2014 Rostelecom Cup Ladies Free Skate 11/15

[Shayuki]

I'm very happy that Hongo won, she actually was my favorite out of these and I never could have imagined her winning.

Even so, this competition was extremely lackluster and was overall very disappointing in that regard.

 

[Jammers]

This season is really underwhelming so far for the Ladies. Might take a couple years to get where the Ladies were a few years ago but it's to be expected when the girls winning or medaling are like 15, 16 years old and don't skate with the maturity we got used to with Mao, Yuna Akiko and Carolina. These girls can do the jumps but not much else.

 

[Miss Ice]

Uh, so who do you think should have won? So Youn?

So Youn should have been at least Bronze with Skate America scoring....

 

[3T3T]

Well done to Hongo on claiming her first GP victory, really the only to skater to deliver today. I thought she would have scored higher, maybe the low 120's. I was disappointed for Anna, I imagine the pressure of being the Russian favourite weighted heavily on her, she always gave me the impression that she has no fear or nerves. Despite the jump issues, I actually liked and enjoyed the programme, it's a good choice of music for her. I thought Chartrand was overscored, lots of issues with the jumps and I didn't particularly care for the presentation.

My personal favourite was Park, a really nice performance. I also enjoyed Artemieva, the jumps were awol today, but she really interpreted and presented the programme so well. She isn't in as good as form as last year. From reading her ISU bio her best result from Russian nationals is only 10th

 

[chloepoco]

So Youn should have been at least Bronze with Skate America scoring....

So Youn is a beautiful skater; unfortunately, her short did her in

 

[gotoschool]

Far easier said then done. I wish her well but I think of Caroline Zhang and Mao Asada, all great skaters and they tried and tried to fix their jumps and so far not with a lot of consistency. Still she is trying and fourth is a good placement. Have the Americans had a woman in fourth at all GP's this year?

I haven't watched many of Caroline Zhang's performances, but Mao has been quite successful in dealing with ur's (legitimate or not) . Otherwise, she wouldn't have won 3 world championships, 4 Grand Prix championships or set the SP record. Mirai has issues with her jumps, but she does skate beautifully. I found her SP performance to be quite moving.

While I liked Mirai the best in the SP, Rika Hongo impressed me the most in the LP because she gave every ounce of energy and guts she had to deliver a clean performance to the best of her ability. I noticed a few nice flourishes such as a high leg kick coming out of her first jumping pass. Her movements and steps also seemed more fluid and crisp than I had seen in her previous skates. While I wasn't that impressed with her earlier skates, I really liked her interpretation, flair, steps and movements much more in this program and thought she attacked it with good speed and height on the jumps, except the spins at the very end when she was running out of steam. It's wonderful to be surprised "out of the blue" by a skater for whom you have no expectations.

After watching So Yuon Park's performance again, I do believe that she and Mirai were underscored relative to Anna. Actually, it may be a toss up between Rika and So Youn as to who I liked the best in terms of enjoyment. But, Rika went for it and stayed clean which makes hers the most impressive.

So Yuon seemed really fluid, fast and expressive and the jumps she landed were quite beautiful and high. I liked Mirai's grace, expression and spins, but the two step outs on the lutz and double axel distracted a little from the performance compared to the one step out for Park. I have a soft spot for Mirai and So Youn. I really felt for both of them not getting medals. I also liked Miyaba Oba's program. I only saw Alaine's program once, but I couldn't really connect with it. I

 

[wonderlen3000]

So who is in for GPF?
Tuk and Anna are in with G/S each...Hongo will have to wait till after NHK to see if she is in or not.

 

[chloepoco]

So who is in for GPF?
Tuk and Anna are in with G/S each...Hongo will have to wait till after NHK to see if she is in or not.

I don't think Hongo has a chance

 

[satine]

I don't think Hongo has a chance

How do you see NHK playing out?

 

[kalle]

Rika was a clear winner, great attack and she is coming along nicely.
I cannot believe Anna scored 114+ with this type of skate..I was underwhelmed and had hoped for a bit more.
Chartrand the same, overscored for what she actually delievered and I would not score her higher than around 105..Still, so nice to see the Canadian ladies step up this season.
Park had a lovely skate and such a shame she did not make the podium here. She is elegant in a quiet way and love the speed she has accross the ice.

