Prediction for your favorite skaters next season | Page 13 | Golden Skate

Prediction for your favorite skaters next season

Sandpiper

Record Breaker
Joined
Apr 16, 2014
Newsflash: Yulia is not the best skater in the world, she is not the best skater of all time. And I've no idea where you decide that Yuliatrons are all saints, because they are certainly not.
That is not "proof" that she cannot hear music. Also, you can apply that same description to... let's see, the entire American singles team? (Not to mention, there is an argument to be made that Yulia is the best skater in the world with Yuna, Mao, and Carolina out).
 

YLFan

Match Penalty
Joined
Apr 3, 2014
Personally I saw Mao as the only skater on Yulias level. Kim too but shes basically been inactive 3 years. It was bad luck for Yulia that both GPF and Worlds were in Japan. It made her go into those competitions with the attitude of silver basically being the best attainable result.

As far as whats left its mainly girls that can beat Yulia if they have a real good day and Yulia has a bad day.
 

Amei

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 11, 2013
It was bad luck for Yulia that both GPF and Worlds were in Japan. It made her go into those competitions with the attitude of silver basically being the best attainable result.

I doubt Yulia (or really any of the top contenders) goes into any competition thinking the best she can do is second.

As far as whats left its mainly girls that can beat Yulia if they have a real good day and Yulia has a bad day.

Based off what we saw last season, I agree - Yulia was 1 of the 'cream of the crop' skaters and of the skaters that are skating next season - the only time she didn't beat them was when she had a major error. But going into a new season, you have all new programs and she is no longer going to be the 'surprise', she is going to be the target.
 

pangtongfan

Match Penalty
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Jun 16, 2010
Personally I saw Mao as the only skater on Yulias level. Kim too but shes basically been inactive 3 years. It was bad luck for Yulia that both GPF and Worlds were in Japan. It made her go into those competitions with the attitude of silver basically being the best attainable result.

As far as whats left its mainly girls that can beat Yulia if they have a real good day and Yulia has a bad day.

Julia would have won the Olympics had she skated cleanly and that was in a really well skated event with a much stronger field than the coming years will likely have. If Julia keeps her consistency and isnt affected by her growth spurt she will comfortably dominate atleast the next 2 years with only Radianova to seriously challenge her IMO. As we get closer to Korea more skaters, especialy in Russia, will probably emerge to challenge her though.
 

Amei

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 11, 2013
One thing I noticed over the "summer" ice shows she did was that she slowed down a lot and held things out much better. Maybe she was just a tired 15 yr old after a grueling season but to me it seemed like her jumps look a lot better. I hope Yagudin was teaching her some jump techniques or something because she seemed to gain strength in that department. If nothing else she is showing more control. Here is a video from her Moscow performance. See for yourself if you like :yes: The jumps by the piano made me nervous.

http://youtu.be/1pzKMX48JU0

I watched it and I noticed that she isn't doing as many jumps in that performance that she does in the competitive performances. I think it's mainly the difference between a competition skate and an exhibition skate. It was a beautiful skate, though :clap:
 

Sam-Skwantch

“I solemnly swear I’m up to no good”
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Dec 29, 2013
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I watched it and I noticed that she isn't doing as many jumps in that performance that she does in the competitive performances. I think it's mainly the difference between a competition skate and an exhibition skate. It was a beautiful skate, though :clap:

True. No 2a or combo jumps but it gives her and all skaters for that matter a chance to work on control. I agree that it was a beuautiful skate. Right up until the end where she raises her hands after her final spin as if to say....yup. That's how it's done. Now I'm gushing. I'll save it for the fan fest from now on I promise:slink:
 

anyanka

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 8, 2011
Julia would have won the Olympics had she skated cleanly and that was in a really well skated event with a much stronger field than the coming years will likely have. If Julia keeps her consistency and isnt affected by her growth spurt she will comfortably dominate atleast the next 2 years with only Radianova to seriously challenge her IMO. As we get closer to Korea more skaters, especialy in Russia, will probably emerge to challenge her though.

Agreed, and Yulia also had the unwanted extra extenuating circumstance on the intense media attention after her beautiful FS helped secure the team gold. By the time the ladies' event happened two weeks later, she was definitely affected by all of it and not in a good way.

Also, Yulia also fell on the 3S in worlds this year in her FS. The venue had nothing to do with it. Mao did a step-out on one of her jumps but she also had, to my eye, greater speed and height than Yulia did on the day. Plus, Mao's perfect SP put her ahead of Yulia and while not insurmountable it did put some distance between them.

