Ladies LP

[Tonichelle]

And remember guys, unlike us who can say or post whatever we want without being responsible for pretty much anything, these are professional people who get paid to do their job right. Do you think they have some kind of a meeting before a compeition and go "Let's give Yu-na more points tonight"?

...um... considering it's happened in the past with other skaters, it's possible...

that being said the right woman won, and I say more power to her.

 

[gourry]

while i can understand the mentality that it is more "exciting" to watch a ball game if it is a close match vs. the winning team running away with it by a huge margin, i don't understand all the complaining about yuna and comments that almost seem like they want her to just go away/retire, etc.

if yuna had not skated in this competition, and mao had won the gold with her mediocre skate, would that had made it a much better TEB? just because of the suspense, "oh who will win the gold?" i don't think so.

figure skating is an individually competitive sport, so it's different from a team-team match. this is not a game of hot-potato where everybody who shows up should get a chance to be "it" just to be fair and make the game more fun or exciting.

and since somebody previously used the example of michael phelps, i would say every sport should be so lucky to have a michael phelps or a tiger woods. they show the excellence that could be accomplished within that sport and what boundaries can be pushed, and they elevate the bar for the rest of the athletes who compete against/with them. even people who normally would not be interested in that particular sport take notice. they also become examples that little boys and girls can look up to and dream about while they practice, to someday be a great athlete too. now i don't know if yuna can be held up to the status of a michael phelps or tiger woods yet at this point (she can still improve much more), but i don't think it's right as a fan of figure skating to think she should just go away and retire so everybody else can have a chance at winning a gold medal and we can be more entertained.

:thumbsup: Can I agree any more? ......Nope.

 

[cosmos]

Whether Yuna retires and evens the playing field, or the other ladies catch her up, I just want a good, close competition.

Whatever you want is not necessarily realized in the world.

and since somebody previously used the example of michael phelps, i would say every sport should be so lucky to have a michael phelps or a tiger woods. they show the excellence that could be accomplished within that sport and what boundaries can be pushed, and they elevate the bar for the rest of the athletes who compete against/with them. even people who normally would not be interested in that particular sport take notice. they also become examples that little boys and girls can look up to and dream about while they practice, to someday be a great athlete too. now i don't know if yuna can be held up to the status of a michael phelps or tiger woods yet at this point (she can still improve much more), but i don't think it's right as a fan of figure skating to think she should just go away and retire so everybody else can have a chance at winning a gold medal and we can be more entertained.

Can't agree more.
Without Phelps, it would be more interesting to watch swimming, competitionwise. But, it is a great joy to watch his talent.

 

[steyn]

Whether Yuna retires and evens the playing field, or the other ladies catch her up, I just want a good, close competition.

I have an idea for you. If unpredictability is your main motivation to watch this sport, why don't you invent some handicap system?

 

[seniorita]

why tarasova says caprice wouldnt work for sp?This program is amazing and Mao seems light and happy when skating to it , it is one of my highlights of Teb.

 

[gourry]

I have an idea for you. If unpredictability is your main motivation to watch this sport, why don't you invent some handicap system?

This reminds me of the hilarious user, who is now banned, Tiara.
Tiara once insisted that Yuna should wear some weights-or was it sandbag?- around her waist because she is underweight and that is not fair.
S/he was really something. Does anybody elso remember her/him?

why tarasova says caprice wouldnt work for sp?This program is amazing and Mao seems light and happy when skating to it , it is one of my highlights of Teb.

Because without a fan it's not Caprice? I don't know.
I suspect that with all the required elements it will look a bit different.

 

[quikrush]

while i can understand the mentality that it is more "exciting" to watch a ball game if it is a close match vs. the winning team running away with it by a huge margin, i don't understand all the complaining about yuna and comments that almost seem like they want her to just go away/retire, etc.

if yuna had not skated in this competition, and mao had won the gold with her mediocre skate, would that had made it a much better TEB? just because of the suspense, "oh who will win the gold?" i don't think so.

figure skating is an individually competitive sport, so it's different from a team-team match. this is not a game of hot-potato where everybody who shows up should get a chance to be "it" just to be fair and make the game more fun or exciting.

and since somebody previously used the example of michael phelps, i would say every sport should be so lucky to have a michael phelps or a tiger woods. they show the excellence that could be accomplished within that sport and what boundaries can be pushed, and they elevate the bar for the rest of the athletes who compete against/with them. even people who normally would not be interested in that particular sport take notice. they also become examples that little boys and girls can look up to and dream about while they practice, to someday be a great athlete too. now i don't know if yuna can be held up to the status of a michael phelps or tiger woods yet at this point (she can still improve much more), but i don't think it's right as a fan of figure skating to think she should just go away and retire so everybody else can have a chance at winning a gold medal and we can be more entertained.

when i used to work as a graphic designer and was involved in design competitions, nobody looked at the best design that won and was like, "what!! how disgusting that this design is so much better than the other ones that it won the award. next time this designer should not submit an entry so somebody else can win this award." of course not! the excellent design is that much more admired, the talent is appreciated, and everybody goes home inspired to be more creative and come up with even better ideas!