There were some nice new touches to Mirai's program and she had a "solid" performance once again. I disagree with people that says that she should "smile" more, when she eventually cracked a smile, it looked completely wrong.
How many times has she competed this season, 4? As much as I love her ambitious jump layout, it does not play to her strenghts..They should go back to the 3T/3T in the SP and change the LP so that she can repeat 3T and 3Loop (any ideas?). As usual, I think she will be in better shape by Nationals and expecting the jumps to be cleaner.
I still think it will be hard for her with a top 3 finish this year given how well Ashley, Gracie, Polina and Sam can/has scored. Nobody would be happier than me to see Mirai score a +63 SP with a +120 LP but so far, it seems like a long shot..

 

[chloepoco]

How do you see NHK playing out?

I don't even want to guess! But, Rika's 5th place in Canada basically takes her out of contention.

 

[hippomoomin]

Somehow I am not surprised with Anna not winning. Whenever the winner seems so clear before the event, the winner won't be the winner. But I am glad Anna is in GPF. I think Radionova and Yulia will be in the final too.

 

[Mao88]

LADIES FREE SKATE - VIDEOS & RESULT - updated

1. Rika HONGO (JPN) - 178.00 Free Skate, 2nd Copy, 3rd Copy, 4th Copy
2. Anna POGORILAYA (RUS) - 173.43 Free Skate, 2nd Copy, 3rd Copy, 4th Copy
3. Alaine CHARTRAND (CAN) - 172.00 Free Skate, 2nd Copy, 3rd Copy, 4th Copy
4. Mirai NAGASU (USA) - 165.88 Free Skate, 2nd Copy, 3rd Copy, 4th Copy
5. So Youn PARK (KOR) - 163.24 Free Skate, 2nd Copy, 3rd Copy, 4th Copy
6. Miyabi OBA (JPN) - 154.57 Free Skate, 2nd Copy, 3rd Copy, 4th Copy
7. Maria STAVITSKAIA (RUS) - 153.49 Free Skate, 2nd Copy, 3rd Copy, 4th Copy
8. Ashley CAIN (USA) - 150.90 Free Skate, 2nd Copy, 3rd Copy, 4th Copy
9. Angela WANG (USA) - 150.75 Free Skate, 2nd Copy, 3rd Copy
10. Maria ARTEMIEVA (RUS) - 144.72 Free Skate, 2nd Copy, 3rd Copy
11. Eliska BREZINOVA (CZE) - 134.04 Free Skate, 2nd Copy
WD Joshi HELGESSON (SWE)

 

[OS]

Uh, so who do you think should have won? So Youn?

I wouldn't like to say, she was behind in the SP. All i know this sport has consistently shown it is inherently unfair to lesser reputable skaters without political clout. The questionable scoring throughout the entire GP series very much just confirm that.

The idea that some how home advantage is expected and accepted without being challenged doesn't make this a fair and credible sport. That your PCS can go up by 3-5 points at home events, and mark down rival nation skaters by 3-5 points makes whole principle of fair judging a joke. (Just look at US men's PCS at Cup of Russia)

As much I appreciate Anna's skating, for that poor skate, she received 114 ... when you compare to what So Youn did at Skate America to receive her 114. How can this sport be considered fair?

Today So Youn's performance imo has noticeably improved and matured, in her musical interpretation and expressiveness than at Skate America. You can see the amount of effort she has improved in her artistry over short span of time, yet her PCS actually dropped by 2 points! She even received 3 x 5s in her PCS categories from 2 judges. 2 in Transition, 1 in choreography composition. She is 3rd in TES in the LP, and 7th in PCS.

I just can't reconcile the competitive disadvantage, importance of politics and the frustration I have with anonymous judging. For example, if we found those 5s are given by rival nations, then clearly it is not HER problem, but THEIR problem. So how can she even begin to solve it? Especially when you have top 3 contenders (relatively new newbies themselves) mess up all over the place. There are still enough room to prop some up as needed.

Mirai's PCS has gone up by 2 points despite a 4 points poorer skate than at Skate America... so I have no problem with her scoring actually...

 

[Barb]

I wouldn't like to say, she was behind in the SP. All i know this sport has consistently shown it is inherently unfair to lesser reputable skaters without political clout. The questionable scoring throughout the entire GP series very much just confirm that.