I do think Yulia will sweep through next season and enjoy a big win at worlds!
 

Sandpiper

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Joined
Apr 16, 2014
What remains to be seen is how Yulia will handle the pressure of being the favourite (or "target," depending on how you look at it). She's shown more consistency than the rest of the field, but she isn't prone to errors.
 

CanadianSkaterGuy

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Joined
Jan 25, 2013
What remains to be seen is how Yulia will handle the pressure of being the favourite (or "target," depending on how you look at it). She's shown more consistency than the rest of the field, but she isn't prone to errors.

Agreed. She's not quite at the level of Kim where it's shocking if she's off the podium. Consistency wise, she's a good bet... I just don't think she's quite there artistically yet (but that's a good thing, as we see her evolve over the next quad). That being said, she's still one of my favourite skaters to watch. Spins are amazing, jumps are consistent, and unlike many other skaters she goes for some of the highest difficulty -- she'll even throw in a 2A+3T in her second half if she misses it, which is a sign of a fierce competitor. Of course she's human and prone to errors, but that doesn't negate how much I enjoy the rest of her skating.

I don't think she'll sweep next season, although I would hardly be surprised if she did. Any other skater sweeping next season would be a huge surprise for me, as none of the other skaters have shown consistency to be capable of sweeping their season.
 

anyanka

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 8, 2011
Agreed. She's not quite at the level of Kim where it's shocking if she's off the podium. Consistency wise, she's a good bet... I just don't think she's quite there artistically yet (but that's a good thing, as we see her evolve over the next quad). That being said, she's still one of my favourite skaters to watch. Spins are amazing, jumps are consistent, and unlike many other skaters she goes for some of the highest difficulty -- she'll even throw in a 2A+3T in her second half if she misses it, which is a sign of a fierce competitor. Of course she's human and prone to errors, but that doesn't negate how much I enjoy the rest of her skating.

Yes. I love her competitive spirit but she can also make mistakes at critical junctures, like every single skater no matter the caliber (e.g. Mao exploding in Sochi SP, Caro's single-jump showcase in Saitama, even Yuna underwhelmed in front of her home crowd and lost at the 2008 GPF to Mao, that's gotta hurt). And if she's got room to grow, then we are in for a major treat and it will benefit the sport as a whole.
 

Ophelia

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 6, 2013
Personally I saw Mao as the only skater on Yulias level. Kim too but shes basically been inactive 3 years. It was bad luck for Yulia that both GPF and Worlds were in Japan. It made her go into those competitions with the attitude of silver basically being the best attainable result.

As far as whats left its mainly girls that can beat Yulia if they have a real good day and Yulia has a bad day.

Uh...I would say that Asada and Kim are both comfortably beyond Yulia's level.
 

Sam-Skwantch

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Uh...I would say that Asada and Kim are both comfortably beyond Yulia's level.

Yes. I tend to agree that Yulia was a less refined and not a complete skater yet which was certainly at her disadvantage but the gap between her and Mao was closing fast and going into Sochi individual event I think Yulia was nearly level. If she has anywhere near as good of a season next year and Mao returns that gap may be completely evaporated. She was the biggest threat to Mao all season excluding Yuna. Something Liza,Elena,and Adelina never really accomplished. Having momentum is one thing. Building and capitalizing on it is another.
 

CanadianSkaterGuy

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Jan 25, 2013
Uh... everyone-except-YLFan-and-AllYouDoIsTalk would say that Asada and Kim are both comfortably beyond Yulia's level.

Fixed. :biggrin:

Julia is still one of my favourite skaters, and she has special qualities that Asada/Kim lack (flexibility, variety/positions/speed in spins, the ability to add 3-3's or 2A-3's in the second half), but in terms of skating skills and presentation, it's really quite unfair to Julia to even compare her at this point to much more developed skaters like Asada/Kim/Kostner.
 

Ophelia

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 6, 2013
Yes. I tend to agree that Yulia was a less refined and not a complete skater yet which was certainly at her disadvantage but the gap between her and Mao was closing fast and going into Sochi individual event I think Yulia was nearly level. If she has anywhere near as good of a season next year and Mao returns that gap may be completely evaporated. She was the biggest threat to Mao all season excluding Yuna. Something Liza,Elena,and Adelina never really accomplished. Having momentum is one thing. Building and capitalizing on it is another.

