2015 Europeans Ladies Free Skate, Jan. 31

[Violet Bliss]

I think the Liz/Elena rivalry is more interesting (right now) then the Gracie/Ashley rivalry

One is a world stage rivalry while the other is a domestic one. Neither of the latter pair is in a rivalry with either of the first pair.

 

[Elaine]

I just watched Anna's program to see this. I wasn't planning to because I really don't think firebird is the program for her.. and it still is not working.. at all. I think firebird requires a lot of showmanship and she has none of it. Her spins are great though! I hope she can get better programs that fits her strengths. Also, her and Elena should stop just randomly throwing in 2As at the end of their programs to fill up their allowed jumping passes. They should find places where they go along with the music. I really like Liza's 2A usage--she makes an "easy" jump more impressive by using the phrasing of the music.

Her 2nd 2A is definitely one of my favourite moment of Liza's LP. It just fits the music perfectly and the following movement is very nice.

 

[Barb]

I asked my friend (who I do frequently talk to fs about, but he is by no means knowledgeable) to decipher what this meant.

He thought UR = ultra-rotate; GPF = Girl Power Finals; & she's been getting ! on her 3Z = she's been getting a 'that's no good!' on her 3Z

 

[Alba]

I asked my friend (who I do frequently talk to fs about, but he is by no means knowledgeable) to decipher what this meant.

He thought UR = ultra-rotate; GPF = Girl Power Finals; & she's been getting ! on her 3Z = she's been getting a 'that's no good!' on her 3Z

I love the ! "that's no good".

 

[Caustica]

I asked my friend (who I do frequently talk to fs about, but he is by no means knowledgeable) to decipher what this meant.

He thought UR = ultra-rotate; GPF = Girl Power Finals; & she's been getting ! on her 3Z = she's been getting a 'that's no good!' on her 3Z

that's not toooooo far off!

 

[Crossover]

I asked my friend (who I do frequently talk to fs about, but he is by no means knowledgeable) to decipher what this meant.

He thought UR = ultra-rotate; GPF = Girl Power Finals; & she's been getting ! on her 3Z = she's been getting a 'that's no good!' on her 3Z

Sounds like a pop girl group's name.

 

[EdgeCall]

I asked my friend (who I do frequently talk to fs about, but he is by no means knowledgeable) to decipher what this meant.

He thought UR = ultra-rotate; GPF = Girl Power Finals; & she's been getting ! on her 3Z = she's been getting a 'that's no good!' on her 3Z

Who does not enjoy those ultra-rotated jumps at the Girl Power Finals, and why should they be no good?

 

[Mrs. P]

Wow my comment is the gift that keeps on giving. really didn't expect this reaction!

 

[Violet Bliss]

Wow my comment is the gift that keeps on giving. really didn't expect this reaction!

There should be a contest to see who can bring the best interpretation. I am sure real gems will come from casual or non-fans.

 

[EdgeCall]

Wow my comment is the gift that keeps on giving. really didn't expect this reaction!

A masterpiece of forum prose! Very inspiring ...

 

[silverlake22]

I don't think Anna is stronger mentally than Ashley. She had some issues even here (though more than enough for the podium), and her mistakes tend to be more disruptive to the program. She is stronger technically than Ashley, due to her ability to consistently rotate 3-3s, but her flip edge has been giving her more trouble than the lutz edge for Ashley. If both go clean, imo, Ashley's PCS are well deserved.

But it's true that Anna could wind off the podium if the Americans are just as clean, or even slightly messier. It's a bit worrying that even at the so-called inflated Europeans, with marks tending to rise as the season goes on, Anna's total score barely beats out Gracie's NHK score. She landed 5 triples to Gracie's 4, rotated everything, and didn't fall. I honestly don't think Gracie's any better at performance/interpretation than Anna, but the judges seem to prefer her polished look. (Granted, I also think Gracie's NHK score super inflated and she'll never score like that for 4 triples when she actually competes against the world's elite, but who can say for sure...)

I agree that Anna should already have a World medal (before Liza, Elena, and Adelina, no less!). I pulled for Carolina in the past but now I wonder, what the heck was I thinking?! But keep in mind Ashley and Gracie will not pull Carolina-PCS.

Anna is the 3rd most likely to take the 3rd spot on the World podium (behind Ashley and Gracie), but IMO she's also more likely to have a solid outing. For Ashley, URs and edge calls and spin levels could hurt her chances, for Gracie, it's putting 2 strong programs together. If those two skate well, Pogo will likely end up behind both, however, if they make mistakes and Pogo is solid, she can certainly snatch that bronze away from either of them. So in other words, I don't think Gracie or Ashley should be feeling like the world bronze is sitting on a platter for one of them to take, they will have to skate well to hold off good performances from Anna and Satoko. And getting 2 US ladies on the podium is going to be very, very difficult.

