- Joined
- Feb 9, 2014
What could Mao Asada have done better to earn higher PCS (i.e. Kostner, Yuna's level)? Does she need to increase her speed and coverage across the ice? Improve her choreography?
According to what italian commentators said in the SP it was due to the long preparation before the triple axel. It makes sense in the SP where there're less elements and so this thing is more evident. Honestly I think that there's always a little "prejudice" when judging a skater but if we see the protocols for the free we see Caro is slightly higher in SS (because of her speed) and choreo/interpration because her Bolero is a program that really overtakes any other for originality, not the same delicate or elegant program we usually see for Mao that, ok, are her peculiarities and she's the best in these aspects and a pleasure to watch, but they also limit herself. I wanna see Mao exploring new fields if she decides to go on skating
It's difficult to GoE-judge all the elements and, at the same time, pay attention to the artistic side of the program
Yes, but Caro did absolutely nothing other than crossovers and a glide going into 2 of her jumping passes in the SP while Mao only did such a thing before her 3A. Also, Mao's Rachmaninoff was hardly the same delicate or elegant style as her Nocturne. It might not stand out as much as Bolero but she is hardly a one-note skater.According to what italian commentators said in the SP it was due to the long preparation before the triple axel. It makes sense in the SP where there're less elements and so this thing is more evident. Honestly I think that there's always a little "prejudice" when judging a skater but if we see the protocols for the free we see Caro is slightly higher in SS (because of her speed) and choreo/interpration because her Bolero is a program that really overtakes any other for originality, not the same delicate or elegant program we usually see for Mao that, ok, are her peculiarities and she's the best in these aspects and a pleasure to watch, but they also limit herself. I wanna see Mao exploring new fields if she decides to go on skating
Carolina does FIVE back crossovers to gain enough speed to do her DOUBLE-axel. The back crossovers take 5 seconds to do, and then from setup to jump, it's 3 seconds. So all in all, that's 8 seconds:
(starts at 2:38) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHLjfETG1eM
Mao does 3-4 forward crossovers and pose to gain speed to do her TRIPLE-axel, all of which takes 4 seconds, and then from setup to jump, it's 3 seconds. So all in all, that's 7 seconds:
(starts at 1:30) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm9F-lSuArQ
Mao's TRIPLE-AXEL jump took less time to do than Carolina's DOUBLE-AXEL jump.
What's was this commentator smoking? Mao's TRIPLE axel taking too long to do, eh? And I just can't believe this stupid comparison I'm making between a jump that's so difficult no other lady skater can do it right now to a mandatory jump. How long would it take for anyone else but Mao to set up for a triple-axel? It would take them an eternity. They could prep and set up for the triple-axel until they're blue in the face and they wouldn't be able to do it.
Second, I think Mao has been plagued with the title of being the "technical skater", as was with Midori Ito, when she is in fact, artistic. All the focus on her triple axel by the community lowers her PCS I think. Because God forbid someone be great technically and artistically..
Not really. She improved her expression and projection, but she was always an artist throughout her career. Watch any of her SPs from 2006-07 to 2008-09 which are some of the best SPs of the Vancouver quad.Well, on the subject of the thread, Mao got 72.76 PCS which is a personal best. So I don't see how this is her being held back in a FS where she URed multiple jumps. But as mentioned, she doesn't carry the speed of Kostner or the seamlessness of Kim. I agree that she's been dubbed a "technical skater" more than a complete skater, although she's worked very hard to improve her artistry. Unfortunately, she's only really made those huge artistic strides in the past few seasons which is why Kim has always managed to stay ahead of her artistically and also Kostner when she skates half decently.
honestly, i don't know. In reply to the post above, her jump preparations are shorter than those of many other girls (caro stalks her 3lz through the entire rink and it doesn't hurt her pcs). Her speed and ice coverage improved greatly this year - and, what's important, she doesn't need crossovers to generate speed. If you watch her programs in comparison to those of the other ladies, she has very few crossovers in her programs, and is perhaps the only one who can noticeably accelerate while doing very complex footwork (especially visible in her sp step sequence). As far as the cop pcs requirements go, her programs are very well constructed. Quoth evan: "mao [asada] looks insane. She's so good -- strength and jumps, of course, but also the complexity of her programs. I noticed in particular she is never on two feet; she is always on one foot, which is what judges look for in the components. They look for so much: Transitions, edges, speed, multi-directional movement; she has all of that stuff."
however, i suspect that the judges might not actualy care about the pcs requirements all that much. It's difficult to goe-judge all the elements and, at the same time, pay attention to the artistic side of the program. From the judges' perspective, a simpler program with a lot of crossovers, great speed and occasional flirty/sexy pauses might make a greater impact. For example, when you look at the photos, mao is very expressive, but it's quite difficult to see in the actual programs (when you look from the judges' seats) because she just keeps moving and in some of the nice moments she is facing towards the audience, not the judges.
And then there's pure politics... Let's be honest, if the judges on the panel have their own horse in the race, they ain't gonna give excellent scores to its direct competitor.