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I don't disagree in theory but in practice......big scores from nationals I think do effect judges.
I would love to see Hicks go and I'm a Polina fan for sure.
State of US Ladies in skating III: 2014-15 Season
- Thread starter R.D.
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I don't disagree in theory but in practice......big scores from nationals I think do effect judges.
I would love to see Hicks go and I'm a Polina fan for sure.
I don't disagree in theory but in practice......big scores from nationals I think do effect judges.
I would love to see Hicks go and I'm a Polina fan for sure.
I am a huge Polina fan as well. It's a shame that "Tonya Hardingphilia" has taken over the international judging/technical panels. Bigger, stronger, faster, not too graceful....lol.
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I don't think big Nationals scores affect International judges. Last year, Kaetlyn Osmond scored a total 207.24 at her Nationals but placed 13th at Sochi with 168.98 and 11th at Worlds with 170.64. Kanako Murakami scored 202.52 at Japanese Nationals. The closest she came to that was 196.91 at 4CC, always the highest scored of the ISU championships. But at the Olympics, Kanako was 12th with 170.98, and she was 10th at Worlds with 172.44.
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I think inflated scores at national competitions tend to be the norm rather than the exception. It seems to be par for the course--a big send-off for the home team with optimistic scores, then a return to earth at international competitions. I'm guessing everyone involved knows the drill. This certainly doesn't appear to be an exclusively American phenomenon.
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Expect inflation at nationals...at every national event. It's the norm and I highly doubt that's going to change this year.
The only way inflation really hurts a skater is like in Agnes Zawadzki's case, where she was constantly held up at nationals which kept her over other skaters who deserved to place higher. It didn't hurt Agnes at the time, only the skaters she was held up over. It finally did come back to bite her last season at nationals. The USFS had Ashley, Gracie and Polina...they didn't need to leave room for Agnes anymore, so they dropped her. The judges gave her the scores she'd been getting on the international level for years which took her completely out of medal contention. It was sad to see but that's what happens...
The only way inflation really hurts a skater is like in Agnes Zawadzki's case, where she was constantly held up at nationals which kept her over other skaters who deserved to place higher. It didn't hurt Agnes at the time, only the skaters she was held up over. It finally did come back to bite her last season at nationals. The USFS had Ashley, Gracie and Polina...they didn't need to leave room for Agnes anymore, so they dropped her. The judges gave her the scores she'd been getting on the international level for years which took her completely out of medal contention. It was sad to see but that's what happens...
It was the easy tech panel that allowed Mirai to finish 3rd at Nationals last year. Ultimately, all that did for her was devastate her when she wasn't chosen for the World and Olympic teams. All the negative publicity in the aftermath may lead to stricter tech panels. It makes little sense to award top US podium placements to skaters whose international results---due to technical issues--- don't meet the criteria for World and Olympic assignments.
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I don't disagree in theory but in practice......big scores from nationals I think do effect judges.
I would love to see Hicks go and I'm a Polina fan for sure.
It's "ceteris paribus" if you mean all things being equal
WTH, apples and oranges. She was flawless at the 4CC, while making all kind of mistakes and putting herself in the 2nd group at the other two events.
And since when is 4CC always the highest scored of the ISU championships?
http://www.isuresults.com/results/fc2014/CAT002RS.HTM - the winner is 196.91
http://www.isuresults.com/results/fc2013/CAT002RS.HTM - 205.45
http://www.isuresults.com/results/fc2012/CAT002RS.HTM - 192.41
I don't even recall a single year where the winner of 4CC gets a higher score than Worlds/Olympics.
It's "ceteris paribus" if you mean all things being equal
Oops, sorry.
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After last year I will not count Mirai out. But I wonder, if she were to medal at Nationals again would the USFSA send her to worlds?
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Not if she gets bronze ahead of Ashley or Gracie. Otherwise I think yes. I wouldn't want to see her anywhere near the podium unless her jumps are rotated though because it's silly to score her 125+ at Nationals when the same program would score 105 at Worlds.
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Sadly I don't think they will. I think they'll look at this season's performances and choose from that just like they did last year.
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Last year was a very special case. Ashley is the ONLY skater that could have not medaled and still been sent to the Olympics. Had Gracie or Polina finished 4th they would be off the team. Gracie was very mediocre until Nationals and Polina had a good junior season but no where near strong enough to be sent on her season results. This season Gracie won a GP event and Ashley medaled at the GPF (and her events) so I think they are locks for the team. Whoever the highest finisher is from the rest of the field will join them.
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I was just curious to see if they were going to stick with last year's criteria and have it be a factor every year.
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It will be interesting to see who wins. Ashley or Gracie seem the overwhelming favourites. Polina's fall from grace so to speak suggests third is open but no one has made a clear case. Polina, Mirai, and a slew of other girls and juniors. I can't remember but did Zhang not qualify for nationals? Is Gao going to Nationals? Ashley without her best skate beat several Russians so that is a confidence boost.
Zhang qualified as a fourth place finisher from sectionals. I doubt she's a threat for the podium. I believe Gao is going to Nationals, but her technical issues at Grand Prix make her an extreme long shot for podium, IMHO.
This selection process has been in the books for years but I believe last year was first time it was implemented.
I have been watching Nationals since the 70s and years ago (probably in the 80s or early 90s) I remember the commentators saying that in Olympic years, USFS wanted to keep the "National Championships" instead of switching to a "Olympic Qualifying" event. With the NC, USFS retains control of who gets sent to the Olympics; OC means you have to take the top xx finishers.
This is the first time an athlete has been placed on the team do to poor performance, they've used the selection procedure multiple times to petition injured/ill athletes who couldn't compete on the team.
USA Gymnastics hosts an "Olympic trials" every 4 years. But since 2000, the team has been selected in a closed door meeting- it's definitely not as simple as the top 5/6. Some of the gymnasts picked don't even do the full 4 event competition.
I've heard that calling it an Olympic qualifying event means USOC gets a piece of the revenue so perhaps that plays into how USFS characterizes the event.
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On paper, the USFS selection procedure for 2015 Worlds designates the same events for consideration as did the 2014 procedure (except for the year of the events, of course).
(The USFS media guide does not include the 2014 Olympics in the 2015 selection procedure.)
How exactly the criteria will be put into practice and/or affect the 2015 selection are unanswerable questions for now (and maybe forever).
