Was Mirai Nagasu screwed over by the USFS?

coolboogie22 · Jan 12, 2014

I really think that the decision from the USFS isn't fair at all.

Mirai is the only skater who gets a standing ovation in both program especially at the FS the people were standing during her last spin, it's not a lot of skater who receive so much love from the crowd.
She was truly the skater who receive the most cheering by the crowd at nationals, this means a lot to me.

I think the USFS make a bad decision here, to not give Mirai a spot for Sochi.

Does anyone will create a petition for Mirai ?

I think she deserve her place to Sochi.

bebevia · Jan 12, 2014

I was rooting for Mirai, but this was a neck-a-neck between her and Polina; I'm sad but not upset about it. I'm hoping Mirai can prove something with a Worlds spot.

aftertherain · Jan 12, 2014

coolboogie22 said:
Mirai is the only skater who gets a standing ovation in both program especially at the FS the people were standing during her last spin, it's not a lot of skater who receive so much love from the crowd.
She was truly the skater who receive the most cheering by the crowd at nationals, this means a lot to me.

Didn't Misha Ge get lots of love from the crowd at 2013 World Championships? If I'm not mistaken, he got a standing ovation of sorts too. Does that mean he deserved to be on the World podium?

anthologyz · Jan 12, 2014

polina's PCS was rather ridiculous considering the junior quality of her overall skating.

i hope mirai is able to get a berth on the world team, as small consolation for her top three finish... not to mention it'll be in japan!

Olympia · Jan 12, 2014

According to the TV coverage, Mirai is planning an official appeal of the decision. This is going to be tricky, because she doesn't have a coach there with her, so she's standing alone.

Near · Jan 12, 2014

aftertherain said:
Didn't Misha Ge get lots of love from the crowd at 2013 World Championships? If I'm not mistaken, he got a standing ovation of sorts too. Does that mean he deserved to be on the World podium?

This is a really important point to remember. A crowd pleasing program isn't necessarily a good program from a competitive standpoint. The judges shouldn't score a program based on how much the audience loved it.

jenaj · Jan 12, 2014

Near said:
This is a really important point to remember. A crowd pleasing program isn't necessarily a good program competitive standpoint. The judges shouldn't score a program based on how much the audience loved it.

I think it does make a difference, sometimes. I think Jason Brown benefited from the crowd's reaction.

Near · Jan 12, 2014

jenaj said:
I think it does make a difference, sometimes. I think Jason Brown benefited from the crowd's reaction.

It does make a difference in every judged sport. But in an ideal world it wouldn't, and as per the rules it shouldn't.

aftertherain · Jan 12, 2014

coolboogie22 said:
Mirai is the only skater who gets a standing ovation in both program especially at the FS the people were standing during her last spin, it's not a lot of skater who receive so much love from the crowd.
She was truly the skater who receive the most cheering by the crowd at nationals, this means a lot to me.

Also, Silvia Fontana got a standing ovation from a home crowd at the 2006 Olympics. Did she deserve to stand on the World podium on the basis of her getting a standing ovation?

What a joke.

If I'm not mistaken, Christina Gao was also cheered on really loudly at the middle of her program because the crowd knew how much it meant to her. Does that mean she should have automatically been placed on the team too? On the basis of cheers?

I understand if you provide numbers and statistics for why you think Mirai should be on the team, but I cannot respect your opinion that just because a skater gets standing ovations and makes you feel something emotionally~ that they should get named on the team.

tulosai · Jan 12, 2014

coolboogie22 said:
Mirai is the only skater who gets a standing ovation in both program especially at the FS the people were standing during her last spin, it's not a lot of skater who receive so much love from the crowd.
She was truly the skater who receive the most cheering by the crowd at nationals, this means a lot to me.

This is definitely not true. I was there (and many many posts are coming about that haha) and Gracie also got standing o's after both performances.

That said, it's clear from a cursory review of a lot of the posts here that Mirai came across a LOT differently in the free skate in particular in person than she did on TV. She was totally captivating in the last 2 and a half or three minutes of the free skate, it did not come across as 'jump and breathe' at all in person, neither to the true fans nor (perhaps especially) to the crowd. Her PE and IN scores should have been much, much higher than Edmunds IMO based on what I saw in person; the other component marks should have been about the same. Mirai's speed was actually quite good in person- not one of the very best, but other than the spins which slowed down considerably about halfway through them, definitely in the top 1/3 to 1/4 and she no longer slows down whatsoever going into jumps, she lunges right into them.

Do I think she was screwed though? No not really. I knew this would happen, instinctively, as soon as I saw she was behind Edmunds.

bebevia · Jan 12, 2014

pangtongfan said:
Did they name the Worlds team yet. I might consider sending Mirai to World and Polina to Junior Worlds which goes on about the same time I believe. Polina can do Olympics and Junior Worlds which for her are the two most meaningful events probably.

They didn't yet; but I'm hoping she'd get one.

Olympia said:
According to the TV coverage, Mirai is planning an official appeal of the decision. This is going to be tricky, because she doesn't have a coach there with her, so she's standing alone.

...And this wasn't the smartest politics; she should've hinted her wish for a Worlds spot as part of deal for her graceful acceptance. I speculate her biggest issue in her career post 2010 has been not herself, but lack of mentors.

tulosai · Jan 12, 2014

bebevia said:
They didn't yet; but I'm hoping she'd get one.

