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

[skatedreamer]

I hope Polina pulls herself up because she has so much potential. A clean skate would have easily put her into 3rd.

I think some of things may have worked against her psychologically...
1. She was essentially skating in what is normally her sleeping time. (The Russian girls were skating in essentially their afternoon period)
2. There weren't many expectations on her last year, but now people except good results. Gracie and Ashley have each placed and she would need to place too to compete with them and have an outside shot at the final.
3. She's skating with Lipnitskaia...
4. But in the first group where she can expect a lower score ceiling and see others crash before she gets onto the ice...
5. Maybe the blogging was a distraction... I think trying to write for public consumption while prepping for a competition may put you in an non-optimal mindset.
etc, etc...

She's not going to make the Grand Prix final, so she should relax and enjoy getting the experience in. She'll have new platforms to prove herself soon... platforms that probably won't be available for 1 or 2 of the top 5 Russian ladies.

:agree: You said a lot of what I was about to type, and more. B/c of golden411's post above, I was also wondering if the pollution was also a factor. Another possibility: she's had less international experience than the other women and this is the first time she's had to face this kind of competition w/ all these new expectations. Last year she didn't have anything to lose but now she's on everyone's radar and it's a whole new ball game.

Also, in that context, the blogging makes even less sense. She needs all her energy -- physical and mental -- for her own performance. IMO, blogging could wait until she's more seasoned in international competition and can better handle all the distractions/pressure.

Not trying to make excuses, just wondering. Still, it's disappointing. I was hoping she'd come out like gangbusters. Hoping she'll learn from this experience and wishing her well for the LP and the rest of the season!

 

[Alba]

Writing could help to clear your mind and relax. So, if she loves writing she might feel that blogging helps her.
We all deal in our own way with the preparation and the nerves.

 

[Alba]

The discussion of VeriSkate starts at approx. 1:16 at the link above; the data above are from the chart at approx 1:37.

Are they going to do the same thing for CoC?

 

[oleada]

The pollution is a factor for everyone, though. I don't think that's a valid excuse.

If she had skated well, the judges would have gone with it, as the three skates before her were pretty tragic.I was concerned by how slow she looked...

And not adding the 2t to the flip was just dumb it is COP 101. I know she is new to the GP but she has been competing at a high level for long enough to know better.

 

[[email protected]]

I don't buy the pollution thing - I was at Beijing Olympics. It was not the mountain air but it also was nothing like Moscow during fire smogs. Jet lag, though, could be essential - both Radionova and Pogorilaya complained after SA and SC. But what looks like the fundamental reason - everybody was discussing the growth spurt which will stop the Russians. But the toll is visibly on Polina. She looks much bigger and "woman-like" than the last season while Yulia looks the same. Which brings me to a sad realization that I was too optimistic placing Polina on the podium in the predictions game.

 

[Ophelia]

If pollution is going to be a factor, then everyone should watch out for Worlds next year since it's being held in Shanghai too.

 

[fallingsk8er]

I hope Polina pulls herself up because she has so much potential. A clean skate would have easily put her into 3rd.

I think some of things may have worked against her psychologically...
1. She was essentially skating in what is normally her sleeping time. (The Russian girls were skating in essentially their afternoon period)
2. There weren't many expectations on her last year, but now people except good results. Gracie and Ashley have each placed and she would need to place too to compete with them and have an outside shot at the final.
3. She's skating with Lipnitskaia...
4. But in the first group where she can expect a lower score ceiling and see others crash before she gets onto the ice...
5. Maybe the blogging was a distraction... I think trying to write for public consumption while prepping for a competition may put you in an non-optimal mindset.
etc, etc...

.

...or maybe her timing was a little off on the lutz and she fell

 

[tulosai]

...or maybe her timing was a little off on the lutz and she fell

I don't think anyone is upset with her that she fell on the Lutz. Ice is slippery and falls can happen to anyone. I think the puzzlement is in her having some kind of mental block afterwards and not doing a combo. That was stupid, even if understandable. I think that's where a lot of this talk/speculation comes from.

 

[ice coverage]

The pollution is a factor for everyone, though. I don't think that's a valid excuse....

Just want to be 100% clear that what Polina wrote was not any attempt to make an excuse for her yet-to-be-skated SP. (I never said that she was trying to make an excuse.)

Polina's observations on Wednesday about the pollution were part of her blogging about her Shanghai trip in general -- incl. meals, shopping, etc.
What she wrote about pollution was absolutely not in the context of wondering whether it would affect her skating. It was not in the context of her skating at all.

(BTW, I agree that the pollution is a factor for everyone -- but in theory, I can imagine that some athletes might be more sensitive to it than others.)

Writing could help to clear your mind and relax. So, if she loves writing she might feel that blogging helps her.
We all deal in our own way with the preparation and the nerves.

:agree: Agree with Alba's post.

Polina has been very active on social media in the past (including during competitions), so I do get the sense that she is more than happy to share her experiences (via tweets, photos, videos, etc.). Case in point: IN so far has published only two of Polina's Cup of China photos -- whereas she herself has posted at least four on her own Instagram (only one is a duplicate of what IN is using).
And IIRC, Polina has been an IN blogger at least once before.

