Ladies LP

[LKR722]

Observations from watching the competition:

I am big Kimmie supporter and it is so sad seeing her scores. I don't know what was going on today and in the short program that she could only achieve level 1s in her spins and spiral sequences. She is quite capable of getting level 3's and 4's. She has always been strong on her spins except the layback and that was much improved at Skate America. I actually thought all of her in-between elements looked improved there. I know she is concentrating on her jumps, but she cannot afford to let her other skating skills drop off like that in front of the international judges. I am still pulling for Kimmie, but I think next season is more realistic in terms of her being competitive for one of the top US spots. I would really like to see her relearn her 3 toe with the proper technique. She needs a solid toe jump or the judges will always be deducting GOE on her combinations. The toe-axel is going to continue to give her trouble.

Fumie started strong and I really enjoyed her program. I wish she had hung on at the end.

Carolina won fairly. I thought she skated beautifully! She made some mistakes but it was still a solid performance.

Rachael was very good, but I am not a huge fan of her skating. She is a very consistant skater, and I think she will ultimately earn herself a spot on the US World Team.

Alissa was lovely but it is so frustrating to see her fall when the judges are ready to give her the great marks.

 

[flying camel]

I think Alissa is going to be one of those skaters who pulls it all together in the Olympic year.

 

[tarotx]

I think Alissa is going to be one of those skaters who pulls it all together in the Olympic year.

Fingers crossed

 

[ANW]

No longer? Zhang got credit for her 3-3 in SC even she had a disastrous program there. And she is only the 2nd lady to get a ratified 3-3 so far this season.

Yeah, it's only November. It would be foolish to write off Nagasu, or anyone for that matter. A lot can change between now and the end of January. Nationals are a different beast, and a lot more pressure-filled than a random GP event.

Caroline's taller this year, and no longer getting credit for that 3-3, at least not thus far. She's pretty much having the same jumping issues that kept her off the Nationals podium last season, except that now it's a bit more magnified because that mule kick is more prominent than ever before. Still, I would never count her out, or anyone. It would be very possible to make the World team with no credited 3-3 and with jump issues.




Caroline's taller this year, and no longer getting credit for that 3-3, at least not thus far. She's pretty much having the same jumping issues that kept her off the Nationals podium last season, except that now it's a bit more magnified because that mule kick is more prominent than ever before. Still, I would never count her out, or anyone. It would be very possible to make the World team with no credited 3-3 and with jump issues.

Bottom line is that nobody earns their Worlds spots on the Grand Prix circuit... Just ask Alissa Czisny in 2005-- exceptional results (1st & 2nd) on the GP circuit then disastrous at Nationals. We'll have to wait and see what happens.

 

[fiercemao]

Carolina Kostner's LP
http://www.dailymotion.com/fsqueen/video/x7host_carolina-kostner-08-cup-of-russia-l_sport

Kostner has gone back to her old long program. I found it's funny that everybody was so relieved she won with a less messy performance by her own standard. It's obviously better skated than at 08 world championships but she still made three jump errors. I can never understand why Kostner always goes for 2A+3T. Her 2A is horrible, there's little chance she can land a 2a+sth. Same with Mira Leung.

 

[fiercemao]

I think Alissa is going to be one of those skaters who pulls it all together in the Olympic year.

Alissa's jump technique is fundamentally flawed, it's even worse than Caroline Zhang's. All of Alissa's jumps are borderline cheated. Her entire fate is dependent on the shoulder of technical calls.

 

[Tonichelle]

I think Alissa is going to be one of those skaters who pulls it all together in the Olympic year.

if Paul Wylie can do it, why not Alissa!

then again I have the same hope in Kimmie.

 

[berrycute]

Alena Leonova did pretty well for the home team, guess she might be their next big hope? But what happened to Katherina Gerboldt? She was supposed to compete here but I saw no sign of her...she's a lovely (and lovely looking) skater, very inconsistent but has potential. Anyone know why she wasn't here?

 

[R.D.]

I think Alissa is going to be one of those skaters who pulls it all together in the Olympic year.

