2018 NHK Ladies Short Program

[yume]

It's like judges don't see any difference between Satoko's jumps and others. I mean, they barely saw a difference between her and Kaori at SA. She even scored the highest TES in the free, while i think that Kaori is a better technician (better jumps, same quality of spins).
With all her levels Satoko would have scored 77-78 which is too much IMO.

 

[Weetos]

Just watched the ladies. I will chip in on the BESP fund for glasses for the judges, Eun-soo was stunning. A great competition to watch overall! Bring on the free!

 

[Ophelia]

Eun Soo Lim's jumps are some of the most beautiful I've seen in ladies skating. Reminiscent of Yuna Kim's.

 

[Fluture]

So, I just finished watching the SP since I missed it in the morning.

Some thoughts:

I‘ll be honest here: As a figure skating fan I see the technical things in a skate. I see the flutzes and the bad technique and the URs. But all this is completely pushed aside if there is a skater who truly manages to touch me. For me, artistry will always win over athleticism. Of course athleticism excites me but... there’s just something else about a performance that isn’t only sport but art as well. It‘s just how I am. So, when I watched the SP there were two ladies who stood out to me:

Satoko Miyahara: She is... I don‘t even know how to describe her but she has a certain quality you either have or don‘t have. Her artistry is beyond a lot of things I‘ve seen so far. When she skates, I always get emotional. She‘s special. Her jumps - always a big reason for criticism - have vastly improved. None of her jumps looked UR here. Smallish, yes but very obviously all the way around. The German Eurosport commentators noticed this as well.

And, surprisingly: Eunsoo Lim. It might be her SP song that is very special to my mom so when she sat there crying out of nostalgia, I cried alongside her. Ehem... so we literally watched Eunsoo skating and cried. What nostalgia and a beautiful girl in a beautiful dress skating beautifully to beautiful music can do to you... I haven‘t noticed her too much up to now but she‘s got wonderful qualities. And she‘s only 15! The commentators fell in love with her too. Her jumps were perfect (I couldn’t find any 3Lz ! - just saying...), her spins, her interpretation, everything. It’s just something about these Korean girls this season. They were never too much on my radar but the junior Koreans and now Eunsoo have been really surprising so far.

Some other things besides those two:

Liza: The empress slayed again! Wow. That 3A! Really proud of her and a HUGE score!!

Rika Kihira: Beautiful girl, beautiful skater. Pity about the 3A, she landed like a dozen in practice and warm-up. Just didn‘t work in the actual competition. But I believe she‘ll do it in the Free Skate and get a medal. She‘s already much more consistent than last season, didn‘t let the mistake get to her at all and skated cleanly afterwards. I really like her so far, she‘s not only about jumping but also artistically really nice and steadily improving. Certainly a talent to watch for this season and in the future!

Mai Mihara: She‘s lovely. Her edges are really good. Other than that I can‘t say much. She was nice but not too impressive overall. Might be due to all the other strong ladies at this event. It‘s a pity - she‘s always so consistent but gets consistently overshadowed by other skaters at her events.

Alena Leonova: Never been much of a fan of her skating but you have to appreciate one thing: her determination! At 27 and as a Russian lady - to continue skating like this and to actually make it to the final flight of a competition. Really admirable. And it was a pretty good skate for her, too. Her jumps have wonderful quality.

Others: Sad about Mariah, she always skates with so much joy and emotion. Hopefully she‘ll bounce back in her FS which I really love this season. Not the best skate for Mae either. I‘m not exactly a fan but somehow I found I‘m rooting for her. Kailani was so good and the score was... pretty low??? Loved her music. Masha... good to see her skate to something a bit more lively. Not her best skate, though, sadly. I forgot the others, sorry.

Overall, I loved this SP. So many clean skates and such a stacked field. It will be such an exciting fight tomorrow in the FS.

 

[hippomoomin]

The GOE is really puzzling. Do ISU have a manual regarding what kind of jumps are worth +4, +3, +2... I think Eunsoo Lim's 3Lz-3T should be given +2 at least, because what she can possibly add is a tano/rippon, and a more difficult entry to reach the maximum +4. Did she really have an unclear edge on her Lz?

What's the highest GOE for ladies so far this season? I don't think any one has an over 2 GOE except for Liza's 3A.

 

[hippomoomin]

Do you mean kicking her leg with music???? Marin and Uno both have that move in the programs in previous seasons if not this season, and it seems to be a Japanese skater's thing. That's actually my least favorite move. It just gives me an unpleasant feeling, similar to what drama hands create. I think we can call this move drama legs.

THIS HERE is probably my new favorite choreographical detail in all short programs this season. I love it.

 

[Fluture]

Do you mean kicking her leg with music???? Marin and Uno both have that move in the programs in previous seasons if not this season, and it seems to be a Japanese skater's thing. That's actually my least favorite move. It just gives me an unpleasant feeling, similar to what drama hands create. I think we can call this move drama legs.

I thought they meant the movement she made with her hands before that should symbolize a beating heart, I think? Or at least that‘s what I found to be a special moment so maybe I‘m projecting from myself to others.

 

[yume]

So, I just finished watching the SP since I missed it in the morning.

