Time to apologise to Edmunds!

dorispulaski · Feb 27, 2014

15 year olds are a little young for touring. The tour is 20 stops, including all of April and May. It is difficult to get school work done, and the other cast members are a lot older. It was very hard for Tara, when she won Olympics, so she wrote later.

Plus I have to say, although I admire Polina's expertise, I can't see I particularly loved watching her live at Boston-she's still in that not quite soup category, exactly because she is young. She is not young enough to be automatically cute, nor grown up enough to look finished. I wouldn't pay to see her skate at this stage in her career.

KJGL · Feb 27, 2014

I did think she deserved to go to the Olympics. My opinion was that the discretionary rule shouldn't have been applied at all, because the circumstances under which it was being applied were unprecedented and as such, will create a problem with precedent going forward, so not here to apologize. I still think there's going to be a problem with that new, lower-bar precedent (they'll now apply the rule for a healthy skater who skates nationals and doesn't make the podium) now in play, but that's another discussion.

Just wanted to mention seeing a post-Olympic wrap-up with Elvis Stojko on Yahoo Sports, where he's asked to name three skaters who will have the most impact on over the next four year Olympic cycle. Elvis's picks: Hanyu, Lipnitskaya, and...Polina!

mintx · Feb 27, 2014

I assume that Polina is not touring on SOI because she is still in a pubic high school and has just come back from 3 weeks off for the Olympics. If she decided to take another 6 off to tour then she might have to withdrawal and homeschool. However, SOI has 3 California stops and I'm sure she will be a guest skater at those stops. SOI has not confirmed it but I would be really surprised if I'm wrong. At 15 she would also need a chaperone to go with her and maybe her family ( mom most likely, does not want to take the time away from obligations at home). I am happy and a little surprised to see Ryan Bradley on the tour as the only skater that has been out of competition for a few years.

b-man · Feb 27, 2014

dorispulaski said:
Nagasu, Gold, and Wagner got the SOI spots over Edmunds. That might serve Nagasu better in the long run than going to Olympics, especially as she has already been. Edmunds did a nice job at Olympics. She may not be done growing and developing; whether she will keep all her jumps is just not known at this point. She has good technique though, so she has a decent chance.

Thanks for the news, Doris, if Mirai made SOI, I will probably go, and I am sure she could use the income (no big multiple sponsors like Gold and Wagner). Having said that, I think Edmunds should have been included as well, unless she turned it down. She is still in high school which is a conflict.

CanadianSkaterGuy · Feb 27, 2014

Matt K said:
I wonder if Edmunds feels cheated out of the bronze medal from being left off the Team Competition in favor of Wagner. I would.

Absolutely not. I'm sure she was happy to be there and perform as well as she did.

Not to mention, Ashley scored higher in the Team Competition SP than Edmunds did in her individual SP (which would have placed behind Osmond). So, another good decision made there.

louisa05 · Feb 27, 2014

dorispulaski said:
15 year olds are a little young for touring. The tour is 20 stops, including all of April and May. It is difficult to get school work done, and the other cast members are a lot older. It was very hard for Tara, when she won Olympics, so she wrote later.

Plus I have to say, although I admire Polina's expertise, I can't see I particularly loved watching her live at Boston-she's still in that not quite soup category, exactly because she is young. She is not young enough to be automatically cute, nor grown up enough to look finished. I wouldn't pay to see her skate at this stage in her career.

Polina is adorable and talented, but still quite juniorish. I am also a bit concerned that she may still grow--her arms and legs are so long for the rest of her right now. And we all know a growth spurt can change a lot for skaters.

desertskates · Feb 27, 2014

Mrs. P said:
No, that's not true. Ashley's 4th place finished ensured they would have finished in the top 5 so they be in the final and be in contention for a medal. Had Ashley (or Polina) done poorly the U.S. would have been in a lot of hurt, especially with Jeremy's poor SP.

If Polina/Ashley finished last (1 point), with all other results the same:

Russia: 37
Canada: 33
Japan: 24
Italy: 23
France 23:
---
USA: 21
China: 21

U.S. would have been out of the running for the final round and the medal.

That said, I don't think Polina would have have finished last.

And that said...

Congrats Polina on a steller senior international debut!

Yup, totally agree with this! And a side note, if you twit, you'd get a kick out of following Polina. She's pretty funny

skatedreamer · Feb 27, 2014

KJGL said:
I did think she deserved to go to the Olympics. My opinion was that the discretionary rule shouldn't have been applied at all, because the circumstances under which it was being applied were unprecedented and as such, will create a problem with precedent going forward, so not here to apologize. I still think there's going to be a problem with that new, lower-bar precedent (they'll now apply the rule for a healthy skater who skates nationals and doesn't make the podium) now in play, but that's another discussion.

Just wanted to mention seeing a post-Olympic wrap-up with Elvis Stojko on Yahoo Sports, where he's asked to name three skaters who will have the most impact on over the next four year Olympic cycle. Elvis's picks: Hanyu, Lipnitskaya, and...Polina!

