Im a fan of Rachael actually, but I still find her not that artistic... and Im nuts about Meissner, but i have the sense that for both of them artistry is not natural... like it is for Mirai & Caroline. Both Rachael & Kimmie dont have great spins either. So i find more resemblence between them than in Rachael-Caroline or Kimmie- Mirai.
Who will be the 2 US Ladies for next year's Worlds?
- Thread starter alicelouise
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Im a fan of Rachael actually, but I still find her not that artistic... and Im nuts about Meissner, but i have the sense that for both of them artistry is not natural... like it is for Mirai & Caroline. Both Rachael & Kimmie dont have great spins either. So i find more resemblence between them than in Rachael-Caroline or Kimmie- Mirai.
ITA:thumbsup:
Is it a very feasible target to recover 3 spots for US Ladies?
Well, I kind of understand your point.
To develop individuality and produce a synergistic effect,
How about Rachael – Marai or Kimmie – Caroline?
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- Sep 27, 2005
My vote/hope is that the two spots go to Mirai & Caroline. 
I am really sad we dont have 3 spots for me to be thrilled for Mirai, Caroline & Rachael to go. I was sooo hoping to have all three kick butt and take names @ Worlds in LA. Heres hoping for the following year.:agree:
I have to say this will be an EXCITING Nationals to say the least:yes:
I am really sad we dont have 3 spots for me to be thrilled for Mirai, Caroline & Rachael to go. I was sooo hoping to have all three kick butt and take names @ Worlds in LA. Heres hoping for the following year.:agree:I have to say this will be an EXCITING Nationals to say the least:yes:
personally, i think it could be anyone now. it is too early to tell.
if they judge fairly caroline zhang as well as the rest mirai, kimmie, ashley, emily rachel all have a shot. if however they nitpick one skater over the other or ignore takeoff and landing technique., or under rotating -prerotating. on their jumps like they overlook rachels, ashley's. than no i doubt if caroline would get in unless she cleans it up and the judges, technical caller notices the difference.
if they judge fairly caroline zhang as well as the rest mirai, kimmie, ashley, emily rachel all have a shot. if however they nitpick one skater over the other or ignore takeoff and landing technique., or under rotating -prerotating. on their jumps like they overlook rachels, ashley's. than no i doubt if caroline would get in unless she cleans it up and the judges, technical caller notices the difference.
Rachael is not only very musical, but she is very expressive with her whole upper body, and IMO that is a type of artistry that very few skaters have. Kimmie is still trying to learn how to use her upper body so she is a little stiff by comparison to Rachael, and she is not as naturally expressive as Rachael is.
The original poster who said both Rachael and Kimmie are technical rather than artistic skaters are equating physical immaturity (in Rachael's case) with artistic immaturity (in Kimmie's).
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- Oct 31, 2006
Agree 100%!
To Kimmie's credit, I think her best strive toward artistry has been her "The Feeling Begins" SP with how she interpreted her footwork sequence and the head roll she was able to match to the music in her choreography. As skeptical as I was at the beginning of the season with her interpreting this music, I really liked what she was able to accomplish with it and I think it worked for her. I hope to see further artistic progression from her in years to come. I think the costuming of her Turandot LP at Nationals was an improvement for her as well. It helped to soften her style and I was a little sad not to see the costume again at Worlds, even though the navy blue dress was nice too.
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- Feb 17, 2007
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- Oct 31, 2006
There is a huge difference between strength and hype. Rachael Flatt won the LP at Sr. Nationals and at Jr. Worlds and has a Sr. National silver medal and a Jr. World gold medal. IMO, Rachael is the strongest at this point of the US ladies. She is the best overall skater and the most consistent skater in my eyes among the American ladies.
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- Feb 21, 2006
IRC, Flatt also won the LP at the JGPF in December, finishing a close second to Mirai overall. Very consistent skater all season.
from Chris H:
" If you only look at their last 2 events. If you look at their last 5 events and especially their last 10 events, Caroline stands out. The hype about Rachael is very similar to that of Ashley prior to 4CC."
Not sure what you mean by their last 5 events. Zhang was on the SGP, Flatt did JGP this season. Last 10 events...Zhang did Jr at US natls last season, Flatt did Sr. Flatt went through QR to get to US Natls last year because of her WD from the JGP series due to her back injury. Zhang did the entire JGP series as well as JGPF and JW. Can't compare the last two years...apples and oranges.
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Caroline's results were uneven all last season. She didn't win a single event, finishing 2nd and 3rd in her GPs and 4th in the GPF, 4th at Nationals, and 2nd at JW. She got dinged for flutzing and urs in many if not all her events.
When Caroline is "on" and she manages to completely rotate her jumps AND skate a clean FS, she is capable of beating Rachael, but the plain fact is that in her two head-to-head meetings with Rachael this season, Rachael came out on top.
