, I hope she can bounce back. Radinova's jumps are bigger/better than Julia's in general. The wobbly thing is true but she still rarely falls! Radinova lips but Julia flutzes, it seems like almost every skater these days who has a strong edge on a lutz or flip has a suspect or wrong edge on the other. Anna also lips, and Liza's flip is borderline, Adelina flutzes. Adelina and Liza do stand out in that they have really big jumps and have since they were tiny juniors, but sometimes really big jumps are hard to control. Small jumps can be ugly to look at and won't garner much GOE, but a mid-sized jump with good air position is not a problem, especially if it means the skater can consistently land such jumps. Both Radinova and Pogorilaya I think fall into this category, Julia, well, it's mostly the axel that's small and ugly, her other jumps are small but it's not as noticeable or distracting as someone like Miyahara, Miller, Lam, etc. And Anna actually has a very nice lutz, it's the flip that she lips and is often a bit scratchy on. 2a is a fine jump for both her and Radinova, for Pogorilaya her 2a-3t-2t combo is a really strong element, she gets good pop into all 3 jumps.

[kwanatic]

1. Elena Radionova
2. Julia Lipnitskaya
3. Courtney Hicks/Anna Pogorilaya

Elena has been rolling this year. She has the content and the momentum...

Julia is a bit of a question mark. She hasn't looked like herself all season. The pressure of being senior has shaken her a little this year which is why she hasn't had a clean FS yet. She didn't place well at junior nationals but she's never out of the mix. But I agree with shine: I'd take Elena over Julia. Elena isn't as mature but she has much better connection to her music and choreography than Julia has ever demonstrated. I think it will be a close match b/w these two but I think Julia will come up a little short.

Courtney and Anna are on equal footing IMO. Neither is all that great in terms of presentation/musicality/interpretation, etc. but both have nice jumps. I think it will come down to who is cleaner.

I find Yasmin Siraj, Samantha Cesario and So-Youn Park to be more complete skaters than any of the the aforementioned ladies but none of them have the technical difficulty. Yasmin has lovely programs and wonderful musicality and interpretation; Samantha has a mature style and ease about her skating; and So-Youn is absolutely lovely to watch (straight back, lovely lines, expressive movements..). I'd love to see these three on the podium but it's rare that things like choreography, interpretation, etc. are rewarded correctly on the junior level. It's all about the jumps...

[Mescalin at Mezzanin]

nice nice girls

[sequinsgalore]

1. Elena Radionova RUS
2. Julia Lipnitskaia RUS
3. Courtney Hicks USA
4. Anna Pogorilaya RUS
5. Satoko Miyahara JPN
6. Samantha Cesario USA
7. Yasmin Siraj USA
8. Rika Hongo JPN
9. Hae Jin Kim KOR
10. Gabrielle Daleman CAN

[momskate]

I think Radionova will win