U.S. 2014 Olympic Team announcement (A) Press conferences & (B) Google+ Hangout | Page 7 | Golden Skate

U.S. 2014 Olympic Team announcement (A) Press conferences & (B) Google+ Hangout

Zamboni

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 10, 2013
How the heck does Max get to go to Worlds over Jason who just thrashed him by over 10 points? And no Worlds for Mirai? Edmunds should have gone to Jr Worlds and Mirai to Sr Worlds.

I would have loved to see Mirai at Senior Worlds but it would be weird to see Polina at Junior Worlds after going to the Olympics! I can see why they didn't do that. Perhaps they should have sent Mirai to Senior Worlds instead of Ashley?
 

travelbug

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 16, 2010
They deserve ANY and ALL of the blowback that they're going to get. USAToday has picked up the story. I'd like to see who else might.

Granted this is the DM, but...here's more. It's unlikely to stop.

And, as I had posted last night, Ashley's going to be on the receiving end of it as much as the USFSA. It'll be constant replays of Nationals and her falls, replays of her "I'm sorry," questions of if she feels she deserves to be there and bumping someone else that didn't fall, etc. Hard, hard way to go into the Olympics, never mind have that be a very significant part of your Olympic package...

Regardless of what anyone feels about the decision, I'd far rather be in Mirai's shoes than Ashley's...

She had a hard time with the pressure when it's counted in relation to the Olympics. It's not going to be anything compared to what she'll face now given the opinions of this decision. And when the non-skating fans who only tune in for the Olympics see this inevitable controversy during the Olympics, Ashley really better hope she does well or the public opinion portion will likely become an even bigger issue.

Title: Controversy as figure skater who fell TWICE at Olympic qualifiers and came fourth is chosen for games ahead of woman in third
 

Zamboni

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 10, 2013
Granted this is the DM, but...here's more. It's unlikely to stop.

And, as I had posted last night, Ashley's going to be on the receiving end of it as much as the USFSA. It'll be constant replays of Nationals and her falls, replays of her "I'm sorry," questions of if she feels she deserves to be there and bumping someone else that didn't fall, etc. Hard, hard way to go into the Olympics, never mind have that be a very significant part of your Olympic package...

Regardless of what anyone feels about the decision, I'd far rather be in Mirai's shoes than Ashley's...

She had a hard time with the pressure when it's counted in relation to the Olympics. It's not going to be anything compared to what she'll face now given the opinions of this decision. And when the non-skating fans who only tune in for the Olympics see this inevitable controversy during the Olympics, Ashley really better hope she does well or the public opinion portion will likely become an even bigger issue.

Title: Controversy as figure skater who fell TWICE at Olympic qualifiers and came fourth is chosen for games ahead of woman in third

One of the picture captions in that article says that Ashley finished last. So much for journalistic integrity :laugh:
 

gottadance

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 27, 2009
the rest of the skating world is going to be laughing at us for keeping Jason off the Worlds team- I love Max as a person but he isn't in Jason class particularly when considering the propensity the International judges have for Jason's type of skating style. No way Max and Jeremy will get us 3 spots for next year . A really poorly thought out decision by the USFSA.
 

gottadance

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 27, 2009
I am wondering why they announce the Worlds team so early - wouldn't it be better to see how people do at the Olympics and 4C's - there's still plenty of time between those events and Worlds.
 

Mrs. P

Uno, Dos, twizzle!
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 27, 2009
the rest of the skating world is going to be laughing at us for keeping Jason off the Worlds team- I love Max as a person but he isn't in Jason class particularly when considering the propensity the International judges have for Jason's type of skating style. No way Max and Jeremy will get us 3 spots for next year . A really poorly thought out decision by the USFSA.

I don't think it was that poorly thought out. Max, FWIW, did get the highest TES of the field at 93+ and his score was just a shade below Jeremy's in the FS. Max actually skated quite well at Nationals with only one error in the FS; it is just unfortunate that we only have two spots. So I think a post-Olympic Worlds is a reasonable assignment.

Also, I wouldn't be surprised if Jeremy decides to retire after Sochi and Jason ends up going anyway. Jeremy has made it clear that making the Olympics again was a key goal, so depending on his physical shape/energy post-Olympics, he may opt-out of Worlds.
 

ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
No way Max and Jeremy will get us 3 spots for next year .

gottadance, do you think that the combination of Jason and Jeremy would have a better chance of earning three spots for next year?

Does anyone think that??

Jason is a great skater and a great person, but I don't think so.
 

emma

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 28, 2004
As much as I would love to see Jeremy at his best at both olympics and worlds, the first thought I had last night was: It wouldn't be a surprise at all if he didn't attend worlds. So, like Mrs. P said, we still might see Jason there. Regardless, he must be thrilled to be going to O's, and surely he will receive two GP assignments next year and start the next quad off with a bang (and maybe a quad, too)!
 

ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
I don't think it was that poorly thought out. Max, FWIW, did get the highest TES of the field at 93+ and his score was just a shade below Jeremy's in the FS. Max actually skated quite well at Nationals with only one error in the FS; it is just unfortunate that we only have two spots. So I think a post-Olympic Worlds is a reasonable assignment.

