2017-18 State of U.S. Ladies Skating

desertskates · May 21, 2017

KatGrace1925 said:
Anyone notice from instagram that Gracie and Ashley have become friends, actual friends not just kind competitors. Gracie posted a picture of them last olympics for Ashley's birthday and Ashley commented that they had totally forced smiles in the picture and Gracie agreed. Almost like saying, look remember when we weren't friends.

I noticed and I think it's really nice. A lot can change in four years. And though both ladies' lives and careers have taken different paths and been sort of all over the place, they have skating in common and that's HUGE. If they're both in Korea next year, I bet they'll have a very different Olympic photo to share

tars · May 22, 2017

drivingmissdaisy said:
Perhaps she has given up any hope of regaining her peak form and has decided instead to enjoy all the perks of being an Olympic hopeful in her final amateur season. I am certainly ok with this; she has spent her entire young adult life burdened with unreasonably high expectations. Maybe it's time for her to enjoy herself and go out on her terms.

You touched interesting subject of monetizing popularity from athlete side. I completely agree with what you wrote, but let's talk about the other side - media. What do you think about the situation of national media inviting present form Gracie on pre-Olympic shows, instead of reigning national champion Karen Chen?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2Wmd2wmtD4

Do you think it'll continue through rest of the year or they'll readjust? :scratch2:

Off-topic, but relevant question I think.

andromache · May 22, 2017

tars said:
You touched interesting subject of monetizing popularity from athlete side. I completely agree with what you wrote, but let's talk about the other side - media. What do you think about the situation of national media inviting present form Gracie on pre-Olympic shows, instead of reigning national champion Karen Chen?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2Wmd2wmtD4

Do you think it'll continue through rest of the year or they'll readjust?

Off-topic, but relevant question I think.

When it comes to skating, US national media is for plebs.

. Gracie Gold is a more recognizable name than Karen Chen. (Plus it's possible that Karen receives invitations and declines in order to focus on training, maybe?)

They'll readjust based on the GP season, I expect. But if no one builds any momentum during those events (as is very possible - it happened last season) then I don't know :slink:

.

ice coverage · May 22, 2017

tars said:
You touched interesting subject of monetizing popularity from athlete side. I completely agree with what you wrote, but let's talk about the other side - media. What do you think about the situation of national media inviting present form Gracie on pre-Olympic shows, instead of reigning national champion Karen Chen?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2Wmd2wmtD4 ...

Off-topic, but relevant question I think.

My two cents:

For me (as a fan of both Karen and Gracie), your first question is not relevant to the specific event at your link -- the USOC-orchestrated Today show appearance of Olympic/Paralympic champions/medalists from multiple sports (Shaun White and others, as well as Gracie) to represent all competitors starting the one-year countdown to PyeongChang on Feb 8.

Gracie also was one of the Olympic/Paralympic champions/medalists who visited a NYC school on the same day as another part of the USOC's one-year countdown.

In the context of promoting the one-year countdown, I don't blame the USOC for featuring names/faces who would be familiar (to one extent or another) from previous Games.

http://www.today.com/video/shaun-wh...-meet-us-winter-olympic-hopefuls-872527939953
http://www.teamusa.org/News/2017/Fe...lympic-Winter-Games-PyeongChang-2018-On-Feb-8
http://www.teamusa.org/News/2017/Fe...pics-Team-USA-Urges-NYC-Students-To-Dream-Big

Not to mention that Karen was training for Four Continents -- which this year was the test event at the Olympic venue in Korea, of course -- where the first official practice was on Feb 14.
I think it is just as well that Karen did not make a cross-country trip to promotional events in NYC only a few days before traveling halfway around the world to compete at Four Continents.

(Essentially a non-issue for Gracie, who understandably had been assigned to only an alternate slot for Four Continents.)

When performing on the tiny rink at Rockefeller Center, skaters have to scale back on elements anyway (meaning little or no jumping).
Under those limitations, I don't think that Karen (through no fault of her own) could have wowed viewers of the Today show any more than Gracie.

