2019-20 U.S. Ladies Figure Skating | Page 72 | Golden Skate

2019-20 U.S. Ladies Figure Skating

Are there differences in technical (or time) requirements between junior and novice programs?

Not in the freeskate any more.

The novice SP is shorter than the junior one and doesn't include the flying spin.

Isabeau appears to be one of several female skaters that registered in the NQS as both a Novice and Junior. Haley Scott is another well known skater who chose to do this.

I know of at least one other less well known skater who has done this.

My guess is such skaters looked at their standings as of Sept 1 (deadline for Regionals) and then decided which level they want to pursue.

They may have needed to decide before Sept. 1. The ones who are qualified for sectionals/hoping to qualify for Nationals have well above the necessary scores to pass the junior test by protocol submission. But wouldn't they need to have registered passing the junior test, either by protocol or at a test session, by Sept. 1? A friendly test chair might be willing to submit the paperwork for them right on Sept. 1 if they wanted to wait till the last minute.

And anyone competing novice at a September competition must have decided not to submit it.
 
Most of Mia's triple jumps look as effortless as other skaters' double jumps. She has to be working on 3A or Quads. Is she really only 11?! She's not even eligible for the JGP next season?
 
Isabeau Levito’s Free at Mid Atlantics, earning a score of 176.30:

https://twitter.com/SylviaUnseen/status/1171246223057195008?s=20

Stunning 3Lz with good height and distance. Spins are a little slow, but I’m sure they’ll work on it. She learned the 3Lz this year and I’m sure they’re already working on the harder elements as they prepare for her international debut next year.

My Goodness. Just wow! Keep this young girl healthy and she'll be a star. How exciting.
 
The novice SP is shorter than the junior one and doesn't include the flying spin.
Just to clarify - the Novice short has one less spin - the flying spin with Gkelly pointed out.

I know of at least one other less well known skater who has done this.
It is much more common than people think. I know of at least 4 doing this. One has a bye as a Novice and the other has a bye as a Junior (but not Novice). Weird.


They may have needed to decide before Sept. 1. The ones who are qualified for sectionals/hoping to qualify for Nationals have well above the necessary scores to pass the junior test by protocol submission. But wouldn't they need to have registered passing the junior test, either by protocol or at a test session, by Sept. 1? A friendly test chair might be willing to submit the paperwork for them right on Sept. 1 if they wanted to wait till the last minute.

And anyone competing novice at a September competition must have decided not to submit it.
Correct. For most competitions, you pay extra $ and the skater receives the test paperwork which allows the competition to count as their freeskate test. The parent/coach just holds onto the paperwork until they decide what to do.

As mentioned before, there is a September 1 deadline for skaters to sign up to Regionals (meaning you must commit to a level). If you are setting in place 6, the strategy of choosing a level is risky since the NQS does not end until mid-September. For instance, the Novice Eastern girl in place 6 (August 31) just got bumped to place 7 by Isabeau. Now that girl now has to see which level Isabeau committed do. Even if Isabeau goes for Junior, and the place 7 girl gets elevated to place 6, she still has no guarantee she still gets a bye since the NQS does not end until this weekend.

The drama!
 
Wow so many talented novice girls! So exciting. U.S. figure skating certainly has some new little stars coming up the next few years :) I cannot believe that Mia is only 11 :O. Wow.
 
Does Mariah have a Challenger event assigned to her yet? Also, I can’t believe she’s managed to keep her long program music hidden for so long.
 
Does Mariah have a Challenger event assigned to her yet? Also, I can’t believe she’s managed to keep her long program music hidden for so long.

Mariah is scheduled for Nebelhorn, so she has a few weeks yet if she does want to keep her programs to herself.
 
I really like Isabeau’s skating. She has such good flow over the ice. Mia’s jumps are nice but I think she needs to work on her SS. ( completely normal since she is 11)
 
What was her score?

Mia scored approximately 149. Mia lost a lot of points on spins and performance components. Mia needs to work on her skating skills and spins because she loses a lot of points. With better programs, spins, and skating skills, Mia can become a huge threat even at a young age. Mia is indeed working on a 3A, but I'm not sure about a quad. She over-rated her 2As in the programs, so this training has truly made her triples and 2As much stronger and cleaner.

