2018-19 Russian Ladies' figure skating

[karina17]

Never say never. If somebody told me last August that a girl without 3-3 will medal at JGP I would laugh aloud. But Emmy Ma did it.

Yes, you’re definitely right.

I was talking about likely scenarios, not saying that’s exactly how things will turn out.

 

[ejnsofi]

Having a 3-3 isn't that important. Of course, it's a problem for the SP, but for the FS you can do something such as:

2A-3T
2A-3T
3Lz-2T-2Lo

and you're not really losing any points at all.


Importantly, look at that list of subs. There's no skater even close to being as weak as Alisa Fedichkina. Who's the weakest on there, Kostyuk? Even her I'd likely trust to defeat any non-Russian skater, though she has had some issues with consistency.

I'm just saying not to get overconfident with any skater (not only Russian junior girls) . Ice is slippery and nothing is sure. Trusova won all her competitions but it wasn't thanks to quads because her first fully rotated and landed without fall quad was at Worlds (I have no idea about domestic competitions). Last year many believed Kihira would easily medal at every competition thanks to her amazing 3A but it didn't happen

 

[Shayuki]

It's not only eteri's girls people are talking about tho. But even so, we are yet to see Anna and Alena's quad & 3A in competition so i don't know why everybody here is talking like it's already done deal and we're 100% sure the non russian girls aren't gonna perform well. But then i've seen people on this thread make fun of Rika's inconsistency even tho she's landed 3A-3T so

But the thing is, Shcherbakova doesn't have to land the quad cleanly in order to do well. We already saw this with Trusova. She even defeated Kostornaya. And Kostornaya surely should be a stronger opponent? To make it clear, I don't think that Shcherbakova needs the quad, exactly.

Rika of course isn't competing at juniors this season but indeed, her inconsistency was the killer last season. Same with You Young, really.

Trusova won all her competitions but it wasn't thanks to quads because her first fully rotated and landed without fall quad was at Worlds (I have no idea about domestic competitions). Last year many believed Kihira would easily medal at every competition thanks to her amazing 3A but it didn't happen

Trusova indeed didn't need a quad to win. She'd have won anyway. Falling and underrotating a quad is still better than doing a quadless layout. That's why it's not a problem.

 

[leoleo]

But the thing is, Shcherbakova doesn't have to land the quad cleanly in order to do well. We already saw this with Trusova. She even defeated Kostornaya. And Kostornaya surely should be a stronger opponent? To make it clear, I don't think that Shcherbakova needs the quad, exactly.

Rika of course isn't competing at juniors this season but indeed, her inconsistency was the killer last season. Same with You Young, really.

It's not about winning. We've seen Eteri girls sweep gold and silver medals many times before so i expect the same for the upcoming season. what i'm talking about is everybody assuming non-russian aren't gonna land their jumps like they have a crystal ball that helps them read the future. It rubs me the wrong way, maybe we should just keep the thread about the russian ladies cause seeing "X russian girl is gonna crush/wipe the floor with x non-russian girl" every other page is tiring

 

[Shayuki]

It's not about winning. We've seen Eteri girls sweep gold and silver medals many times before so i expect the same for the upcoming season. what i'm talking about is everybody assuming non-russian aren't gonna land their jumps like they have a crystal ball that helps them read the future. It rubs me the wrong way, maybe we should just keep the thread about the russian ladies cause seeing "X russian girl is gonna crush/wipe the floor with x non-russian girl" every other page is tiring

Isn't "Russian girl x is going to mop the floor with her rivals" specifically about Russian ladies, though? Naturally, not every event can be a domestic competition.

So the thing is, it's not about them skating clean or not. If everyone skates clean it shouldn't be close at all. Obviously, if a Russian skater has 3 falls and another skater skates clean, then they might win. But that's just common sense... Generally we should consider equal success. We also can consider the likelihood of success, where many things come into play such as coaching, consistency, past and technique.

 

[Fluture]

I hope people here won't be disappointed when the season actually begins because i see that pretty much everybody is already certain every non russian girl is not gonna deliver and the russians (even those who have been inconsistent past seasons) are gonna be landing all their difficult layouts, quads included. I understand having confidence is Sasha for example, she has showed us fireworks before but some of you are talking like you are certain Alena's 3A is gonna be landed perfectly in competition even tho just like other skaters it has only been seen once in practice. Same with Anna's quad. Those aren't easy jumps, you don't just whip them out of your pocket like that whenever you want

You do have a point here. We are probably a bit over-excited at this point but can you blame us? I mean, we‘ve just witnessed a season of total and utter domination of Russian ladies on the JGP circuit (and if it wasn’t for Worlds, I’d make a point for seniors, too). And the reason why we’re now prone to exaggerating is that we’ve seen other skaters falter who were expected to become a great threat. Kihira for example is spectacular when she‘s on but when it mattered, she never really delivered. I agree that we shouldn‘t count them out because really, counting someone out is never a smart idea. But to be honest, I don’t believe any of the upcoming skaters from other countries mentioned here are going to be a serious threat IF the Russians perform well. There‘s an if here, yes, but how big will it be? Ice is slippery, indeed but we’ve seen them do well for too long to really take complete splatfests into account. Maybe it‘s not that clever because well... they’re little girls not some jumping robots but we‘ll see what the season brings anyway. There’s also the rule changes we should think of. All in all, a lot of things might be different from last season. But they might not, too. So, let’s just wait and see and maybe tame our enthusiasm a bit in order to not be disappointed. But just a bit. I simply can‘t help cheering for these girls like some over-anxious mom

 

[leoleo]

Isn't "Russian girl x is going to mop the floor with her rivals" specifically about Russian ladies, though? Naturally, not every event can be a domestic competition.

