2014 Worlds Junior Ladies - Short Program

jaylee said:

Sakhanovich had steps directly into her 3F/3T, and her 3T was a 'tano 3T. The flow wasn't great, but it wasn't a standard 3/3 combination.

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You're right. I remember the steps and the arm above the head. I would have given her +1 for those two bullets, take off -1 for the quality of the landings and end up with 0 GOE.

Similarly on the layback. She got three +1s, five +2s and one +3. The positions were decent, so was flow and the rotation was extremely fast. But the spin was completely off-centred. It kept slightly moving throughout. So I started from a +2 GOE, took off -2 for the travelling and again arrived at 0.

For the step sequence I would have given her +2 as well for because of good edges and flow and soft and music appropriate upper body movement.

3loop was decent. I would have given her +1 for it but I didn't really see anything to warrant a +2 (and she got four of those, plus one +3).

Flying sit spin I thought was just ok, nothing really special about it. 0 GOE from me. She got seven +1s and two +2s.

2axel was really telegraphed and I would have given her -1 for that. She got five 0s and four +1s.

The combination spin I gave her +1 for just like the judges (the flow and rotation speed were good).

Did she travel on the flying sit and the combination spin as well and I missed it? Somebody mentioned that she travelled on all of her spins, IIRC.

This is pretty off topic, but it's been bugging me for a while. What is the second cut in Evgenia Medvedeva's FS music? It doesn't really say much in her ISU bio other than "Never Gonna Miss You" by various artists which isn't helpful at all.

Ziggy said:

Oh and I actually felt ok about Kryger in the end. She has never even attempted the 3loop in competition before so it was gutsy of her to try it and good to see her push herself and not play it safe.

Spins didn't go well but then they were always her Achilles heel. I wonder if stamina was an issue as she seemed to have really slowed down by the end and struggled a lot on the combination spin.

L
I think it would be great if she could work with some kind of performance skills/mime coach on developing coherent and appropriate presentation for her programs. She tried to smile here but I don't think it was the best strategy given how sombre her SP music is.

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I was hoping for a better skate for Agata. Nice skater and hard worker. !!!

Did any one see Schreiber of Israels performance. Would love a play by play ! I was geo blocked.. Thanks

zamboni step said:

This is pretty off topic, but it's been bugging me for a while. What is the second cut in Evgenia Medvedeva's FS music? It doesn't really say much in her ISU bio other than "Never Gonna Miss You" by various artists which isn't helpful at all.

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Yeah. And something else that bugs me is that Radionova's LP music isn't actually from Frida soundtrack, at least not from that album. I really want to know where that music came from.

noidont said:

Yeah. And something else that bugs me is that Radionova's LP music isn't actually from Frida soundtrack, at least not from that album. I really want to know where that music came from.

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Elena's SP is one of my favorites all season from anyone! Love the music and the skating. The FS does almost nothing for though. I think Elena is awesome and quite spunky which is fun to watch. I just get bad vibes from that FS. I don't even think I can explain it.

jaylee said:

Sakhanovich had steps directly into her 3F/3T, and her 3T was a 'tano 3T. The flow wasn't great, but it wasn't a standard 3/3 combination.

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Not to mention it was in the 2nd half! All 3 jumping passes were, which I actually appreciated not just for the difficulty, but because she could actually establish a character and quality instead of lumbering into her first jump as so many skaters do. I agree with Ziggy that the layback I would have given a 0 or 1 because of the very obvious travelling, however it did actually go beautifully with the music and had exceptional speed and decent positions.

NMURA said:

Miyahara was originally a clockwise skater when she started FS in the US. In Japan, all clockwise skaters are trained to "fix" for conveniences of coaches and majority skaters (I guess). If she didn't need to fix it, her jumps could be much better.

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What the frickin' heck?!?! I assume when I see a skater going clockwise, it's because s/he is left handed. You can't effectively "fix" that. What a shame for this young lady.
:no:

Sam-Skwantch said:

Elena's SP is one of my favorites all season from anyone! Love the music and the skating. The FS does almost nothing for though. I think Elena is awesome and quite spunky which is fun to watch. I just get bad vibes from that FS. I don't even think I can explain it.

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I can. Her costume is an eyesore and the faux-sexy shoulder moves scream Child Beauty Pageant. Not age appropriate at all.

Elena is adorable and I love to watch her perform, but I just can't with that program.

desertskates said:

What the frickin' heck?!?! I assume when I see a skater going clockwise, it's because s/he is left handed. You can't effectively "fix" that. What a shame for this young lady.
:no:

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Well, it does give her some lovely reverse spins which we don't see anyone else doing! I don't think it screwed her up too much since she can clearly execute 3-3 combos. It's her size that affects her jump deductions, and hopefully that changes. But, yes, it's pretty sad that they tried to "fix" her, and no, a skater in the reverse direction isn't necessarily left-handed, just like there are many counter-clockwise jumpers who are left-handed.

