Hughes May Return

[BittyBug]

Originally posted by Sylvia
Last season, Weir showed up at the Liberty summer (monitoring) competition in July 2003 and proved was ready to compete in 2003-04. As a result, he was assigned to Finlandia Trophy (after Ryan Bradley withdrew) and received a bye through North Atlantic Regionals in October. He almost won Finlandia (very close split decision), then won Eastern Sectionals to qualify for 2004 Nationals, and started peaking after that.

The sieve is Regionals, Sectionals, Nationals. There is no bye to Regionals - it's the starting point.

[chuckm]

Originally posted by Joesitz
She had a bad SP in more ways than one. And underrotated jump or two may also been part of it. She did beat a big field except for three. However, that didn't happen in the Olys' LP. And let's hope this thread doesn't wander into that old chestnut.

Is the rumor correct or not? If correct, can she do it?

Joe

What does that mean--she beat a big field except for 3? I think the other posters were talking about Sarah's SP at Worlds 2003, not the Olympics SP.

Sarah finished 8th in the SP at 2003 Worlds. Here were Sarah's tech marks for her 'clean' SP:

4.8 4.8 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.2 5.3 5.3 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.6

And yes, both Sarah and Robin were shocked at the low marks.

Here were her 2003 Worlds FS tech marks, (she fell on her 3F):

4.8 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.6

The marks are only marginally better than her SP marks. It looks as if the judges did notice the underrotated jumps.

[chuckm]

Bitty Bug, Weir and Angela Nikodinov both got a bye to Regionals last year because they were skating at Finlandia at the same time as their respective Regionals.

If Sarah decided to compete, the USFSA could assign her to a B International so she wouldn't have to do Regionals. That would give her another month to prepare for Sectionals.

[Sylvia]

Originally posted by BittyBug
The sieve is Regionals, Sectionals, Nationals. There is no bye to Regionals - it's the starting point.

I wrote "bye through Regionals" above.

To finish my thought above... Weir was able to build momentum throughout last season and peak at Nationals and then again at Worlds.

Naomi Nari Nam, on the other hand, appeared to build momentum in the summer club competitions and peaked at Regionals (she won over Amber Corwin) and did not perform as well at Pacific Coast Sectionals. Then again, she's not the same skater she was when she was 13, which is how the majority of fans remember her.

[skatingfan5]

I think there is confusion about getting a "bye" THROUGH Regionals and thus TO Sectionals. As has been said, Regionals is the beginning, so there isn't a bye TO it, but rather there can be one THROUGH it up to the next level (ie. Nikodinov, Weir, etc. last year because of conflicting International assignments).

Edited to add: Since Sylvia has already clarified, I guess my post is superfluous. Oh well.

[Joesitz]

What does that mean--she beat a big field except for 3? I think the other posters were talking about Sarah's SP at Worlds 2003, not the Olympics SP.

The marks are only marginally better than her SP marks. It looks as if the judges did notice the underrotated jumps.

Sorry I got the competitions mixed up. As for the last sentence, I think the fall didn't help.
Joe

[chuckm]

Sasha had two mistakes: she fell on a 3T and collapsed on a spin, but despite that, her tech marks were higher than Sarah's:

5.4 5.5 5.5 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.7 Sasha
4.8 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.6 Sarah

[Joesitz]

It's a subjective sport, and can be quite biased. One skater presumably underrotates jumps all the time; another skater presumably splats at least once all the time. It's all so silly. One should be judging on what any skater does THAT night!!

Joe

[chuckm]

I don't understand what you mean, JoeS. The judges WERE judging what they saw that night.

Sasha landed a 3Z3T, but fell on a solo 3T and collapsed on a spin. She did finish 3rd in the FS despite the falls.

Sarah had only one mistake, a fall on the 3F, but she was sluggish and her performance was blah. She was flutzing worse than she ever had and underrotating most of her triples. She was placed 6th in the FS, which moved her up to 6th overall. I thought others skated as well or better in the FS than Sarah did, and that the judges were holding her up because she was Olympic champion

[Joesitz]

Sorry Chuckum for not making my thoughts complete. I was referring, really, to the constant comments of posters on underrotated jumps and splats, not just for one night. I do understand that all skaters have bad days but I don't believe they deserve a tag everytime their name is mentioned.

Joe

[chuckm]

Joe,

I understand that you are irritated with people who claim Sarah's triple jumps are always underrotated. Here's my view on that subject:

Sarah WAS underrotating her triple jumps at 2001 Worlds, as pointed out by Peggy Fleming, who is very much NOT a Sarah hater.

During the 2002-2002 season, it was obvious that Sarah was working hard on cleaning up the underrotating, and by the GPF, most of her triples were completely rotated, and that was true for her Olympic FS.

In the 2002-2003 season, Sarah spent much more time in school than she had the previous 3 years, and cut back severely on training. Meanwhile, she had grown taller and filled out quite a bit. As a result, Sarah's jumps regressed to where they had been in the pre-Olympic season, and she was underrotating most of her triples. At Worlds, Sarah struggled through her 3 segments, and seemed exhausted. As noted, the judges were underwhelmed with her performances and she was fortunate to finish in the top 6.

I think if Sarah really wants to return to competition, she needs a strong technical coach, and she needs to work on the elements that have negatively affected her placements in the past.

[NorthernLite]

Thanks Northern for stating the obivous that we all knew from day 1.
Don't ever go into any field that requires theory or a suspension of disbelief to explore "what ifs", I quess it doesn't suit you. That's my advice.

Get back to us when you have something real to say.

Wheee! Two separate posts to tell me I'm not saying anything. Now *that's* saying something. PML And thx for the career advice. An entire life spent in music and writing that I must now give up because someone on the internet said so. :P

[takura]

I'm sorry if I'm goning to offended any major Sarah Hughes fans, but this girl should give it up. Really. To be feautered in a book featuring 100 greatest women athletes is a bit over the top. She had a great skate at the Olympics. But it was only that - ONE great skate. At almost any other event she wouldn't have made the podium, let alone win the gold. She just happened to be the best on the particular night, and the system worked. But she is no where near a great female athlete. All the publicity was fine for the first year, but we're nearing the next Olympics, as hard to believe as it is. She needs to move on, as does the media. Just MHO...
Laura

Well, She could be lucky if she tried.

[SkateFan4Life]

I'm surprised to hear that Sarah Hughes is considering a return to eligible competition. She won the Olympic gold medal - the ultimate prize in figure skating - and she left the sport to concentrate on her college education at Yale.
In the meantime, a lot of other young women have matured and have risen to prominence in the skating world - particularly the Japanese and Russian skaters. And, of course, Michelle Kwan continues to compete and win major competitions. Sarah Hughes is one determined young woman, and if anyone can make a comeback, she can. However, she is going to have to harness every ounce of energy and concentration to get herself back in fighting shape, and that may not be easy - even for a 19-year-old.

As far as coaching is concerned, I seriously doubt if Robin Wagner would consider coaching both Sarah Hughes and Sasha Cohen.

Whatever Sarah decides to do, I wish her the best.