So the thing is, it's not about them skating clean or not. If everyone skates clean it shouldn't be close at all. Obviously, if a Russian skater has 3 falls and another skater skates clean, then they might win. But that's just common sense... Generally we should consider equal success. We also can consider the likelihood of success, where many things come into play such as coaching, consistency, past and technique.

Lmao i feel like i'm talking to a wall. I'm saying it again, it's not about who's gonna win cause my bets are on Eteri's girls as well. But i think there's no point in mentioning You Young or X japanese skater every other page if it's to say "she's definitely gonna bomb, she won't be able to land her jumps, she's gonna be crushed".


Anyway moving on, do you think Eteri girls will have EXs this season? I'm always excited about EXs cause that's when they try different things and have fun. Alina had an EX her second junior year, i want to see Alena especially do something fun in her EX.

 

[russianfan]

Alisa had 3F-3T in her free skate and in her short program. Plus she backloaded more jumps than Emmy

but she failed it AFAIK, that's what i'm trying to say

 

[karina17]

Anyway moving on, do you think Eteri girls will have EXs this season? I'm always excited about EXs cause that's when they try different things and have fun. Alina had an EX her second junior year, i want to see Alena especially do something fun in her EX.

Of course, we don’t know for sure, but I doubt it. Alina’s Pink Panther EX was her past season’s SP, just like how Sasha’s EX is her 2016-2016 SP, and Alena’s Carmen EX was her old program as well. I don’t think Eteri’s team prioritises EX programs for the juniors, because as far as I can tell, they just do their old programs.

Alena will probably do Adios Nonino, or maybe Stella’s Theme since she’ll be allowed to use that program as an EX this season. Sasha would probably go back to Big Spender, since she’s done that as an EX before. I guess Anna might do Dreamcatcher, because that’s the program that made her so popular (along with the fact that her Sikuriadas program might be seen as offensive if she ever performs it internationally, I guess).

 

[leoleo]

I guess Anna might do Dreamcatcher, because that’s the program that made her so popular (along with the fact that her Sikuriadas program might be seen as offensive if she ever performs it internationally, I guess).

I'm not against Dreamcatcher making a comeback

 

[atsumiri]

If I remember correctly Gulyakova was training a 3A last off-season but she had a growth spurt during the summer and was focused more on keeping consistent and holding onto her other jumps. Still she’s with Mishin now so maybe that 3A will make an appearance after all!

no.
she had a boots issues off-season and at the test skates 2017, she said her 3a wasn't ready. yet.

 

[Shayuki]

Lmao i feel like i'm talking to a wall. I'm saying it again, it's not about who's gonna win cause my bets are on Eteri's girls as well. But i think there's no point in mentioning You Young or X japanese skater every other page if it's to say "she's definitely gonna bomb, she won't be able to land her jumps, she's gonna be crushed".

Uhh... Well, now I don't get it. How is one supposed to predict how Russian skaters will place without considering their opposition? Just like you're allowed to predict that Zagitova will effortlessly win her first senior GP assignment and it's not some massive insult to every other skater there to do so. "Shouldn't be a threat" is a perfectly reasonable assessment considering the available information. Indeed - It's no guarantee, obviously. But there are likelihoods to everything.

On the EX's, Eteri's juniors should have past programs as their exhibitions. I expect that Shcherbakova will have the 16-18 FS as her exhibition, simply because she's apparently recycling her SP. On the other Eteri girls, they should be the last season's SPs. Might be more interesting for the skaters of the other coaches but I don't know if they'll get to actually perform any EX programs, if we're talking juniors(Only JGPF winner gets to perform in Gala right?).

 

[atsumiri]

I don't know if they'll get to actually perform any EX programs, if we're talking juniors(Only JGPF winner gets to perform in Gala right?).

yes. only JGPF winner and top3 from JWC

 

[ejnsofi]

but she failed it AFAIK, that's what i'm trying to say

Nope, Alisa landed all her jumps and only 3F-3T in her free skate got mark of underrotation (the one in short program was good). Despite it and doubled flip she still won over Emmy in tes. It was pcs which made a difference.

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

yes. only JGPF winner and top3 from JWC

JGP Courchevel used to do a Gala.

https://youtu.be/zmmVuJUjOGg

 

[SkySkater]

Of course, we don’t know for sure, but I doubt it. Alina’s Pink Panther EX was her past season’s SP, just like how Sasha’s EX is her 2016-2016 SP, and Alena’s Carmen EX was her old program as well. I don’t think Eteri’s team prioritises EX programs for the juniors, because as far as I can tell, they just do their old programs).

I find this change interesting because if you look at Zhenya as a junior she skated theee different exhibitions and even Sima had one which was one just for an exhibition and Julia had one though this information is all from the Wikipedia so I can’t help but think that Eteri must have decided there was no point in having so many when they can reuse programs from before.

 

[Bluediamonds09]

Do u think Evgenia will do loop combos and 1/2-loop-3F combos???

 

[leoleo]

Do u think Evgenia will do loop combos and 1/2-loop-3F combos???

Hard to tell as we haven't heard any details about the direction her and Brian are taking for next season. We have absolutely nothing except for a rumor about her SP music. I'd expect Brian to want to improve the jumps and combos she already has and improve her skating skills, spins before going for a harder layout like he did with Hanyu when he first came to TCC (it drove hanyu crazy )

 

[atsumiri]

Do u think Evgenia will do loop combos and 1/2-loop-3F combos???

I don't think she will.

 

[leoleo]

I don't think she will.

why is that? i'm curious :think: