2020-21 US Women's Figure Skating

[macy]

Thank goodness. I’m literally terrified to come into the boards these days for fear that she has quit. Though I expect people would let me know.

i'm glad to hear the pandemic has only lit a fire under her to work harder. that truly shows she hasn't lost any love for the sport.

 

[mrrice]

i'm glad to hear the pandemic has only lit a fire under her to work harder. that truly shows she hasn't lost any love for the sport.

So am I. This shows a true fighting spirit from Gracie. I doubt she'll ever be the tech leader like she was but, if she can go out there and skate well, it will be great for her. As a fan, I will be happy to see that big smile again. Love her.

 

[natsulian]

Jeremy Abbot added to Alysa Liu's coaching team --> https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2020/12/11/alysa-liu-adds-jeremy-abbott-to-coaching-team/

A very well written and concise article that tackles almost everything that's been talked about, but from the perspective of Alysa's team.

 

[macy]

Jeremy Abbot added to Alysa Liu's coaching team --> https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2020/12/11/alysa-liu-adds-jeremy-abbott-to-coaching-team/

A very well written and concise article that tackles almost everything that's been talked about, but from the perspective of Alysa's team.

nice to hear things are looking up for her and she is doing better than we last saw her. i also like they aren't pushing her to do the quads and 3A at nationals. although this means she likely won't win again, they are keeping the olympics as the end game and not being on the podium or winning nationals. a good mindset for her.

 

[jenaj]

I listened to the entire interview and really appreciated the honesty. Gracie's advice to young kids regarding body image could easily apply to adults. I have to say this has increased my respect for Gracie enormously and wish Paulina the best with this podcast in the future.

I love how Gracie points out that many people are starting to think that the 13 year old body type is the ideal for skating. She mentions that she used to study Tonya Harding's triple lutz when she was learning the jump. Tonya, as we know, was no twig. On that topic, I can certainly see that Tonya's technique influenced Gracie's. Both do the jump from the long backward outside edge. Both also have some of the best triple lutzes of any skaters.

 

[dancelion21]

Jeremy Abbot added to Alysa Liu's coaching team --> https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2020/12/11/alysa-liu-adds-jeremy-abbott-to-coaching-team/

A very well written and concise article that tackles almost everything that's been talked about, but from the perspective of Alysa's team.

Nice to hear that Alysa's getting in-person training. Alysa's so young, it's okay if she doesn't make the 2022 Olympic team, she can always go for 2026 or 2030 instead.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

Jeremy Abbot added to Alysa Liu's coaching team --> https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2020/12/11/alysa-liu-adds-jeremy-abbott-to-coaching-team/

A very well written and concise article that tackles almost everything that's been talked about, but from the perspective of Alysa's team.

With the jump content she's planned for Nationals (no 3A, no quad), Bradie and Mariah will be out of reach. However, it will be interesting to see how she measures up against the rest of the field on GOE and PCS. Will she still get a scoring boost by virtue of being a 2x National champ, or will her weaknesses become more evident without the difficult jumps?

 

[macy]

With the jump content she's planned for Nationals (no 3A, no quad), Bradie and Mariah will be out of reach. However, it will be interesting to see how she measures up against the rest of the field on GOE and PCS. Will she still get a scoring boost by virtue of being a 2x National champ, or will her weaknesses become more evident without the difficult jumps?

i'm not going to lie, i'm afraid a lot of people are going to see her with a different body and not doing quads or triple axels and say she's done, even if she skates clean with 3+3s. the expectation of her is probably to clinch a 3rd title and be going for those jumps in the year before the olympics and also to prove she can still keep up with the Russians, and if they don't see that they will be harsh on her just like every other skater who shows any sort of struggle. she's already gotten so much hate after WINNING nationals twice, imagine what it will be now.

 

[dancelion21]

The article says that Alysa's not planning on doing a triple axel or quad at Nationals. I don't think they're expecting her to win nationals this year, but it will be a serious improvement if she can go to nationals with clean triples, and that sets her up better for future seasons.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

The article says that Alysa's not planning on doing a triple axel or quad at Nationals. I don't think they're expecting her to win nationals this year, but it will be a serious improvement if she can go to nationals with clean triples, and that sets her up better for future seasons.

I was a bit surprised that her team has given up on the 3A this far in advance of Nationals, and to me that indicates her plate is full getting the rest of the jumps competition-ready. Nonetheless, she has a decent chance for the podium with two clean programs that include the 3-3, and I don't think a bronze would be a bad result given that she can't go on to Worlds anyway. The problem is that, without a 3A or quad, she has no room for errors like pops, falls, or underrotations that her TES score could absorb in previous seasons. Even if clean, Alysa could still lose to someone like Karen if the latter puts together two good skates.

 

[TontoK]

I love how Gracie points out that many people are starting to think that the 13 year old body type is the ideal for skating. She mentions that she used to study Tonya Harding's triple lutz when she was learning the jump. Tonya, as we know, was no twig. On that topic, I can certainly see that Tonya's technique influenced Gracie's. Both do the jump from the long backward outside edge. Both also have some of the best triple lutzes of any skaters.

Likewise, Midori Ito, though not tall, was also not willow-y. She was strong, and she looked it. Her jumps were BIG and glorious.

 

[el henry]

I was very impressed by the approach of Jeremy and Alysa's team to this year, and to her future in skating. They are not trying to just keep adding content when it is clear she needs to take a step back and rework. They are playing the long game, and I think that is a smart approach.

