2015 Finlandia Trophy Ladies SP and FS

[satine]

The Yulia thing's getting really drawn out, let's reel this back in

Any surprise skates today? I really liked Viveca Lindfors! Her SP was okay, but the FS caught my attention much more. I'll be keeping an eye out for her from now on :yes:

 

[yyyskate]

The Yulia thing's getting really drawn out, let's reel this back in

Any surprise skates today? I really liked Viveca Lindfors! Her SP was okay, but the FS caught my attention much more. I'll be keeping an eye out for her from now on :yes:

just catching up on videos, I really liked Rika so far, will check Viveca Lindfors as you recommended

 

[Arawen]

Gracie´s smiles almost always seem forced, Ashley´s are way more genuine.

 

[ericpkh98]

Its hard to explain...

As someone who has the chance to really get close to skaters, you see differences of course, especially between countries. There are skaters, who thank everyone after their practice skate, they even bow to the wall, make sure every photographer gets the perfect picture, they don't forget arrangements... - it´s what they were taught of right from the beginning. You can see this with NA skaters, but also the Fins and to some degree Russians. Then again, you have skaters that only bow their coach, smile into a single camera or run off

It´s nothing you should feel offended by really,

as I said... if a skater might not bow, smile or shake hands - then this is not because they don't like you, the flower girls ... It´s just something they don't feel comfortable with or know. Most of these skaters have a really big heart, but even so, you can not expect to get entrance there at all times. Ask yourself how many people you let into your heart or make time for or greet when you get to the office.

I think,

don't judge too hard, she is a really nice young lady, but shy and under a lot of pressure.




The question would be,

was it rude?

I have not followed the stream much, but I can imagine what happened / or not happened for that matter.

Any athlete, be it a famous or lesser known one, has a right to express her / his feelings. I can tell you stories about Roger Federer, that are well known and criticized - yet accepted. This acceptance I wish, Figure Skaters would receive as well, especially from her "fans".

I don't want to lecture anyone here, but skaters do read things at the net and how would you feel if you just missed a victory or didn't perform well and now you get trashed in the net, for not smiling? As far I can tell, we should all try to see the positives in things and not so much the negatives.
The expectations that fans have of their "idols" always being ready for selfies, signatures or chats on FB is wrong. Wrong, as these athletes have any right to refuse or feel unhappy whenever they want to. Yes, maybe it´s unprofessional - but what do we want? Robots, who always serve our needs, or real people with their ups and downs?

Don't get me wrong, of course it could mean the world to those flower kids to get a smile, or to the fan to get the signature - but this is just one side of the picture and we shouldn't forget the athletes feelings either.

At most events, flower kids will be able to get signatures, pictures ... backstage, it´s not like they saw Yulia once in their life at the K&C and now never again.

I really doubt that Julia will sign these girls after this performance haha... perhaps she might have been cheered by highly overscored FS score, or just decide to ditch the award ceremony... well, since you didn't see the stream completely, to inform you, she did snatch her flowers and gifts out of the girls' hands and chucked them on the coutch. By international manner standards, that was completely unnecessary&rude, perhaps threatening to the girls b/c they have been acting very cautiously to Julia...

 

[tulosai]

The Yulia thing's getting really drawn out, let's reel this back in

Any surprise skates today? I really liked Viveca Lindfors! Her SP was okay, but the FS caught my attention much more. I'll be keeping an eye out for her from now on :yes:

Yes, I also really liked Viveca at this competition! I actually went so far as to create a fan fest thread- I can't wait to see more of her!

 

[berry8]

Può

I kind of get what people are saying. I found an HQ video of her skate. I tried to post it here but it would not copy the link. I don't have a problem if she doesn't want to smile or say thank you. She seems to be a perfectionist and was probably angry at herself. I do however have problem with her snatching her flowers and gifts out of the girls hands. And chucking them on the couch. That was completely unnecessary.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=CAaxHDhO0IM

Edited to add:

Finally someone who gets my point !!!

 

[Sorrento]

Its hard to explain...

I get your point and I know what Yulia is like. But I believe as long as she's growing and she's in public eye for a third season now she should learn to be gracious and polite. She needs sponsorship and support from the fanbase because right now she has a tough time growing and her skating is changing and she has lots of downs. She really needs to think of her image more. It is not an easy thing to do I understand. But it is very necessary to learn that. She's not the only shy person in figure skating. But she's a lady.

 

[OS]

just catching up on videos, I really liked Rika so far, will check Viveca Lindfors as you recommended

Pls Watch So Youn's FS, I am afraid, I am a little in love with it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7zwDKrj-iA
Everything I appreciate about senior ladies skating, sophistication, nuanced work, attention to detail. Hypnotic, and fascinating just like the first time i experienced the MK's Red Violin. She really made such stride this year in her maturing choreographic realisation. This is a good start for her.