ITA.
I shudder at the thought of this year's TEB without Yuna Kim.

 

[Blades of Passion]

http://www.isuresults.com/results/gpfra09/gpfra09_Ladies_FS_Scores.pdf

Problems abound:

* Yu-Na ---> Her +GOE on the spins is too high, and PCS for that program and performance was far too high as well.

* Mao ---> What the hell was wrong with the technical specialist here. Downgrading her perfect Triple Loop? Total failure. Was he snorting coke at that moment or something? Those double loops shouldn't have been downgraded either. Her PCS were also too high, especially given how she finished behind the music.

Additional thoughts:

* Yu-Na was clearly the winner and she will be the clear winner throughout the season, unless a drastic health problem happens. Other than her rock-solid jumps and very good skating ability, she is succeeding because of sex appeal. She creates an aura of desirability with her body line and demeanor.

* Mao's costumes are horrible (the SP one especially). She looks like a little girl playing dress-up for Victorian-styled Halloween parties.

In fact, MAO is doing pretty much everything wrong. Her LP music needs to change. Her jump layout (for both the SP and LP) needs to change.

Tarasova has completely screwed Mao over, I'm sorry to say. She doesn't seem to understand CoP and she doesn't understand how to bring out Mao's strengths. Tarasova has failed to present Mao as being different and unique (and superior) in comparison to Yu-Na.

* The differences between these two skaters are quite obvious. Yu-Na is a toepick jumper and skates outwardly. Mao is an edge jumper and skates inwardly. Their jumping styles not only are completely different, but also compliment their skating styles. Mao has softer knees, allowing her to lilt across the ice more naturally. Yu-Na skates a little "harder", but is also more expressive and explosive.

Mao's SP from 2007 is a perfect example of her strength when it comes to artistry. She should be doing something like that for her LP this year. And, she NEEDS to fix that jump layout. Going for the second Triple Axel is simply not working out (and, even if it was, that's no excuse to leave out the other important combinations). She underrotates that second 3Axel all the time. She is completely capable of doing 3-3's, but Tarasova seems to be ignoring them. This is a HUGE mistake. A bigger mistake than her horrible costumes and the poor manner in which she is being presented as skater (which at the moment is, "hey look, I can be like Yu-Na too").

Mao NEEDS this jump layout for her SP:

3Axel
3Flip-3Loop
2Axel

And for the LP:

3Axel
3Flip-3Loop
3Sal (or 2Axel, if it's really giving her that much trouble)
----
2Axel-3Toe
3Lutz-2Loop-2Loop
3Flip
3Loop

There is NO excuse to not do the 3-3 and 2Axel-3Toe. These are elements Mao can do and they are of utmost important in scoring points.

I've said this before about her jump layout and I'm going to keep saying it until someone forces Tarasova to stop ruining Mao's career (and the excitement of having a competitor who can actually defeat Yu-Na).

 

[figurejennah]

...???

Well let's hope Yuna retire after winning the OGM, so the rest of the world and figure skating can move on. I'm sick of hearing how great she is and don't want to see another Plusheko in ladies field. It's more exciting to watch when everyone is fighting for the gold.

At least next event will be exciting to watch.

So... since you hate to see some brilliant people dominating in their fields....
You are saying that there shouldn't have been Mozart in Music,
Michael Jordan in Basketball, Tiger Woods in Golf, Michael Phelps in swimming because it's just not that exciting to watch the competition?


WOW.

I completely disagree. Everytime when I see these ladies, I am just more excited to watch these competitions. Ever since commentators and critics began praising Yuna's expression, jumping skills, and artistry, the ladies all improved their skatings tremendously. For example, you can see that Mao is more rich with her facial expression in her bells of moscow program, compared to her previous programs. We all know that this is because of the rivary between Yuna and Mao because the Japanese media really really focused on this many times. Miki uses more of her upper body, and the choreography is more interesting. Caroline tried to fix her wrong edges, so that jumpings would become more accurate. All these great things are happening, because
the competition has become that much more competitive.