Did that "kind of" already happen? Her 2005 GP run was certainly in an Olympic year (season), no?

Then it all fell apart at Nationals. She is a "hot/cold" skater but when she is "hot" she gets impressive scores. Now, if she could gain *a little* consistency, she could give one of the younger ones a run for her money. I mean, with falls she is already outperforming Meissner point-wise, so that's something she can build on. (Who'd have thought that day would come???)

Yeah, it's only November. It would be foolish to write off Nagasu, or anyone for that matter. A lot can change between now and the end of January. Nationals are a different beast, and a lot more pressure-filled than a random GP event.

Yes, things can change. You just never know what will happen in the second half of the season. I have confidence in most of the American ladies that they will turn things around by then.

As for Meissner, yup, I'm going to defend her again here. I think she had several very nice skates after winning Worlds, notably her 06 Skate America long and her 07 Four Continents long. She has been the US's top finisher at Worlds the past three years. If she earned her spot at Nationals (a long shot at this point, but possible if she can get it together), she would go, and I'm sure they could trust her, just as they have the past three years.

That was then, but this is now. She is getting beat by second-rate skaters at the moment and that does not strengthen the case to send her to LA.

Of course, maybe the argument can be made that Meissner has regressed to second-rate status, thus making the above point moot.

Red Dog Says

Send Flatt, no doubt.

Choose between Zhang, Nagasu and Wagner for Number Two. Base choice on recent finishes and overall confidence in the skater.

It's a risk all right...but it's gonna have to be made given the circumstances. Some posters may be more comfortable sending Meissner again in hopes that she'll somehow magically morph into a rock of stability there...which is fine...another risk.

 

[Mathman]

Send Flatt, no doubt.

Choose between Zhang, Nagasu and Wagner for Number Two. Base choice on recent finishes and overall confidence in the skater.

I don't think they will "chose" anyone. I think they will send the national champion and the national silver medalist.

 

[Bennett]

I predicted that Caro would win even with a couple of major mistakes. I am happy that she won, but not necessarily so that the latter part of this sentence also turned out to be true.

I am a bit sad that Fumie lost her chance to the youngstar again when it counts. She lost to Kimmie at 2006 Worlds and now to Racheal.

Caro only needed one or two okay performances to go to GPF. But Fumie needed to pull out four good performances. She had three good performances and failed in just one. Then her ticket to GPF is almost gone.

But good news is that good showing in these two events seem to have her PCS up. I hope that Fumie recovers her skating skills and consistency in her jumps.

 

[Tonichelle]

Re: Alissa/Kimmie - you know, Paul was given up on. He was "too risky" and he had a controversial placement on the Olympic Team

he did better than a three time World champion (who was favored to win) and some argue he could have gotten gold...

Rudy Galindo has a similar story, he was counted out because of his inconsistency and then he blew that all up with his 1996 season.

who's to say our girls can't have the same results?

 

[cloudkicker09]

Can I just guess, Kimmie was robbed AGAIN? and Carolina Kostner had INFLATED scores again.

 

[Bill508]

Fumie fights on.

Poor Fumie, hoped she would win. Shes a real talented skater and will hang in there. Kimmie isn't a disappointment anymore as no one expects her to even place 3rd in events let alone win.

 

[Bill508]

Can I just guess, Kimmie was robbed AGAIN? and Carolina Kostner had INFLATED scores again.

Kimmie spends more time on her butt then on her skates. Maybe if she just stayed upright thru the SP or the FS the judges might give her some charity points.

 

[frozenhell]

Can I just guess, Kimmie was robbed AGAIN? and Carolina Kostner had INFLATED scores again.

Kimmie didn't have a fall but her TES could've been even worse if judges really picked on her. She was lucky that only 4 jumps were downgraded when she could pull "Mira Leung"
Kostner was overmarked as usual but Flatt and Suguri were overmarked too, so kostner was deserving winner at least this time.