Much as I enjoyed her performance @ nationals, wasn't sure about her on the Oly team. I think she proved herself, though, so am very happy to be wrong. I've said on another thread that my pick for the next big ladies' rivalry would be Yulia vs. Polina -- and Elvis agrees (well, sort of)? Who knew? :biggrin:

pointyourtoe · Feb 28, 2014

Gracie and Polina are both so promising. US skating looks bright

KJGL · Feb 28, 2014

skatedreamer said:
Much as I enjoyed her performance @ nationals, wasn't sure about her on the Oly team. I think she proved herself, though, so am very happy to be wrong. I've said on another thread that my pick for the next big ladies' rivalry would be Yulia vs. Polina -- and Elvis agrees (well, sort of)? Who knew?

Elvis definitely agrees

KJGL · Feb 28, 2014

pointyourtoe said:
Gracie and Polina are both so promising. US skating looks bright

It does. They have the talent, the difficulty in their programs, they can compete well, and the judges like them. And both have room to grow in their skating.

They could conceivably move up as soon as next month. I'm excited to see what happens at Worlds.

R.D. · Feb 28, 2014

Not to be grim, but I remember people saying the same thing about Nagasu 4 years ago...

Edmunds is a ? at this point. Gold may be fine if she remains healthy, but it's impossible to predict the future.

I still think the 2018 contender(s) will be folks we've yet to see in action.

KJGL · Feb 28, 2014

R.D. said:
Not to be grim, but I remember people saying the same thing about Nagasu 4 years ago...

Edmunds is a ? at this point. Gold may be fine if she remains healthy, but it's impossible to predict the future.

I still think the 2018 contender(s) will be folks we've yet to see in action.

That's not being grim, it's just the truth. We never know and there is a history of very talented skaters whose rise in the sport didn't materialize. As soon as I read your post my mind went straight to Tiffany Chin, for whatever reason, but there are a lot of reasons this can happen. But we all went into that Olympic cycle thinking Tiffany Chin, and yet it was Debi Thomas who rose to the top.

I also think it won't just be Gracie and Polina competing for the national podium next year. There will be others. Specifically I'm thinking of Alicia Cain, who skated a beautiful short program at nationals, but came apart in the FS. Reportedly she had the flu the week before, so that could be the reason, but impossible to tell.

But on the plus side, there's no such thing as too much of a good thing, and we have a tradition of having more than one woman who can compete for the world podium, so it's great that things are lining up that way.

pointyourtoe · Feb 28, 2014

R.D. said:
Not to be grim, but I remember people saying the same thing about Nagasu 4 years ago...

Edmunds is a ? at this point. Gold may be fine if she remains healthy, but it's impossible to predict the future.

I still think the 2018 contender(s) will be folks we've yet to see in action.

I think Mirai's specialty at the time were her spins and flexibility (which have now degraded), while these 2 have consistently huge 3-3 jumps which reflect more in the scores. Also, POlina really surprised me - she came out of nowhere with that sp and then delivered under enormous pressure in the fp at her Nat debut. Then she gave 2 more commendable performances under insane pressure at the Olympics!

Was MIrai ever that consistent or confident?

R.D. · Feb 28, 2014

^ in 2010, yes.

But afterward? Came unglued...

I still feel bad for her though. She thought she could just show up at Nationals, deliver, and then get onto the team as that's the way it's almost always been. But when she beat Wagner, her past came back to haunt her. (If it was Edmunds who was 4th, I have no doubt Nagasu would be 2-time Olympian...)

These girls need to keep that in mind and stay strong throughout the cycle and especially in the year leading up to the Games. I think Wagner's (moderate) success in Sochi perhaps opens the door for USFS to make these kinds of exceptions to Nats top 3 more often...

dorispulaski · Feb 28, 2014

The existence of the Team competition may change the entire method of picking teams for all of the feds who have qualified.

skatedreamer · Feb 28, 2014

KJGL said:
Elvis definitely agrees

LOL...always knew Elvis was a smart guy!

bsfan · Feb 28, 2014

I'm glad I believed she was the right one before the game. But I was wrong to predict she would do best among 3 US skaters. She will be in the future.

I also think people here should apologise to Plushenko for their negative comments and their bad mouthing after he withdrew.

jenaj · Feb 28, 2014

I don't see any reason to apologize. She didn't even do as well as Kimmie Meissner did in Torino. Did she do better than Emily Hughes? I don't remember. She still has a very juniorish quality to her skating. She needs someone to do for her what Frank did for Gracie. And she needs to get rid of her mother as her coach. If it were up to me, I might have sent her to the Olympics, but I would have sent Mirai to Worlds.

jenaj · Feb 28, 2014

karne said:
I'll say it: I think it's a totally rubbish joke that Nagasu gets Stars on Ice and Edmunds doesn't.

I'd much rather pay to see Mirai than Polina. Mirai's exhibition this year is superb. Mirai also has amazing spins and spirals--way better than Polina's. No one in the Stars on Ice audience is going to care if she under-rotates a jump. In any event, Polina is too young for the tour, so it's really a moot point.

Time to apologise to Edmunds!

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl

KJGL

mintx

b-man

CanadianSkaterGuy

louisa05

desertskates

skatedreamer

pointyourtoe

KJGL

KJGL

R.D.

KJGL

pointyourtoe

R.D.

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl

skatedreamer

bsfan

jenaj

jenaj

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