Wow, and that from the poster who got on his high horse towards another poster just up thread about belittling a skater?
Yes, guess what, people talking about Boyangs improvements don't mean 'big smilies', but actual improvements: his edges are better, he holds them longer, he gains speed faster, there is more choreography, more steps between the technical elements and more diversity of them. What you belittle there as 'big smilies' is also a lot more than that - he pays more attention to the audience, uses more energy to encage them... that is not easy. And while his improvements in all single areas might be only 'Okay', improving in all of them at the same time is a very good achievement and deserves respect.
Nobody says he should get Chan PCS (seriously, no). But it's not as if the judges would score him anywhere close anyway.
ermm... and wow... said the same poster who actually just renamed him superboy'ang
in that same post where I did argue that Javi earned his European title and had to skate for it. Yeah... I am not willing to belittle Javi's achievements and I am not in here belittling Boyang's either. I think you are making a whole lot out of an excerpt of my post which is far beyond what I have written in context. If you choose to read my post in a tone that to you means belittling, that's up to you.
The truth and the matter for me, is that while I see many people hyping up Boyang's improvement in the PCS department,
I do NOT see it... I see an energetic and engaging performer, which he was already. I do not see the quality you are describing... Sorry... call me blind if you wish but do not think I am blinded. On top of that, compared to last year, he has been landing his jumps with even less flow and quality... which IMHO diminishes a lot of the excitement he provided last year with big well landed quads. Adding a quad loop instead of actual skating content in his LP will not help IMHO.
So allow me to rephrase in a very politically correct manner, not that I need to do so but just so that my post doesn't get misconstrued any further.
Honestly, so many of you talk about Boyang's improved skating, however, whatever you point out, I see only very minor improvement in the actual skating if at all. He has improved in engaging with the audience but that was already part of his strength as he has a great sense of humour and energy, so to me, it's not good enough to justify higher scores. I would like him to work more on his spins, his flow and transitions before I can agree to increase his component scores.
I'd add that Boyang has tremendous potential, beyond even imaginable, but right now, the overall experience is too rough for me to even see him as a podium contender... I am not saying he won't repeat last year's bronze. I am simply saying that's not IMHO the kind of skating I would reward and that there are other skaters with big jumps right now who feel more complete.
I mean, it's admirable that they are pushing the sport forward, but the pace is soooo dramatic, I'm not sure the resulting learning curve of subpar performances and underwhelming competitions are what the general audience will be pleased to witness.
