2023 GP ESpoo: Women's thoughts?

[gsk8]

Kaori Sakamoto reigns at Grand Prix Espoo

2023 Grand Prix Espoo: Women Japan's Kaori Sakamoto reigned the Women's event with a convincing win at 2023 Grand Prix Espoo on Saturday in Finland.

www.goldenskate.com

Glenn, wow! From 11th to 3rd, so thrilled for her!! While she won't qualify for the Final, I have so much respect for her.

Congrats to Sakamoto and Sumiyoshi! The point-spread was huge at this event.

What are your thoughts on the women's event? Any highlights for you?

 

[Alex Fedorov]

Regarding the ISU Grand Prix, I can also praise Amber Glenn. But not for her “comeback in the free program”. There was no comeback, the competitors simply failed their performances and thereby compensated for the mistakes that Amber made in the short program. I would rather praise her for her 3A and persistent pursuit of this element despite all the failures. The same can be said about Rion with her 4T. It's a shame that many others chose not to progress.

 

[Minz]

Regarding the ISU Grand Prix, I can also praise Amber Glenn. But not for her “comeback in the free program”. There was no comeback, the competitors simply failed their performances and thereby compensated for the mistakes that Amber made in the short program. I would rather praise her for her 3A and persistent pursuit of this element despite all the failures. The same can be said about Rion with her 4T. It's a shame that many others chose not to progress.

But that's how competition works. It's whoever skates the best then, on that day, at the event. Not who is the best skater overall, or who has won the most events before. Just who skates the best right then and there.

 

[gsk8]

I know Glenn's music has been used a lot, but I still like it. She does it justice.

Glenn shared that she has always felt connected with her free skate music.

“I especially remember Ashley Wagner and Jeremy Abbott skating to it when I was an upcoming skater,” she shared. “It always really moved me, and I wanted to skate to it one day.”

 

[soccerjc77]

I like Amber Glenn skating and this FS is one of my favorite this season even if the triple axel didn't work the rest of the skating was a joy to watch !

I was sad about Rion FS, she did so well at Grand Prix of France, I was hopping to see another quad toe like in France. I hope that she has a shot at the Grand prix final. Her FS really suit her and love her skating.

 

[Azikin]

I love Kaori but her current free program is so boring it's almost unwatchable for me...

 

[Rebecca Moose]

I love Kaori but her current free program is so boring it's almost unwatchable for me...

I posted something similar but now it's gone.

She's such a dynamic skater and personality and THIS is what they give her? It's so generic and not worthy of her talent level.

Great gowns, beautiful gowns though.

 

[gsk8]

I loved everything about Sakamoto last season! The programs, the hair, the makeup....

I'm glad she is showing versatility, but I think she is too "mature" for this FS this season. That's just me though.

 

[icewhite]

Yeah, I have been complaining a lot about Kaori's programs this season.
Can't decide what's worse, SP or FS. They aren't bad... per se. But absolutely nothing stands out about them and a skater like Kaori who has certain qualities that others don't have and who is going to compete for the WC title just deserves better.
With this she looks like a good but average skater.

I loved her Matrix, her Gladiator, her "Woman" and her Janet Jackson. Her FS last season was already very boring, but not as much as this.

The only positive thing I have to say about these programs is that they seem to work - she's pretty stable with them compared to last season. However that might also be due to her finishing her degree and being able to dedicate more time to fs, so other programs might have worked as well.
Sure, this is not an Olympic year, but a world champion deserves stand out programs.

And then it's not just that they don't show off her special qualities - her speed, her flow, her power - worse, they also make me feel like other skaters could have done better, for instance someone like Mai Mihara her short, someone like Schizas her free.

I'm not sure who to blame. Obviously Kaori herself likes these programs and has a special connection at least to the music of the first. So... I usually say the most important thing is the skater likes it and feels good with it... I guess she wants to do something mature and sensual and softer after being powerful and modern and a bit cheeky for a couple of seasons and this kind of music also just seems very popular among the Japanese, but here I wish people would have told her to go for something else. Or, if you pick that music, at least still try to come up with some interesting choreo.

Honestly so far she looked overscored, because she is not able to show the qualities she has with these programs. Yes, I know they are there, but I cannot see them.

I know many people don't like Richaud, but I think whatever you think about his attitude and self-marketing, he knows pretty well what he's doing and was able to bring out the best in her. Try something different, okay, but then try something else again next season, please, because I really like you very much, Kaori, and I want you to shine.

 

[skylark]

Amber was awesome! Quality is the by-word here. Quality in the GOEs, and in her component scores, and just in the smoothly flowing beauty of her elements and the whole program. Till now, I wasn't sure about using Exogenesis, as I like her snappy or sassy programs. But this skate showed exactly what their hopes were, I think, for this program -- showing this elegant side of her and still something intense about her character and her skating. Congratulations!

 

[Arriba627]

Just watched Amber in the NBC coverage. Wow! She came ready to fight. She popped that first jump and my immediate thought was "Oh no!" Very happy for her that she held it together beautifully and kept up her energy level throughout the program. Congrats on her bronze medal.

As I mentioned in the competition thread, I am a huge Hitchcock fan, and I love the music for Lara Gutmann's program. Her protocol looks like a bit of a carrot cake. Nonetheless, loved her program and the attempt at something different. Certainly not warhorse music!

