What if Cohen does not win a top 3 spot at Nat's?

[orchid]

What if Sasha does not place in the top three at U.S. Nationals? For the sake of this discussion, 1) Michelle, 2) Alissa, 3) Kimmie. All with fantastic skates, deserving their placement.

Cohen 4th.

What do you think Usfsa will do? Keep the top three on the the Olympic team or bump Sasha in?

 

[Mathman]

I think they will send the three who did best at Nationals. Same if it is Michelle who drops to fourth. Plus, I think either Michelle or Sasha would decline the invitation under those circumstances.

Over the years, USFS has prided itself on its consistency in not playing favorites after the fact.

Other federations take a different view, that a skater's overall performance history should take precedence over her placement at one event.

Mathman

 

[brinababy87]

What if Sasha does not place in the top three at U.S. Nationals? For the sake of this discussion, 1) Michelle, 2) Alissa, 3) Kimmie. All with fantastic skates, deserving their placement.

Cohen 4th.

What do you think Usfsa will do? Keep the top three on the the Olympic team or bump Sasha in?

I think the same should be asked of Michelle. Michelle has less COP experience than Alissa or Sasha, and despite rumors of her working hard, she HAS been injured.

But answering your question, I think the USFS would go with the top three. Besides, Kimmie and Alissa would have to skate fantastic to overcome Sasha, and then they would deserve their spots at the Olympics.

I think Alissa might have a chance, if she lands everything and spins her usual gorgeous way, but her stroking and footwork are inferior; She just doesn't get as much speed.

Kimmie, however, landed all of her jumps (except the 3A) at Campbells and still was pretty far behind the slightly flawed Sasha. Unless she improves dramatically over the next few months I don't think she could beat Sasha's score. But if Sasha bombs..

 

[millie]

What if Sasha does not place in the top three at U.S. Nationals? For the sake of this discussion, 1) Michelle, 2) Alissa, 3) Kimmie. All with fantastic skates, deserving their placement.

Cohen 4th.

What do you think Usfsa will do? Keep the top three on the the Olympic team or bump Sasha in?

Same goes for all four of the skaters. To be fair, you can use this scenario, what if Michelle doesn't make it to the top three, same goes for Kimmie or Allisa. What happens if Emily pulls a "Sarah" at Nationals? Only time will tell. Let's hope that the three that makes it to the Olympic team wins fair and square. Whoever gets in the top three at Nationals should deserve to be on the team, no favouritism.
Who knows what they might pull or do.

 

[merrywidow]

It's a moot point because Sasha's presentation marks will be the best of the 4 even if she misses 1/2 of her jumps. The judges will see to it that the World's current silver medalist makes the Olympic team.

 

[R.D.]

Umm, what? Not in a million years. I don't see that happening.

Then again, it's not impossible. But Cohen off the Olympic team? Same thing as Kwan- she'd have to have a skate blade fall off or something to lose this one. Simply put, I just don't think the other American girls are at their level, even on a bad day. Kimmie comes the closest, and she still can't top Cohen let alone Kwan. Then, ice is slippery, so we'll never know...but I'll be SHOCKED if something like the above happens.

 

[slutskayafan21]

The USTA would never give permission to the U.S judges to keep either Kwan or Cohen off the Olympic team. That being said Csinzy's early season form makes the equation for the U.S Olympic team more complicated than was before.

 

[R.D.]

Am I the only one to think that Alissa's appearance in the GP has little to do with the battle for the US Olympic team? Nationals is what counts. If she doesn't deliver there, it's all for naught. It wouldn't matter what she did in the GP at that point.

 

[IDLERACER]

If Emily Hughes does make the cut, watch out. She doesn't underrotate her jumps, and her lutzs don't suddenly turn into flips at the last moment. That means she's already two up on the last olypmic champ.

As for Czisny, well, she's a lefty and she's got fancy footwear. Those two factors alone make her a significant force to be reckoned with. ​

 

[orchid]

Am I the only one to think that Alissa's appearance in the GP has little to do with the battle for the US Olympic team? Nationals is what counts. If she doesn't deliver there, it's all for naught. It wouldn't matter what she did in the GP at that point.

It's all about experience and exposure thereby gaining confidence which is a huge psychological advantage in every competition.

 

[kappa_1]

The USTA would never give permission to the U.S judges to keep either Kwan or Cohen off the Olympic team. That being said Csinzy's early season form makes the equation for the U.S Olympic team more complicated than was before.

The United States Tennis Association, what authority do they have?

It would be a bummer if nether two make the Oly team, I'm cheering for Sasha to win next year, but will be completely happy if Kwan wins. If neither of those two then I'm pulling for Bebe, but we all know how much the judges seem to feel towards Bebe:frown2:

 

[Mathman]

Am I the only one to think that Alissa's appearance in the GP has little to do with the battle for the US Olympic team? Nationals is what counts. If she doesn't deliver there, it's all for naught. It wouldn't matter what she did in the GP at that point.

