2024 Worlds: Women's thoughts and comments

[LolaSkatesInJapan]

The skaters of that era were just as athletically talented as those of today. Knowledge of how to teach and perform today's more difficult moves has grown, but mainly it was the equipment they used at that time that prevented bigger jumps and many of the other moves. I saw a photo online recently (and of course can't find it now to add to this) of a champion of the 1950s -- Carol Heiss? Tenley Albright? -- posing on a bench next to her skates. The blades and foot part are upright, but the thin, limp boots from the ankles up are flopped over to the side as if they're just knitted high-top slippers. No stiffness at all, nothing anywhere near the construction of the boots and blades of today. Take a pair of skates from today back in time and those athletes could do the same programs we see now.

I've seen some very old videos and films of skating from the 70s and 80s and always wondered how they could figure skate wearing those boots. They look so very uncomfortable and not supportive.

 

[lariko]

Anyone knows where the replays can be? I hoped CBC would have everything, but they only have the Gala and YouTube is blocked.

 

[rain]

Anyone knows where the replays can be? I hoped CBC would have everything, but they only have the Gala and YouTube is blocked.

Mens LP: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1.7153899
Mens SP: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1.7151631
Free Dance: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1.7153762
Women's free: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1.7153425

I don't have time to hunt out the others. CBC has done a terrible job of making them easily findable, but I bet you can find all of them.

 

[Olly96]

Huge congratulations to Kaori on winning her third consecutive world title! Despite somewhat challenging SP, she went out there and skated the free like the champion she is!

Kudos to Isabeau for delivering when it mattered most. I was a bit disappointed that she changed the Snake SP, but it is good that she found something that worked better for her. Her skating was beautiful and her reactions adorable. Congratulations on winning a first world medal!

Chaeyeon once again showed an amazing consistency and what makes it all the more impressive is the fact that she has only been skating for about 10 years! It was a great season with 4CC silver and Worlds bronze. Congratulations!
I also enjoyed her gala program quite a bit, it was interesting to see a lyrical side of her. I'm very excited to follow her development!

I was also very happy to see the other Korean girls, Haein and Young, do so well in the short. They are a delight to watch and I was glad that Haein returned to her Sirens SP. Young's music and costume for the FP were just so beautiful.

Mone and Hana gave their best, congratulations on their Worlds debut! Their frees were so elegant and expressive, especially Hana's step sequence as a crane

The Swiss girls had a great competition with both finishing in the top 10! Kimmy's FP was the redemption skate of the evening and I hope she stays healthy and continues to develop! Livia's FP music is so beautifully haunting in the beginning and she expresses it well!

A special mention goes, of course, to our Estonian girls. Despite all the challenges, Niina is such a fighter and her new FP dress is stunning! Nataly's FP showcased her good skating skills and speed across the ice. Great job for qualifying for the free at her first Worlds! I'm sure much more is to come for both of them!

Ando also, it was nice to see 2/2 of the 3As landed

 

[Diana Delafield]

I've seen some very old videos and films of skating from the 70s and 80s and always wondered how they could figure skate wearing those boots. They look so very uncomfortable and not supportive.

As a very old skater who was competing in the 70s and 80s , I can tell you the singles skaters were doing triple jumps and as a pairs girl I was landing triple twists and throws in those skates. The boots broke down quickly, and the very painful part was breaking in new ones several times a season. It's also when I developed the habit of never using the top hook even in the skates I use today. The topline of the boot and tongue rubbed my shin and ankles raw on those deep-kneed landings, even through heavier tights than younger skaters wear now. But that was the equipment we had so we made the best of it.

It didn't occur to us to wish for stiffer leather (let alone synthetic material) or padded lining, or heat-moulding or a different lacing system with notches and offset hooks. There were boot designers out there with ideas, but the skaters just accepted boots and blades as they were. (Like the equipment one of my older brothers used for archery in the 1960s -- bows and arrows out of the Robin Hood era. Now the equipment the archers use looks like mysterious weaponry invented on another planet. .)

 

[lariko]

Mens LP: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1.7153899
Mens SP: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1.7151631
Free Dance: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1.7153762
Women's free: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1.7151631

I don't have time to hunt out the others. CBC has done a terrible job of making them easily findable, but I bet you can find all of them.

