Does Emily Hughes have a shot at the National Title?
- Thread starter Fossi
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I was just going to ask if Alyssa was going to compete at nats. I guess so...but sadly I think she'll fall at least twice. I don't even think pressure is a factor for her (look how she did at COR where she didn't get as much as a brief mention)...she has major jump problems that will probably never get resolved. It's too bad for her though because as she showed last year for a brief while when she's on she's very well in the mix.
I just pray that should by some major fluke, Emily wins the US Championship that she deserves it by dint of a great performance, and not because her name is Hughes. I believe it would take a miraculous super-clean performance from Emily to beat a steady and determined competitor like Kimmie.
Power without muscle
If Emily Hughes looses weight, she runs a real risk of loosing muscle and, as a result, her power. Please take a look at this http://www.buzpateni.com/2006_olimpiyat/emily-hughes.jpg
and tell me where she could possible loose some weight?
Linny
If Emily Hughes looses weight, she runs a real risk of loosing muscle and, as a result, her power. Please take a look at this http://www.buzpateni.com/2006_olimpiyat/emily-hughes.jpg
and tell me where she could possible loose some weight?
Linny
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2003
I really think Emily is fine to get a shot at gold. Of course, that means solid skating throughout.
Alyssa, for me, is the most beautiful skater in the mix but we know what happens in competition.
Bebe is the one I want to skate flawlessly just to see how well the judges go for her.
Kimmie is last year's silver medalist. She should take this without any problems.
It's all coming soon to an arena in Washington State Check it out.
Joe
Alyssa, for me, is the most beautiful skater in the mix but we know what happens in competition.
Bebe is the one I want to skate flawlessly just to see how well the judges go for her.
Kimmie is last year's silver medalist. She should take this without any problems.
It's all coming soon to an arena in Washington State Check it out.
Joe
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2003
well we know that the judges were willing to put Bebe on the podium last season based on her scores for the SP... but she let it get to her head and crumbled under teh pressure... frustrating many...
Emily carries most of her weight below the waist.
I think I would prefer someone to be closer in weight to Emily than say Sasha. Em is healthy. I feel bad for the youth of today when a stick thin size sub zero is "in" and a healthy girl is considered "fat." No wonder there are so many eating disorders today.
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2004
ITA. Emily does not need to lose any weight. She is not fat, or anything close to it. She has somewhat larger bones than most of the little skaters, and I think genetically she is designed to build larger muscles compared to types like Sasha and Kimmie who are more wiry, but she is not heavy. I hope she stays just how she is.
- Joined
- Oct 23, 2005
I think that Kimmie has a 1 mistake advantage over Emily to a certain extent. My post was based on Emily being perfect, IF she skates that way. It all depends on if she has that "blow you away amazing" factor. If Kimmie misses both the 3A and 3/3 combo and Emily is amazing then Emily will win it. If Kimmie misses only one big pass, missing either the 3A OR the 3/3 but NOT both, then in this case I think it could go either way. This is where the "blow you away amazing" factor comes in. If Emily has this factor and Kimmie misses one(again not both) of those big passes then I think Emily will win the title. Yes, Kimmie may still have the difficulty but there is an extent to which big jumps aren't as important whereas the performance of a lifetime just draws you in and captivates you if you see what I mean. Of course if Kimmie hits both the 3A and 3/3 combo, even if she falls on a later jump, then I still think she has it over Emily even with her best performance.
You have a great point about the skating order though, I didn't even think about that. It's very possible that Kimmie will change her program if Emily messes up before her, therefore giving her a likely chance of skating perfectly. In that event, I'm sure Kimmie will win. Of course if Kimmie skates first as you pointed out, it could be a whole different story.
The original topic of this thread was whether or not Emily has a shot at the National title. I was simply saying that I think she does have a shot, creating scenarios where Emily has a chance to beat Kimmie if she skates perfectly to prove my point. Of course I understand that it isn't very likely that Emily will skate perfectly, especially considering her past few competitions, but I was just saying that if she DOES skate perfectly(not impossible), then imo she DOES have a shot at the title depending of course on what Kimmie does. Now, I think it would be a long shot to say that someone like Rachael Flatt has a shot at the national title(first year out....it just doesn't happen very much), but Emily has been around for long enough and is considered #2 in the US at this point. If she won it certainly would have to be an interesting competition but I wouldn't be surprised at all.
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2004
It's a matter of physics, every pound is what 5 cm of jumping height, which can make or break a blade's position on landing. I am sick of saying it doesn't matter on Emily, or I wish I had her figure, she's not fat, or other sweeping generality.
I am very much pro-Emily for all the reasons mentioned below, but it pains me to see that she may not have the work ethic that Kimmie does, and it shows. The problem lies in Emily who thinks she doesn't have to work out off-ice, watch what she eats and I'm just hoping for that wake-up call. Any time, now. Skate of her life will win it for her, maybe but not even a near-Oly year, she won't because it doesn't matter that much to her. Unfortunate but that's how it seems to work.
Emily tends to skate with pizazz but is working on the elements. She can be a good entertainer. Kimmie, on the other hand has the tricks but not the entertainment value. That Unwritten exhibition of hers bored me to tears (although the song isn't that bad).