Also, I wouldn't be surprised if Jeremy decides to retire after Sochi and Jason ends up going anyway. Jeremy has made it clear that making the Olympics again was a key goal, so depending on his physical shape/energy post-Olympics, he may opt-out of Worlds.

:agree: As usual, I agree with Mrs. P.
Magically you were posting just as I was wondering what your opinion would be.
Really appreciate your objectivity, given your ongoing (and understandable) support for Jason. I'm excited for you that he is going to Sochi. :)

If Jason ends up at Worlds too, I would be thrilled. Max and Jason were my dream team for Sochi. :yes:
 

CaroLiza_fan

EZETTIE LATUASV IVAKMHA
Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 25, 2012
Country
Northern-Ireland
One of the picture captions in that article says that Ashley finished last. So much for journalistic integrity :laugh:

What do you expect from the Daily Mail?! :laugh:

But, in the interest of balance (something the Mail has never believed in...), I could say that of any British newspaper!


I decided this morning that I wasn't going to throw my tuppenny's worth in on this forum. There are so many threads discussing the controversy that I didn't know which thread would be best for my viewpoint. Plus I don't like getting involved in heated discussions on Golden Skate any more.

So, I put it on Facebook instead!

But, since I'm replying to a comment on this thread anyway, here is what I wrote:

What with ski jumping and snooker on yesterday, I only found out this morning about the USFSA’s selections for Four Continents, Olympics and Worlds.

Olympics: http://www.usfsa.org/Story.asp?id=49828&type=media
Worlds, Four Continents, Junior Worlds: http://www.usfsa.org/Story.asp?id=49829&type=media

I have to say, I am disgusted with the way the USFSA have treated Mirai Nagasu. We all knew fine well that after Ashley Wagner only managed to come 4th in Nationals, there was going to be some fudging done to get Ashley sent to both Olympics and Worlds.

But to leave Mirai off BOTH Olympics and Worlds teams after she finished 3rd in Nationals is just disgraceful.

To me, it would have made more sense to send Ashley Wagner in place of Mirai Nagasu at one event, and in place of Polina Edmunds at the other.

And it is obvious which team should have been sent to which event:

Olympics (Sochi, Russia) – Wagner, Gold, Edmunds (because she is of Russian descent)
Worlds (Saitama, Japan) – Wagner, Gold, Nagasu (because she is of Japanese descent)

That way, everybody would be happy:

The USFSA would be happy because their best medal chance (Ashley) would be at both competitions.
Ashley’s fans would be happy because she would be going to both of the two major competitions.
Mirai’s fans would be happy because she would be going to one of the two major competitions.
Polina’s fans would be happy because she would be going to one of the two major competitions.
The Japanese fans would be happy because Mirai would be skating in front of them (Mirai is very popular over there, for obvious reasons).
The Russian fans would be happy because Polina would be skating in front of them (Polina E is very popular over there, for obvious reasons).

As it is, nobody is happy.

And the USFSA’s decision to handle things this way, rather than do the obvious compromise, means we are now going down the ugly route of court decisions.

Whilst I can understand Mirai’s decision to appeal the Olympics slot (after all, she did earn it by getting 3rd at Nationals), I feel she would have a better chance of success if it was the Worlds slot that she appealed.

Let’s face it, the USFSA ain’t going to leave either Ashley (best medal chance) or Gracie (2014 American Champion) at home for either Championship.

And there would be uproar if Polina E was stripped of her Olympic slot (ethnic Russian girl being deprived of her well earned chance to skate on the big stage in Russia?! Putin would have a field day!)

On the other hand, Mirai’s team could use the same reasoning (ethnic Japanese girl being deprived of her well earned chance to skate on the big stage in Japan) to produce a very strong argument for sending her to Worlds.

And it is unlikely that Polina E would counter-appeal if Mirai was subsequently given the Worlds slot, as it would make HER look like the villain of the piece, rather than the USFSA (You can just imagine the headlines: “Russian girl trying to stop Japanese girl from skating in Japan”). Polina is only young, and has many years skating ahead of her. If somebody advised her to stand in Mirai's way, it would hang over Polina for the rest of her career.


You know, it’s at times like these that I am glad that I support Team Russia and Team Japan. Yes, they have had their own selection controversies in recent years. But at least they selected the right people to send to each of the major Championships this year. ;) :biggrin:


I hope I don't regret sharing my thoughts on here...

CaroLiza_fan
 

Mrs. P

Uno, Dos, twizzle!
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 27, 2009
Do you think that Jason and Jeremy would have a better chance of earning three spots for next year?

Does anyone think that??

Jason is a great skater and a great person, but I don't think so.

I guess we'll see how Jason does at the Olympics? Jason has yet to face the entire field, so it's really hard to say how he would rank. We do know that as of right now his ISU SB is currently 7th among the men behind Chan, Hanyu, Takahashi, Machida, Oda and Han Yan.

We do know that last season, Max was 7th behind Chan, Denis Ten, Fernandez, Hanyu, Reynolds and Takahashi.

It's hard to say how much of the Olympic field will end up at Worlds. I'm not sure if Chan will be. It's likely the three Japanese skaters will be.