Thank you so much! Omg, they literally hid it well. Had to search specifically for the exact name of the event to get to women and pair short.

 

[Anna K.]

Livia's FP music is so beautifully haunting in the beginning and she expresses it well!

I'm so happy that she's now working with Benoit Richaud. It was probably the best news this season.

A special mention goes, of course, to our Estonian girls. Despite all the challenges, Niina is such a fighter and her new FP dress is stunning! Nataly's FP showcased her good skating skills and speed across the ice. Great job for qualifying for the free at her first Worlds! I'm sure much more is to come for both of them!

Health is everything. All old people say so, I know
It matters though to stay healthy and to avoid over-training and injuries,during this "awful" period of time when the body grows but the sports results don't. Health first! If you have good health, you can achieve everything else yourself. Best wishes for the girls, also for Eva-Lotta! We need you all at European Championships!

 

[Olly96]

Health is everything. All old people say so, I know
It matters though to stay healthy and to avoid over-training and injuries,during this "awful" period of time when the body grows but the sports results don't. Health first! If you have good health, you can achieve everything else yourself. Best wishes for the girls, also for Eva-Lotta! We need you all at European Championships!

Thank you for your kind words!
Of course health is everything and I want to believe that coaches and skaters are able to make the right judgements when it comes to injuries/recovery.

 

[rain]

Thank you so much! Omg, they literally hid it well. Had to search specifically for the exact name of the event to get to women and pair short.

Women's SP: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1.7150553
Pairs SP: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1.7150143
Rhythm Dance: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1.7153174
Pairs FS: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1.7151943

I put all of these in here because they've made them so hard to find.

 

[saine]

Still looking for pairs LP

Here it is - https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1.7151943

 

[gsk8]

Hendrickx blows me away with her attack, especially in the SP. I'm so proud of her and the positive outlook she has as well as her sportsmanship!

Hendrickx admitted to being “stressed” and that “it wouldn’t be possible to stay in first.”

“I knew it would be difficult because my preparation wasn’t ideal,” she explained. “Maybe that’s what caused the stress. I am happy to stand here at all. I am very proud of the short program. It’s unfortunate about today. I admire Kaori for her consistency. This is something I really aim for.”

 

[Anna K.]

Hendrickx blows me away with her attack, especially in the SP. I'm so proud of her and the positive outlook she has as well as her sportsmanship!

I, when everybody else skates an exhibition to a lyrical piece in a good-girl-skater's pastel dress:
What a boring choice

I, when Loena Hendrickx skates an exhibition to a lyrical piece in a good-girl-skater's pastel dress:
What an exotic look

 

[Anna K.]

Amber- some people just aren’t strong competitors. She’s an amazing person, definitely could win it all if she skates like she knows she can. Something about putting it together at competition isn’t clicking in her mind.

The more I learn about sports, the more I disagree with statements like "all problems are between their ears."

One of my favorite sports that I watch a lot is biathlon and one can guess that the ability to focus and hit a target in a middle of a race has indeed a lot to do with nerves. However, the more I learn about how hard the athletes work on many little things that do impact good shooting - like, breathing, elbow position, shoulder positioning, rhythm of movements - and how hard work on just one of these little things can significantly improve the overall result, I am now persuaded that it is exactly the other way round. Under-achievement is not caused by nervousness. Nervousness is caused by under-achievement.

That's why I am very happy with the way Amber and Loena reflect on their WC experience. They definitely view it as an under-achievement. They analyze it. They search for the little things they can improve. They are ready to work hard. And I am convinced that they will come back stronger.

Kaori is the greatest role model in this and she is right in front of their eyes.

 

[el henry]

The more I learn about sports, the more I disagree with statements like "all problems are between their ears."

One of my favorite sports that I watch a lot is biathlon and one can guess that the ability to focus and hit a target in a middle of a race has indeed a lot to do with nerves. However, the more I learn about how hard the athletes work on many little things that do impact good shooting - like, breathing, elbow position, shoulder positioning, rhythm of movements - and how hard work on just one of these little things can significantly improve the overall result, I am now persuaded that it is exactly the other way round. Under-achievement is not caused by nervousness. Nervousness is caused by under-achievement.