ETA:

Please don't get me wrong. I do hope very much that Karen gets her fair share of attention in the months ahead.

But I do not interpret Gracie's appearance on the Today show in February as any kind of snubbing of Karen whatsoever.

SkaterX · May 22, 2017

Here are some recent comments from Gracie on her Olympic ambitions:

https://twitter.com/Beamerwarren/status/866667665279991808

andromache · May 22, 2017

SkaterX said:
Here are some recent comments from Gracie on her Olympic ambitions:

https://twitter.com/Beamerwarren/status/866667665279991808

Highlights? I don't have audio at work.

SkaterX · May 22, 2017

andromache said:
Highlights? I don't have audio at work.

She says that she hopes to not only make the team but to go and be in the top. She says it's very competitive and the work will be very intense but she believes that she has what it takes. She says that training for the Olympics is not nerve wracking but daunting but that also makes it enjoyable.

tars · May 22, 2017

SkaterX said:
Here are some recent comments from Gracie on her Olympic ambitions:

https://twitter.com/Beamerwarren/status/866667665279991808

Her face is getting rounder and rounder as Olympics approaches. :rolleye:

Gullygirl84 · May 22, 2017

https://www.soul-cycle.com/community/inspiration/gracie-gold-soulcycle-figure-skater-soul/2886/

The above link is another interview with Gracie, where she talks about some of her training for the upcoming Olympic season...

sheetz · May 22, 2017

Here's an olympic promo video featuring Shania Twain's new single.
https://twitter.com/NBCOlympics/status/866053299602022400

Ashley, Nathan, and the Shibs are featured prominently, but at 16sec mark there's a skater who might be Gracie.

ice coverage · May 22, 2017

Vivian Le update:

She just competed this past weekend in the Senior Ladies SP and FS at the 2017 California Championships.

http://lafsc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/CalChamps2017IJSresults.pdf

I take it as a good sign that she is healthy ... at least healthy enough to compete at this point.

And pretty sure she is in a recent Team Raf photo from Benoit Richaud. Vivian is second from the right, if my eyes do not deceive me:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUVG8jxltsR/?taken-by=benoitrichaud (posted May 20)

frida80 · May 22, 2017

ice coverage said:
Vivian Le update:

She just competed this past weekend in the Senior Ladies SP and FS at the 2017 California Championships.

http://lafsc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/CalChamps2017IJSresults.pdf

I take it as a good sign that she is healthy ... at least healthy enough to compete at this point.

And pretty sure she is in a recent Team Raf photo from Benoit Richaud. Vivian is second from the right, if my eyes do not deceive me:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUVG8jxltsR/?taken-by=benoitrichaud (posted May 20)

150 is 25 points higher than regionals last year. She just needs to get her footing again. Now I need to see some scores from Polina. My guess is she'll go for Glacier Falls to debut.

andromache · May 22, 2017

tars said:
Her face is getting rounder and rounder as Olympics approaches.

Sorry she isn't gaunt and looks like she's starving :rolleye:

Crossover · May 22, 2017

SkaterX said:
She says that she hopes to not only make the team but to go and be in the top. She says it's very competitive and the work will be very intense but she believes that she has what it takes. She says that training for the Olympics is not nerve wracking but daunting but that also makes it enjoyable.

That's a very good and high-spirited remark, but as long as she doesn't shape her body up to her former form, all her determination just sounds vain to me. June is already coming up.

Sam-Skwantch · May 22, 2017

andromache said:
Sorry she isn't gaunt and looks like she's starving

You have to admit she doesn't look to be at an elite athletic level of fitness in which she has in the past. I've certainly noticed a change but the most alarming remarks are the ones she's made on the subject. Something is going on and I hope she can address it. If she's setting goals I hope she is meeting them.

yuzushenko · May 22, 2017

Nathan13 said:
Is this a recent video?

