Who will win Skate Canada ladies? | Golden Skate

Who will win Skate Canada ladies?

cinnamon

On the Ice
Joined
Sep 13, 2010
The competition is getting close. Who do you think (not would you like to) will win?

1 Amelie LACOSTE
2 Veronik MALLET
3 Kaetlyn OSMOND
4 Akiko SUZUKI
5 Julia LIPNITSKAIA
6 Natalia POPOVA
7 Christina GAO
8 Gracie GOLD
9 Courtney HICKS
 

Skater Boy

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 24, 2012
Well the line up got a heck of a lot weaker. i think Suzuki or Gold will win Gold but look out for Hicks to nab a medal too. Lipnitskaia might play the spoiler. Osmond won't be much of anissue with her injuries. Gao will feel the pressure knowing she is on the bubble to make he American team.
 

cinnamon

On the Ice
Joined
Sep 13, 2010
Well the line up got a heck of a lot weaker. i think Suzuki or Gold will win Gold but look out for Hicks to nab a medal too. Lipnitskaia might play the spoiler. Osmond won't be much of anissue with her injuries. Gao will feel the pressure knowing she is on the bubble to make he American team.
Just if /when Gracie will come to the same kind of confidence as Ashley has now, she can do a lot. Akiko, depends on how ready she is at the early stage of the season. So far Julia looks the most stable and improved in my eyes. And I have a feeling that Hicks will do well.
 

IleK

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 11, 2012
Julia! I can't see anyone else winning, except if any of the other girls makes a huge improvement since their last skate. We have already seen Amelie, Veronik, Kaetlyn, in fact all of the other girls. And the only one close to being clean as Julia was Courtney. I would love Akiko to win but she would have to skate clean and that is something I can't remember seeing at her.
 

drivingmissdaisy

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
I'm very interested to see what kind of PCS Courtney will get if she goes clean. I actually hope she wins just to prove how idiotic the USFSA was in making the Skate America invitation. However, my expected podium is:

1) Akiko
2) Julia
3) Gracie
 

kwanatic

Check out my YT channel, Bare Ice!
Record Breaker
Joined
May 19, 2011
So far, Julia looks the most ready to go. She has better programs and is relating to the music more (hallelujah) plus it looks like her consistency is back. With her difficult content and high level elements if she goes clean she'll win here.

Akiko has two lovely programs and a little bit of reputation to throw around being the only Japanese lady at this event. Her goal is going to be getting through her SP cleanly. She can score very high with a clean performance and should be able to stay close in the race for gold. I'm not sure if she'll win here but, barring a meltdown of sorts, she should be on the podium.

Courtney has been really steady so far this season but, as Gracie could tell her, it's a different environment than skating in junior or Senior B events. She did get a taste of the atmosphere when she went to nationals so hopefully that experience will work in her favor and she'll have a strong performance here. She won't come close to Akiko or Julia in PCS but she can definitely compete in TES if she's clean...

Gracie is a toss up b/c we don't know where she is right now. The hope is that she's made some improvements to her programs and her mental focus since switching to Frank a few weeks ago but there's no guarantee we'll see marked improvement this early. If she hits her jumps she'll be on the podium even if the rest of her skating is an eyesore...but she has to hit her jumps. Gracie really needs a strong skate here to erase some of the doubt she created with her sub par performances this summer.

Strong performances from Kaetlyn will score well but knowing that she's injured and seeing her programs earlier in the summer, I'm not sure what to expect from her.

Same thing for Christina. She's been off so far this summer but hopefully she's made the improvements and adjustments and will perform well here. She's a very long shot for a medal but a good performance should help her chances toward that third spot.
 

lcd

Match Penalty
Joined
Mar 11, 2007
Akiko or Julia for the win. Gracie if either falters and Gracie is clean in the short.
 

CanadianSkaterGuy

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 25, 2013
Akiko or Julia for the win. Gracie if either falters and Gracie is clean in the short.

This. Hicks could also sneak in for bronze.

I expect a solid performance from Julia, getting her the win. But if Suzuki skates relatively clean, her PCS will make it close. Gracie and Kaetlyn, based on their summer performances, have medal potential but are still question marks for me.
 

phaeljones

On the Ice
Joined
Apr 18, 2012
I am not too sure on Gracie Gold given her skating in the summer and the circumstances that she switched to Carroll. Looked like a mental meltdown. One wonders if she was cracking. She is a great skater, but has take things more steadily and in stride. Frank Carroll might be good for putting her back on path but I would still be really surprised if she did well at Skate Canada. Too soon. But I would expect her to improve as the year progressed. Not expecting her to podium.

Osborn, injury or no injury, had a lot of ground to make up from how she skated during the summer and I don't expect her to podium. She is still our best, and I am really proud of her, but I would be really surprised if she podiumed.

I think Gao or Hicks will grab bronze, Akiko Suzuki will grab silver and Lipniskaia will grab gold.
 

Sara

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 6, 2013
I saw both Lipnitskaya and Suzuki in Finlandia Trophy some weeks ago. Julia looked very strong. She will win SC, Suzuki will be second, Hicks/Gold third.
 

b-man

Final Flight
Joined
Jun 25, 2010
Julia Strong in Finlandia
Akiko
Gold
Hicks (I think her PCS is too high)

Could somebody elaborate on Osmond's injury?
 

chuckm

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 31, 2003
Country
United-States
If Gracie has a clean SP she will finish top 2 and maybe even win. If not, she will still probably medal. She's a better spinner than Suzuki and Hicks.
 

Sara

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 6, 2013
If Gracie has a clean SP she will finish top 2 and maybe even win. If not, she will still probably medal. She's a better spinner than Suzuki and Hicks.

If Julia skates as clean as she did in Finland, only Akiko has chances to beat her but she as well needs to skate without mistakes. Julia was absolutely fantastic in Finlandia Trophy, so much more mature and having better artistic skills than before. I wasn't a fan of hers before but when I saw her in FT I was very impressed!! I like Julia's new long programme, it suits her perfectly.
 
Top