I could see Anna or Satoko pulling off an upset at Worlds simply because they may go into it thinking they don't really have a chance to medal. Gracie and Ashley will likely be super focused on getting on the podium and that could mess with their heads and performances. Especially if the US ladies are ahead of Anna and Satoko in the SP. They may try to skate safe and go for the bronze and fall short, or go all out but not hit. At this point I think Liza and Lena are very likely to both make the World podium, and the final spot is quite open. Ashley and Gracie have the best chances of getting that last medal, but with having good chances comes more pressure and it will be interesting to see how it all shakes out.

And yes I agree about Anna's spins. She is not gumby, but she is certainly flexible enough to have nice spins. Her biellman has been looking better and I like that last position she does in her camel spin. She really just needs to lock that knee in the illusion and camel positions and she could easily get +2 GOEs. While her layback spin is not the prettiest to look at, she usually scores level 4 with a lot of +2s for that element as is (the speed is really impressive). So if I were here, focus on getting the other 2 spins better and then try and get edgier, modern programs for next season. Much as I think she could benefit from ballet classes, she is not a ballerina and the old warhorses are doing nothing for her. She does tango and angst well, and she has a nice look on the ice with her long body line. I think there is untapped potential there, it just really needs to be exploited. Especially with the young girls coming up. Puberty could still hinder Radionova, Medvedeva, and Sotskova, but Sakhanovich has huge jumps and a mature body type already. I think Anna can stay relevant, but she needs to continue improving (and I think she can).

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

YEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WELL DONE LIZA!!!!!!!!!!

Still got Joshi to watch, but I couldn't wait to post my congratulations for my Liza!!!

How many competitions this season is it that she has won now???!!!


But, much as I love the Russian girls, for me the girl that deserves the best achievement award is Angelina KUCHVALSKA.

17th in the SP, 5th in the FS, and 7th overall.

OK, so 17th in the SP does seem a bit disappointing. But, when you consider that she was competing in the Free Skate in the European Youth Olympic Festival THE DAY BEFORE, this is simply remarkable!!! (In Austria, she was 5th in Monday's SP; 5th in Wednesday's FS; and 5th overall)

Like, this is a girl that has competed in 2 full championships in 2 different countries in the space of 6 days!!! And yet, rather than run out of steam by the time the European FS came along, she came out and beat her Free Skate PB by nearly 10 points!!!

And well done to the other 2 girls that were competing at both the EYOF and European Championships, Anastasia GALUSTYAN and Aleksandra GOLOVKINA.

All three of these girls deserve a medal (or at least some sort of recognition) for what they have done during the past week!

And it is so good to see such strong skaters coming through for countries that are not the strongest in this sport.

Well done girls!!!

CaroLiza_fan

EDIT: If you want to know more about the EYOF, see this thread).

 

[CutieP]

I asked my friend (who I do frequently talk to fs about, but he is by no means knowledgeable) to decipher what this meant.

He thought UR = ultra-rotate; GPF = Girl Power Finals; & she's been getting ! on her 3Z = she's been getting a 'that's no good!' on her 3Z

Just a general "That's no good!" Talking about judging in a building manner

 

[andy08]

After watching the free:

-sad remark but there’s no european competitors outside russians (where are the other girls?????) ;
-and this situation is not going to change in the next future (3-4 years from now);
-hoping in Worlds to see a bigger challenge among skaters...
-as for the podium, it was the RIGHT one... First Tuktamysheva and DESERVEDLY so! What wonderful and clean jumps she had!!! She was the only one that brought me into her program... As for Elena she is good and consistent of course and surely a champ, but her skating is not touching me ... and it seemed to me not all her jumps were clean enough...3 Anna...as said for Elena I can’t feel her skating...the problem I see for her are the 18-20 points that divide her from first/second....too much knowing the russian field ... Credit to her that thanks to her 4th place at Worlds in 2014 with Lip in 2nd, she helped to have the the 3rd spot for the russian girls!

 

[Globetrotter]

If the judges had given at least +1 GOE's to Radionova's 2 2A she'd have the title. I don't see the reason why they couldn't have given these 2 2A's 2s and 3s in GOE.They look well executed to me. Both were done out of choreography and a counter entry. Seriously only 0.29 and 0.43 in GOE's for those 2 passes:disapp:.

Just rewatched her FS and looked at the protocol. Rewatched Tuks free skate too. Elena's programme does have lots of transitions before the jumps but she doesn't hold her positions after landing. The outflow is certainly not good compared with Tuks. I think that's part of the reason her TR is only slightly above Tuks who tucked most of her TRs after her jumps although she may not have as much content pre jumps like Elena. Unfortunately, smooth landing and outflows also add to GOE. Tuks got a lot of them but I think the poor outflow for Elena probably worked against her GOEs.