I've never really thought that her jumps completely left her--she landed I think two 3Lz3T's at US Nationals this year.

this is old, i remember this being posted somewhere (specifically i remember when she had to dodge that one other skater lol).

plus she doesn't train at toyota anymore

Ender · May 22, 2017

SkaterX said:
Here are some recent comments from Gracie on her Olympic ambitions:

https://twitter.com/Beamerwarren/status/866667665279991808

I am not sure she is training hard enough.

andromache · May 22, 2017

Sam-Skwantch said:
You have to admit she doesn't look to be at an elite athletic level of fitness in which she has in the past. I've certainly noticed a change but the most alarming remarks are the ones she's made on the subject. Something is going on and I hope she can address it. If she's setting goals I hope she is meeting them.

I think comments about her fitness level when they're phrased constructively and appropriately are fine. Like your comment. But making a comment about the changes in someone's face shape with a roll-eye emoticon? Seems like someone just wants to be nasty.

yuzushenko · May 22, 2017

I just read this from GG's soul cycle interview:

How has SoulCycle helped you become a better athlete?
I love the speed and intensity of a SOUL class — it’s a great workout. For me, it was hard to stay motivated running on the treadmill at a set speed for 20, 30, or 45 minutes. This has been my favorite way to get added cardio because it’s interesting and stimulating. It was difficult, but I wanted to do well at it — I wanted to do extra turns and push myself.
When you’re skating your program you don’t have someone over the loudspeaker keeping you motivated or saying that everything you put on the wheel is an opportunity for change. Those positive messages keep you going and we don’t have that while we’re skating a program. When I’m doing sprints there’s no Edward to encourage me. There was so much positivity in class and it felt like a judgment-free zone — and of course the workout was incredible.

wow sounds to me gracie would do great with a coach that yells more during practice to keep them motivated and says encouraging positive things. frank was never any of this and i can see why things didn't work out. i really hope marina is able to provide this for gracie (and alex if she works with him)

and that part about "judgement-free zone" i wonder if the environment at toyota was ever judgemental...

anyways, even though ppl are saying she looks bigger, she looks so much happier to me. i have had friends who have gone through super unhealthy life moments where they were under pressure to stay super thin by themselves or their parents or their bosses, and once they stopped letting that control their lives, they became happier. even if people thought "oh look so and so got big" they were finally happy. so i think it's really bad to assume that just because someone gained weight it means that their life is over and they shouldn't be happy. im so glad gracie has left that toxic environment. she looks to have made some good friends and seems to genuinely be having fun on a SOI tour for once. i hope this renewed spirit helps her in the competitive arena, too!

andromache · May 22, 2017

yuzushenko said:
anyways, even though ppl are saying she looks bigger, she looks so much happier to me. i have had friends who have gone through super unhealthy life moments where they were under pressure to stay super thin by themselves or their parents or their bosses, and once they stopped letting that control their lives, they became happier. even if people thought "oh look so and so got big" they were finally happy. so i think it's really bad to assume that just because someone gained weight it means that their life is over and they shouldn't be happy. im so glad gracie has left that toxic environment. she looks to have made some good friends and seems to genuinely be having fun on a SOI tour for once. i hope this renewed spirit helps her in the competitive arena, too!

Honestly, as a fan, her happiness is what matters most. If she doesn't make the Olympic team but she's still happy with herself and her life, that's fine by me, even though there will be a bunch of people calling her fat and lazy.

I wanna try SoulCycle but it's so darn expensive.

2017-18 State of U.S. Ladies Skating

desertskates

tars

andromache

ice coverage

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SkaterX

andromache

SkaterX

tars

Gullygirl84

sheetz

ice coverage

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frida80

andromache

Crossover

All Hail the Queen

Sam-Skwantch

“I solemnly swear I’m up to no good”

yuzushenko

Ender

Match Penalty

andromache

yuzushenko

andromache

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