I think Kimmie's weakness is not having much to fall back on should her jumps be off. She seems to be very dedicated and a hard worker but some people just don't have that musical talent. That's something that can't be taught. But in the case of U.S. nats, her only real competitor is Emily. Skating order will play a significant role, and I actually hope Kimmie skates first in the Free (I think that will set the competition up to be potentially more exciting).
Rachel may be a long shot but I said that about Kimmie winning worlds and look what happened.
not saying Rachel will win, but just a(n exclamation) point.So, if Emily happens to pull a Hughes (sounds funny, eh?) and have the SOHL, then where would that leave Kimmie. I think her competitive instinct will kick in and she'll throw everything in (whether she hits them or not is another story). If Kim goes first and hits everything, it's over. It's ONLY if she messes up (and it would have to be a major mistake too, like a fall) that the door is open and Hughes will have to be absolutely magnificent to win. Not impossible but very unlikely. I compare it to Sarah Meier's chance of winning worlds.
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Hey, wow, wow. How do we know that? What a sweeping generalization.
After seeing so many people nearly killing themselves to be thin, comments like this re. people's weight kind of light some spark in me. Emily may not be Sarah but she has much to be proud of. She's an Olympian and a US bronze medalist, and is in good position to add a US silver to that collection. Pretty remarkable for someone who's out of shape.
ETA: also, did it occur to some people that that may just be her body build? She doesn't seem to have a "thin" body type. Her sister Sarah filled out as well shortly after her Olympic win (and may I add is quite
now). I think it runs in the family.
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- Joined
- Oct 23, 2005
Emily tends to skate with pizazz but is working on the elements. She can be a good entertainer. Kimmie, on the other hand has the tricks but not the entertainment value. That Unwritten exhibition of hers bored me to tears (although the song isn't that bad).
I think Kimmie's weakness is not having much to fall back on should her jumps be off. She seems to be very dedicated and a hard worker but some people just don't have that musical talent. That's something that can't be taught. But in the case of U.S. nats, her only real competitor is Emily. Skating order will play a significant role, and I actually hope Kimmie skates first in the Free (I think that will set the competition up to be potentially more exciting).
Rachel may be a long shot but I said that about Kimmie winning worlds and look what happened.
So, if Emily happens to pull a Hughes (sounds funny, eh?) and have the SOHL, then where would that leave Kimmie. I think her competitive instinct will kick in and she'll throw everything in (whether she hits them or not is another story). If Kim goes first and hits everything, it's over. It's ONLY if she messes up (and it would have to be a major mistake too, like a fall) that the door is open and Hughes will have to be absolutely magnificent to win. Not impossible but very unlikely. I compare it to Sarah Meier's chance of winning worlds.
We seem to agree for the most part....Kimmie will need a major mistake and Emily will have to have the SOHL in order to have a shot at the title. I just disagree with you still on the extent to which you're saying Emily falls behind Kimmie at this point. I'm still not understanding what exactly makes Kimmie SO much better then Emily(better, yes....1,000 times better, no)in your opinion. I'm sure that you know that the difficult jumps don't mean everything, I believe you just said in the above post that Emily skates with "pizazz" and is more of an entertainer than Kimmie(and I agree with that), and to me that can make as much of a difference as the difficult jumps and is enough to win it for Emily for sure if Kimmie falters at all(meaning a fall). I definitely wouldn't say that Emily winning nationals is as much of a long shot as Sarah Meier winning worlds lol. Let's see...Mao, Yu-Na, Kimmie, Miki, Fumie, lol....I don't think so. Whereas I can realistically see Emily doing enough to pass Kimmie if she happens to falter.
I agree with you completely on your analysis of Kimmie and Emily's weaknesses. Emily needs to focus more while on the ice and get the jumps down, but I love her poise and connection to the music. Kimmie just hops around out there and does occasional 3As and 3/3 combos without any musicality whatsoever. Earlier in this post you were commenting that you didn't see the need to discuss Michelle and Sasha over and over again, but I can see why people continuously choose to bring up both of these ladies. Both ladies seemed to have it all, Michelle having both the jumps(maybe not 3As and 3/3 combos but those 7 triple programs can't be counted even on 2 hands!) and the connection to the music and Sasha having an amazing elegance, presentation, and poise, so much so that often times that jumps didn't even matter in the eyes of some fans. Kimmie and Emily seem to have neither, at least not to the extent to which the two ladies I just mentioned did. I think everyone is just feeling the disappointment that this new season of US ladies skating has brought. I honestly could care less who wins the National title, all I want is for Kimmie and Emily(among others) to finally let loose out there and shine like I know they have the ability to shine. Of course if you asked me honestly though the chances of that happening seem very slim. Yes it is nice to imagine what would happen if both are amazing but when it all comes down to it I think they will both have mistakes in their LPs at Nationals, falls even. We will just have to see what happens, but I'm not seeing a bright future in US ladies skating, at least for right now.