...And this wasn't the smartest politics; she should've hinted her wish for a Worlds spot as part of deal for her graceful acceptance. I speculate her biggest issue in her career post 2010 has been not herself, but lack of mentors.

I actually maybe am alone in this but I think her worlds spot is pretty safe. I am 90+% sure they will send her, Gold, Wagner and Edmunds to Junior Worlds. I don't see how her writing a letter of appeal will change this unless the letter is offensive in some obvious way, which I doubt that it will be.

Lynn226 · Jan 12, 2014

Please refresh my memory. Why doesn't Mirai have a coach?

meem · Jan 12, 2014

tulosai said:
This is definitely not true. I was there (and many many posts are coming about that haha) and Gracie also got standing o's after both performances.

That said, it's clear from a cursory review of a lot of the posts here that Mirai came across a LOT differently in the free skate in particular in person than she did on TV. She was totally captivating in the last 2 and a half or three minutes of the free skate, it did not come across as 'jump and breathe' at all in person, neither to the true fans nor (perhaps especially) to the crowd. Her PE and IN scores should have been much, much higher than Edmunds IMO based on what I saw in person; the other component marks should have been about the same. Mirai's speed was actually quite good in person- not one of the very best, but other than the spins which slowed down considerably about halfway through them, definitely in the top 1/3 to 1/4 and she no longer slows down whatsoever going into jumps, she lunges right into them.Do I think she was screwed though? No not really. I knew this would happen, instinctively, as soon as I saw she was behind Edmunds.

Well on TV, which provided us with quite a few close-ups, she looked like she was really taking her time, slowing down, standing still, taking deep breaths (and she didn't even try to hide this with some type of choreographic movements of her arms or head). At one point in the second half, I thought she was just going to quit. Mirai's standing ovation for both programs was only in recognition of her working to get back to the way she used to skate, back when she first came on the senior scene.

tulosai · Jan 12, 2014

meem said:
Mirai's standing ovation for both programs was only in recognition of her working to get back to the way she used to skate, back when she first came on the senior scene.

This is totally untrue. I'd say at least 1/3 the people in the arena know very little about figure skating or Mirai or how Mirai used to skate... I think she really did come across well in person, and that is why she got the standing O's, regardless of whether the rest of your comment is true. People were just standing for what they liked.

Red Helicopter · Jan 12, 2014

I really don't think that decision was unfair. What was Nagasu doing for 4 years? Why is she thinking that just one single success after 4 failed years can let her enter in Olympics instead of team leader?

anthologyz · Jan 12, 2014

Red Helicopter said:
I really don't think that decision was unfair. What was Nagasu doing for 4 years? Why is she thinking that just one single success after 4 failed years can let her enter in Olympics instead of team leader?

i had thought this is one of the great things about sport--is that in spite of "four failed years," an athlete can turn it around by delivering under spotlights and pressure in competition. otherwise, what is the point of even holding the event? but of course, ashley's corporate sponsorships and all the money riding on her name for USFSA... shrugs.

Red Helicopter · Jan 12, 2014

anthologyz said:
i had thought this is one of the great things about sport--is that in spite of "four failed years," an athlete can turn it around by delivering under spotlights and pressure in competition. otherwise, what is the point of even holding the event? but of course, ashley's corporate sponsorships and all the money riding on her name for USFSA... shrugs.

AFAIK, there was no condition that top-3 should be automatically qualified to Sochi. Nagasu took 3-rd place and she got bronze medal in regard. No one deprives her of medal, right? This means there's nothing to protest.

Meanwhile, to select skaters to national team you should think of who is really the best of candidates. It's evident that Wagner has much better results (including GPF), and don't forget she was one of the skaters who earned 3-rd spot for Olympic at last worlds. Where was Nagasu while Wagner and Gold were competing there? Probably at Hawaii?

Mathman · Jan 12, 2014

Red Helicopter said:
AFAIK, there was no condition that top-3 should be automatically qualified to Sochi. Nagasu took 3-rd place and she got bronze medal in regard. No one deprives her of medal, right? This means there's nothing to protest.

Meanwhile, to select skaters to national team you should think of who is really the best of candidates. It's evident that Wagner has much better results (including GPF), and don't forget she was one of the skaters who earned 3-rd spot for Olympic at last worlds. Where was Nagasu while Wagner and Gold were competing there? Probably at Hawaii?

Here is why this is so upsetting to Americans. U.S. figure skating fans have a long history of believing that the traditional method that the USFSA used for many decades -- top three at nationals go to the Olympics and worlds -- was morally superior to countries like Canada and Japan, where internal politics intervened to spoil the purity of their souls. We won't even mention those outright criminals, Russia and France.

Now, all of a sudden, here we are mucking around in the mud with everyone else. A committee meets behind closed doors and does whatever it feels like doing.

yunasashafan · Jan 12, 2014

Mirai didn't get assigned to Worlds either

http://www.usfsa.org/Story.asp?id=49829&type=media

Was Mirai Nagasu screwed over by the USFS?

coolboogie22

Match Penalty

bebevia

aftertherain

anthologyz

Olympia

Near

jenaj

Near

aftertherain

tulosai

bebevia

tulosai

Lynn226

meem

tulosai

Red Helicopter

anthologyz

Red Helicopter

Mathman

yunasashafan

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