But I would say for the most part, I don't think it's that clear which duo would statistically be better at getting three spots.
 
Joined
Jul 30, 2012
Country
Russia
The Russian fans would be happy because Polina would be skating in front of them (Polina E is very popular over there, for obvious reasons).
No.
We, Russians, have enough high-level Ladies in Team Russia, Polina is their competitor.

Yes, we feel good to Polina, but only because we love all good skaters of any nation. As all FS fans in the world, I believe.
 
Joined
Jul 30, 2012
Country
Russia
It's hard to say how much of the Olympic field will end up at Worlds. I'm not sure if Chan will be. It's likely the three Japanese skaters will be.
Of course three Japanese Men will be. We only don't know - the same three that at Olympics or somebody will be substituted. Japan has enough good Men, so to win possible substitute (Kozuka, for example) will not be easy.
 

Mrs. P

Uno, Dos, twizzle!
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 27, 2009
Of course three Japanese Men will be. We only don't know - the same three that at Olympics or somebody will be substituted. Japan has enough good Men, so to win possible substitute (Kozuka, for example) will not be easy.

Yes you have a point there...though Max and Jason have already beat Kozuka this season at Skate America and that was with not-perfect skates. It's less likely either of them would beat Takahashi, Hanyu or Machida given their consistency.
 
Joined
Jul 30, 2012
Country
Russia
Yes you have a point there...though Max and Jason have already beat Kozuka this season at Skate America and that was with not-perfect skates. It's less likely either of them would beat Takahashi, Hanyu or Machida given their consistency.
Takahashi is not in very good state this season.
Kozuka was ahead him at Japanese Nats, as well as at Worlds-2011.
Kozuka was not good at Skate America, he was significantly better at other competitions of season.

Anything may happen, but I can predict - to win any Japanese Man at Worlds may not be easy.
 

CaroLiza_fan

EZETTIE LATUASV IVAKMHA
Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 25, 2012
Country
Northern-Ireland
The Russian fans would be happy because Polina would be skating in front of them (Polina E is very popular over there, for obvious reasons).

No.
We, Russians, have enough high-level Ladies in Team Russia, Polina is their competitor.

Yes, we feel good to Polina, but only because we love all good skaters of any nation. As all FS fans in the world, I believe.

I have to admit, that part of my comment was purely based on the way sky_fly20 has been going on about Polina E the past few days.

And I thought it would sound better making a general statement in the plural rather than just "One Russian fan would be happy..."

Because, let's face it, if there is one Russian fan that likes her, chances are there is a second one as well! ;)

But, in hindsight, maybe I shouldn't have been generalising like that.


I have never been a fan of petitions. I am always suspicious of the way they can be used to put a mark against your name.

And I really do not like the tone that is taken on this particular petition page. Particularly that one of the respondents is making out that Polina E is the villain of the piece.

This respondent sounds very anti-Russian, and very anti-teenager for that matter (they obviously haven't seen all the talented Russian teenagers of the past few years!) They are trying to make out that it was a political and racist decision to send "the Russian" to Sochi rather than "the Japanese".

FOR GOODNESS SAKE, POLINA FINISHED 2ND!!! SHE WAS AHEAD OF MIRAI IN BOTH SP AND FS!!! HOW DOES THAT MAKE HER THE VILLAIN???!!!

Frankly, I don't want my name on the same page as this sort of comment.


As I said, making a claim for the Olympic spot is not the best course of action for Mirai, as then it would definitely become a political issue. It would be better for her to make a claim for the Worlds spot.

CaroLiza_fan
 

Frenchie

I'm gonna customize the CRAP out of this title!
Medalist
Joined
May 4, 2013
I decided this morning that I wasn't going to throw my tuppenny's worth in on this forum. There are so many threads discussing the controversy that I didn't know which thread would be best for my viewpoint. Plus I don't like getting involved in heated discussions on Golden Skate any more.
I hope I don't regret sharing my thoughts on here...

I was wondering if maybe the Forum Admins might want to consider just throwing all those numerous threads together?
I agree with you, and can say that it's really time intensive to keep updated on all those identical threads. :bang:
I might want to follow your lead and just not get involved :rolleye:
... but you can definitely share your thoughts with me any day :agree:
 

gottadance

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 27, 2009
I was wondering if maybe the Forum Admins might want to consider just throwing all those numerous threads together?
I agree with you, and can say that it's really time intensive to keep updated on all those identical threads. :bang:
I might want to follow your lead and just not get involved :rolleye:
... but you can definitely share your thoughts with me any day :agree:

the petition is a waste of time and I too wont put my name to it. Mirai is simply no longer good enough to place well among the worlds best so why not send Polina who can gain immensely from the experience and build for 2018 and Ashley why has the maturity in her skating that the international judges seem to love as well as a good reputation . Also the USFSA were clear by mid summer that they would be using internationasl results as part of the evaluation process which Mirai seems to have missed . Jason has more right to be angry at his exclusion from Worlds as he beat Max by a huge margin and did so well at TEB as well as being Silver medalist at Jr Worlds ( all part of the USFSA criteria ).
 
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