That's why I am very happy with the way Amber and Loena reflect on their WC experience. They definitely view it as an under-achievement. They analyze it. They search for the little things they can improve. They are ready to work hard. And I am convinced that they will come back stronger.

Kaori is the greatest role model in this and she is right in front of their eyes.

I do not believe that every issue is psychological. In Amber's case, she herself says that the problem is largely mental, and that is what she will work on this summer. Not just "I'm so upset I didn't medal so I'm going to work harder" but truly psychological. So I will go with what she says,

 

[Anna K.]

I do not believe that every issue is psychological. In Amber's case, she herself says that the problem is largely mental, and that is what she will work on this summer. Not just "I'm so upset I didn't medal so I'm going to work harder" but truly psychological. So I will go with what she says,

In either case we only known as much as Amber wants to tell us

Returning to the above example, we had a biathloner who physically had everything to be on top but "mystic" shooting issues always messed it up for him. We all, including the above biathloner himself, truly believed that it was a psychological issue. Until he hired a new coach and re-learned his whole shooting technique. It took him 2 years to do it (biathloners have long careers, thankfully) but he ended up with nearly the best shooting precision of all competitors. Unfortunately, he aged a bit in the process and now he's not the best in skiing anymore

So what was my point? Oh, yes: I certainly wish Amber the best success in digging deep psychologically if this is what she wants or needs for whatever reason.

 

[DancingCactus]

I don't know. Slalom skier Felix Neureuther was famous for always choking in the big competitions even though he had the genes and the training to be really good technically. And suddenly he became a winner. I think he did autogenic training. So there seem to be cases, where it is definitely some kind of mental blockade.

 

[icewhite]

In either case we only known as much as Amber wants to tell us

Returning to the above example, we had a biathloner who physically had everything to be on top but "mystic" shooting issues always messed it up for him. We all, including the above biathloner himself, truly believed that it was a psychological issue. Until he hired a new coach and re-learned his whole shooting technique. It took him 2 years to do it (biathloners have long careers, thankfully) but he ended up with nearly the best shooting precision of all competitors. Unfortunately, he aged a bit in the process and now he's not the best in skiing anymore

So what was my point? Oh, yes: I certainly wish Amber the best success in digging deep psychologically if this is what she wants or needs for whatever reason.

I agree, I think often the athletes (and their coaches) themselves cannot really say what the exact problem is or they might think it's A and in reality it's B. I also think it is a lot more difficult in reality than just A or B. There are so many factors which influence each other and it might often be difficult to tell what exactly is happening. Several psychological and physical issues like general insecurity, a certain technique, acute problems in personal life, muscle memory, over-excitement, difficulties in adjusting technique etc. might form a complicated mix and sometimes maybe you can just change on thing and it has a huge effect, sometimes you change one aspect but there's something else related without which it does not help, sometimes you try all kinds of things and nothing works...
There are definitely training mechanisms regarding automatisms to reduce the impact of psychological factors.

 

[lariko]

Women's SP: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1.7150553
Pairs SP: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1.7150143
Rhythm Dance: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1.7153174
Pairs FS: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1.7151943

I put all of these in here because they've made them so hard to find.

Great idea! Literally, was impossible. Then they wouldn't even play it at some point. Cbc is nuts.

 

[4everchan]

Great idea! Literally, was impossible. Then they wouldn't even play it at some point. Cbc is nuts.

The French CBC is fine

Diffusions | Sports | Radio-Canada

Voyez en direct ou en rattrapage les diffusions d’épreuves sportives, compétitions, et championnats nationaux et internationaux.

ici.radio-canada.ca

Look at the bottom where it says " en reprise " all videos are there... easily accessible.

 

[lariko]

The French CBC is fine

Diffusions | Sports | Radio-Canada

Voyez en direct ou en rattrapage les diffusions d’épreuves sportives, compétitions, et championnats nationaux et internationaux.

ici.radio-canada.ca

Look at the bottom where it says " en reprise " all videos are there... easily accessible.

Cool, thank you. I will catch up on women's short over the weekend.