2014 NHK Trophy Ladies Free Skate 11/29

[Figure 8's]

Very happy for Gracie Gold. She is just as deserving of the Gold as any one else.

 

[Alba]

Isn't that the truth. Some people seem to make a game of tearing down the winner.

I'm thinking it should be included as a discipline of FS, and become an Olympic sport as well. :sarcasm:

 

[Alex D]

I'm thinking it should be included as a discipline of FS, and become an Olympic sport as well. :sarcasm:

That would be the first "discipline" that I wouldn't be interested in watching

 

[Meoima]

I'm thinking it should be included as a discipline of FS, and become an Olympic sport as well. :sarcasm:

Lol, they are tearing down all the skaters who didn't even make it to podium so...

 

[Red Helicopter]

Murakami doubled her 3L. So doing a 3S<+2L+2L combo she repeated the double loop three times which is not allowed. Had it been a 3S+2L or 3S+2T+2L she would have been fine. But the 3S was UR anyways so it probably wouldn't have been enough for bronze anyways.

And this rule absolutely doesn't make any sense, from my point of view. For 3S<+2L she would get about 4-5 points, but due to EXTRA jump she gets zero for full combination!
This rule definitely should be modified, it's not fair to turn elements into zero just because of miscalculation of the skater.

 

[skateluver]

Congrats to Gracie!! Well done and should I say.. finally she delivered!! I think the placements were correct. I don't agree with people thinking that Miss Saigon is "too old" for Satoko. I think it actually makes her look more mature and it is by far my favorite women's FS program this season. Too bad she didn't qualify for the GP final, but I am looking forward to seeing who will take the top podium!!

 

[humbaba]

Polina burned all her good wills. She's done. If the usfsa continue stupidly to promote her, she will be in the high teen at worlds.

Is that hate? Look at her trend. Party is over.

That is an unduly pessimistic view of Polina's future, to say the least. Polina's 3Lz3T in the LP scored 10.80 points. I believe that is the highest score awarded to any one element in the entire ladies' competition. Her 3F1Lo3S scored 9.50 points, even with a ! call. Any skater would be lucky to have that to build on. What hurt Polina on the TES was the <s and a slew of negative GOEs, especially on her 2A. I see no reason to assume she can't improve in these areas, if she works at it.

I suspect that what hurts Polina's PCS most is her inability to maintain her speed throughout the program. When the pressure is on she seems to slow down and really draw out the approach to her jumps. Also, Polina's LP is intricate and nuanced. I love the program; it's my favorite ladies' LP of the season. But it's more challenging to keep the speed up in an intricate program than in a more conventional one. However, Polina isn't an innately slow skater. She isn't fast, but she can move at a respectable speed. She just needs to do it throughout her performance.

Polina is tall for a skater and that does present challenges. Tall skaters generally take longer to get their full growth and longer to get their bodies under control. The up side is if a tall skater can hang in there and get everything together, they tend to look more impressive and commanding on the ice than their smaller competitors. What Polina needs right now is persistence and time to season.

Miyahara is another skater who needs to simmer for a while. Her fans tend to talk as though she's already there, when she's really just starting. Over-hyping her isn't doing her any favors. That's too much pressure to dump on those tiny shoulders.

For those who are upset that Gracie won with a flawed skate, let me point out that whoever got the gold at this competition would have won with a flawed skate. All the ladies in contention for the top spot had mistakes in their programs. They were all under a lot of pressure. Leonova needed to impress the folks back home to bolster her chances in the extremely competitive Russian ladies field. Gold, Murakami and Miyahara also had to worry about competition at home, as well as snagging a GPF spot.

 

[katia]

"Not sure what to say about Polina - her skating is rather "flat" without landing the tricks or when she makes errors. Her SS and pcs aren't great either without the tricks as the scores show. She got beat by Daleman. "

you know that Polina and Daleman are both 16, so at the age of Gold who is 19 she may be as good, and so may be Daleman?
BTW I am glad that Daleman is getting better and better, she is avery talented young lady. She is not yet on the podium but perhaps next year.