 

[moriel]

We are not talking about being on street in a small Russian town here, right?

We are talking about a girl that is russian and lives in russia.
It takes many years of living in a different enviroment to adopt different social norms. That is not Yulia's case. Her attitude to flower was ok according to russian definition of polite, and it is understandable that, being extremely upset (she had a **** previous season, and if she has a second one, she will be most likely writen off by the fed - and mostly likely, she not only keeps herself with her skating, but also supports her family finantially) forgot about some foreign norms that have nothing to do with her, and that she barely sees.
Also, i'd like to give an example of a nice and polite japanese skater. Just yesterday, Wakaba totally ruined the medal ceremony for her teammate, appearently, and of course for fans.


OBS: people are not supposed to act the way YOU think is gracious and polite. People are supposed to act the way THEY think is gracious and polite. People are not supposed to learn what YOU think is gracious and polite to please you.
Also, even if Yulia was a spoiled and rude brat, she would have sponsors and fed's support as long as she got gold medals.


as a second OBS, she seems on the wedge of crying hysterically in K&C

 

[Interspectator]

I liked Hannah Miller's flow across the ice. She had nice upper body movement too.

Rika did not disappoint today. She's an odd favorite in my pantheon of favorites. I always expect that this time I'll not like her as much or this time, her flaws will over turn my enjoyment...but it never happens and I like her more and more each time I see her. She is engaging and charming.
On Julia:
It's unfortunate that after having a bad day in front of a few hundred people, you then have to go sit in front of them some more and are expected to make nice. This is also why I'm opposed to the second kiss and cry box. It makes it even more about a skaters personality than about their skating.
I understand that people find it rude and wish she had been more polite, but it has happened and it is not such a big thing...but I hope a learning experience for her.

Let's hope that the flower girls are happy about the way they were treated by Rika, Joshi and the other skaters so that Julia's sadness will not affect them so much.

Think about it, they got smiles and thanks from nearly everyone else. That's not too bad.

 

[MIM]

I watched So Youn skating. I did not like the choreography to the music. The program was morphed around the order of the elements that she is comfortable with. (Same as the last yr) I don't think this is the best layout or choreo to this music for her. She missed (2)3t. I don't think this is an improvement since last season. I hope I am wrong.

Joshi was exciting!! I was not her fan. She seemed to be too wild for my liking. But she is a great matured performer. Not a popped jump! Hope she keeps this level of performance quality throughout the season.

Rika IMHO is not my cup of tea. But it is weirded that I changed my opinion on her at the end of last season. Just like today I am cold first half, and end up fall for her the 2nd half of the program. She is getting stronger every competition and I am cheering for her. A Deserved winner!

Yulia,, sigh..It takes time. No need to rush. She is improving. Maybe it is not fast enough for her standard. I can see she is a perfectionist. If she does not give up, she will eventually come back 200% better than what she was in Sochi.

 

[andromache]

I keep refreshing the stream hoping to see the medal ceremony!

 

[Sorrento]

We are talking about a girl that is russian and lives in russia.
It takes many years of living in a different enviroment to adopt different social norms. That is not Yulia's case. Her attitude to flower was ok according to russian definition of polite, and it is understandable that, being extremely upset (she had a **** previous season, and if she has a second one, she will be most likely writen off by the fed - and mostly likely, she not only keeps herself with her skating, but also supports her family finantially) forgot about some foreign norms that have nothing to do with her, and that she barely sees.
Also, i'd like to give an example of a nice and polite japanese skater. Just yesterday, Wakaba totally ruined the medal ceremony for her teammate, appearently, and of course for fans.


OBS: people are not supposed to act the way YOU think is gracious and polite. People are supposed to act the way THEY think is gracious and polite. People are not supposed to learn what YOU think is gracious and polite to please you.
Also, even if Yulia was a spoiled and rude brat, she would have sponsors and fed's support as long as she got gold medals.

I was born in Russia, okay? To me Yulia's behaviour was rude. Don't speak from the entire Russian Federation about common public etiquette, please.

 

[ericpkh98]

Pls Watch So Youn's FS, I am afraid, I am a little in love with it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7zwDKrj-iA
Everything I miss about senior ladies skating, sophistication, nuanced work, attention to detail. Hypnotic, and fascinating just like the first time i experienced the MK's Red Violin. She really made such stride this year in her maturing choreographic realisation. This is a good start for her.

