Is the Quad era starting for the Ladies?

Since when did 3Lz+3T become a "mandatory" combo?

The last 3 World Champions didn't even perform it. Yuna was the last to do it and win Worlds (I mean, I guess you could say Adelina did 3Lz+3T and won the Olympics too...) so it's certainly not necessary to be competitive.

I'll say again, I really don't want see women doing quads. I don't even want to see men doing quads but if they must limit to say 1 or 2. Ladies skating has traditionally been more than about jumps, it's about the spins, the connecting elements and the presentation. We're already seeing what happens when men start to attempt many quads, they lose the other aspects. Unless if you're Yuzuru Hanyu or something. You might say jumps are the best thing about men's skating and therefore the guys need to push hard on this but if the women did this, it would rob them of what they're truly good at and would rob them of their uniqueness of their programs. Give me backloading and beautiful arm positions in the air any day.

Sam L said:

I'll say again, I really don't want see women doing quads. I don't even want to see men doing quads but if they must limit to say 1 or 2. Ladies skating has traditionally been more than about jumps, it's about the spins, the connecting elements and the presentation. We're already seeing what happens when men start to attempt many quads, they lose the other aspects. Unless if you're Yuzuru Hanyu or something. You might say jumps are the best thing about men's skating and therefore the guys need to push hard on this but if the women did this, it would rob them of what they're truly good at and would rob them of their uniqueness of their programs. Give me backloading and beautiful arm positions in the air any day.

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I agree but even Hanyu has lost of his pc saviness with the quad rush. I am not sure we are, maybe fortunately, at the start of the quad era for ladies. We really haven't seen any genuine competitive attempts. I think we will see more back ended programs first

Sam L said:

I'll say again, I really don't want see women doing quads. I don't even want to see men doing quads but if they must limit to say 1 or 2. Ladies skating has traditionally been more than about jumps, it's about the spins, the connecting elements and the presentation. We're already seeing what happens when men start to attempt many quads, they lose the other aspects. Unless if you're Yuzuru Hanyu or something. You might say jumps are the best thing about men's skating and therefore the guys need to push hard on this but if the women did this, it would rob them of what they're truly good at and would rob them of their uniqueness of their programs. Give me backloading and beautiful arm positions in the air any day.

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I used to think this way, but if ladies don't start doing harder jumps the events will get harder and harder to judge...

What's lacking for me in very insightful (and controversial) todays Eteri's interview were quads. :think:

My questions would be for example:
- How is it going, since when, for how long with each girl?
- Who exactly is learning them? How did she pick the girls?
- Do the girls practicing quads are going through some periodic medical examinations for hips/spine bones and muscles? How often? Does she or the school initiate and supervise them or they leave it to parents?

Plus some theoretical questions:
- How does she see the future of quads in ladies category - does she treat them more like safety margin that might not be used at all or does she expect female quad battles in nearest future?
- How does it feel (hypothectically) to be first coach to introduce quad ladies in skating? Does she feel pressure about it? Does she have seconds thought regarding skaters health? Does she feel excited or spooked rather?

It's only three months with change to the first JGP events and Shcherbakova's attempts look pretty darn good - excitement will only be raising, so it would be nice to hear from Eteri/Dudakov on the matter.

- Will these can still jump quads and quad combos after puberty? Remember remember Miki Ando.
- Will these girls land fully rotated quads with acceptable pre-rotation range and no chronic pre-rotation issue?
- Will these girls constantly land quads without chronic under-rotation issue?
- Will these girls be strong and resilient enough to wait for 5 years because they're too young for 2018.

Perfume said:

- Will these can still jump quads and quad combos after puberty? Remember remember Miki Ando.
- Will these girls land fully rotated quads with acceptable pre-rotation range and no chronic pre-rotation issue?
- Will these girls constantly land quads without chronic under-rotation issue?
- Will these girls be strong and resilient enough to wait for 5 years because they're too young for 2018.

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Who cares about pre-rotation? Judges dont really bother with it those days, see many triples and even quads this year ^^

NaVi said:

I used to think this way, but if ladies don't start doing harder jumps the events will get harder and harder to judge...

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That's exactly what I'm thinking. Because Evgenia Medvedeva had performed her SP and FP SO consistently this season and the scores kept going up. 1st, it says a lot of how consistent she is, which is always great to see. She doesn't crumble. But she performs it the same way every time, but the score goes up. She's VERY good, but it gets boring.

And it will get harder because the majority of ladies are doing no harder than a 3Lz. This is one of the reasons why I prefer men's singles over ladies singles: Harder jumps which is really exciting for me. Because it shows they're trying to pull away from competitors. This is why I see more complaints about how scores in women's events than men's events work out. Because ladies do the same jumps so it's all now based on the GOE and PCS the judges give. Don't get me wrong, I KNOW this happens in the men's events as well. But I see less arguing among fans.

