State of US Ladies in skating III: 2014-15 Season

kwanatic · Aug 7, 2014

R.D. said:
We shall see about Wagner (and everyone else for that matter). The odds are stacked immensely against her and I agree with those who all but say she is finished. However, if anyone has the resolve to turn things around, it is her. We see what she did in 2012, so if she puts her mind to it, who knows what can happen. But another thing working against her is time. Athletes only have a limited window at which they can put out their highest performance. Age and mileage (the number of years skated), so to speak. Even the most reliable of cars eventually shows its age and begins to break down.

The most recent case study, of course, is Czisny.

I do agree and I won't count her out yet. The only difference is back in 2012 there was a much bigger gap in the field in terms of competition: Yu-Na was gone; Mao was still struggling to get her jumps back; Carolina was doing TES-lite programs...I don't think any of the top ladies did anything harder than a 3T-3T that year. That was the year the podium was open to her. Had she knocked both programs out of the park she may have placed 2nd or even 1st.

Fast forward to 2014 and it's a completely different story. Not only are there 3-3s in every program, there are even two in some. I'm not even sure a solid 3F-3T would solve all of her problems at this point...it would definitely help but I don't think a clean Ashley with a 3F-3T will beat Julia, Adelina or Gracie if they skate clean or nearly clean--just look at worlds from last year. I feel like the judges will leave them room to make a mistake. Ashley doesn't have that luxury anymore.:disapp:

desertskates · Aug 8, 2014

I agree with the thoughts on Ashley hanging around through '16. Technically, she has been passed by. But, if she can stay in the top 10 at Worlds for the next 2 years, that's not shabby at all. And though she skated well at the end of the season this year, there has to be a bit of a bittersweet taste in her mouth after the controversy surrounding her being named to both teams. I hope she stays injury free and can make the 3 lady team this year. Especially since Mao and Carolina will not be around. Ashley's a very mature presence. She's one of my favorites, and it would be nice to see such a hard worker exit on her own terms.

Ophelia · Aug 8, 2014

We might have a very promising flight of skaters looking to take over the reins right now, but who knows what will happen? Some might fizzle out, some might fade away, some might be marred by injuries.

Wagner has a great connection to the music and fantastic emoting abilities, which is something the more technically advances skaters (Russians, Gold, Edmunds) lack.

chuckm · Aug 8, 2014

ISU judges give Wagner high PCS scores in recognition of her excellent musical interpretation abilities. It's going to take Edmunds years to achieve that level of skill, and I'm not sure Gold has the native ability to ever get to Wagner's level.

Jammers · Aug 8, 2014

chuckm said:
ISU judges give Wagner high PCS scores in recognition of her excellent musical interpretation abilities. It's going to take Edmunds years to achieve that level of skill, and I'm not sure Gold has the native ability to ever get to Wagner's level.

It won't matter much if Gracie is consistent she will get as high if not higher PCS scores then Ashley.

mirai4life · Aug 8, 2014

Jammers said:
It won't matter much if Gracie is consistent she will get as high if not higher PCS scores then Ashley.

haha was gonna post this

chuckm · Aug 8, 2014

I love Gracie, but let's face it --- so far, consistency hasn't been her strong suit.

nam57 · Aug 10, 2014

nam57 said:
Samantha had a great season and is credible as a Senior! Lam has never regained form after her injury. Is she in Boston for Harvard?

So still not hearing about Zhang who withdrew from Glacier Falls and Lam who withdrew from her first GP assignments?

aromaticchicken · Aug 10, 2014

Is Karen Chen moving up to seniors this year? I know she was thrown off by injury at the end of last season but if she bounces back she could easily be in the mix too right?

chuckm · Aug 10, 2014

Don't know about nationally, but she is competing at the CZE JGP.

samson · Aug 10, 2014

Was anyone at Sun Valley last night? Based on Ashley's tweeting it sounds like she skated her long program. Would love to see it!

I actually really like both of the choices of music she chose for herself this year. I think they allow her to capitalize on the ways she stretched herself skating to Romeo and Juliet, but also can still be very true to the powerful skating that is really her bread and butter.