Sochi isn't a good example to make case of because Lipniskaia was really getting an enormous momentum boost there due home ice advantage. I agree that she'll be leading the pack next season and will be the one to watch (more so than Sotnikova, ironically), but if Asada was theoretically back next season, she should still be comfortably ahead of Lipniskaia (assuming she doesn't implode). Asada's skating skills and presentation are miles ahead of Lipniskaia's, and most of the upcoming group's.
 

Sam-Skwantch

“I solemnly swear I’m up to no good”
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Sochi isn't a good example to make case of because Lipniskaia was really getting an enormous momentum boost there due home ice advantage. I agree that she'll be leading the pack next season and will be the one to watch (more so than Sotnikova, ironically), but if Asada was theoretically back next season, she should still be comfortably ahead of Lipniskaia (assuming she doesn't implode). Asada's skating skills and presentation are miles ahead of Lipniskaia's, and most of the upcoming group's.

The point was that she was building momentum going into Sochi all season starting at SC and culminating at Euros and yes in the team event too. OTOH I am not counting my chickens before theY hatch. I don't expect an easy season ahead and she has a tough challenge to face and the expectations that will inevitably follow her success. I am hoping for the best and think she has enormous potential yet to fulfill.
 

Meoima

Match Penalty
Joined
Feb 13, 2014
As much as I love Julia, I have to admit her jumps are pretty small. Her artistry has been covered a lot by the choreography and her flexibility. It's a good strategy. But still she has to develop and level-up herself at some point. So it's really interesting to see her next season. Since she will be the no 1 GP seed. I hope she will improve her jumps.

Frankly, I think Anna Pogo looks more mature than Julia, and more elegant than Sonitkova. Let's not forget Anna Pogo beat Sonitkova outside of Russian before. I hope good things will happen to this girl next season.

Sonitkova is still a mystery to me, though. Can she repeat what she did at Sochi?

Out of all these girls, I think Julia has the best momentum, nevertheless.
 

Barb

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 13, 2009
The good thing about yulia is that she is only 15yo, Mao, Shizuka and Yuna got really refined with time. I hope the same with Yulia. She has not changed much in the last year, is very probable she will be a tiny woman, I can not to say the same about Elena, she is still very thin, but definitly taller.
 

anyanka

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 8, 2011
The good thing about yulia is that she is only 15yo, Mao, Shizuka and Yuna got really refined with time. I hope the same with Yulia. She has not changed much in the last year, is very probable she will be a tiny woman, I can not to say the same about Elena, she is still very thin, but definitly taller.

I bet if Yulia were to switch to pairs right now she'd have some of the highest, fastest, longest throw jumps out there today.
 

Sandpiper

Record Breaker
Joined
Apr 16, 2014
I think Yulia is a better performer than Adelina and Anna. Perhaps it's because she got better programs this year, but I connected with her a lot more than the other Russian girls (who I, generally, do like).

I don't think Yulia needs to "look mature" like Anna. Yulia's programs work because they are choreographed for a young girl, and they use her vulnerability to the program's advantage. For some reason, that seems to be labelled as manipulative, but imo it's just playing to your strengths. Just like Carolina uses her maturity to perform Bolero. Yulia's programs won't work for Carolina... and the reverse won't work either.

As I said in the "Women and girls" thread... there doesn't have to be just one kind of lady in the field. Yes, Yulia is a "girl," not a "woman." And there's nothing wrong with that. I don't think Anna looking more mature is--or should be--some innate advantage over Yulia.

And I think, in a sense, Yulia is more mature than Anna in the ways that matter--she's a fierce competitor, she seems to pour herself deeply into her music and programs, and she knows how to use her strengths to her advantage.
 

skatedreamer

Medalist
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Feb 18, 2014
Country
United-States
Fixed. :biggrin:

Julia is still one of my favourite skaters, and she has special qualities that Asada/Kim lack (flexibility, variety/positions/speed in spins, the ability to add 3-3's or 2A-3's in the second half), but in terms of skating skills and presentation, it's really quite unfair to Julia to even compare her at this point to much more developed skaters like Asada/Kim/Kostner.

Julia's qualities are undeniable, especially those amazing spins! :clap: However, not sure why it's unfair to compare her skills/presentation to Asada/Kim/Kostner except that AFAIK, they won't be competing this season. If any of them were coming back, though, I'd say game on. The very nature of competition is that all the participants get stacked up against one another. If you want to run with the big dogs...
 
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