Some thoughts:

I‘ll be honest here: As a figure skating fan I see the technical things in a skate. I see the flutzes and the bad technique and the URs. But all this is completely pushed aside if there is a skater who truly manages to touch me. For me, artistry will always win over athleticism. Of course athleticism excites me but... there’s just something else about a performance that isn’t only sport but art as well. It‘s just how I am.

.

It seems like it's the same for most of people.

 

[rikaquegira]

Do you mean kicking her leg with music???? Marin and Uno both have that move in the programs in previous seasons if not this season, and it seems to be a Japanese skater's thing. That's actually my least favorite move. It just gives me an unpleasant feeling, similar to what drama hands create. I think we can call this move drama legs.

OMG yesss, drama legs!! Rika has them too!

 

[Baron Vladimir]

Miyahara's jumps should be 0 (when they're fully rotated) to me:

- no very good body position from takeoff to landing (see above)
- no very good height and distance (her jumps are objectively small and short)

- creative / unexpected entry -> +1

and i'd give a -1 for the prerotation since there is no clear rule on how to penalize that, but it is there, so it should affect the grade of execution.

But her jumps really look efforthless no matter what. And they have good body position in the air (axes are good). So with entry and/or matching the music that is +3 GOE. I will probably deduct -1 from those positives like you for bad take off (when she prerotates) but when she doesn't +3 is really fair according to the rules/recommendations. With the changed GOE system its really easy to get +1 or even +2 GOE on jump and you don't need to hit any of core bullets for +3. You need to have good landing for that tho (which Satoko mostly had this season).

 

[Skater Boy]

I like SAtoko's program far better than Liza. But the TES were generous for Miyhara. I think Liza deserved a bigger lead here though in the end Miyhara will probably win. Nice showing by Leonova and the Americans are in the hunt for bronze! I think it is good night for Maria - so sad. She had such hope. It seems all over now. Lim is looking good; perhaps the next Kim?

 

[mirai4life]

The GOE is really puzzling. Do ISU have a manual regarding what kind of jumps are worth +4, +3, +2... I think Eunsoo Lim's 3Lz-3T should be given +2 at least, because what she can possibly add is a tano/rippon, and a more difficult entry to reach the maximum +4. Did she really have an unclear edge on her Lz?

What's the highest GOE for ladies so far this season? I don't think any one has an over 2 GOE except for Liza's 3A.

Eun Soo's 3Lz-3T originally had over 2+ total GOE until she got a ! Called by a blind technical caller.

 

[Colonel Green]

I like SAtoko's program far better than Liza. But the TES were generous for Miyhara. I think Liza deserved a bigger lead here though in the end Miyhara will probably win. Nice showing by Leonova and the Americans are in the hunt for bronze! I think it is good night for Maria - so sad. She had such hope. It seems all over now. Lim is looking good; perhaps the next Kim?

I mean, if Satoko's TES is generous, so is Elizaveta's PCS.

 

[Heleng]

I thoroughly enjoyed each of the top six ladies for different reasons. Best of luck to everyone tomorrow!

 

[DanseMacabre]

I mean, if Satoko's TES is generous, so is Elizaveta's PCS.

This. Also, I feel like people overlook the fact that TES isn't just about jumps. Satoko's jumps aren't the biggest (her landings have improved tremendously in terms of hitting the sweet spot of the blade instead of the toe pick but still, there's much work to be done in that department) but the complexity and execution of her non-jump technical elements are virtually second to none.

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

I mean, if Satoko's TES is generous, so is Elizaveta's PCS.

It’s probably fair to suggest that both skater’s scores could be lower. Oh well.. that’s so ISU :handw:

 

[moriel]

I thought they meant the movement she made with her hands before that should symbolize a beating heart, I think? Or at least that‘s what I found to be a special moment so maybe I‘m projecting from myself to others.

my opinion will be unpopular, but it reminds me a lot of adelina and her burlesque ex.
she did something similar there, but with sass

 

[moriel]

I like SAtoko's program far better than Liza. But the TES were generous for Miyhara. I think Liza deserved a bigger lead here though in the end Miyhara will probably win. Nice showing by Leonova and the Americans are in the hunt for bronze! I think it is good night for Maria - so sad. She had such hope. It seems all over now. Lim is looking good; perhaps the next Kim?

My only hope is that Rika will be on tomorrow, skate a clean FS with two 3As and beat Satoko.
Also because i'm royally pissed at their coach and “I hope the champion is 18, because we want to see a senior lady, not a senior girl, don’t you think?”.

Hope Rika proves her wrong.

 

[IndiaP12]

I just hope that Liza will skate clean with 3A, and Eunsoo will also skate clean. I also want Maria to have a good skate. Not sure what happen post Olympics but it doesn’t seem to be going well for her GPF silver medalist, to...this

 

[hippomoomin]

I don't think that will happen at this competition, not even this year. Satoko has been getting good GOE on her jumps, and her PCS will be way way higher than Rika's.
You mean her coach basically said Rika's does not deserve to be champion just because she is not 18 yet???

My only hope is that Rika will be on tomorrow, skate a clean FS with two 3As and beat Satoko.
Also because i'm royally pissed at their coach and “I hope the champion is 18, because we want to see a senior lady, not a senior girl, don’t you think?”.

Hope Rika proves her wrong.