I am also impressed that they are reworking jumps with the body Alysa has, rather than trying to rework her body. And none of that happy hoo-hah about an extra pound or two being dangerous for jumps

Best of luck to Alysa and her team in the future

 

[NAOTMAA]

I was a bit surprised that her team has given up on the 3A this far in advance of Nationals, and to me that indicates her plate is full getting the rest of the jumps competition-ready. Nonetheless, she has a decent chance for the podium with two clean programs that include the 3-3, and I don't think a bronze would be a bad result given that she can't go on to Worlds anyway. The problem is that, without a 3A or quad, she has no room for errors like pops, falls, or underrotations that her TES score could absorb in previous seasons. Even if clean, Alysa could still lose to someone like Karen if the latter puts together two good skates.

Two good skates by Karen should easily put her above Alysa, she is overall far superior. And don't forget Amber Glenn is pretty dependable for a clean SP so she should, if clean, beat Alysa there too. Alysa can easily be 5th after the SP (frankly she should have been there last year too with that messy 3A).

Plus Alysa not doing a 3A or quad should not only hurt her tech. marks but also her PCS as well. Her PCS were heavily inflated because she was doing those ultra difficult jumps. She was getting a extra bonus that the others weren't. She is way way far below Bradie, Mariah, Karen and Amber in the PCS and the marks need to reflect that if she's only going to do the regular triples and a 3-3 like they are. Without her quad and 3A there is no excuse to inflate the second mark anymore beyond normal nationals inflation.

 

[Skatefan15]

I think that if Alysa is 100% clean with just triples, she should be 3rd (or maybe higher depending on how others skate/overscoring of others). I think working with Jeremy will definitely improve her PCS even more than we saw before. And even though she won’t be trying the hard tricks yet, I don’t think we should right her off. Many US ladies don’t do 3-3 (especially the harder ones) so if Alysa can at least land her 3Lz-3T and 3F+1Eu+3S she should be set to do well.

 

[RoundedBackCamel]

Gracie’s comments are interesting because I really don’t like where ladies (girls?) skating is going. I’m thinking about how the ideal body in women’s gymnastics has changed. Ideal used to be willowy and long limbed (But still short). Now it’s fireplugs. It makes for a longer career. REALLY don’t like these girls aging out with puberty. I know it’s controversial, but I wish they WOULD raise the senior age, as they did for gymnastics. These girls are just not able to bring the maturity of life experience to do a lot of the music justice.

 

[Sjs5572]

Two good skates by Karen should easily put her above Alysa, she is overall far superior. And don't forget Amber Glenn is pretty dependable for a clean SP so she should, if clean, beat Alysa there too. Alysa can easily be 5th after the SP (frankly she should have been there last year too with that messy 3A).

Plus Alysa not doing a 3A or quad should not only hurt her tech. marks but also her PCS as well. Her PCS were heavily inflated because she was doing those ultra difficult jumps. She was getting a extra bonus that the others weren't. She is way way far below Bradie, Mariah, Karen and Amber in the PCS and the marks need to reflect that if she's only going to do the regular triples and a 3-3 like they are. Without her quad and 3A there is no excuse to inflate the second mark anymore beyond normal nationals inflation.

My sources have indicated that Alysa's PCS related skills are improving dramatically under Jeremy and Massimo's guidance. I wouldn't be surprised if we see a 1995 Kwan-like tranformation at Nationals with regard to skating skills, choreography and interpretation.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

My sources have indicated that Alysa's PCS related skills are improving dramatically under Jeremy and Massimo's guidance. I wouldn't be surprised if we see a 1995 Kwan-like tranformation at Nationals with regard to skating skills, choreography and interpretation.

You beat me to it. Expect transformed skating skills and PCS.

 

[readernick]

You beat me to it. Expect transformed skating skills and PCS.

If so, that's great. But, without her 3A/4Lz she will not be very competitive internationally or nationally. I wish Alysa the best and hopefully she'd still have time to restore everything before the Olympics, but this likely isn't going to be a great year at nationals.

 

[halulupu]

My sources have indicated that Alysa's PCS related skills are improving dramatically under Jeremy and Massimo's guidance. I wouldn't be surprised if we see a 1995 Kwan-like tranformation at Nationals with regard to skating skills, choreography and interpretation.

Well without jumps totally useless though

 

[skatesofgold]

Gracie’s comments are interesting because I really don’t like where ladies (girls?) skating is going. I’m thinking about how the ideal body in women’s gymnastics has changed. Ideal used to be willowy and long limbed (But still short). Now it’s fireplugs. It makes for a longer career. REALLY don’t like these girls aging out with puberty. I know it’s controversial, but I wish they WOULD raise the senior age, as they did for gymnastics. These girls are just not able to bring the maturity of life experience to do a lot of the music justice.

Can we stop saying gymnastics raised the senior age? Gymnastics hasn't raised their age limit since the 1997-2000 quadrennium. The only thing gymnastics did was stop letting 15-year-olds compete in the world championship before the Olympics in 2011 even though they would be age eligible for the Olympics. Gymnastics and figure skating have exactly the same age limit, just different wording because of the time of year the winter Olympics take place versus the summer Olympics. If figure skating raised their age limit, it would then be older than gymnastics. Right now, a 15-year-old gymnast could compete at as a senior if their sixteenth birthday was by December 31. Same goes for figure skating. The age limit is worded as a figure skater must turn 15 by July 1 of the preceding year, but that's also like saying if a figure skater turns 16 by June 30 in the present year, they can compete as a senior. How do the two sports have different age limits?

I think gymnasts stay in the sport because there are more opportunities for success (team event, all-around, and individual events medals) than in figure skating, tbh. It's not like gymnasts aren't affected by puberty. The gymnnastics community just isn't hyperfocused on it, although some do talk a lot about when a favorite junior doesn't end up having senior success.