(As an aside, several others who have contributed blogging to icenetwork and/or ice-dance.com have implied that in their cases, it is counting as homework in some way during their absence from school when they are competing. [Some even have given little shout-outs to their teachers by name.] Whether the same is true for Polina, I do not know. But she does attend a normal school, and my hunch is that keeping up with her assignments is something that she takes in stride.)

Are they going to do the same thing for CoC?

Unfortunately, the thing is that "they" -- meaning the source of Canadian coverage -- will be different for Cup of China.

TSN/CTV aired Craig Buntin's data re Wagner et al. at Skate Canada International.

CBC has Canadian broadcasting rights to all other GPs, I believe.
If/when CBC invites Buntin to provide analysis for any of its skating coverage, I bet that he would be more than happy to do so. But I don't know whether CBC already has brought him on board. (Pj Kwong of the CBC has interviewed Buntin about VeriSkate, so her interest is a good sign.)

If a non-Canadian broadcaster embraces Buntin, that would be great as well.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

I don't think anyone is upset with her that she fell on the Lutz. Ice is slippery and falls can happen to anyone. I think the puzzlement is in her having some kind of mental block afterwards and not doing a combo. That was stupid, even if understandable. I think that's where a lot of this talk/speculation comes from.

While it's a bit grievous, I don't think it's worth over-analyzing it as being mentally unprepared. It's not like she's the first skater to not do a combo. Plenty of skaters (especially in their FS) neglect to do a 3-jump combo or max out their combo usage. Usually skaters have a plan going into a program and a fall can really mentally unhinge you. Especially if you're used to practicing jumping passes a certain way and in time to the music.

 

[SimplyAFan]

I'm hoping Polina rebounds tomorrow with a skate that she can be proud of. Now she's skating with a little less pressure than in the SP. If she is basically out of medal contention (or feels that she is), she can just focus on putting out her best for her own satisfaction rather than worrying about placements. Not trying to say that she was only focused on placement, but I'm sure that was on her mind in some capacity. This is where lack of experience hurts skaters. I really wish the US junior champion automatically got sent to junior worlds, as it would expose them to the pressure of competing internationally.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

I'm hoping Polina rebounds tomorrow with a skate that she can be proud of. Now she's skating with a little less pressure than in the SP. If she is basically out of medal contention (or feels that she is), she can just focus on putting out her best for her own satisfaction rather than worrying about placements. Not trying to say that she was only focused on placement, but I'm sure that was on her mind in some capacity. This is where lack of experience hurts skaters. I really wish the US junior champion automatically got sent to junior worlds, as it would expose them to the pressure of competing internationally.

I don't think Polina can blame lack of experience. She had a good competition at Glacier Falls. And last year, she went to the Olympics and Worlds. She simply made a grave error and couldn't recover -- I mean, the same thing happened to Hanyu in his SP and he's Olympic champion. It happens. But how you recover is most important.

 

[noskates]

I think the fact that there were no expectations or pressure on her last year cannot be minimized. We've seen it over and over again. But she needs to toughen up mentally and avoid the grave errors. This may be a wakeup call for her. I hope she rebounds and has a great LP - not just for her placement but to regain any confidence she may have lost over the SP.

 

[skatedreamer]

When mentioning the pollution, I specifically said that I wasn't trying to make that (or anything else) an excuse -- only wondering if it could have been a factor. Some people are more sensitive to atmospheric conditions than others. At any rate, it was purely speculation.

 

[flutzy13]

I think the fact that there were no expectations or pressure on her last year cannot be minimized. We've seen it over and over again. But she needs to toughen up mentally and avoid the grave errors. This may be a wakeup call for her. I hope she rebounds and has a great LP - not just for her placement but to regain any confidence she may have lost over the SP.

Don't really agree...yet. If she tanks the FS too, I might see your point more. But I don't think we can write off as having a lack of mental toughness a la Gracie based off one error in her SP.

While it's a bit grievous, I don't think it's worth over-analyzing it as being mentally unprepared. It's not like she's the first skater to not do a combo. Plenty of skaters (especially in their FS) neglect to do a 3-jump combo or max out their combo usage. Usually skaters have a plan going into a program and a fall can really mentally unhinge you. Especially if you're used to practicing jumping passes a certain way and in time to the music.

I agree. I think she rarely misses that combo in practice and doesn't often find herself needing to readjust. I think she made a technical error and then autopiloted through the rest of her program in its typical form- and did so quite well. I think she'll learn from this and be fine.

Honestly, I think she'll still end up 4th here, which will be a very respectable GP debut but maybe keep some of the pressure off her going into Nationals.

 

[Icey]

Is the air inside the arena and hotels polluted too?

 

[Barb]

I still have much confidence with Polina :yes:, I can´t believe she fell, but her skating was beautiful, the dress is horrible but I guess she can´t afford a better costume so it is ok.
She needs more international expose, she needs to go to 4cc if it is possible, especially if she can´t get GPF.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

I'm very curious to see how Polina does at Nationals. She benefitted a lot from skating late in the SP and strong in the LP last year. I wonder if the judges will score her like an Olympian/World Team member or if she could get buried behind the up-and-comers if she falters.

 

[noskates]

Chapis, I'm so glad you mentioned the dress. It's wayyyy too busy and doesn't really do much for her. She looked like an awkward stork out there and she's such a beautiful young girl. I have hopes for her LP.

 

[AsadaFanBoy]

Change of edge on a Biellmann. Phenomenal. Surprised she didn't win bronze.