The idea that some how home advantage is expected and accepted without being challenged doesn't make this a fair and credible sport. That your PCS can go up by 3-5 points at home events, and mark down rival nation skaters by 3-5 points makes whole principle of fair judging a joke. (Just look at US men's PCS at Cup of Russia)

As much I appreciate Anna's skating, for that poor skate, she received 114 ... when you compare to what So Youn did at Skate America to receive her 114. How can this sport be considered fair?

Today So Youn's performance imo has noticeably improved and matured, in her musical interpretation and expressiveness than at Skate America. You can see the amount of effort she has improved in her artistry over short span of time, yet her PCS actually dropped by 2 points! She even received 3 x 5s in her PCS categories from 2 judges. 2 in Transition, 1 in choreography composition. She is 3rd in TES in the LP, and 7th in PCS.

I just can't reconcile the competitive disadvantage, importance of politics and the frustration I have with anonymous judging. For example, if we found those 5s are given by rival nations, then clearly it is not HER problem, but THEIR problem. So how can she even begin to solve it? Especially when you have top 3 contenders (relatively new newbies themselves) mess up all over the place. There are still enough room to prop some up as needed.

Mirai's PCS has gone up by 2 points despite a 4 points poorer skate than at Skate America... so I have no problem with her scoring actually...

Javier is scoring very well and the spanish federation is even smaller than the korean.

 

[Sackie]

No matter what they say - there is a big difference between what PCS mark you will receive skating in the 1st group or last group. At Skate America Mirai skated early - here she was in 4th so her PCS was higher.
It seems as if the judges reward you twice for skating well in the short. Once with your good enough score in the short to make the top 6 and again in the free for skating in the final six. Look at Cain - her TES mark only went up by under 2 points between her too events yet here her PCS jumped by almost 6 points. Why - because she was skating in the final group.

 

[OS]

Javier is scoring very well and the spanish federation is even smaller than the korean.

Actually Javier is the new Carolina Kostner (High score in Russia except competing against a Russian). He is 2 times European Champion, and has already been VERY popular in Russia since his days with Morozov before he was even an European Champion. This is practically his home event. Just as well as it is Michal Brezina's and Misha Ge's home event (born in Moscow) as far as GP series go.

 

[Sandpiper]

Wonderful skate from Rika Hongo! :yay: Yes, overused Carmen music, but I thought she sold it much better than, say, her countryman Mura. The jumps timed with the music almost reminded me of Plushy's version (okay, this just proves how many people skated to this... I'm referencing two different skaters already and they're both guys). I only wish she'd gotten into the character a little faster--in the beginning, it wasn't quite there, though she got it by the end.

Anna was, well... messy. I like that she improved her Biellmann, and she was fast, but it didn't work out for her.

Alaine is rapidly becoming my favourite Canadian girl. The magic just wasn't here for the free. She looked like she was cringing for a lot of the program--you could see it from her expression in the beginning and end. Compared to Hongo, it just wasn't... free.

So Youn was good--but not as good as she needed to be. I'm really starting to like her though--she has real expression, real musicality, compared to someone like Miyabi Oba who was completely going through the motions. I'd rather see So Youn's longer glides into her jumps, but pared with a natural grace rather than a rehearsed one.

I thought Mirai improved on her expressiveness since SA. But like So Youn, she just wasn't good enough. And the judges couldn't have been too impressed by her flubbing a double axel at the end.

Regarding scores: I don't think Anna got the "home field boost" or the "Russian boost." She just got the "only person who wasn't a nobody boost." The competition could've happened elsewhere, or Anna could've been American, and I doubt the placements would've changed much. The rules also work against the two main ladies below her, Alaine and Mirai, who both have UR problems that are punished (way too) harshly. But frankly, everyone was disappointing outside of Rika Hongo.

 

[Sasha'sSpins]

I think Mirai was robbed. She should have been ahead of Anna. But good on her for placing top 4.

 

[iceberg]

I almost feel like Simon and Nicky of ESports love Anna Pogo so much that makes me love them both even more!

Hands down Anna's firebird program is the best program of her so far and it's definitely my most favorite long program this season. I'm happy she still finished second although her program wasn't that clean. But the artistry, footwork, the costume and the over all choreography is stellar! Love love her and wishing her the best in the finals into the worlds!