 

[CutieP]

As for Elena she is good and consistent of course and surely a champ, but her skating is not touching me ... and it seemed to me not all her jumps were clean enough...3 Anna...as said for Elena I can’t feel her skating...

with Lip in 2nd, she helped to have the the 3rd spot for the russian girls!

Yes we get the point!

Another Yulia fan boy being threatened by Elena. They're two very different kind of skaters/personalities. Why can't we just enjoy them both!

And what comes to those three spots Russia has for Euros/Worlds/Olympics: yes, there will be fierce competition, but there are always injuries, bad forms and so forth. These two girls will get in to the Russian teams plenty of times in the future, when they are on form. And will get their GP spots, at least in the near future. No point feeling threatened

 

[andy08]

didn't mean to say something against Elena... not at all... sorry if this was perceived like that...
just a personal choice and the impression I've got... I thought that the podium was just "fair"... and the competition, a good one as it is right now for the russians, is a plus for everybody...

 

[MIM]

I just watched 3 top ladies. So fierce!

Liza. What can I say. She gave me the chills. I watched her performance after Elena's as in the starting order, so that I could feel the atmosphere in which she had to deal with at that moment. She started with tight, serious, and focused look on her face. But, as soon as the music started, she owned the ice and played her program as she desired. She amazed the audience with the second-to-none jumps. Then, I had to accept that her spins, especially stsp, did not help the focus or the tension build. But, she kept the audience back to her with these following jumps. Her 3S was definitely tilted, but what a talent, she saved it in the air like no big deal and added the sequential 2A with tano with ease. Amazing!! She dragged the audience into the stsq, the climax. it was so magical. She was in the moment; charismatic, musical, compelling! she was just dominant on the ice. She is not perfect but I find her masterful finally in this event just like my favorite veterans.

Elena. She is an entertainer for sure! I think she is just too talented for this sport. I mean it is a gift to have her in figure skating, but I felt she is wasting her talent here. She tends to skate against the ice. She has a flow but she has to fight against the ice to generate the flow. She has to squeeze her upper body to make the rotation for all her jumps. When she landed, she did not let the flow out of her free leg move her to next move. Instead, she simply re-stretched her limbs. But her jumps on the slow-mo showed clear rotation and edge use. How did she do that? Just amazing talent and strength. I keep complaining about her unnatural postures, jumps, and flow, however she delivers with perfect jumps (no minus GOE quality), fast/centered/great spins, as well as crazy audience's reaction. What a talent! While Liza was waiting for her score, it was hilarious to see Elena smile at the camera like a sweet pie versus Liza be serious like a worrier. The personalities of the two are so different. Just love them both.

Anna. I felt sorry for her. I believe she has everything to be the top skater. I think she is more like Carolina type of skater. She seems to need more time to set up her jumps. Two jumps with a hand down seamed that she needed fewer steps to prep her jumps to beautifully execute them. I find her elegant and sloppy at the same time. In some slow sections, her neck, limbs were extended to create a gorgeous line, whereas in stsq she rushed her turns to steps to twizzles to finish in time, but she were out of synch already. I think she knew she was behind the music and her illusion spin was no good. She had to skate with frustration in the middle of the program already. I think she is capable of more and better by doing less. I do hope she finds better choreography that exudes her charm and elegance.

 

[CutieP]

didn't mean to say something against Elena... not at all... sorry if this was perceived like that...
just a personal choice and the impression I've got... I thought that the podium was just "fair"... and the competition, a good one as it is right now for the russians, is a plus for everybody...

:thumbsup: No problem! Perhaps I overreacted. My apologies. I tend to do that with Lena

 

[thoakun]

Elena. She is an entertainer for sure! I think she is just too talented for this sport. I mean it is a gift to have her in figure skating, but I felt she is wasting her talent here. She tends to skate against the ice. She has a flow but she has to fight against the ice to generate the flow. She has to squeeze her upper body to make the rotation for all her jumps. When she landed, she did not let the flow out of her free leg move her to next move. Instead, she simply re-stretched her limbs. But her jumps on the slow-mo showed clear rotation and edge use. How did she do that? Just amazing talent and strength. I keep complaining about her unnatural postures, jumps, and flow, however she delivers with perfect jumps (no minus GOE quality), fast/centered/great spins, as well as crazy audience's reaction. What a talent! While Liza was waiting for her score, it was hilarious to see Elena smile at the camera like a sweet pie versus Liza be serious like a worrier. The personalities of the two are so different. Just love them both.

I remember that scene particularly. Has there been other skater who looks so comfortable competing and waiting for her opponent's score? The competition seems like a playground to her and it's so great to see her sweet, sunshine smile