Alissa Sizzles into Third | Page 4 | Golden Skate

Alissa Sizzles into Third

Toni - Unfortunately, one doesn't hear the Dick/Peggy/Terry comments while attending competitions. (or is it fortunately? :) )

I'm glad he agrees. I guess you noticed now. She steps out of character and puts full focus on the preparations for her jumps. She actually does this in the Exhibitions, too. Staying in character with the music and performing elements is not easy and only natural skaters can do it. But for competitive purposes, one gets more points for jumps than for performance.

Joe

Well I don't see how Emily's preparation for jumps is any different than any other skater. Michelle always saved her emotion until *after* her jumps were finished and then she sold her program. As far as I am concerned, as long as Emily lands her jumps she can take as long as she needs to set them up.

Even "natural" jumpers like Plushenko concentrate to set up their jumps.

There are a lot of inconsistent skaters who stay in character for jump set up but they are inconsistent.
 
I think a national title is very well within Hughes' reach. However, a world medal (let alone a world championship)...I just don't think she's at that level right now. At this point I think top 6 would be an excellent accomplishment for her.

Worlds is up in the air- neither Mao nor Kim are unbeatable and Kim has a back injury.

I believe that Emily's nationals experience has made her hungrier than ever and that she will be a formidable opponent at Worlds.
 
Even "natural" jumpers like Plushenko concentrate to set up their jumps.
Exactly, he is a good jumper but has never managed to jump within the range of the music he is using. He does get high scores for those jumps so why should he risk keeping in time witht he music before a jump.

There are a lot of inconsistent skaters who stay in character for jump set up but they are inconsistent.
Very true. They are more dance oriented than sports oriented.

Joe
 
Well I don't see how Emily's preparation for jumps is any different than any other skater. Michelle always saved her emotion until *after* her jumps were finished and then she sold her program. As far as I am concerned, as long as Emily lands her jumps she can take as long as she needs to set them up.
You and I agree that she is a formidable sportswoman. We differ in the esthetics of her jumps, not the points she gets.
 
They are more dance oriented than sports oriented.

And that's the conundrum that is Figure Skating, and why there is so much conflict not only between judges but all the fans as well.

FS can't work out whether it's a Dessert Topping or just a Floor Wax :)
 
Emily. I was replying to what Joe had said above my post.

Emily who??? (j/k :p :p)

Emily JUST missed out on the national championship and I'm surprised at how she handled it- she was still cheerful and smiling all over the place. (don't you just love people like that?) She seemed pretty happy/content with silver and I really didn't see much evidence of disappointment. I'm sure she didn't want to fall, but I got the impression she's just willing to accept that it happened and move on. We'll see about worlds, though- she seemed to really want to tackle that jump. Suppose she does land it at worlds and another one gets her :p oh, I'm so, umm, yeah, my custom title ;)
 
BTW, I just watched the Ladies Free and hope that Alyssa's success will give her the confidence she needs. I know it's a what-if game, but Alyssa is the best US eligible skater right now when she's able to land her jumps. The others don't match her in spins, stretch, style and maturity.

I couldn't agree more - Alissa is really the top US skater (Ladies) if only she could get her nerves under control for the jumps - she would be virtually unstoppable. I wonder if any skaters have ever tried using hypnosis to calm the nerves - maybe a post-hypnotic suggestion to help block out everything going on around them and have them believe it's just another 'practice' or another 'run-thru'?
 
But jumps are half of skating. If you haven't got the jumps, you just haven't got what it takes to be a champion. Czisny would be a good show skater but not a good competitor.
 
But jumps are half of skating. If you haven't got the jumps, you just haven't got what it takes to be a champion. Czisny would be a good show skater but not a good competitor.
Sasha Cohen wasn't a consistent jumper either, but she still compiled a strong competitive record (although not too many major titles) based on the other things she did well. Spins and spirals count for a lot under CoP. I could certainly see Alissa piling up high PCS and high TES on the non-jump elements. I think the international judges would favor Alissa's style.
 
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Brian Boitano is quoted in today's newspaper as saying that Alissa could be unbeatable. He says that she sought him out for tips on how to deal with competitive nerves, etc., and that she was "like a sponge" in trying to learn from the experiences of other successful skaters.

The article also mentioned that Alissa would be doing the full COI tour this summer.
 
Sasha Cohen wasn't a consistent jumper either, but she still compiled a strong competitive record (although not too many major titles) based on the other things she did well. Spins and spirals count for a lot under CoP. I could certainly see Alissa piling up high PCS and high TES on the non-jump elements. I think the international judges would favor Alissa's style.

But you can't compare her to Czisny. I mean, while Cohen messed up regularly on one jump (or maybe two), she never really had any true meltdowns. Czisny, OTOH, has had both great performances and terrible performances (and more of the latter). All over the place.
 
Brian Boitano is quoted in today's newspaper as saying that Alissa could be unbeatable. He says that she sought him out for tips on how to deal with competitive nerves, etc., and that she was "like a sponge" in trying to learn from the experiences of other successful skaters.

I sure hope she can do it. She's my favorite in ladies' by far right now.

The article also mentioned that Alissa would be doing the full COI tour this summer.

Woohoo!! I was hoping she would :clap:
 
Here's another skater who did great at Nationals and even medaled this year! :rock: Yet, the so called "fans" say oh, well, she just got lucky this time. Let's see what she does at Worlds. Can't people be happy for someone? Maybe she's breaking out of the rut that she was in and is on a winning streak now. I hope she is, and I hope she pulls out all the stops at Worlds. She beat Kimmie for the long program, and that's saying something.:clap:
 
Here's another skater who did great at Nationals and even medaled this year! :rock: Yet, the so called "fans" say oh, well, she just got lucky this time. Let's see what she does at Worlds. Can't people be happy for someone? Maybe she's breaking out of the rut that she was in and is on a winning streak now. I hope she is, and I hope she pulls out all the stops at Worlds. She beat Kimmie for the long program, and that's saying something.:clap:
Good post, Suzy. But you have to realize that some people are right there with the negative. That's their style. Trouble with that, they don't say anything about what they would prefer. The phobia of being wrong.

Joe
 
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