As for Isabeau... she's already scoring near 180 and she hasn't even peaked yet. Isabeau will be debuting NEXT season on the Junior Grand Prix circuit. Mia will follow the season after since she's only 11.
 
Mia scored approximately 149. Mia lost a lot of points on spins and performance components. Mia needs to work on her skating skills and spins because she loses a lot of points. With better programs, spins, and skating skills, Mia can become a huge threat even at a young age. Mia is indeed working on a 3A, but I'm not sure about a quad. She over-rated her 2As in the programs, so this training has truly made her triples and 2As much stronger and cleaner.

As for Isabeau... she's already scoring near 180 and she hasn't even peaked yet. Isabeau will be debuting NEXT season on the Junior Grand Prix circuit. Mia will follow the season after since she's only 11.

I noticed her 2a looked much higher too. She could definitely do a quad with the height she gets on her triples.
 
As mentioned before, there is a September 1 deadline for skaters to sign up to Regionals (meaning you must commit to a level). If you are setting in place 6, the strategy of choosing a level is risky since the NQS does not end until mid-September. For instance, the Novice Eastern girl in place 6 (August 31) just got bumped to place 7 by Isabeau. Now that girl now has to see which level Isabeau committed do. Even if Isabeau goes for Junior, and the place 7 girl gets elevated to place 6, she still has no guarantee she still gets a bye since the NQS does not end until this weekend.

Thank you for explaining some of the strategy. I haven’t read up on a lot of the new qualification system. I wonder if this will lead to a rule next year requiring skaters to commit to a level after a certain point in the season or something similar.

I think Isabeau is talented enough to skate on Junior and she will get more out of that experience. If she skates like she did at Mids, she could even be in the hunt for gold at Nationals. She seems strong for this point in the season when comparing to the JGP ladies who will likely compete in Greensboro on Junior thus far: Jessica Lin, Calista Choi, and Isabelle Inthisone. Is the current NQS ranking published anywhere publicly?

On another note, Alysa Liu skated a scored exhibition this past weekend at Skate St. Moritz in Oakland, CA at her home rink. She scored 73.80 in the SP (landing 3A+3T as her combo, 2A, and 3Lo, L4 spins and steps). Her FS scored 138.15 (elements were 3A<+2T, 1Lz, 3A, 3Lz+3T, 3Lz+1Eu+3S, 3F(!), L4 spins and steps). Polina Edmunds competed in Senior Ladies and had a bit of a rough outing. SP score: 46.57 (3Lo+3T<<, 3S, A*, L3/L4 spins/steps); FS score: 84.87 (3Lo< fall, 1Lz, 1F, 3S, 2A, 3Lo< fall, 2A fall, L3/L4 spins and steps). Full protocols available here.


.
 
Alysa, if clean in the Short, can score 72-74. If clean in the Long, 145-150. Thus, Liu’s total score could be anywhere between 217-224. With Kamila adding a second 4T in her Free, Alysa will need to be as clean as a whistle to maintain a lead. Immensely exciting rivalry.

Also, Karen will be skating FIRST tomorrow at the Autumn Classic. Best of luck to Karen. Part of Bradie’s music cut in the Long was leaked and wow... GORGEOUS. I can only imagine the skating.

Kate and Audrey are now both in Russia and will be skating on Friday. Best of luck to both ladies.

A lot of protocols/results have been released from the summer competitions. MANY talented upcoming novice ladies with clean 3-3s. Cannot wait to see how they will all grow. So many talented ladies, but only a few spots for the opportunity to compete at Junior Nationals. Best of luck.
 
Is it me or does the US seem to be finally building up the lower ranks with first Alysa and now with Levito and Kalin in the pipeline? It's to early to know what the future holds but it's great to see such talent at such a young age. It's not Russian depth yet but seeing these girls doing jumps and combos that in past years US Junior ladies champions couldn't do tells me that things are heading into the right direction. The days of a US Junior lady winning the US Junior title at 17 or 18 without all the triples or a 3-3 combo may be over.
 
Back
Top