 

[macemace1980]

These comments here are always interesting.
Yuna might be like Real Madrid, there are a lot of fans, but at the same time, there a lot of ANTI Real Madrid.
Yuna did nothing she is just good at follow the new system and perfect without mistakes.
To me, it is the Figure Skate rule which makes figure skate boring.
I don't really understand the system that judges using videos to controll jumps.
But it is very obvious what ISU wants skaters to do and so far Yuna and Brian Orser are the only people who really understand what they should do against this strange rule.

Both Yuna and Mao are wonderful skaters even though they are totally diffrent.
Yuna is like an actress for musicals who can express by her face with dramatic music, Mao is a ballerina who can express by movement of body with classical music.
Yuna is like a Hollywood movie which everybody can enjoy, Mao is like a French movie which is hard to understand for everybody.
Obviously, judges prefer Hollywood movies.

If Mao's final destination is Sochi Olympic 2014, well, that's alright. Tatiana and she can do now whatever they think and want.
But if she wants to win in Vancouver too, I want to tell them " CHANGE the music and no more 3X3A!"

About Michelle, to tell the truth, Michell is enough famous here but the most famous skater is Carolina Kostner and I hope Carolina will show us her real talent without making mistake.
People don't know anything about Yuna and Mao here.
I need to work!

 

[bmelanie]

* Yu-Na was clearly the winner and she will be the clear winner throughout the season, unless a drastic health problem happens. Other than her rock-solid jumps and very good skating ability, she is succeeding because of sex appeal. She creates an aura of desirability with her body line and demeanor. QUOTE]

...dude, she's a Bond girl in the SP. What did you expect, a camo jumpsuit and goggles? Her expression is what is suited to the program.

That said, I agree with the +GOEs on the spins (though not about the PCS) - and I've always thought her spirals could use polishing, they have a tendency to sway up and down somewhat - not necessarily wobble, but shake a little.

And as for Mao changing her jump layout, I honestly don't think that's going to happen any time soon, that girl is too fixated on her 3As to think of anything else at this point. According to a Japanese newssite it's at her own insistence that there are two 3As in the LP, and after the competition yesterday she said in an interview that the important thing was skating the 3As cleanly. Will someone please tell her 3As don't make the program?

 

[R.D.]

I'm not suggesting anyone retire. It's only the beginning of the season and I guess I'm just kind of bored with how it all started out. But we have been down this road in the past with someone looking nearly invincible and then the unthinkable happens... in fact, THAT's my true hope. Not that anyone retires.

 

[museksk8r]

ITA.
I shudder at the thought of this year's TEB without Yuna Kim.

I wouldn't go that far. Yu-Na was fantastic and totally deserving of the gold medal, but I also quite enjoyed Yukari Nakano's Firebird, even with the technical difficulties. Her spins are so great and her musical interpretation and choreography is very lovely and powerful. I also like her speed. It's unfortunate she didn't stand on the podium ahead of Mao because she certainly had the opportunity to do so.

I haven't had the opportunity yet to watch Carolina Kostner's programs. I'm really peeved at NBC for chacking her LP, despite placing 4th in that segment.

I found Zhang and Gilles both to be zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

 

[shallwedansu]

Or she can just skip the flip altogether. after all, why bother? She already did her precious combo that places the judges in the palm of her hand. Funny she would never think of "skipping" a flip last year when she had that triple toe to do.

Good grief, sour much? Yuna already said that the reason she didn't jump was because she felt her body shake and something wasn't quite right, so she decided it would be better to forgo the jump rather than do it and fall (smart choice, IMHO. maybe it seems cowardly or calculating to you, but if she felt something wrong then that's what she felt, no one can gainsay that).

Sour indeed!

 

[R.D.]

I found Zhang and Gilles both to be zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

The latter was alright, it's her first time on the big scene so I don't expect perfection. I think (assuming she has staying power) a US hopeful for 2014, rather than 2010.

Zhang, though, I have to agree. She seemed disappointed with her scores, and while I thought they'd be a little higher, she really is not at that top level yet.

 

[shallwedansu]

http://www.isuresults.com/results/gpfra09/gpfra09_Ladies_FS_Scores.pdf

Problems abound:

* Yu-Na ---> Her +GOE on the spins is too high, and PCS for that program and performance was far too high as well.

* Mao ---> What the hell was wrong with the technical specialist here. Downgrading her perfect Triple Loop? Total failure. Was he snorting coke at that moment or something? Those double loops shouldn't have been downgraded either. Her PCS were also too high, especially given how she finished behind the music.

