State of American Ladies: 2013-14 Season

kwanatic said:

Agreed. As great as her jumps are her consistency is pretty bad. Her 3-3s are huge but she's only landed them cleanly a handful of times this season. She's had several falls and step outs and URs...she needs to work on getting her current layout consistent before she goes for more content.

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1 under-rotation that she managed to stay vertical on
A couple double three turn outs
1 pop (SLC last August)
A couple falls

She landed them cleanly in the LP at SLC, Nationals LP, Worlds LP, RC SP and LP, WTT LP

How is that "pretty bad" consistency? It's 50% which is better than most are doing. Also, she's making some changes to go with her strong suit for both SP and LP for her 3+3. This should improve her SP.

Cherryy said:

I guess nobody has written it yet, I think it's worth mentioning.
Alissa Czisny wrote a short message on facebook.
"Been practicing and preparing nonstop for the past few years in preparation for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Can't wait to prove the doubters wrong and represent my country. See you guys in Sochi!!"
Seems she's self-confident and quite sure that she can make the Olympic team. What do you think about it?

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!

(ETA: I can't actually find the post you're referring to on her page...either she deleted it or you're following an imposter)

Cherryy said:

I guess nobody has written it yet, I think it's worth mentioning.
Alissa Czisny wrote a short message on facebook.
"Been practicing and preparing nonstop for the past few years in preparation for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Can't wait to prove the doubters wrong and represent my country. See you guys in Sochi!!"
Seems she's self-confident and quite sure that she can make the Olympic team. What do you think about it?

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To be honest it makes me feel bad for her. I am not a hater or a doubter of Czisny and even I don't think she can make the Olympic team. Moreover, though it's her body, and I am not her doctor, and I want to be really clear that I 100% understand both of those things before someone tries to point them out to me, I do not think the physical risk to her body seems worth it at this point. I know not having made an Olympics will probably haunt her, but it's going to haunt her either way. Maybe she feels like she has to know she tried.

To be clear too I am 100% a Czisny fan and supporter. I wish her 100% the best and really do wish her dream could have come true. While I will never say never (figure skating is full of fun surprises) it would be the biggest surprise to me in my 20+ years of following skating if she makes this happen.

ETA: That is not Czisny's real FB page where that comment is posted. R.D. is right.

tulosai said:

That is not Czisny's real FB page where that comment is posted. R.D. is right.

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I don't follow her on social media but it doesn't seem like something she would say.

drivingmissdaisy said:

I don't follow her on social media but it doesn't seem like something she would say.

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Yep, this is an imposter page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alissa-Czisny/341727985599

Alissa herself posted on the page:

To whomever is making this page, I appreciate your support, but please don't pretend to be me or post comments that pretend to be from me! Thank you

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ETA: Now this is more llike what she posts.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...185806.-2207520000.1367276052.&type=3&theater

ETA 2: This is her official FB page: https://www.facebook.com/alissa.czisny

The red flag instantly went up for me...

I couldn't believe it, that's why I had no comment initially...so I first went to her page to try to find it to see for myself, but nothing turned up.

ETA: Anyway, she is basically done in my eyes. If she feels she has one more season left in her, by all means she should go for it...especially with a 3rd spot, if she ever got back to 2011 form she could have an outside shot (but still a long one at that)...her best chance was 4 years ago and she squandered it. Anyway she has had chance after chance after chance and blew it almost every time. A comeback by her to make the team wouldn't be [in] my ideal scenario.

R.D. said:

A comeback by her to make the team wouldn't be [in] my ideal scenario.

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Her being on the team would not be nearly as bad as it was when we had two skaters. I still think at her best she is better than Ashley, but Ashley regularly delivers close to her best while Alissa almost never does. I probably would not want her to be on the Sochi team (particularly if her scores are inflated to put her there) but I am excited about her comeback and look forward to seeing how she matches up with the best in the US.

I hope Alissa makes a run for the Olympics. It makes the competition that more interesting. It would not be right if she didn't at least try for it. Who knows, maybe her spins and program components can put her on the team. She usually skates pretty well when she is under the radar. I don't think many people are expecting her to make the team so that may work in her favor.

I fear that, in the event of a Czisny comeback, the US judges will put her on the Sochi team even if Gao or Zawadzki (or any of the other girls) skate better. Unfortunately, with reputation judging, this may end up being the case, potentially cheating a more deserving skater out of the third spot.

^ I don't think so. I think it will be the opposite. If Alissa does manage to come back to competition, I think she will be carefully scrutinized by the judges.

I'm actually OK with Czisny going to Olys IF she earns it - it is Worlds (with spots on the line) that she should be kept away from at all costs...

That said, I probably would have other skaters higher on the so-called "wishlist". And anyway I think this'll be a non-issue because either she'll retire, be forced into retirement by yet another injury, or will simply no longer be competitive against the improving US field. (When you think about it, she really was able to take advantage of the dismal state of US ladies and peak late in her career at a moment that would give her a national championship...if it happened earlier she wouldn't have won)

Mathman said:

^ I don't think so. I think it will be the opposite. If Alissa does manage to come back to competition, I think she will be carefully scrutinized by the judges.

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Exactly. She had built a reputation in the past, but it was largely undone and lost, like Mirai. Reputation doesn't persist very long, especially in the face of tough competition and newcomers, unless you manage to consistently win.