 

[anthologyz]

this is perhaps the first competition where i've enjoyed leonova's skating in quite some time, step-outs and all. she always resides in the realm of camp for me, but i think when she can bring down the anjelika krylova face from 11 to 7 she's fine.

gracie, gracie, gracie. there is so much power, strength, and substance in terms of pure skating ability, but these programs are as boring as linda fratianne. i hope once she's done with the frank carroll finishing school, she can assert a more authentic style for herself.

 

[gmyers]

And this rule absolutely doesn't make any sense, from my point of view. For 3S<+2L she would get about 4-5 points, but due to EXTRA jump she gets zero for full combination!
This rule definitely should be modified, it's not fair to turn elements into zero just because of miscalculation of the skater.

Yo are right!! Hanyu single in sp was invalidated not the whole thing. Only thing that should be invalidated is the one thing that's illegal.

 

[Blades of Passion]

The single jump shouldn't even be invalidated, it should be scored as the next lowest jump. If she had done 3S+2Lo+1Lo, she would have received a lot of points for it. But instead by doing a 2Lo instead of 1Lo, she receives nothing. It's the dumbest thing imaginable.

 

[[email protected]]

I looked at some of the performances twice. Not exciting competition , unfortunately. I think that both 186 for Leonova and 191 for Gold are too generous. Still, the final placement is correct. Satoko has a weak SP - I already said that the last time. No Mozart there, sorry. And her skating in general is very small. Here I see clear differences with Yulia who is not a big person herself but who does not skate like a small girl unlike Satoko. Kanako could not expect much after the program she delivered.

But the main outcome for me was the realization that despite all the off-season talks how the growth spurt will challenge the Russian wonder girls the only visible victim so far is Polina who was kept out of the discussion then. I remember, "Polina or Yulia will be the star of the next season?" What an irrelevant question now.

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

For those who are upset that Gracie won with a flawed skate, let me point out that whoever got the gold at this competition would have won with a flawed skate. All the ladies in contention for the top spot had mistakes in their programs.

THIS that and a scoop of ice cream

 

[Jammers]

People seemed to have forgotten that Yulia won at COR last season with a terrible LP. In fact it was worse then what Gracie put out there.

 

[creaturelover]

I guess you didn't notice the other competitors also made errors. I can argue that the score was bit high, but she did enough TES wise, even with the fall to win.

Finally, some sense!!!

 

[wordsworthgirl]

THIS that and a scoop of ice cream

Hi Sam-Skwantch! Thanks so much for the wonderful video! I sent you a private message in response but I got a reply that your mailbox was full- empty it a bit and I will resend!

 

[chloepoco]

Satoko has a weak SP - I already said that the last time. No Mozart there, sorry. And her skating in general is very small. Here I see clear differences with Yulia who is not a big person herself but who does not skate like a small girl unlike Satoko.

I don't why some people are so quick to tear down Satoko. Not everyone thinks she "skates like a small girl"--I think Satoko's maturity is amongst the best of all the skaters.

 

[Meoima]

Can anyone who actually watched Satoko live enlighten us? What about Satoko's ice coverage? Her projection? Compare to other top ladies.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

And this rule absolutely doesn't make any sense, from my point of view. For 3S<+2L she would get about 4-5 points, but due to EXTRA jump she gets zero for full combination!
This rule definitely should be modified, it's not fair to turn elements into zero just because of miscalculation of the skater.

Agreed! They should just give zero points to the repeated jump, or at worst, make the whole combo worth 50% or something.

 

[Alba]

People seemed to have forgotten that Yulia won at COR last season with a terrible LP. In fact it was worse then what Gracie put out there.

Who're these people? :sarcasm: Did you check that topic and what was said about her?
Hell, even when she skates her heart out many are still angry with her win.