State of US Ladies in skating III: 2014-15 Season

[MalAssada]

I would definitely follow such a thread. Regarding US ladies, I think that as long as Polina has a clean season she will soon be US' s number 1. Gracie's hype was already too high, IMO, when she was at her peak last season. So far her performances this year aren't looking promising, and the federation is probably keeping an eye on Polina already. When she proves herself, the field will be all hers, considering Mirai's URs, Ashley's tech and Gracie's confidence in herself.

Oh! And I agree that Sammi's jumps looked very tilted on screen, so much I was afraid she would have a rough fall in her (flip? I think it was a flip).

 

[apgold]

Oh! And I agree that Sammi's jumps looked very tilted on screen, so much I was afraid she would have a rough fall in her (flip? I think it was a flip).

I find her 2As to be the most tilted jumps and yet she always lands them, don't know how she does that. I think that's just her technique but it seems to work for her even if it's not the most appealing looking.

 

[LiamForeman]

For me the big issue is that there is "State of US ladies" thread and no "State of Russian ladies" thread which I assume would be no less important and interesting. May be I am going to start one and keep it afloat.

Why don't you start one? I like to read about non-NA skaters. In fact it was about four years ago at this time that I discovered Julia Lipnitskaya and it was a treat to watch her develop over the past four years. The field is so deep in Russia that I'm sure a Russian Ladies thread would take traction.

 

[Mrs. P]

Why don't you start one? I like to read about non-NA skaters. In fact it was about four years ago at this time that I discovered Julia Lipnitskaya and it was a treat to watch her develop over the past four years. The field is so deep in Russia that I'm sure a Russian Ladies thread would take traction.

:yes:

Let's face it, many of us don't speak Russian -- so a thread that includes news from our Russian ladies would be great! Also, it would be interesting to hear how they stack up as the season goes on.

 

[samson]

Reading the blog, I think this is the first time it's really registered that this will be Polina's first grand prix ever. She's so young, so it's not that surprising, but still, funny to think that an Olympian and top 10 finisher at worlds has never appeared on the grand prix circuit. It will be great to see how she's doing at China, and also see her compete against Elizaveta. I think Eliza might have the edge, certainly in the short program, but if Polina brings her a-game it could be a good match up. PLUS after this weekend I think the grand prix final and who is really in the running to make it will start to become clear!

Edited to add: I completely forgot Jullia will be there too! Actually, with Kanako there too this event has a lot of potential for strong skating and good competition. WE SHALL SEE!!

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

Reading the blog, I think this is the first time it's really registered that this will be Polina's first grand prix ever.

It is pretty incredible when you think that Polina's first senior international competition was the Olympics. She represented the US well in her junior events on the GP last year so it will be interesting to see her skate in a senior event in which she has a reasonable shot of medaling.

 

[ice coverage]

I never said "used" I speculated whether she "thinks" it is unfair - we have the words spoken like "babies" and "sonograms" and we speculate whether it is a funny joke or frustration. And we will never know for sure. But anyway, I agree that the issue is minor both for the FS world and GS forum. For me the big issue is that there is "State of US ladies" thread and no "State of Russian ladies" thread which I assume would be no less important and interesting. May be I am going to start one and keep it afloat. ...

I too hope that you will take the bull by the horns and start a "State of Russian ladies" thread, which I would expect to be very popular.

[ETA, update: I see that you have done so. Good job. ]​

I wish I had a kopek for every GS post about Russian ladies since the time I joined the forum. They're spread out over assorted threads, but the number is ginormous.
For the past two seasons, the "Russian skaters, rules, and events" threads alone had over a thousand posts between them.

2013-14
http://www.goldenskate.com/forum/sh...-2014-Russian-skaters-rules-and-events/page40​

2012-13
http://www.goldenskate.com/forum/sh...-2013-Russian-skaters-rules-and-events/page32​

As for Wagner:
Sorry that I misunderstood that you were only speculating whether she thinks something is unfair. My opinion is that she does not.
I do think that she was both making a funny joke and and expressing frustration all at once. Frustration, yes -- but rudeness to younger skaters, no.

 

[shine]

There was a funny moment when I discussed Sochi with some of my friends who are not FS fans one lady said: "I liked only a scandinavian blonde who performed to Grieg". Well, she somehow combined Grieg and blonde to come up with "scandinavian" but of course it was about Polina.

Well, your non-FS fan friend has great taste! That was the first time I saw Edmund's skating and for me, it was truly like a breath of fresh air in a very underwhelming Olympics!

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Well, your non-FS fan friend has great taste! That was the first time I saw Edmund's skating and for me, it was truly like a breath of fresh air in a very underwhelming Olympics!

Really? I wouldn't call the Olympics underwhelming except for the men's competition. The ladies' competition had some excellent skates, including near perfect/perfect programs by the top 3 medalists.