Cherryy said:

I guess nobody has written it yet, I think it's worth mentioning.
Alissa Czisny wrote a short message on facebook.
"Been practicing and preparing nonstop for the past few years in preparation for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Can't wait to prove the doubters wrong and represent my country. See you guys in Sochi!!"
Seems she's self-confident and quite sure that she can make the Olympic team. What do you think about it?

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But she hasn't been preparing nonstop. She has been off the ice for significant amounts of time due to injury. Is this really from Alissa? Doesn't sound like her at all. I think you are pulling our collective legs---that's what I think about it!!!!! LMAO

Does anybody here read palms? Would be interested in a reading of Alissa's palm in the picture. Well, it might be fun.

ForeverFish said:

I fear that, in the event of a Czisny comeback, the US judges will put her on the Sochi team even if Gao or Zawadzki (or any of the other girls) skate better. Unfortunately, with reputation judging, this may end up being the case, potentially cheating a more deserving skater out of the third spot.

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I'm a little worried about this scenario, too. Ashley & Gracie are a solid #1 and #2 now. But no one has really established herself as the firm #3. As has been discussed endlessly here, at least 4 or 5 different girls are vying for that #3 spot, and with no one a clear favorite, I worry that Alissa could sneak in there somehow, especially if she's able to pull off a good short program at Nationals. I'lll be honest and say I really don't want her on the team. I don't care how beautiful a skater she is, she is just a terrible headcase when it comes to competition.

Alissa's web site hasn't been updated since early 2012. Odd, at least to me.

Icey said:

Does anybody here read palms? Would be interested in a reading of Alissa's palm in the picture. Well, it might be fun.

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I don't know about palms, but here is her horoscope.

(People) born on June 25 are unusually sensitive and apt to find themselves at odds with their true nature and the bold persons they hope to be. They are dreamy and inexact, giving others the impression that they are not focused. Actually, they are more centered than they appear. They are charming people who are often physically attractive.

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http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/june-25-birthday-astrology.htm

mskater93 said:

1 under-rotation that she managed to stay vertical on
A couple double three turn outs
1 pop (SLC last August)
A couple falls

How is that "pretty bad" consistency? It's 50% which is better than most are doing.

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Regardless of what others do, landing something 50% of the time is the definition of hit or miss. That is not consistent...that's a coin toss, a 50/50 chance, and those aren't odds she'll want to bet on next season. That's the exact reason I feel she needs to work on getting her current layout more consistent before attempting to add more difficulty. Her layout is stacked enough as it is. If she can minimize her errors and improve other areas of her skating she shouldn't need any more difficulty than what she has already.

Gracie is gaining more confidence and is getting more comfortable with competing so the hope is we'll see her success rate on those combos increase. It will be impossible for her to compete with the top names in PCS but she can do a lot of damage in TES which is why her 3-3s need to be better than 50% next year.


As for Alissa...

That didn't sound like something she would say. Alissa has been very good about handling herself in the media so for her to make a statement as presumptuous as "I'll see you in Sochi" is just completely out of character...at least if you're faking like you're her you should make it sound like her. Alissa handled that nicely though, as usual.

I think Alissa is a gorgeous skater and I want her to have a successful comeback season. I do not believe she has the technical goods to be competitive among the top 3 and she'd have to be flawless to be among the top 5 which doesn't happen much. If she had decent skates in Sochi I believe she'd place in the bottom half of the top 10 which would be good for her, but her chances at a medal are pretty much zero right now.

I'd love to see Alissa make it to Sochi but only if she earns her trip. I could see the USFSA boosting her if she has a semi-decent skate and giving her that 3rd spot but it would most likely be at the expense of a skater who had a better overall performance which would be really unfair. That's why I only want Alissa to get that spot if she earns it. There should be no gifts in an Olympic year. The people who show up, handle the pressure and do what they need to do should be the ones who are granted a spot on the team.

kwanatic said:

Gracie is gaining more confidence and is getting more comfortable with competing so the hope is we'll see her success rate on those combos increase. It will be impossible for her to compete with the top names in PCS but she can do a lot of damage in TES which is why her 3-3s need to be better than 50% next year.

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Gracie's PCS scores have gradually gone up with each performance, and they will continue to go up as long as she skates near-clean performances. If Gracie can perform well in her GP events this season, her scores should continue to rise. No, she can't approach the top 3 in PCS, but then they are all planning to retire after Sochi so that becomes a moot point.

chuckm said:

Gracie's PCS scores have gradually gone up with each performance, and they will continue to go up as long as she skates near-clean performances. If Gracie can perform well in her GP events this season, her scores should continue to rise. No, she can't approach the top 3 in PCS, but then they are all planning to retire after Sochi so that becomes a moot point.

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We are still a long ways away from Sochi so any speculation post-Sochi is too far out to think about...for me at least.

I agree Gracie's PCS will continue to go up with better technical performances but I don't always agree with that. What I mean is I'm all for an increase in PCS as long as it's warranted. I hate it when skater's PCS fly through the roof just b/c they land their jumps. Landing your jumps doesn't mean your ability to interpret the music suddenly got better nor does it improve sub-par choreography. I'd like to see Gracie's PCS increase b/c she's worked on things like PE, IN and CH...not b/c the judges are impressed with her technical content. I noticed at worlds and WTT Gracie did a better job of presenting her programs than she did earlier in the season but she still has a lot of work to do. I just hope she does it...

If her PCS continues to climb despite a lack of improvement to said components then what incentive does she have to gain a better understanding of her music, work for better presentation, improve her choreography, etc.? Why bother fixing your problem areas if your scores are going up with things as is?