2018-19 Russian Ladies' figure skating

[sweetice]

When would we know for sure whether Tarakanova gets a second assignment? I really think she is the best among all Russian ladies with a silver. I enjoy her programs and would love to see her more in competition.

We can be sure only after Ostrava. We still need to see Vasilieva, then the rusfed need to really choose the last three spots, adding Trusova to them.

 

[atsumiri]

We can be sure only after Ostrava. We still need to see Vasilieva, then the rusfed need to really choose the last three spots, adding Trusova to them.

there're still a chance we won't see her at all.
Today at the 1st Event of Russian Cup, will compete Gubanova, Gulyakova, Vasilieva.
I think it could be a competition for a spot at the next JGP stage.

 

[*~RussianBleux~*]

there're still a chance we won't see her at all.
Today at the 1st Event of Russian Cup, will compete Gubanova, Gulyakova, Vasilieva.
I think it could be a competition for a spot at the next JGP stage.

A reasonable solution given the questions surrounding each and that it is still unclear who truly deserves this spot (Boot issues - Gubanova, Shaky test skate following some decent results last season - Gulyakova, Inconsistency - Vasilieva).

May the best skater win!

 

[charlotte14]

The flips look good to me. Both slight inside. The lutzes though were pretty flat, so !. I don't think any of her jumps would have gotten an e call though. But it just shows the caller's mistakes because they gave the call to the wrong jumps

When both the Flip and the Lutz have flat edge, they tend to give ! or even e to the Flip. Case in point: Gabby Daleman.
But I would say she should get the call for the Flutz more than Flip lol.

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

.
That said, it is pretty disappointing that she's still likely a predictable winner. If her PCS would be scored more fairly compared to Kostornaia and Shcherbakova, the competition would be closer and more interesting.

I’ve never really agreed with this. I think looking at the performances we’ve seen this year they are all on pretty equal footing. I think I’d even be tempted to give Sasha the highest SS of all three. I would have scored her and Alena the same all last year even if for different reasons but TBH I think Sasha has improved more than Alena has. Maybe it’s the programs that have improved but I think Sasha has really strengthened her over all core strength of basics and sheer purpose in her skating. Alena is great but I’m not seeing much improvement or growth in style from last season to this point.

I really like Anna too but I think I’d have scored both Sasha and Alena ahead of her for this season’s performances. She might have the most potential in regards to performing but I’m not sure her strengths are enough to surpass the other two in any indisputable capacity. Just my opinion though. I actually sort of hope she does another season on the JGP next year.

I really like all three girls a lot but I think Sasha’s command over her programs and character is at least equal to the others and I see nothing unfair in her scoring as high or higher than the other two.

 

[atsumiri]

2018 RUSSIAN TEST SKATES REVIEW
By Tatjana Flade ©IFS | Sep 16, 2018

 

[Lester]

Yulia Lipnitzkaya once pointed out during her commentary that Alina's programs are difficult in advance, at times beyond her current performing ability and thus they force her to grow as a skater. Sometimes russian coaches do that if they sure enough that skater can handle it.

Well the influence of this approach is now visible among younger skaters.

But I don't think it makes you grow as a skater particularly. It's trying to run before learning to walk and it looks bad.

 

[alvina9894]

2018 RUSSIAN TEST SKATES REVIEW
By Tatjana Flade ©IFS | Sep 16, 2018

"Daria Panenkova, who recently left Eteri Tutberidze’s group after some disagreements, now trains with Anna Tsareva, but she, too is not consistent right now."

What the hell?

 

[Tulipstar]

I think Anna definitely has a lot of untapped scoring potential, but even last year at the JGP Final, Trusova tried and fell on 2 quads and won over a clean Kostornaya. Admittedly Kostornaya does not have the same TES content of Anna, but she still put up two solid programs and lost by over a point.

Alexandra only tried one quad in the JGPF. She only added the 4T to her program in 2018.

 

[Spirals for Miles]

there're still a chance we won't see her at all.
Today at the 1st Event of Russian Cup, will compete Gubanova, Gulyakova, Vasilieva.
I think it could be a competition for a spot at the next JGP stage.

I don't think they'll want to give Gulyakova a JGP
And at this point, Gubanova probably has the host spot
They haven't been too stupid yet this year so let's hope it continues.

 

[cell]

Why is Trusova getting the same PCS as Kostornaia? This bothers me.. I mean she has improved since last year but still? As usual, judges seem to be giving high PCS based on the high level of tech she has...