 

[LyraAngelica]

The US program overall is in dire need of fresh talent with the skating skills, competitive drive, and high performance quality that I feel is severely lacking right now. No offense to the current skaters but I think this quad is going be bleak. There are no standout athletes that thrive on competition or exceed expectations.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

I think that's not the most optimistic. After all, we probably will get 3 different medalists from the US in the first 3 GP events which isn't bad.

It might be bleak in that there probably won't be a US world champion but Polina shows potential (and the new edge rules favour her), Gold is not out yet, and even Wagner pulls decent (though not upper echelon) scores. The bleak future has more to do with the insane Russian field, moreso than the US women being blah.

 

[Mrs. P]

I think that's not the most optimistic. After all, we probably will get 3 different medalists from the US in the first 3 GP events which isn't bad.

It might be bleak in that there probably won't be a US world champion but Polina shows potential (and the new edge rules favour her), Gold is not out yet, and even Wagner pulls decent (though not upper echelon) scores. The bleak future has more to do with the insane Russian field, moreso than the US women being blah.

Good points. And I still establish that every program will go through peaks and valleys. The U.S. was highly spoiled by having such a streak of ladies contenders in the last four decades, that this current valley seems especially hurting.

Russia (or the USSR) only has had four Olympic medals historically,though has fared well recently (medals in 3 out of the last 4 Olympiads) so now it's just their time in their sun to make some streaks of their own.

 

[dorispulaski]

US Pairs and dance are relatively.deep these days. US ladies not too interesting or impressive, and a very shallow pool of talent. Given that I have minimal interest in ladies, I think it is a good thing. but it won't last-the kids will.see the void in ladies and will stay in singles, rather than converting to dance & pairs.

 

[shine]

Really? I wouldn't call the Olympics underwhelming except for the men's competition. The ladies' competition had some excellent skates, including near perfect/perfect programs by the top 3 medalists.

It's simply my personal sentiment.

 

[mskater93]

I think Mirai's UR's are completely mental. She does the jumps fine in warm up.

I watched the 6 minute warm ups pretty closely at SkAm and she didn't rotate everything in the warm up. In addition, she did herself no favors by jumping 3Lo < right by the tech panel and judges in the warm up and a 2A < to boot, although, in her defense, she started her warm up with that 2A...

 

[b-man]

US ladies not too interesting or impressive, and a very shallow pool of talent. .

I think the US ladies are very deep in talent, just as deep as the Russians. Unfortunately, the Russians may dominate the first five placements on the world scene, while the US may dominate placements 6-10, with a Japanese lady somewhere in the mix.

 

[StitchMonkey]

I think the US ladies are very deep in talent, just as deep as the Russians. Unfortunately, the Russians may dominate the first five placements on the world scene, while the US may dominate placements 6-10, with a Japanese lady somewhere in the mix.

Have to agree calling our crop shallow is not really fair. Saying not interesting is more so. The Russians are just better. still having three who can place in the 4-10 spots, and a few spares that could as well is not really shallow. More not good enough.

 

[lefeury]

I'm looking forward to Polina this weekend. It's a tough field with the Russian ladies and should really help gauge how she will hold up against them.. I'm pulling for her!

 

[SimplyAFan]

I'm really excited to see the GP debuts for Polina and Ashley C. If Polina skates clean in the SP, she stands a good chance at a medal in my opinion. I want to see all 3 US ladies (and the others as well) put together 2 good skates and see where they stand because I think this is a very interesting field! In addition to the Russians, you have Li and Murakami who could also put up big scores.

I agree with whoever said that the US field isn't shallow. Granted, it's not the Russian field, but no other country has that right now. Unfortunately, the US ladies don't seem to compete well. Some do better than others in that area. But I've said it before and I'll say it again, the US isn't putting enough effort into developing younger skaters to handle the level of competition at international events. That said, I think Gracie has natural talent that would be more evident with different packaging/programs. Polina is very talented from a technical standpoint I'm interested to see how she develops from an artistic standpoint. For now though, I enjoy watching her because she seems to love being on the ice

 

[Jammers]

I'm really excited to see the GP debuts for Polina and Ashley C. If Polina skates clean in the SP, she stands a good chance at a medal in my opinion. I want to see all 3 US ladies (and the others as well) put together 2 good skates and see where they stand because I think this is a very interesting field! In addition to the Russians, you have Li and Murakami who could also put up big scores.

I agree with whoever said that the US field isn't shallow. Granted, it's not the Russian field, but no other country has that right now. Unfortunately, the US ladies don't seem to compete well. Some do better than others in that area. But I've said it before and I'll say it again, the US isn't putting enough effort into developing younger skaters to handle the level of competition at international events. That said, I think Gracie has natural talent that would be more evident with different packaging/programs. Polina is very talented from a technical standpoint I'm interested to see how she develops from an artistic standpoint. For now though, I enjoy watching her because she seems to love being on the ice

Gracie's problem is just like Mirai and Alissa she's not a very good competitor and seems to lack the killer instinct needed to be a champion. If she just would land her damn jumps and not make boneheaded mistakes like she did at SA she would be at the top of the podium and not winning Bronze medals.