Bonnie F · Aug 10, 2014

Anyone know if Mariah Bell will be receiving any international assignments? I was hoping she would get Grand Prix assignment but I guess not.

Jammers · Aug 10, 2014

aromaticchicken said:
Is Karen Chen moving up to seniors this year? I know she was thrown off by injury at the end of last season but if she bounces back she could easily be in the mix too right?

Chen is too young to skate as a Senior internationally and i don't see her going Senior at Nationals either since she will be a big favorite to win the Junior title.

Hyena · Aug 10, 2014

Risa said:
Anyone know if Mariah Bell will be receiving any international assignments? I was hoping she would get Grand Prix assignment but I guess not.

I don't know, but I hope so. I really love both her programs for this season based on the videos from Glacier Falls.

Chris_E · Aug 11, 2014

samson said:
Was anyone at Sun Valley last night? Based on Ashley's tweeting it sounds like she skated her long program. Would love to see it!

I actually really like both of the choices of music she chose for herself this year. I think they allow her to capitalize on the ways she stretched herself skating to Romeo and Juliet, but also can still be very true to the powerful skating that is really her bread and butter.

I'm dying for a video of her performance as well but I think one would have popped up already if there was going to be one.

nam57 · Aug 11, 2014

Jammers said:
Chen is too young to skate as a Senior internationally and i don't see her going Senior at Nationals either since she will be a big favorite to win the Junior title.

Karen Chen is entered in Golden West as Sr? Since it is the day before qualifying entries a are due I would assume she will be Senior.

SimplyAFan · Aug 12, 2014

It's unfortunate that the US has so few JGP spots for the ladies this year. Would have been nice to get some of the alternates international experience. USFSA needs to pay attention more to promising young skaters if they want to even think about being competitive with the Russian ladies. It's sad that Amber Glenn, Polina Edmunds, and Gracie Gold had basically no JGP experience before being sent to jr worlds (or not being eligible for jr worlds in Polina's case)

drivingmissdaisy · Aug 12, 2014

SimplyAFan said:
It's sad that Amber Glenn, Polina Edmunds, and Gracie Gold had basically no JGP experience before being sent to jr worlds (or not being eligible for jr worlds in Polina's case)

I don't know about the other two, but Gracie had a dismal 2010-11 season, only getting 6th at Jr Midwestern sectionals. She still got a JGP spot the next season but her limited experience was due to her poor skating the previous season, not any failure of USFSA.

AlexRus · Aug 12, 2014

drivingmissdaisy said:
I don't know about the other two, but Gracie had a dismal 2010-11 season, only getting 6th at Jr Midwestern sectionals. She still got a JGP spot the next season but her limited experience was due to her poor skating the previous season, not any failure of USFSA.

Gracie was good at Skate Detroit. 109.62 at Final FS, 13 points higher than Barbie Long, 18 points higher than Hannah Miller (who, btw, had 6th Event).
Because of this she got JGP Event, ind if it would not be last Event, she could be at JGP Final.
Mistake of USFSA was that Gracie got last Event.

chuckm · Aug 12, 2014

drivingmissdaisy said:
I don't know about the other two, but Gracie had a dismal 2010-11 season, only getting 6th at Jr Midwestern sectionals. She still got a JGP spot the next season but her limited experience was due to her poor skating the previous season, not any failure of USFSA.

Gracie had a major growth spurt in the 2010-2011 season, hence her disappointing Sectionals. But her summer performances were outstanding, and that's how she got her one JGP event, which she won easily. She went on to win the Junior title, take 2012 JW silver, and helped the US to place 2nd at the 2012 World team event.

State of US Ladies in skating III: 2014-15 Season

kwanatic

Check out my YT channel, Bare Ice!

desertskates

Ophelia

chuckm

Jammers

mirai4life

1Lo <

chuckm

nam57

aromaticchicken

chuckm

samson

Bonnie F

Jammers

Hyena

Tous les whiskys

Chris_E

nam57

SimplyAFan

drivingmissdaisy

AlexRus

chuckm

Similar threads

Connect with us