Good points, though I think the majority of those watching on TV will not know any of the ladies by name and will be confused and feel indignant if the girl with the best skate does not win. Perhaps her expression is not there yet, but her combination of skating skills, speed, jump quality are better than any of the other senior ladies imo.
Christina Gao is the REAL deal!
- Thread starter cornell08
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- May 15, 2009
I did not see her as being fast and thought her spins looked very slow.
Also, her positions/extensions look ...ummm....like it is being helped/disguised by Wilson's typical arm noodling and bendy choreo.
When a skater does not have the best extensions and positions Wilson likes to keep them forever in motion. This helps cover up weak positions but occassionally fans like to see something like Alissa can deliver - beautiful positions with full extensions.
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- May 15, 2009
I think we are getting a bit ahead of ourselves here. Just a little bit.
Do you think Caroline and Emily will finish ahead of Christina at Natls?
IMO they would both have to skate much better than what we have seen this season to beat Christina.
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- Nov 12, 2009
I think Christina has a good shot at winning or doing very well in the free. In the short she might be closer to 10th or something, but in the free, where so many of the top ladies falter and have edge and/or UR problems, Christina might be able to pull ahead if she lands her jumps. I think she attempts 6 or 7 triples in the LP and at JGPF she was not that great in the short but then pulled up to 3rd in the FS and it was a good enough score to keep her 3rd overall. So if she lands 6 clean triples and Alissa, Mirai, Sasha, land 3 or 4, Caroline hasn't changed much from SC, Ashley has edge problems, then she and Rachael could be 1 and 2 in the free. Woo :agree:
Re. The Baby Blue Coming Out Dress!
Christina's got a light blue dress for the long program and there seems to be certain favorable-outcomes for those wearing baby blue for their freeskate for senior nationals as well as junior worlds as of late. Mirai, Caroline, Rachael...(light blue across the board on the Junior Worlds podium). Good luck at Nationals, Christina! :agree:
Christina's got a light blue dress for the long program and there seems to be certain favorable-outcomes for those wearing baby blue for their freeskate for senior nationals as well as junior worlds as of late. Mirai, Caroline, Rachael...(light blue across the board on the Junior Worlds podium). Good luck at Nationals, Christina! :agree:
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- Nov 12, 2009
Haha yes, the young teens certainly love their blue dresses. Caroline seems to still love the blue dresses but I will say it is a very flattering color on her. I can't wait to see Christina at nationals, I hope she has a repeat of her JGPF FS and an even better SP, if she does I bet she will get a great placement! She reminds me so much of little Yuna I can't help but be excited for her - plus she has the best coach ever :agree:
Christina got "!" on all three lutzes at the JGPF. She probably won't get edge calls at Nationals, though. Another area where she is weak is speed.
I don't see Christina medaling at Nationals unless a few of the top ladies have major problems. She could possibly make top 5 or 6, though.
I don't see Christina medaling at Nationals unless a few of the top ladies have major problems. She could possibly make top 5 or 6, though.
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2009
You are probably right, but even with the ! calls at JGPF, her TES in the LP there was higher than all TES scores Ashley, Mirai, Caroline, and Alissa have gotten fort their LPs this season. Her 56 was only lower than Rachael's 60 at SA, and when you take into account that senior programs are longer and have 2 extra elements, including a spiral sequence and not just a single spiral like in junior programs, Christina's numbers might be proportionally better. It is very promising, even if she just goes to junior worlds, I bet she can medal there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Upz9BbONNqA&feature=related
i love her sp she has a very fine artistic quality, cannot wait to see her artistic side develop more!
i love her sp she has a very fine artistic quality, cannot wait to see her artistic side develop more!
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- Nov 12, 2009
She has already improved so much! I just watched her performances from last year's nationals where she won 3rd in juniors, and she has improved greatly since then. Plus in 2007 she went to nationals in novice and finished last. Lots of progress in 2 years, can't wait to see how she does in seniors this year!
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- Oct 22, 2005
Actually, Senior program has only one additional technical element = ladies spiral sequence, men second step sequence. This equates to about 3.5 points max.
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- Nov 12, 2009
I thought they had an extra spin too? Guess not. Even so, Christina's TES at the JGPF with the ! calls is still higher than what the top ladies have been getting this season internationally, and I feel like senior level competitions are more generous with GOEs.
