State of US Ladies in skating III: 2014-15 Season | Page 67 | Golden Skate

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

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I have a same feeling though if Polina skates relatively clean with minor mistakes her PCS will probably be higher than Courtney's. Isn't interesting that both have Russian roots - Polina's mother is Russian and Courtney's three grandparents are Russian?

I agree, I think it could be really close between those two. A clean Courtney would probably get the technical edge, depending on how strict the caller is on UR which Polina has been prone to this season. Polina should beat her in components, though I hope she has improved her speed and power since the GP.
 
Polina Edmunds quotes from her pre-Nats media teleconference this afternoon, as tweeted by Michelle Kennedy @IntoSkating:

“I’m 16 so puberty is upon me.” @PolinaEdmunds said about her continued physical growth that has caused some challenges. #NC2015

“I’m still very confident at winning nationals and being a contender at worlds.” @PolinaEdmunds @USFigureSkating Conference Call #NC2015

When @PolinaEdmunds met @BarackObama at the White House she said that he seemed "very impressed" by her young age as an Olympian.

ETA, @LynnRutherford's tweets:

On @USFigureSkating call, @PolinaEdmunds sounded confident going into U.S. Championships. Has no changed any elements in SP or FS. (1/3)

More @PolinaEdmunds: At 16 she says growth spurt has caused her to adjust jumps: "I'm going from a girl to woman; puberty is upon me." (2/3)

More @PolinaEdmunds: She is confident she has chance for U.S. title: "I have difficult elements . . . I can do well & contend at worlds" 3/3
 
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I'm glad Polina is keeping her confidence up but based on her performances on the GP this season, I don't think she'll be a contender at worlds this year. With strong performances she should be able to stay in the top eight. but given her tendency to under-rotate her jumps as well as her edge call problems and low PCS, I don't really see her as much of a contender at this time. Good performances at 4CC may change that though...
 
I'm glad Polina is keeping her confidence up but based on her performances on the GP this season, I don't think she'll be a contender at worlds this year. With strong performances she should be able to stay in the top eight. but given her tendency to under-rotate her jumps as well as her edge call problems and low PCS, I don't really see her as much of a contender at this time. Good performances at 4CC may change that though...

That is great she is confident because her GP resuts and body changes suggest differently. She looks to be picked off by e of the many American girls. Staying in top 8 in the world would be awesome but also assuming she makes it out of the US.
 
I'm glad Polina is keeping her confidence up but based on her performances on the GP this season, I don't think she'll be a contender at worlds this year. With strong performances she should be able to stay in the top eight. but given her tendency to under-rotate her jumps as well as her edge call problems and low PCS, I don't really see her as much of a contender at this time. Good performances at 4CC may change that though...

Polina underrotated ONE of her seven triples in the FS at each of her two GP events. I'd say completing six triples is pretty darned good when you consider that Ashley usually gets credit for five and Mirai, for only three.
 
Edmunds' full teleconference is now up on IN for your listening pleasure...

The most interesting quote is early on when she admits to thinking the judges are stricter with her as a newcomer. I know a lot of fans think that way so it was interesting to hear a skater say it as well. Like Wagner, I enjoy her candor, it's refreshing. Definitely no princess found here!
 
Polina underrotated ONE of her seven triples in the FS at each of her two GP events. I'd say completing six triples is pretty darned good when you consider that Ashley usually gets credit for five and Mirai, for only three.

You of course failed to mention Edmunds got 3 UR's in her free skate at at NHK (two on double axels) and had a fall, and two edge calls in addition to her UR in the FS in China. Edmunds is scoring 20 points below Wagner and in the same range as Nagasu.
 
You of course failed to mention Edmunds got 3 UR's in her free skate at at NHK (two on double axels) and had a fall, and two edge calls in addition to her UR in the FS in China. Edmunds is scoring 20 points below Wagner and in the same range as Nagasu.

But double axels are not triples. Or so the thinking goes I guess. . .
 
But double axels are not triples. Or so the thinking goes I guess. . .

Right.

