Just HOW will the U.S. teams be picked?

[Mathman]

^ That's how I feel, too. That skate, together will a clean short, would put her in the mix for the National championship. The "squat" came on her second Lutz. I don't know why she has had such problems with that jump all season. Her first Lutz, in combination, is always right on, usually with + GOE. In wrm-ups she did one triple Lutz after another with no problem. At least she never gets an edge call on this jump, which gives her a little bit of an advantage over the other girls

 

[silverlake22]

^ That's how I feel, too. That skate, together will a clean short, would put her in the mix for the National championship. The "squat" came on her second Lutz. I don't know why she has had such problems with that jump all season. Her first Lutz, in combination, is always right on, usually with + GOE. In wrm-ups she did one triple Lutz after another with no problem. At least she never gets an edge call on this jump, which gives her a little bit of an advantage over the other girls

I think it's a stamina issue. Some skaters struggle with this more than others. Tomas Verner comes to mind, it seems like he always does a gorgeous 4t-3t, 3a, 3a-2t then by the second half of the program he is too tired and pops the rest of his jumps even though they are less difficult than the ones he landed earlier. Some skaters have heavily front loaded programs to avoid this, but Alissa's jumps are spread out.

 

[R.D.]

Still, that was only a send-off event. Czisny needs to have a skate AT LEAST like what was in that video along with a strong SP to have hope for the Oly team, PARTICULARLY if Cohen shows up. IF the SP is close, this could potentially have the level of suspense the 2003-2005 Nats did :yes:

 

[Tinymavy15]

Thanks. it remains to be seen how she'll do under the spotlight but there's potential.

I agree in that we can't get too excited. Alissa is skating at her homerink, small, supportive audience, no pressure, no judges, she probably had all the practice ice she wanted earlier in the day. This was little more than a practice session with her dress on.
Skating in YOUR rink does make a difference...those of you who had competitions in your rink know what I am taking about.

IF the SP is close, this could potentially have the level of suspense the 2003-2005 Nats did

Whatever level that was, 2010 will double it. The olympic team is on the line.

 

[silverlake22]

I agree in that we can't get too excited. Alissa is skating at her homerink, small, supportive audience, no pressure, no judges, she probably had all the practice ice she wanted earlier in the day. This was little more than a practice session with her dress on.
Skating in YOUR rink does make a difference...those of you who had competitions in your rink know what I am taking about.


Whatever level that was, 2010 will double it. The olympic team is on the line.

Couldn't agree more. This was a pretty good performance by Alissa, but if that's the best she can do with no pressure, we might be in for her usual performances or worse at nationals. That being said, I hope she surprises us and does even better there than she did at the sendoff :agree: .

The pressure for the ladies this year I think is going to be higher than ever before for several reasons.

1.) We only have 2 spots for the first time in many years.
2.) No one is guaranteed a spot or is even nearly guaranteed a spot.
3.) There are 5 or 6 real frontrunners, and about half a dozen potential spoilers as well.
4.) This is a big Olympics, with 3 phenoms or former phenoms (Yuna, Mao, Miki) competing in the ladies event. There has been a LOT of press coverage.
5.) Only 1 skater went to the GPF and only 2 went to worlds last year, for most of the ladies, they are unsure how they stack up against the international competitors when all of them are competing at the same competition.
6.) The Olympic silver medalist from 2006 is scheduled to compete at nationals, but no one knows what to expect from her.

I expect to see a lot of crying - tears of joy and sadness, and wouldn't be surprised if there were a number of falls too. I'm hoping it will be a real impressive competition though.

 

[R.D.]

I expect to see a lot of crying - tears of joy and sadness, and wouldn't be surprised if there were a number of falls too. I'm hoping it will be a real impressive competition though.

That about sums it up

 

[miki88]

I hope Mirai does well and get on the team, because I feel she has a lot of potential and I want to see her at the Olympics.

 

[silverlake22]

I hope Mirai does well and get on the team, because I feel she has a lot of potential and I want to see her at the Olympics.

Me too! I just hope the judging at nationals is a lot better than it was at Skate Canada. Mirai's looking good recently though, the triples jumps seem a lot more solid, plus she is beautiful!

 

[miki88]

I am wondering why the current crop of American skaters haven't measured up to expectations. Maybe it's the fact that the US has been dominant in figure skating for so long, there is less fighting spirit and people start taking things for granted? I mean there are some skaters who already having diva attitudes even when they don't have the accomplishments to back them up. The asian skaters are the best out there now but I find it refreshing that they are also quite modest in interviews.

 

[silverlake22]

I am wondering why the current crop of American skaters haven't measured up to expectations. Maybe it's the fact that the US has been dominant in figure skating for so long, there is less fighting spirit and people start taking things for granted? I mean there are some skaters who already having diva attitudes even when they don't have the accomplishments to back them up. The asian skaters are the best out there now but I find it refreshing that they are also quite modest in interviews.

I actually think there are a few different reasons for this, one being that the competition is extremely steep with Yuna, Miki, Joannie, Akiko, Mao and some European ladies all doing exceptionally well recently.

The other thing is that a lot of the top ladies haven't had the chance to skate at major competitions - last year Caroline, Mirai, and Ashley didn't get to go to worlds and this year having Rachael and Alissa narrowly miss the GPF through luck of the draw and fluky skates (i'll throw Mirai in there too, I know placement wise she was kinda far off, but if she had medaled at SC like she should have she would have been close).