Sure, I know after puberty, due to additional mass in the thighs for women than men, it gets harder cause of more weight to lift off. But maybe some exercises can help. I don't know. I applaud when I see ladies skaters go for harder jumps. So I was VERY excited when I saw Rika Kihira get that 3A in one of her JPG events. Seeing videos of Mirai Nagasu doing 3A in practices. And yes I was rooting for Alaine Chartrand to get a 3A.

Now for quads. That I want to see happen. Miki Ando being the only woman to do it and have it ratified. I want more women to do it. I mean if ladies pretty much have their jumps up to a 3Lz and have 3-3 jumps nailed, then I don't see why not to try and do harder jumps. Because men do it by adding more quads. Or more difficult quads. Like by the start of last season (2015-2016), you saw men regularly trying to do 2 quads in a SP, trying to do 3 or more quads in a FP....HARDER quads. JUST IN THESE PAST 2 SEASONS. And that's only scratching the surface.

Ladies...well besides more and more breaking 200 (But that also shows more technique, artistry, and consistency), I don't see that much change. Sure in this quad, we've seen Kihira and Elizaveta Tuktamysheva land ratified 3A and marking their place in history (Oh and Mao Asada doing 3As), nothing has really changed. Time for change.

Anna Shcherbakova's mom put an interesting photo today.
https://vk.com/id287522161?z=photo287522161_456239030

I say Quad era for the ladies is starting this fall.

tars said:

Anna Shcherbakova's mom put an interesting photo today.
https://vk.com/id287522161?z=photo287522161_456239030

I say Quad era for the ladies is starting this fall.

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Is it only me or the link is wrong? ....

That is Anna's Mom? She looks very athletic and pretty petite, and narrow hip bone as an adult. So good news for Anna.

tars said:

Anna Shcherbakova's mom put an interesting photo today.
https://vk.com/id287522161?z=photo287522161_456239030

I say Quad era for the ladies is starting this fall.

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tars said:

Anna Shcherbakova's mom put an interesting photo today.
https://vk.com/id287522161?z=photo287522161_456239030

I say Quad era for the ladies is starting this fall.

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hippomoomin said:

That is Anna's Mom? She looks very athletic and pretty petite, and narrow hip bone as an adult. So good news for Anna.

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Yup, looks like Anna won´t be hit hard by puberty at least.
Lets see how quads go next season though, adding them to competitive program is a whole different level.

Hannah555 said:

Is it only me or the link is wrong? ....

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https://s7.postimg.org/o20z4u6nv/Jeo_X1-_IHWQo.jpg

By the way, please forgive me linking to family member's photo, but the promise of 13yo girls performing quads in upcoming JGP is extraordinary and has always puberty question in the background. These girls can make history in a long run and we're all assessing their chances, so...

We shall see after Olympics, yeah? Right now I'm sure a lot of us can agree that it's too risky for the girls to try quads and get an unwanted injury. I'm rooting for Zhenya to be the second lady who can land a quad in intl. competition and get ratified.

Hard to say, but one thing i'm sure: Evgenia's main competitors are on Eteri's group and not outside.

For instance this season Alina Zagitova technically was far ahead the rest of the competition, and it could be the same next season for the other two.

I think the next lady to land a quad is more likely to be a junior - I certainly don't imagine all girls trying quads in training will land (or even try) them in competition, but seeing there are quite a few of them now, at least one might. They also might have less to lose, and might be more hungry to make a name for themselves and distinguish themselves from the other junior ladies. Of course I don't follow juniors so might be wrong about this - please feel free to correct me if I am! - but I understand that the general tech level among juniors is quite high, so there might be more incentive to try to push beyond that.

It looks like next season there will be for juniors that will attempt them. I expect a lot of falls and <, like a men's competition. However, I'm sure at least one of them will pull it off. As far as I concerned it's a step in the right direction.

mrrice said:

Absolutely NOT.......Have we learned nothing from Meds reign at the top of skating? Back load like Med, and perform like Osmond and you're home free. Quads IMO, are an injury waiting to happen. Isn't Miki Ando the first and only lady to land a quad in competition? I have seen Sasha Cohen land them on video but she never landed one in competition. Miki won 2 World Titles and didn't include a quad in either of her wins. No :disapp:

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I think the rules are going to be changed after 2018 to discourage backloading. But I agree that quads and 3As are not the key to success for ladies skating, unless someone can do them consistently. I am not optimistic. Even Midori wasn't able to pull off a 3A every time. And many men struggle with consistency on quads--assuming they can even do them at all. For the ladies, it's all about doing (and fully rotating) difficult triples and triple combinations and consistency.