I am surprised... Red Violin is a very hard musical piece to nail, because it has no "clearly set image." Kind of like Prokofiev's music, but it's actually harder b/c Red Violin doesn't really have a cohesive theme or characteristic like Prokofiev does... Considering the difficulty and the fact that this is her first competition in season, I think that So Youn has a lot to improve and show to us. If...If she nails this program and performs cleanly most of the time, this program may be a stepping stone for her to be a top competitor in figure skating. But really, waiting So Youn to skate cleanly is like waiting Gracie to skate cleanly (sighs.........)

 

[Anni234]

We are talking about a girl that is russian and lives in russia.
It takes many years of living in a different enviroment to adopt different social norms. That is not Yulia's case. Her attitude to flower was ok according to russian definition of polite, and it is understandable that, being extremely upset (she had a **** previous season, and if she has a second one, she will be most likely writen off by the fed - and mostly likely, she not only keeps herself with her skating, but also supports her family finantially) forgot about some foreign norms that have nothing to do with her, and that she barely sees.

People in Russia are actually really friendly and polite, it's quite weird to say that living in Russia you rarely see politeness. I'd say it depends on a person, not a nation.

However I did enjoy Joshi and Rika today, hope to see more great skates from them.

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

OMG!!! I finally watched the clip with all the smiley little flower girls. Who's idea was it to have them go to the K-n-C and deliver an over abundant amount of flowers to the skaters. That's really not a good idea. It's like sending an ex girlfriend into a reality show and filming them at the most emotional moment. I would have started chucking them too although I would have been laughing and not fuming, then I again I have lower expectations out of myself.

I hope this means fiery Yulia is back! Now let's focus that fire back onto the media and the ice. :thumbsup: Definitely a step in the right direction for her today and the haters are back at it

I think people take this stuff way to seriously and we need more fiery attitudes. I love Mariah Bell but I hope she gets more angry about her bad skates. She has too much potential to go down and flames and smile it off. Funk that....this is your future girl. While I don't advise taking it out on flower girls I'm 100% all for people slamming flowers around! In fact I'd be honored if any skater slammed my flowers on the ground and shredded them with their knife boots.

 

[Interspectator]

We are talking about a girl that is russian and lives in russia.

Also, i'd like to give an example of a nice and polite japanese skater. Just yesterday, Wakaba totally ruined the medal ceremony for her teammate, appearently, and of course for fans.

--I'd like to insert a caveat for Wakaba...who is younger and also, if you watched the video, tried very, very hard to smile and not cry. She wasn't pouting on the podium at all...but she couldn't hold back the tears. I applaud her for getting on the podium and as you can see from the video footage, smiling at the camera as much as possible. Marin was also wonderful and kind to her, wiping her tears away. Good sportswomanship.

Back to the competition, I'm so interested to see how Rika stacks up against Satoko and Mao this season.
With her wild and crazy style against Satoko's control and Mao's grace.
What a great trio.

 

[ericpkh98]

--I'd like to insert a caveat for Wakaba...who is younger and also, if you watched the video, tried very, very hard to smile and not cry. She wasn't pouting on the podium at all...but she couldn't hold back the tears. I applaud her for getting on the podium and as you can see from the video footage, smiling at the camera as much as possible. Marin was also wonderful and kind to her, wiping her tears away. Good sportswomanship.

Back to the competition, I'm so interested to see how Rika stacks up against Satoko and Mao this season.
With her wild and crazy style against Satoko's control and Mao's grace.
What a great trio.

interesting Japanese ladies combo...haha let's see who wins the competition

 

[Alex D]

I really doubt that Julia will sign these girls after this performance haha... perhaps she might have been cheered by highly overscored FS score, or just decide to ditch the award ceremony... well, since you didn't see the stream completely, to inform you, she did snatch her flowers and gifts out of the girls' hands and chucked them on the coutch. By international manner standards, that was completely unnecessary&rude, perhaps threatening to the girls b/c they have been acting very cautiously to Julia...

Then you don't know the skating world that well (no offence).

It´s common that these young kids get a meet and greet, have the chance to take pictures or receive autographs. Besides that, they are skaters themselves, I am sure they had such moments as well and understand. I honestly think you don't like her for some other reason than the K&C, therefore I will just stop it here and hope you will cool down a bit.

Last but not least, I saw the skate now and the "situation" and there is absolutely nothing bad to see. She is obviously a bit unhappy, but its her job to "receive" the flowers, that's the rule book and that's why she grabs them and puts them next to her.

Really guys, nothing bad happened

 

[cl2]

I'm not sure if it was actually "physically threatening" for the girls, b/c I'm obviously not one of the girls. But they certainly seemed very cautious afterall b/c of lip's attitude. poor beings hope these people just know the fact that those girls are also "skaters" not only lipnitskaya.

If your dad were angry, you'd also be "very cautious" being in the same room as him, no? Would you then blame him for poor attitude?