CanadianSkaterGuy said:

Well, it does give her some lovely reverse spins which we don't see anyone else doing! I don't think it screwed her up too much since she can clearly execute 3-3 combos. It's her size that affects her jump deductions, and hopefully that changes. But, yes, it's pretty sad that they tried to "fix" her, and no, a skater in the reverse direction isn't necessarily left-handed, just like there are many counter-clockwise jumpers who are left-handed.

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What you have to think of is that she wasted a lot of time changing the direction in which she rotated her jumps when she should have been working on jumping height/general technique. It might have made a bit of a difference.

Looking at this the best skaters of the night for me were Radionova, Chartrand and Miyahara in that order. I wouldn't agree with Sakhanovich's silver though. Medvedeva's bronze is a little more questionable.

Copied from JW's Fb page:

PRESS CONFERENCE
Ladies, after Short Program

Elena Radionova (RUS), 1st after the Short Program
Today I had a good performance, it was very confident and precise and overall I was calm when I went out for the warm up and for the competition. Maybe that’s why everything worked out today. (On receiving plus 3 GOEs) Most of the time I get plus three for my layback spin.(On the success of Olympic Champion Adelina Sotnikova and Olympic Champion in the team event Julia Lipnitskaia) I am very happy for the girls, especially for Adelina. We are skating in the same rink. We see each other every day and we are on very good terms. I saw how she prepared for the Olympic Games. She is very hard working. I am also happy for Julia. I can’t tell how her preparation process went, but obviously it was good looking at the result. (On the secret of success of the Russian ladies) I think in the past time that there is a lot of competition among the Russian girls. (On dealing with the competition inside Russia) I can’t even tell if it pushes me or the opposite. I think it is different for everybody, for someone it is easy to make the team for someone it is not. But it is tough. (On missing out of a chance to make the Olympic team as she was too young) This is just the way it was supposed to be. Yuna Kim also was 15 years old (in 2006) and became Olympic Champion (in 2010). Mao Asada was also 15 years old (in 2006 and not age eligible) but skated very well. It was just fate. (on combining school and training) I am home schooled, I do everything at home and only go to school for the exams. (on whether there are moments when she wants to stop) Each athlete has such moments, but it is just for a few minutes, then you realize that you already have invested so much time. I am used to being at the ice rink and when I am on vacation, I am resting for one week, but the second week I want to go back on to the ice, it is boring without ice.

Serafima Sakhanovich (RUS), 2nd after the Short Program
I am also very happy with my performance today. It was clean and I liked it, all my jumps were done ideally with plusses and I got a level four for the spins and footwork. I think I never skated better than that. I got a level four for the first time for the footowork, I always had a level three before. I was a little nervous. (On receiving plus 3 GOEs) For a clean triple-triple plus threes come up. (On the success of Olympic Champion Adelina Sotnikova and Olympic Champion in the team event Julia Lipnitskaia) I can’t tell how Adelina and Julia prepared as I am living in another city, but I talked with Julia and Adelina and I am very happy for them, especially for Adelina. She worked towards this medal for such a long time, all these years, for this gold medal. And I am happy for Julia, she did not let down the team and got her gold. (On the secret of success of the Russian ladies) A new and very strong generation is growing up in Russia and I think this is the merit of our coaches. We all have very good coaches. We are pushing each other in each competition, there is just some hundredths of a point between us. (On dealing with the competition inside Russia) In this sport not everything is as easy as it looks like. To make the team is a big goal, it is hard, you have to work for it. Some girls make the team, then they get sick or injured, two girls could not come here and I am very sad for them. (on combining school and training) I have practice in the morning, then I go for three or four classes to school and back to training. I take my homework and tests and do it at home and return it the next day. (on whether there are moments when she wants to stop) It is easy to stop, but you would regret it later. These moments come and when you are so tired that your legs are falling off you can take a day off.

Evgenia Medvedeva (RUS), 3rd after the Short Program
Today I gave a quite clean and good performance, but I feel that is not my limit yet, there is still room to grow. (On receiving plus 3 GOEs) For me as well I get a plus three most of the time for the layback. I get plus threes on the spins, rarely for the jumps. (On the success of Olympic Champion Adelina Sotnikova and Olympic Champion in the team event Julia Lipnitskaia) I can say that Julia Lipnitskaia prepared very well for the Olympic Games. She worked very hard, I’ve seen how she worked and all this led to a result. And Adelina did a great job. She worked for this medal for a long time and you could see it in her competition. I liked her performances, she had clean performances, almost clean, there was just a small error. (On the secret of success of the Russian ladies) I absolutely agree that it is very competitive (in Russia). We are very close to each other in each competition. Everybody has their own secret about how to prepare for the competition and to skate clean. (On dealing with the competition inside Russia) The most important thing for me is to skate my program well and then everything comes with it. You have to prepare well and work, then you get into the team and wherever you want. I want to wish health and well-being to the girls that did not come here. I am sad for them. I know how it is to stay home and to watch how the others are working, that is very hard. (on combining school and training) I am taught at home by my parents. I go to school, take the homework and tests, and I am going to school once a week, on Friday, which is my day off, sadly enough. (on whether there are moments when she wants to stop) There are moments when you want to stop, but when there is a vacation or a longer time without competitions, your life feels empty and boring. There is nothing to do.