Chaeyeon is a lovely skater, and I'm sorry that her nerves seemed to get to her here. I hope she has a bright future ahead of her.

i know Starr had heart surgery, so I hope she is fully recovered. Her jumps were kind of "off" here. No disrespect meant to Derrick Delmore, but I wonder if she is at the point where she should be thinking about switches coaches. Maybe he has taken her as far as he can at this point? I think she is still doing 3T-3T as her combo, and can she up her game on that?

 

[Moxiejan]

Kaori Sakamoto reigns at Grand Prix Espoo

2023 Grand Prix Espoo: Women Japan's Kaori Sakamoto reigned the Women's event with a convincing win at 2023 Grand Prix Espoo on Saturday in Finland.

www.goldenskate.com

Glenn, wow! From 11th to 3rd, so thrilled for her!! While she won't qualify for the Final, I have so much respect for her.

Congrats to Sakamoto and Sumiyoshi! The point-spread was huge at this event.

What are your thoughts on the women's event? Any highlights for you?

As part of Amber’s great long program, I was happy to see the judges finally give her a decent second score. Still not high enough, but it’s a start.

 

[gsk8]

I agree.

 

[Skating91]

The scoring seemed a lot more honest than previous events, which is great. We all want honest results above all else. With the main pieces of the jigsaw in place for the GPF, maybe scorers weren't quite feeling the pressure.

 

[Alex Fedorov]

But that's how competition works. It's whoever skates the best then, on that day, at the event. Not who is the best skater overall, or who has won the most events before. Just who skates the best right then and there.

this is doubtful. In fact, in order to get ahead of Amber Glenn in the sum of the two programs and take third place, Chaeyeon Kim only needed to score 119 points. This is a very ordinary result. She received over 130 points at the Canada Skate. But on Saturday, Chaeyeon Kim got a whole collection of blunders and scored only 115.

Considering that in Canada Chaeyeon Kim’s 130+ points secured her only fourth place, we have to admit that Amber Glenn’s bronze medal is not so much her success as a consequence of the overall low level of the tournament. Even Kaori Sakamoto lost to Amber in TES and was able to win the free program only thanks to a higher PCS - which, by the way, raises additional questions about the objectivity of the judging.

 

[Alex Fedorov]

The scoring seemed a lot more honest than previous events, which is great.

this is only true in the sense that the judges finally noticed Kaori's blunders. But the values of the PCS for different athletes raise serious doubts.

Amber Glenn received a PCS score of 63.15. Her program included lowering the level of one of the spins and 1A instead of 3A. Everything else is clean. And Rion Sumiyoshi made 4 serious mistakes, including falling and under-rotating, and made a mistake in spin - and her PCS was 62.26. The difference appears to be symbolic. Do such serious errors have almost no effect on the PCS?

Chaeyoung Kim lost to Amber Glenn, finishing fourth. At the same time, she received 61.81 PCS. All combinations were failed, a fall on a triple lutz, an under-rotation on 3S, a mistake on the spin - and all this again had almost no effect on the PCS.

 

[moonvine]

It was really exciting. The most exciting women's competition I can remember in awhile. From 11th to 3rd, not sure I've ever seen that.

 

[MiraiFan]

Yeah, I have been complaining a lot about Kaori's programs this season.
Can't decide what's worse, SP or FS. They aren't bad... per se. But absolutely nothing stands out about them and a skater like Kaori who has certain qualities that others don't have and who is going to compete for the WC title just deserves better.
With this she looks like a good but average skater.

I loved her Matrix, her Gladiator, her "Woman" and her Janet Jackson. Her FS last season was already very boring, but not as much as this.

The only positive thing I have to say about these programs is that they seem to work - she's pretty stable with them compared to last season. However that might also be due to her finishing her degree and being able to dedicate more time to fs, so other programs might have worked as well.
Sure, this is not an Olympic year, but a world champion deserves stand out programs.

And then it's not just that they don't show off her special qualities - her speed, her flow, her power - worse, they also make me feel like other skaters could have done better, for instance someone like Mai Mihara her short, someone like Schizas her free.

I'm not sure who to blame. Obviously Kaori herself likes these programs and has a special connection at least to the music of the first. So... I usually say the most important thing is the skater likes it and feels good with it... I guess she wants to do something mature and sensual and softer after being powerful and modern and a bit cheeky for a couple of seasons and this kind of music also just seems very popular among the Japanese, but here I wish people would have told her to go for something else. Or, if you pick that music, at least still try to come up with some interesting choreo.

Honestly so far she looked overscored, because she is not able to show the qualities she has with these programs. Yes, I know they are there, but I cannot see them.

I know many people don't like Richaud, but I think whatever you think about his attitude and self-marketing, he knows pretty well what he's doing and was able to bring out the best in her. Try something different, okay, but then try something else again next season, please, because I really like you very much, Kaori, and I want you to shine.

Her "woman" program and Mao's Sochi FS are my all-time favorite programs, along with G&P's "Starry Night" and Jason Brown's Sinnerman...

 

[MiraiFan]

I really enjoyed the three Finnish women--good skating skills; Janna J is struggling with a growth spurt, but once she settles into her body, she will be a force. The speed and flow of the Japanese women is unmatched, mistakes or not.

 

[Sai Bon]

Her "woman" program and Mao's Sochi FS are my all-time favorite programs, along with G&P's "Starry Night" and Jason Brown's Sinnerman...

I remember many people disliked Kaori's more "mature" and feminine programmes last season as well. She will grow into her programmes this season too. I'm not the greatest fan of her SP, but think her LP has potential. Congratulations to Amber for her medal. She would be amazing if only she could stablize her performance.