Ladies LP - actual competition

[i love to skate]

Definitely. the pressure will be solely on Yu-na Kim, not on Joannie Rochette. This takes the pressure off from Canadian ladies, which is a good news for them.

The ladies free skate had a lot of tickets sold by walk ups on Friday which obviously will not happen at the Olympics.Yu-na will have pressure but it will not be solely on her. The crowd will most likely be pro-Canadian. I'm getting excited just talking about it

 

[skatingbc]

I think a lot of cheering for Yuna is not just coming from Korean fans, but also Canadian fans. She's a huge hit at my club. I think her appeal is partially her and her skating, but also the fact that she trains in Canada with one of Canada's most beloved skaters, now turned coach.

 

[fourclover]

Probably because Vancouver has one of the most concentrated Korean populations outside of Korea. It seriously was like skating on home ice for Yuna. It was funny how the arena became so much emptier during the Men's FS compared to the Ladies FS when most of the Korean fans were gone.

Just wait till the World's in LOS ANGELES. Los Angeles has the highest concentration of Koreans and Japanese out side of those two countries. They're gonna get mobbed. Yu-na will face the same kind of pressure she faced in Seoul. Mao will be like at home too but she seems to do better on home turf so I don't think it'll affect her as much.

 

[Mathman]

Does Michelle have an association with chickens that I'm not aware of?

I don't know why, but for some reason a tradition got started on the Michelle Kwan Forum that you were supposed to eat fried chicken while watching Michelle compete on TV, to bring her luck. (Also Junior Mints.)

Michelle herself says she likes high protein, low fat meats like chicken, fish, seafood and buffalo.

 

[tully]

I'm surprised at all the Zhang talk, why can't she be the one to go to Worlds, etc. Just to point out:

>Zhang skated the best she could skate. Czisny, far from it. Zhang got 60 TES, Czisny 50. You'd expect the gap to be 63 to 48, or worse, but it wasn't

>Czisny is suddenly close to 7's internationally, for no apparant reason other than new prestige. (Or maybe just staying off her butt)

>Czisny WITH A FALL was only 2 points lower than Zhang in the SP

Until Zhang starts rotating her 3/3, I don't see her as having any real advantage over Czisny.

 

[Mathman]

>Zhang skated the best she could skate. Czisny, far from it. Zhang got 60 TES, Czisny 50.

I like both of these skaters, but I am not sure that Czisny can raise her game dramatically from her LP performance at Four Continents. She completed almost all of her content and she didn't fall. This makes it one of Alissa's better performances.

She lost 5.1 points on her opening 3Lz+2T combination and 4.5 points on her downgraded flip. She could also have tacked on a 2T-2Lo somewhere and squeezed out another point or two. Still, when she hits all of her technical content, that's the exception not the rule. So all in all, this was a pretty good performance for her.

>Czisny WITH A FALL...

Yeah. That's the problem.

 

[kittyjake5]

Caroline's chicken I think was a nod to Michelle.

That was the first thing that came to my mind. When Caroline finished her LP performance and was heading to the K&C holding the chicken, the Blonde woman with the white jacket on tried to take it from her and Caroline said no, she said something else but I could not make it out. I remember seeing Michelle plenty of times after competition leaving the K&C and a fan handing her some type of chicken toy and Michelle always took it. And MM you are right her fans ate plenty of chicken and junior mints when Michelle was competing. Good luck charms. The good luck charm of the
chicken worked out pretty well for Caroline. lol

 

[100yen]

Now that the competition is over, and now that we are done arguing over the World team, we can get back to the one issue that is really important ........

.................. Caroline's rubber chicken.

http://iminyourfanclub.livejournal.com/25084.html

I love it how people throw totally random stuff sometimes. I would definitely throw something really unique as well!! Time to start planning xD

 

[Alicja]

The rubber chicken has been around all season...

 

[Mathman]

I love it how people throw totally random stuff sometimes. I would definitely throw something really unique as well!! Time to start planning xD

Alex and Maia both attend Huron High School in Ann Arbor. The school mascot is the "River Rat."

http://www.aaps.k12.mi.us/huron.home/files/mascot.jpg

You could make a stuffed rat toy that looks like this and throw it out!

 

[R.D.]

I am not sure that Czisny can raise her game dramatically from her LP performance at Four Continents. She completed almost all of her content and she didn't fall. This makes it one of Alissa's better performances.

Me either, and I agree. I'd love for her to prove us wrong though.

I'm surprised at all the Zhang talk, why can't she be the one to go to Worlds, etc.