Additional thoughts:

* Yu-Na was clearly the winner and she will be the clear winner throughout the season, unless a drastic health problem happens. Other than her rock-solid jumps and very good skating ability, she is succeeding because of sex appeal. She creates an aura of desirability with her body line and demeanor.

* Mao's costumes are horrible (the SP one especially). She looks like a little girl playing dress-up for Victorian-styled Halloween parties.

In fact, MAO is doing pretty much everything wrong. Her LP music needs to change. Her jump layout (for both the SP and LP) needs to change.

Tarasova has completely screwed Mao over, I'm sorry to say. She doesn't seem to understand CoP and she doesn't understand how to bring out Mao's strengths. Tarasova has failed to present Mao as being different and unique (and superior) in comparison to Yu-Na.

* The differences between these two skaters are quite obvious. Yu-Na is a toepick jumper and skates outwardly. Mao is an edge jumper and skates inwardly. Their jumping styles not only are completely different, but also compliment their skating styles. Mao has softer knees, allowing her to lilt across the ice more naturally. Yu-Na skates a little "harder", but is also more expressive and explosive.

Mao's SP from 2007 is a perfect example of her strength when it comes to artistry. She should be doing something like that for her LP this year. And, she NEEDS to fix that jump layout. Going for the second Triple Axel is simply not working out (and, even if it was, that's no excuse to leave out the other important combinations). She underrotates that second 3Axel all the time. She is completely capable of doing 3-3's, but Tarasova seems to be ignoring them. This is a HUGE mistake. A bigger mistake than her horrible costumes and the poor manner in which she is being presented as skater (which at the moment is, "hey look, I can be like Yu-Na too").

Mao NEEDS this jump layout for her SP:

3Axel
3Flip-3Loop
2Axel

And for the LP:

3Axel
3Flip-3Loop
3Sal (or 2Axel, if it's really giving her that much trouble)
----
2Axel-3Toe
3Lutz-2Loop-2Loop
3Flip
3Loop

There is NO excuse to not do the 3-3 and 2Axel-3Toe. These are elements Mao can do and they are of utmost important in scoring points.

I've said this before about her jump layout and I'm going to keep saying it until someone forces Tarasova to stop ruining Mao's career (and the excitement of having a competitor who can actually defeat Yu-Na).

This is probably the most coherent, unbiased comment of this thread. Now, we just need to put it on paper and mail it to TAT, ASAP! She has seriously ruined Mao!

 

[quikrush]

I wouldn't go that far. Yu-Na was fantastic and totally deserving of the gold medal, but I also quite enjoyed Yukari Nakano's Firebird, even with the technical difficulties. Her spins are so great and her musical interpretation and choreography is very lovely and powerful. I also like her speed. It's unfortunate she didn't stand on the podium ahead of Mao because she certainly had the opportunity to do so.

I haven't had the opportunity yet to watch Carolina Kostner's programs. I'm really peeved at NBC for chacking her LP, despite placing 4th in that segment.

I found Zhang and Gilles both to be zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Okay, I'll admit I went too far. I'm sorry if I offended anyone who is rooting for the other ladies. But Yuna's brilliant performance made my day and I simply couldn't believe anyone would wish a skater to retire just because she was too good, no less.

 

[museksk8r]

Mao ---> What the hell was wrong with the technical specialist here. Downgrading her perfect Triple Loop? Total failure. Was he snorting coke at that moment or something? Those double loops shouldn't have been downgraded either.

I agreed with all of your comments regarding Mao except for the downgrade issue. It was clear to my naked eye watching the video on NBC for the 1st time that Asada had under-rotated those 4 jumps that received downgrades. After her LP, I immediately thought, uh oh! she's in trouble with those downgrades, and sure enough, she got them. As much as her fans may not like it, the judges got that right!

 

[museksk8r]

I wonder why Elene G. left Elaine Zayak for Robin Wagner?

 

[ayayukiituka]

mao's info

hi!
i just read an article about mao's Sp.
she said "i might change my sp music from Masquerade to Caprice in middle of this season" in that article.

and i read another one.i'm very sad after reading it.
"when Mao won at GPF last year, the press explained she won because competetion had a few mistaktes" that article said "mao had been depressed until 4cc mao heard the terrible repot"

PS mao's best PG for sp are 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 one.
well in my opinion if she change that music, tango or world winning one is better than caprice. caprice is too fast for her competetion program.
what do you think about it?

sorry for my poor English