I guess, two things explain the relatively lower scores (from Worlds 2014):

-- A UR is a UR, even if it's a 2A. She lost 4.18 points in BV. She lost another 3.04 points in GOE from the URs and the two ! on the flips. That's a total of 7.22 points.
-- Her PCS dropped greatly from last year. At Worlds she got 60.42 at Worlds. So it was probably a shock to see it drop by nearly 7 points at NHK for a "clean" program (54.54). This is probably what is bugging her, that judges dropped her PCS that much. Had the PCS stuck, she would have had 119+ and gone up a few spots.

The other thing to consider is she's probably aware what other "newbies" get and feels maybe short shifted a bit. Gracie Gold, for example, at Skate Canada 2012 (her first GP) had PCS only three points lower (51+) and that was technically not a good program. (And she was 9th after the SP)
 
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Polina is going to have to learn that GP judges tend to be a lot stingier than the judges at Worlds when it comes to PCS scores, at least for skaters who have not yet won Senior ISU Championship medals. Yulia Lipnitskaia can UR, fall, and get edge calls left and right but she will still get huge PCS scores because she has won medals at Euros and Worlds.

What Polina needs to do is to nail her short programs, then she will likely see much higher PCS marks for her free skates---as with anything else, making a good first impression does help.
 
^^Agreed. The truth of the matter is Polina missed a golden opportunity to bypass all of the "newbie" treatment this season. Technically, she's a newbie; but her top 10 showings at both the Olympics and worlds put her at an advantage. She was in a prime position to build on top of the higher PCS she'd earned the season before rather than starting from scratch like most newbies do. Unfortunately she wasn't able to capitalize on that opportunity and now she finds herself right where any other newbie who had a so-so debut would find themselves: not on the judges' radar.

I'm sure she'll get higher scores at nationals. The field isn't really as deep when it comes to 3rd options for the US, so she already has a leg up there. But as far as her getting higher scores internationally, it's going to take some strong and consistent skating to get her scores up enough to be competitive.
 
You of course failed to mention Edmunds got 3 UR's in her free skate at at NHK (two on double axels) and had a fall, and two edge calls in addition to her UR in the FS in China.

Polina didn't fall in the FS at Cup of China. She finished second in the FS, despite the UR, edge calls and a time deduction. She fell on the combo of her short program. Polina's problems in the GP largely stemmed from errors in the short. I think she fell on the combo and singled the flip in the short at NHK. If she skates a clean short at nationals and repeats either of her GP free skate performances, she will probably do well there.
 
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Polina didn't fall in the FS at Cup of China. She finished second in the FS, despite the UR, edge calls and a time deduction. She fell on the combo of her short program. Polina's problems in the GP largely stemmed from errors in the short. I think she fell on the combo and singled the flip in the short at NHK. If she skates a clean short at nationals and repeats either of her GP free skate performances, she will probably do well there.

Sorry, you are correct. I mistook the -1.00 deduction for a fall. when it was a time deduction. She got 110.95 for the FS.
 
It does seem like 16 is the age when many lady skaters start to have to adjust to different bodies. And then again at 18. It's rough, nobody wants to see a talented skater peak at 15, especially when they haven't reached the goals they might be seeking. I think even Michelle Kwan struggled around that age for a little bit. Good for Polina for being matter a fact about it. She strikes me as having her head screwed on well. It's a pity that she is struggling this season when it you really wanted her to make her mark but she doesn't sound like she is in despair or getting burned out or anything. And it's not an Olympic year.
 
After watching Polina's FS at COC again, I believe the judges were way too stingy with her score. She skated very well and should have been scored much higher IMO. I do not like her costumes, however, and she needs a more mature look.
 
But will it get her more points?

I'd MUCH rather her focus on skating two clean programs and landing all her jumps.

Time after time I seem to see US skaters fall into this "I need to be mature" trap and then away go the jumps and before you know it, they're done. No wonder why they haven't had a world medal in 8 years.
 
I would rather have her look her age and skate the heck out her programs.

I don't think her LP this season makes her look her age. Peter Pan fairy dance is rather youthful.

The problem is her long limbs among other things tend to make Polina look very young and youthful. Peter Pan is not helping, it is exacerbating the issue. She needs a make over to look 16 going on 17. Right now she looks much younger than her age. She could get a makeover to look like a mature composed 16 year old young lady and I think that would help. She needs to try to at least look high school and right now she looks much more junior high/middle school to me. A makeover to be more mature does not mean she needs to look college.
 
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