I think in the big scheme of things, people are more comfortable with consistency than potential.

 

[bekalc]

This is disgusting. It crosses the line.

I'll go with Toni's suggestion on this one. Bye Bekalc.

What I said was harsh. Yes Alissa is National Champ by the rules of the game. But I'm not happy about it (or sure who should be national champ in her stead) and I'm not going to "get behind it." because the result was still unfair.

However, I DO wish Alissa the best, and I hope she skates well at Worlds.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

I would have preferred Ashley but she didn't even place in the Nats although she won the LP.

 

[PolymerBob]

I think in the big scheme of things, people are more comfortable with consistency than potential.

Another thing is direction. Unlike Rachael and Alissa, Caroline has been improving all through the season.

 

[Particle Man]

Another thing is direction. Unlike Rachael and Alissa, Caroline has been improving all through the season.

This has been Alissa's best season in a long time, most of the people arguing against her haven't wrapped their head around that.

And as for the rubber chicken thing -- someone at Nationals threw a rubber chicken, and right afterward what looked very much like a bag of marshmallows. It wasn't for Caroline, at least I don't THINK so... I thought it was for one of the newer, lower placed blonde girls like Alexe Gilles or Brittney Rizo, or someone less known even. They were both thrown about 2/3 of the way down the rink, away from the K&C. Maybe someone really interested in this phenomenon can review the video.

 

[Tonichelle]

I love it how people throw totally random stuff sometimes. I would definitely throw something really unique as well!! Time to start planning xD

When I go to US nationals I tend to become the designated 'thrower' (dad didn't want me growing up throwing 'like a girl' so I have a pretty good arm when I want to) and at 2008 US Nationals after the Men's LP I was "forced" to throw a big pair of fluffy lips out to Johnny Weir (when you pressed them they made a kissing noise)...

definitely the strangest thing I've ever thrown (and the most embarassing lol)

 

[PolymerBob]

OK, so looking beyond 4CC for a moment. Mirai, Ashley and Caroline will go to Junior Worlds ........ and Rachael and Alissa will go to Worlds a month later. I will assume this is the plan until I hear differently.

That means Caroline is in a really good position here. She cannot "fail" to earn 3 spots at Worlds, since she is not going. So if she wins Junior Worlds, after having mule-kicked major butt at 4CC, she will establish herself as the ( de facto ) top American lady. Her price goes up if she does a few Stars on Ice shows, and she cruises into the Grand Prix with increased stature in the eyes of the international judges.

 

[LeCygne]

That means Caroline is in a really good position here. She cannot "fail" to earn 3 spots at Worlds, since she is not going. So if she wins Junior Worlds, after having mule-kicked major butt at 4CC, she will establish herself as the ( de facto ) top American lady. Her price goes up if she does a few Stars on Ice shows, and she cruises into the Grand Prix with increased stature in the eyes of the international judges.

Haha I love it!! Here's for another great Junior Worlds for Caroline. It's in Sofia this year right? Didn't Caroline win JGPF there a few years ago? That plus the momentum from 4CC, I'm sure she'll do fantastically.

 

[R.D.]

Another thing is direction. Unlike Rachael and Alissa, Caroline has been improving all through the season.

I can't say the other two have gotten WORSE though. They've sort of plateaued, maybe with minor ups and downs here and there. I think Rachel will be fine but people should not crucify her if she makes a mistake or two, since some people seem to take her consistency for granted. Alyssa has done pretty well this season, and as another poster pointed out, this could be arguably her best season yet as a senior. But she's so hot-and-cold that I still don't know what to expect from her in LA.

 

[AwesomeIce]

I can't say the other two have gotten WORSE though. They've sort of plateaued, maybe with minor ups and downs here and there. I think Rachel will be fine but people should not crucify her if she makes a mistake or two, since some people seem to take her consistency for granted. Alyssa has done pretty well this season, and as another poster pointed out, this could be arguably her best season yet as a senior. But she's so hot-and-cold that I still don't know what to expect from her in LA.

I definitely prefer Rachel over Caroline so I don't mean this as a bash, but if you take away Rachel's consistency, they she really has nothing to fall back on. There is nothing else about her that stands out against the other top ladies today. Caroline has horrid jump technique and she is slow and painful to watch, and I HATE her footwork, but she almost always lands her jumps, plus she has those point-getting spins and spirals. Czisny, like you said, is hot and cold on her jumps, but like Caroline, she has great spins and spirals to fall back on, and she presents everything well. Rachel has her consistency, but if she's off her game jump-wise, there is nothing else to save her.