 

[Tonichelle]

Kimmie spends more time on her butt then on her skates. Maybe if she just stayed upright thru the SP or the FS the judges might give her some charity points.

she didn't fall in this competition from what I gather... URs maybe, but no falls.

 

[waxel]

This whole competion was .. if not a splatfest ... a "whatever" fest. Very disappointing. Most people rail that the new judging system is to blame for all the skaters trying to do too much and failing ... I don't have the answer .. but so many jof them didn't seem to be fighting ... and just sat down.

And US is looking weak.

 

[R.D.]

I don't think they will "chose" anyone. I think they will send the national champion and the national silver medalist.

It may be a moot point, but say someone like Czisny or Meissner tears it up and winds up in the top Two. Would one be comfortable with those two as our world team?? forget top 10, let alone three spots.

If Flatt has a bad night at Nats, I think she should be sent anyway. She seems to be the strongest of the American ladies thus far- BUT a lot can change in a couple months.

And as I said before, that second spot is up for grabs, but I'd rather it go to someone currently consistent than it just being given to someone in hopes that she will turn a bad season around. But that's just me.

Czisny has been up and down, hot and cold, in and out for four years now. She's going to continue to have that trend and she'd better hope that she peaks at the right time. She was off a little in the last Olympic year.

After watching Meissner's reaction after her skate (I didn't even bother watching the actual skate, nor the rest of the competition for that matter) she didn't even look disappointed. She looked like she didn't care much what the result was, or even look like she gave it her all.

 

[Bennett]

Kimmie -- Not bad. But steps were slow and rather boring, which undermined the overall impression.

Alissa -- Started slow but better speed towards the middle/end. Beautiful jumps when she landed them. I liked the deep edge going into the lutz. I LOVE her non jump elements, too. Very beautiful spins, esp. layback was fantastic. I also liked her spirals. Steps were very nice, too. I think that this music is so wonderful for her. Very interesting and enjoyable.

Fumie -- Better speed than SC. Good height on Lz and F. But I do not know why she did Sal despite the long-term inconsistency. I also found her non-jump elements underwhelming. I used to have an impression that Fumie was good at skating skills. But compared to the current top ladies, her steps and skating skills do not seem to be very good. I heartily hope that she recovers her consistency in jumps, too.

Flatt -- I am happy that she landed so many jumps. Regarding the overall impression, I wish she could present greater sharpness and strength. I guess that this music may be rather too powerful for her. She does not have much sharpness to express the tention involved in this music. She seems slow and her moves are so soft throughout the performance.
This impression is accentuated by her looks. Her round face, the small height, and round bodily lines remind me of characters in the paintings of Auguste Renoir, which is so lovely, healthy, pleasant, and adorable.
But these innocent, lovely features do not seem to help her express this music. She is hunched a bit and does not stretch as much as she might be able to. If she naturally loses her weight after bodily growth, these may look less noticeable though, because I actually do not think that she stretches less than many other skinnier senior ladies.
When Yuna debuted at the Senior, I do not think that she stretched more than Flatt. But her longer legs and arms and skinnier body gave her much longer lines. But we have to do as much as we can using our given bodies.
Flatt also may look a bit more sophisticated if she could wear heavier foundation to cover the redness in her face.

ETA: Having said that I feel that Flatt deserved better PCS than Fumie here. Fumie did well and had great speed at SP, but not so much in LP. Her program was not very interesting, either. I personally found nothing really memorable in this program, except for the scene where she presented a sad, crying face. The program has one element after another with little character.
I thought that Flatt had a better thought-out program and performed better. I think that Fumie's lead in SP may have made the difference on PCS. If it were the last season, they may have received similar PCSs.

Caro -- Fantastic. I love the sharpness and all the interesting choreos. Some of her jumps were very high and had great flow. I also loved her steps even though they looked a bit slower than they could have been. Her spiral positions were relatively pretty although I did not think her edges great. I also did not necessarily think that she has greatest positions in her spins, but they were fine as well. Overall, I really enjoyed the speed and flow and sharp jumps. She also had some sparkling energy that made her SP and LP enjoyable to watch.