Originally at the beginning of the well-balanced program rules to go with the new judging system,
Senior ladies LP included 4 spins, 1 step sequence, and 1 spiral sequence
Junior ladies LP included 3 spins, 1 step sequence, and 1 spiral sequence
So at that time, the difference between the two programs was that seniors had an extra spin.
Both junior and senior ladies got 7 jumping passes. That is still the case.
Two years ago, it was decided to delete one element from the long programs to allow more time for choreography.
The deletions were the fourth spin from seniors and the spiral sequence from juniors. So now the nonjump elements are
Senior ladies: 3 spins, 1 step sequence, 1 spiral sequence
Junior ladies: 3 spins, 1 step sequence
The difference is a spiral sequence.
Senior ladies LP included 4 spins, 1 step sequence, and 1 spiral sequence
Junior ladies LP included 3 spins, 1 step sequence, and 1 spiral sequence
So at that time, the difference between the two programs was that seniors had an extra spin.
Both junior and senior ladies got 7 jumping passes. That is still the case.
Two years ago, it was decided to delete one element from the long programs to allow more time for choreography.
The deletions were the fourth spin from seniors and the spiral sequence from juniors. So now the nonjump elements are
Senior ladies: 3 spins, 1 step sequence, 1 spiral sequence
Junior ladies: 3 spins, 1 step sequence
The difference is a spiral sequence.
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- Nov 12, 2009
Thanks for the clarification. I remember there used to be another spin in the senior ladies when I watched the Olympics 4 years ago.
Even if the difference is just a spiral sequence, in terms of LP TES Christina at the JGPF was only outscored by Rachael at SA, and it was by about 4 points, which is a spiral sequence. That being said, I'm afraid Christina will be kept down in the short and then in the long they won't give her PCS to be competitive.
Last year I remember feeling the same way about Angela, she did a good short but was underscored and got 50 points which was like 13th place. Then in the long she had 6 huge, clean triples and got a pretty good score, 101.20 , but her PCS kept her down again and she was 8th overall. Her TES in the FS was the 4th highest though , the highest being Ashley 60.47, Rachael 60.28, Caroline 58.24, and Angela got a 57.49 but I thought her short deserved 3rd place after Rachael (Caroline's program had no choreography).
Mirai, Alissa, and Katrina has significantly lower TES scores (49.94, 52.68, 52.44) and that was with huge GOEs on non-jump elements, and still placed ahead of her. Goes to show that jumps really don't mean that much. Alexe also had high TES (55. 44) and landed a lot of hard triples but finished 9th. Boo:scowl:
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- Nov 12, 2009
I would assume so, he is her coach after all and Yuna is not competing at any competitions that same week (that I know of). That's cool how she moved to Japan but still represents the US, it seems like in other countries a lot of ladies train outside their home countries but in the US you rarely see it. I read some article saying her parents were immigrants from China, I wonder if this means she has dual citizenship. If so, it could be a smart move to change to represent China if the US choses not to reward her talent with a good placement, as she would be the best ladies skater in China (I only know of Yan Liu who doesn't do too well internationally) and could get to go to Worlds and grand prix events every year.
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- Oct 22, 2005
PCS isn't a "give" or "hold down" though, there are specific requirements in the bullets for PCS. Typically, a newer senior really deserves lower PCS, no matter how good their TES mark is because of speed, ice coverage, connecting elements/linking transitions, presentation, choreography and a typical focus on "getting" the elements (full credit). I skate with kids who have gone to JNs, Nationals, and Worlds. I can see the difference between an Intermediate and a Novice, Novice and Junior, Junior and Senior, new Senior and veteran Senior and a mid tier Senior and a World level Senior, even if they have a program filled with the exact same elements. One of the disservices of watching these events on TV is that they zoom into the skater so you can see what's going on with the choreography (arms, head, movements). Small movements are visible. When you are in the arena, is the skater FILLING it with these movements that are obvious on TV/IN? This is what the judges are looking for in that second mark. This is the skill that needs to be developed through work, experience and confidence to boost PCS. This is what my male coach harps on in terms of choreography and making it interesting - almost being over the top with how it's completed to be obvious to your audience.
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2005
I believe she's currently training in Canada (Toronto)
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