Well, the assumption behind this whole thread is that reputation counts -- either in the minds of the judges or, in an extreme case like the Nancy Kerrigan situation, even after the fact when the Association makes its final choice.

If Alissa blitzes the GP, including the final, that at least will put her on the map as someone the judges will be watching. Others (Katy Taylor, for instance) is in danger of getting lost in the shuffle at Nationals no matter how well she skates.

 

[jesslily]

Sasha is unlikely to have a bad performance at US nationals. She might miss one jump, but her artistry will make up the marks. Acturally she will not be placed below 2nd.

 

[ragsy]

What if Sasha does not place in the top three at U.S. Nationals? For the sake of this discussion, 1) Michelle, 2) Alissa, 3) Kimmie. All with fantastic skates, deserving their placement.

Cohen 4th.

What do you think Usfsa will do? Keep the top three on the the Olympic team or bump Sasha in?

I believe that a few years ago (shortly after the Harding/Kerrigan fiasco) the USFSA instituted a ruling whereby ONLY the national champion is automatically given a spot on the World/Olympic team. The other two spots are now made by committee decision immediately after Nationals ends (like before they go home for the night!) That being said, the second and third spots routinely go to the second and third place finishers, but that is because they are usually the most deserving, both by their placement at Nationals and their performance over the season as a whole. However, should Sasha or Michelle find themselves in fourth place at the end of Nationals, I would be shocked if either one is not given one of the spots on the Olympic team as they are by far the U.S.' best hope for medals in the Ladies' division.

 

[dancindiva03]

I think Alissa might have a chance, if she lands everything and spins her usual gorgeous way, but her stroking and footwork are inferior; She just doesn't get as much speed.

Alissa's stroking is inferior to whose? Please don't tell me Sasha, she has to have the weakest, most akward stroking I've ever seen from a skater at her level. I agree Alissa needs to work on her footwork, moving it out a little more and adding some speed, but I've seen much worse stroking than hers.

 

[brinababy87]

Alissa's stroking is inferior to whose? Please don't tell me Sasha, she has to have the weakest, most akward stroking I've ever seen from a skater at her level. I agree Alissa needs to work on her footwork, moving it out a little more and adding some speed, but I've seen much worse stroking than hers.

Don't get me wrong--Kwan has much better stroking than Sasha and Sasha has had a bad history of her stroking--but Alissa at the moment does not cover the ice as well, and that is one factor in her placement at Nationals compared to the other top skaters.

 

[R.D.]

If Alissa blitzes the GP, including the final, that at least will put her on the map as someone the judges will be watching. Others (Katy Taylor, for instance) is in danger of getting lost in the shuffle at Nationals no matter how well she skates.

Good point. Maybe this might tip the scales in Alissa's direction in a close call at the Nationals (this does not include Cohen/Kwan/Meissner). But I still think Kimmie has that third spot (she'd better start looking at what's behind her, though).

 

[bdreampixie]

Don't get me wrong--Kwan has much better stroking than Sasha and Sasha has had a bad history of her stroking--but Alissa at the moment does not cover the ice as well, and that is one factor in her placement at Nationals compared to the other top skaters.

I haven't seen Alissa this year, but I saw her at Nats last year and she seemed to cover the ice pretty well, at least comparable to Sasha. Sasha skates kind of slow, so I'd say Alissa is comparable to her in that.

Sasha skates with more confidence though and is much more polished, and if they both skate about the same SC definitely deserves higher PCS. Alissa still has a bit of a juniorish look to her, but hopefully with the experience of this season that will improve.

Unless Michelle and Sasha have a meltdown (which is always possible) it will be really hard for either Kimmie or Alissa to beat them.

Nationals will be very interesting to watch. I hope all the ladies skate great..

 

[mzheng]

You are kidding, right?

 

[soogar]

However, should Sasha or Michelle find themselves in fourth place at the end of Nationals, I would be shocked if either one is not given one of the spots on the Olympic team as they are by far the U.S.' best hope for medals in the Ladies' division.

I think you're holding Michelle with way too much regard. Sasha will make the team because she is proven under COP and is comfortable with the new scoring system. Michelle is not and keeps on b!tching about how she can't just skate and she has to keep counting. Well she can count at home if she doesn't skate well at Nats. Not when you have a skater like Alissa who is bringing it on the international level and who doesn't have any problem with the high level spins and jumps (at least for now) and Emily is also a complete skater with a COP friendly program. I think Emily is the most promising of the newcomers and she will be very hard to beat for a spot on the team come Nationals. Not only is she a better skater than Sarah, she has the confidence and toughness of her sister. She will skate well when it counts.