Had more ladies gone to the GPF and worlds, that would have been 2 more chances for them to compete internationally and gain recognition for what they put out there.

 

[miki88]

I actually think there are a few different reasons for this, one being that the competition is extremely steep with Yuna, Miki, Joannie, Akiko, Mao and some European ladies all doing exceptionally well recently.

The other thing is that a lot of the top ladies haven't had the chance to skate at major competitions - last year Caroline, Mirai, and Ashley didn't get to go to worlds and this year having Rachael and Alissa narrowly miss the GPF through luck of the draw and fluky skates (i'll throw Mirai in there too, I know placement wise she was kinda far off, but if she had medaled at SC like she should have she would have been close).

Had more ladies gone to the GPF and worlds, that would have been 2 more chances for them to compete internationally and gain recognition for what they put out there.

True. In the past, the US always managed to have at least one star skater, so I guess I am just used to seeing a strong American lady contender at the Olympics. I wonder if any of these ladies could emerge as a star in the future? Or do we have to wait for a younger skater?

 

[chuckm]

I hope Mirai does well and get on the team, because I feel she has a lot of potential and I want to see her at the Olympics.

Mirai is not ready for a major competition yet, technically and emotionally. Sochi will be her best chance.

 

[R.D.]

Mirai is not ready for a major competition yet, technically and emotionally. Sochi will be her best chance.

At the same time, it would be a total waste to simply throw this opportunity away because she is totally capable of going to Vancouver. You may say that "Sochi will be her best chance" but she may not even get that opportunity depending on how things play out. (look at Emily Hughes for example). I say go for everything now, you have a decent shot.

 

[janetfan]

At the same time, it would be a total waste to simply throw this opportunity away because she is totally capable of going to Vancouver. You may say that "Sochi will be her best chance" but she may not even get that opportunity depending on how things play out. (look at Emily Hughes for example). I say go for everything now, you have a decent shot.

I think this is a theme we have also heard from mathman.
"Go for it!" :agree:

Chuck may be right and it is not a secret that Mirai's behavior prior to her skates has been too emotional - for a while now.

I still wonder if the USA Ladies come out and all skate pretty clean programs who will come out on top.

If I read a chart that was posted here correctly it was Mirai - and not Alissa who had the best spin scores this season. Mirai, like Alissa also score very well on spirals.

So it seems that it will come down to who executes the best at Natls.
I have a feeling that a strong performance from Mirai can top the other girls regardless of how they skate. That doesn't mean it will happen - and it is easy enough to say the same thing for Rachael, Ashley or Alissa. And let's not forget that pesty Sasha who forgot to stay retired

 

[ae9177]

I really don't care HOW the team will be picked, I just care WHO will be on the team. :agree: Good luck to all skaters. Everybody sounds so confident in teleconference, and everybody sounds like 'I'll be the champion'. It's gonna be a great competition.

 

[R.D.]

Interesting tweet from Wagner:

"The person who gets the farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The sure-thing boat never gets far from shore."

Didn't I just say this in different wording, on another thread?

 

[futureidol]

That's a great quote from Ashley. I wish her well in Spokane. Priscilla Hill has been an amazing coach for her

 

[silverlake22]

Mirai is not ready for a major competition yet, technically and emotionally. Sochi will be her best chance.

I don't think that is true, she did quite well at Skate Canada. And emotionally not ready? Last year at nationals she proved how tough she really is, with all the setbacks she had last year and after the rough short, she went out and landed all her jumps in the long. Plus at China she had a really high SP score! I'd say Mirai is more ready for a major competition than Caroline, and I think Caroline is ready too. Mirai is probably just emotional baseline and then it's become more evident these past couple years because of teenage hormones, and who cares if she cries a lot if she stays upright in her skating? I think Mirai is a very good example of a skater who is emotional by nature but can leave all that on the table when it's time for her to skate. Her URs are likely due to her growth and not her being "not ready". She looks like a completely different person this year and last year than she did in 07 and 08 and I think it's amazing she's been able to stay as good as she is throughout it all.

 

[chuckm]

All that being said, confidence is extremely important when it comes to competitive figure skating. Mirai is not confident, and it showed in her skating at SC. Yes, she was able to avoid the URs, but she had to concentrate so hard on her jumps that her presentation suffered and she got low PCS scores.

When the chips are down, a confident skater is much more able to relax and get the job done. A skater who lacks confidence is more apt to buckle under pressure than a confident one.

 

[mskater93]

But maybe that's what Nagasu needed to gain some confidence - go out, focus on the technical for once and get no UR calls on her triples. Dumb things down just a little and set a specific goal. One good technical performance can snowball into more which improves skater confidence/PCS and the like.

It seemed to work for Wagner - she focused, gave a good skate at her first GP event, had a set back in the second, made the final, skated a poor short and a much more dynamic long and put up a pretty decent score.

Flatt's just a machine when it comes to putting out consistent performances. She's got confidence that she nails her technical elements.

Zhang seems to be headed the other direction. A mediocre performance scored as such snowballed into a poor performance at SC with a "diva response" drive to it.

Allissa just needs to get her nerves in check. We'll see if she can finally do that in both phases of a competition.

That being said, I want to see a competition where everyone who's a contender and maybe a couple newbies bring their A+ game at Nationals. Then let the chips fall where they may and see what happens!