Rachael has finished either 1st or 2nd in all her events since March 2007, when she won the Challenge Cup (142.46). She won gold (154.65) and silver (130.85)in her two JGP events, silver in the JGPF (159.66), silver at Nationals (188.73), and gold at JW (172.19). Although the second jump on her 3/3 has been sometimes downgraded, it wasn't in her last 3 competitions, and she has been dinged for flutzing only twice in all her events this season. She completed a clean FS in all three of her last performances, a rare occurrence for any skater.
Compare that to Ashley's career over the past two seasons:
2006-2007: 2 JGP event golds (134.95, 133.98), 2nd JGPF (142.01), 3rd JW (157.15)
2007-2008: 5th SC (150.06), 3rd TEB (158.63), 3rd Nationals (188.56), 8th 4CC (152.46), 16th Worlds (137.40).
Ashley never got scores as high as Rachael in her JGP year, and she seemed to peak at Nationals this year, then fell off badly, while Rachael earned a new Seasons Best at JW after her silver medal at Nationals.
Of Rachael, Caroline, Mirai and Ashley, Rachael is by far the most consistent. Her one below-par result, the JGP in Germany, may have been because she had competed in a cheesefest in Japan the weekend before JGP GER. She had to have been totally jet-lagged at that competition.
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- Jul 14, 2007
I never understood the hype about Ashley, and was the one trying to tell everyone they're jumping on the wagon way too early... I think Rachael's very consistent and very musical, but she's not the most captivating. Caroline to me seems a perfectionist, and has very exacting standards for herself, but she doesn't quite live up to the hype she's engendered (does anyone else get the feeling that she's not as well liked by her peers as some other skaters?) Mirai, to me, is the best. She made some mistakes and lost some of her consistency this year, but I think it was more due to her nerves because her rise to the top was so sudden and unexpected. To me, a win at the Nationals is ten times mroe valuable than a junior worlds championship, and she has accomplished just that.
At the Japan Open, Kimmie Meissner beat Mirai.
Kimmie: 109.61 (49.81 TES + 59.69 PCS)
3Z+SEQ (she didn't add the 2nd jump), 3L<, 3S, 3Z, 3L+2T, 2A, 2A+2T+1L
Mirai: 108.42 (54.75 TES + 53.67 PCS)
2A, 3Z+1T, 3F+2T+2L, 3F, 3Z(e)<, 3T, 3L<+2T<
It looks as if Mirai is having even more trouble completely rotating jumps. A growth issue?
Kimmie didn't attempt any flips, which indicates she may be working on fixing her lip.
Kimmie: 109.61 (49.81 TES + 59.69 PCS)
3Z+SEQ (she didn't add the 2nd jump), 3L<, 3S, 3Z, 3L+2T, 2A, 2A+2T+1L
Mirai: 108.42 (54.75 TES + 53.67 PCS)
2A, 3Z+1T, 3F+2T+2L, 3F, 3Z(e)<, 3T, 3L<+2T<
It looks as if Mirai is having even more trouble completely rotating jumps. A growth issue?
Kimmie didn't attempt any flips, which indicates she may be working on fixing her lip.
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- Jul 14, 2007
wow, I didn't know it's already happened! Do you have the link to those results?
http://www.goldenskate.com/forum/showthread.php?p=317948&posted=1#post317948
Some of the FS videos on youtube are also posted in this Japan Open thread.
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- Feb 17, 2007
Though it was not a regular ISU style event, Caroline beat Rachael in the USA vs Japan Counter Match back in October.
It's a little surprising how few times Rachael and Caroline have competed against each other. The last time before this season was back in December of 2002 at the Juvenile National Championship.
Flatt won the 2005 U.S. Novice national title and Zhang was 4th that year -- see: http://www.usfigureskating.org/even...nt/events/200405/uschamps/novladies-final.htm
Impressively, nine of the twelve in this field competed at 2008 Nationals at the senior or junior levels.
ETA: Zhang, Nagasu and Flatt also competed in the same qualifying group at 2004 Intermediate Nationals in December 2003 -- see: http://www.usfigureskating.org/even...t/events/200304/usjrchamps/interladies-1c.htm
Impressively, nine of the twelve in this field competed at 2008 Nationals at the senior or junior levels.
ETA: Zhang, Nagasu and Flatt also competed in the same qualifying group at 2004 Intermediate Nationals in December 2003 -- see: http://www.usfigureskating.org/even...t/events/200304/usjrchamps/interladies-1c.htm
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- Jul 11, 2003
I guess it's ok to comment in The Edge and not have to go to the International Competions site.
All these contestants, from Mao on down to Kimmie, have their moment of great comps, but also their moment of bleh. How much practice did they put in after the travel?
Also would you conside this as the last of the season comp or the first of the new season? Does it tell you much? What do you exect at the first GP?
Joe
All these contestants, from Mao on down to Kimmie, have their moment of great comps, but also their moment of bleh. How much practice did they put in after the travel?
Also would you conside this as the last of the season comp or the first of the new season? Does it tell you much? What do you exect at the first GP?
Joe
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