Well, since you brought up Kimmie and Emily, just out of curiosity I went back and looked up both Kimmie's and Emily's Olympic FS scores. KM was 106.31 and EM was 103.79. Keep in mind Kimmie's score was with no 3A and mistakes on BOTH 3-3 combos, and Emily had a fall. If you take away the 1.00 for the fall, Hughes is still behind Kimmie on a seriously off-day. That's part of the reason why I really think Kimmy is just a better skater than Hughes. If Kimmie does something like her Olympic FS, and Emily is clean, *if* she has spunk her PCS scores might be bumped up to top Meissner. But if she makes a mistake Kimmie still wins.
I look at Emily's history, though, and imagine it would be very tough to see her not making any errors. I'm also factoring this in when I make my predictions. And once again, a rivalry that's not there, one where Kimmie basically has to commit two major errors (and likely on the 3A and 3-3) to even open the door for Hughes.
I agree with you that KM/EM don't have what MK/SC had, but I think a style should develop over time. Kimmie is still rather young and I hope by 20 she at least develops her own style, even if it isn't the musical kind. (It doesn't have to be.) I also really don't care who wins the national title although I'm expecting Kimmie to grab it barring injury or drastic turn of events.
good night, I'm off to bed now zzzzzzzz
I look at Emily's history, though, and imagine it would be very tough to see her not making any errors. I'm also factoring this in when I make my predictions. And once again, a rivalry that's not there, one where Kimmie basically has to commit two major errors (and likely on the 3A and 3-3) to even open the door for Hughes.
I agree with you that KM/EM don't have what MK/SC had, but I think a style should develop over time. Kimmie is still rather young and I hope by 20 she at least develops her own style, even if it isn't the musical kind. (It doesn't have to be.) I also really don't care who wins the national title although I'm expecting Kimmie to grab it barring injury or drastic turn of events.
good night, I'm off to bed now zzzzzzzz
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2003
I tend to agree with the poster who said Emily works harder when there is a serious goal at hand (like making it to the Olympics). This season with Sasha and Michelle out of it, it seems quite likely Emily will make the World team even skating the way she is now, because Katy, BeBe, Alyssa and Christine are all skating far worse.
There was a definite drop-off in Emily's performance from the Olympics to Worlds. Emily looked a tad out of shape at Worlds and her skating didn't have the spark it had in the Olympics. Her skating has dropped off even farther since then, but it may not matter.
It's possible that the goal of being US champion might motivate her to work harder, and that goal was made far more possible with Sasha's withdrawal (although I think both Kimmie and Emily knew Sasha wasn't going to be at Nationals as far back as Campbell's). But Emily has a long way to go to get those money jumps back.
I don't think a fall will take Kimmie out of contention for the championship, especially if it is on a 3A attempt. I think she needs the 3A to deal with Mao and Yu-Na, but Kimmie may not try for the 3A at Nationals with Sasha out of the picture. She needs her 3/3s and a clean skate.
I don't think Emily is capable of a clean skate; if she doesn't fall, she will almost certainly double one or more triples towards the end of her FS, as she's done that very consistently in the past. She cannot make up for a 4- or 5-triple program with pizzazz if Kimmie lands 6 or 7 triples.
There was a definite drop-off in Emily's performance from the Olympics to Worlds. Emily looked a tad out of shape at Worlds and her skating didn't have the spark it had in the Olympics. Her skating has dropped off even farther since then, but it may not matter.
It's possible that the goal of being US champion might motivate her to work harder, and that goal was made far more possible with Sasha's withdrawal (although I think both Kimmie and Emily knew Sasha wasn't going to be at Nationals as far back as Campbell's). But Emily has a long way to go to get those money jumps back.
I don't think a fall will take Kimmie out of contention for the championship, especially if it is on a 3A attempt. I think she needs the 3A to deal with Mao and Yu-Na, but Kimmie may not try for the 3A at Nationals with Sasha out of the picture. She needs her 3/3s and a clean skate.
I don't think Emily is capable of a clean skate; if she doesn't fall, she will almost certainly double one or more triples towards the end of her FS, as she's done that very consistently in the past. She cannot make up for a 4- or 5-triple program with pizzazz if Kimmie lands 6 or 7 triples.
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2003
I think Emily will make the World Team but it will not be easy for her to beat Kimmie, a skater who can come from behind.
The USFS know whom they want on that team. We'll see.
Joe
The USFS know whom they want on that team. We'll see.
Joe
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2006
In reference to Emily's weight:
It's only been in the last few years that the ladies have started becoming stick-like. Think about some well-known skaters of the past. Liz Manley, Katarina Witt, Nancy Kerrigan, Tonya Harding, Midori Ito, Debi Thomas, Denise Biellmann and others were all bigger than the typical skater today.
I'm not sure it's her weight that can be blamed when she skates poorly.
It's only been in the last few years that the ladies have started becoming stick-like. Think about some well-known skaters of the past. Liz Manley, Katarina Witt, Nancy Kerrigan, Tonya Harding, Midori Ito, Debi Thomas, Denise Biellmann and others were all bigger than the typical skater today.
I'm not sure it's her weight that can be blamed when she skates poorly.
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