 

[Spirals for Miles]

She has good skating skills and insane transitions and is really committed to her performance, so I’d think it’s merited

 

[alvina9894]

Sasha is a true performer. I find her SP last year and FS this year enjoyable to watch, and it's enjoyable beyond the jumps. She also has good skating skills, with speed and intricate transitions. She also has the reputation as the reigning world junior champion and record holder.

 

[moriel]

Sasha may not be the trademark femenine artistic skater, but her SS are good, she has transitions and her skating is very powerfull overall. Imho all her PCs are deserved.

 

[andromache]

I think Trusova's programs suit her well and hide her weaknesses - namely, the overall lack of musicality/choreography that relates to the music. When there IS choreography that matches the musc, she commits/interprets well (such as at the beginning of her Fifth Element LP) but she seems much more focused on the jumps than Kostornaia, who gives effective interpretation throughout the entire program. Kostornaia also has far better SS than Trusova.

I also have the impression that Trusova does many more crossovers than Kostornaia, but it's not like I've counted them, so I can't say for sure.

I'll admit I'm basically a Kostornaia uber though at this point so .

 

[moriel]

I love Kostornaia as artist.
But Trusova is such an amazing fearless kid, and when she says that if everybody will start jumping quads, she will be jumping quints i just want to give her all the PCs for the amazing person she is.

 

[katymay]

She has good skating skills and insane transitions and is really committed to her performance, so I’d think it’s merited

Also, although people dispute this, risk is rewarded as an intangible that boosts PCS. Recycling an old program? PCS goes down. Take out difficult jumps or combos that the judges know you have in your arsenal? Again, adjust downward, or at least not elevated. PCS is more than waving your arms around and making dramatic faces. Trusova has beautiful posture, good flow and difficult elements in addition to the quads. All three girls are impressive in different ways, and I would judge them all pretty equal with a slight maturity edge to Elena (Alonya) K.

 

[katymay]

Say what you want about her technique, but Sasha’s courage and confidence has no match. Tiny Overlord indeed.

One thing that makes me laugh is when Trusova first did the cantilever, there were all these derisive comments about it. It's a 'gimmick' etc. This year, have you noticed how many skaters are trying to do a cantilever? Also, from that news story, it looks to me that Sasha is right smack dab in the middle of puberty. I don't think there will be huge changes given her bone structure (Tara lipinski like) but next year might be more of a challenge for her to adjust to the changes. Does anyone know what Eteri was saying in that interview?

 

[moriel]

One thing that makes me laugh is when Trusova first did the cantilever, there were all these derisive comments about it. It's a 'gimmick' etc. This year, have you noticed how many skaters are trying to do a cantilever? Also, from that news story, it looks to me that Sasha is right smack dab in the middle of puberty. I don't think there will be huge changes given her bone structure (Tara lipinski like) but next year might be more of a challenge for her to adjust to the changes. Does anyone know what Eteri was saying in that interview?

Eteri said basically that quads are risky, and you got to be fearless to try them, and that in her team she has 2 skaters who are like that. She also praised Trusova's works ethics a lot.
Then she said same as Mishin, that girls got to learn quads before puberty, because after puberty they basically work to keep what they have.
Then she complained that the quad value got reduced, since its a great risk and currently it is not so worth it, and that even some of her skaters think quads are not worth it because of how the mistakes on quads are scored.

something in this lines, just writing what i remember she said so maybe not 100% exact.

 

[TGee]

One thing that makes me laugh is when Trusova first did the cantilever, there were all these derisive comments about it. It's a 'gimmick' etc. This year, have you noticed how many skaters are trying to do a cantilever? Also, from that news story, it looks to me that Sasha is right smack dab in the middle of puberty. I don't think there will be huge changes given her bone structure (Tara lipinski like) but next year might be more of a challenge for her to adjust to the changes. Does anyone know what Eteri was saying in that interview?

The cantilever has been popular in competitive programs for several years, especially men's and pairs. It's also a favourite in exhibitions.

Which is why Trusova got the gimmick reaction.

But it's not very likely that she is the one being copied.

It's dramatic, a bit risky and does add the vertical variation that is important for 'well balanced program' points in PCS.

We're seeing a lot of other choices in step sequences and transitions to get the vertical variation - mazurkas, leaps, wally jumps, stand-alone Euler's, slides, hydroblades.

If one's looking to be negative, one could label any of these as gimmicks.

But adding these not only increases levels of difficulty and risk, they move away from programs that are just skating at one level punctuated by jumps and spins.