2010 Grand Prix Assignments

[janetfan]

I do not believe USFS is saving the ladies TBA spot for Sasha. They did that last year, and she withdrew. Besides, Sasha considered doing the GP only as a preparation for her Olympic bid, which ended with her 4th place at Nationals. I doubt very much that Sasha is interested in competing any more.

I think the US ladies with one assignment --- Dobbs, Gilles, Musademba --- will be vying for that spot.

You may be right but don't let your obvious dislike of Sasha determine what is best for skating in the USA.
If Sasha or even Kimmie were in shape and interested how would SA which has been struggling financially benefit by giving a TBA slot to a skater totally unknown to the public. The skating geeks will watch anyway, it's the other 99% of potential viewers that should be considered.

 

[colleen o'neill]

Tonichelle - That's one excellent decision on the part of SC..not enlisting Stojko as an official spokesperson.

Anyway,not wanting to hijack the thread, I'll be brief.. SC's use of "Evolution" in their headline and brief notice makes one believe they'll be having a focus on the future. I just hope it's not entirely at the expense of the here and now. I'm very impressed with P/I and their potential ,and I can understand their wanting to move up for all the reasons we've discussed so far. And we do seem to be having a bit of a boom in ice dance ; there's more talent coming up behind them. I hope for and expect their continued improvement ( may it be rapid ), but if they should hit a bit of a plateau for a year or so ( which would also be understandable ) it would be a shame if other couples who are perhaps more competitive now had been left out of the mix.

R/H needed some serious refinement..I didn't see much improvement in that regard in the last year..but I do see their potential. However, they can't keep that infectious OD over again...and they'll need a more mature presence at the senior level.

Weaver/Poje have improved a lot with their shared coaching arrangement and whether or not C/P have been technically superior on a given day, or even generally.. in PCS, I think there have been times C/P have perhaps been a bit overmarked and W/P a bit undermarked. But both have 2 GP assignments, so we'll see who's improved more.. ( Lucky us.)

I know the entries will probably undergo some adjustments before the fall, and perhaps H-M/C have retired and just not officially announced it yet , but so far ,it's not sitting easy with me.

 

[silverlake22]

I do not believe USFS is saving the ladies TBA spot for Sasha. They did that last year, and she withdrew. Besides, Sasha considered doing the GP only as a preparation for her Olympic bid, which ended with her 4th place at Nationals. I doubt very much that Sasha is interested in competing any more.

I think the US ladies with one assignment --- Dobbs, Gilles, Musademba --- will be vying for that spot.

Kimmie based on that show doesn't seem fit for a comeback, she just did double axels and double toes. Sasha if she's trained since nationals I think maybe could be ready to handle SA, but isn't she still considering retirement? Of the three listed above, it should clearly go to Dobbs, she has the highest SB score of the 3, did better at nationals than Alexe (Musademba didn't compete), and she's a good competitor while the other two are so very inconsistent.

Also Angela Maxwell may be considered for the spot, assuming she's healthy again.

 

[R.D.]

I think the US ladies with one assignment --- Dobbs, Gilles, Musademba --- will be vying for [the SA TBA] spot.

Those three, and then perhaps Meissner or Hughes if they decide to keep competing.

 

[HalfTriple]

Kimmie based on that show doesn't seem fit for a comeback, she just did double axels and double toes. Sasha if she's trained since nationals I think maybe could be ready to handle SA, but isn't she still considering retirement?

What's wrong with double axels? She's got the best 2 Axels 2 Toes in the world. Kimmie will come back.

Go Kimmie!!!

 

[oleada]

I think the US ladies with one assignment --- Dobbs, Gilles, Musademba --- will be vying for that spot.

I don't think it will be Dobbs, as she has China the week before that.

 

[Tonichelle]

Tbh, i found his comments ab quad as annoying as Browning + Chan recent comment on radio that bielman spin is not very manly.

I agree that the Biellman looks better on a lady... I'm not a fan of the position that Plushenko has to be in because of his long torso. he can't get that elegant position that is the classic Biellman. If that's the only thing Chan's said that I agree with then so be it, and I don't always agree with Browning... but on this spin on concur.

 

[gold12345]

I do not believe USFS is saving the ladies TBA spot for Sasha. They did that last year, and she withdrew. Besides, Sasha considered doing the GP only as a preparation for her Olympic bid, which ended with her 4th place at Nationals. I doubt very much that Sasha is interested in competing any more.

I think the US ladies with one assignment --- Dobbs, Gilles, Musademba --- will be vying for that spot.

I agree. I don't think the TBA spot has anything to do with Sasha. I think they just don't know who to give it to at this time... Who has really earned an additional event? I think that's the dilemma right now, which can be solved at a later date. Besides, if Sasha was truly interested and serious about being a part of the Grand Prix series this season, I think her name would actually be on there rather than just "TBA". Honestly, it's a miracle she even showed up at Nationals last season. There have been zero signs of her training since Nationals... It's just been shows. We probably have as good of a shot seeing Kwan at SA as we do seeing Sasha.

 

[seniorita]

I agree that the Biellman looks better on a lady... I'm not a fan of the position that Plushenko has to be in because of his long torso. he can't get that elegant position that is the classic Biellman. If that's the only thing Chan's said that I agree with then so be it, and I don't always agree with Browning... but on this spin on concur.

Agreeing with someone doesnt mean it was correct at first place for them to say it, I learnt this here but you kind of lost my point They didnt speak about Plushenko (btw last time Plushenko did a bielman was Worlds 2005 so I doubt they addressed to him) Browning said "we'll leave those to Johnny Weir" and then Patrick said "you lose respect among the men doing the bielman"!
Anyway it is another kind of humor i guess..

 

[1795]

a biellman can only work if done properly, well, and at the right time. in continueing with the involvement of gender- if the skater, male or female, can't do it....then it doesn't look good.

 

[CassAgain]

I agree that Plushy's Biellmann does not look good AND that Chan's comment was a stupid thing to say.

 

[silverlake22]

I don't think it will be Dobbs, as she has China the week before that.

Boo. I love Dobbs

 

[GiuliaPlum]

What about the JGP assignments? maybe it will be a bit more interesting than Senior Ladies'... :sheesh:

 

[R.D.]

I thought Dobbs was a pairs skater. Has she decided on singles?

 

[cornell08]

Toth and Zhang had said in a video interview that they hoped to get assignments for the senior grand prix this upcoming season-- were their disappointing jgp outings why they didn't get anything?

I'm annoyed with Inoue/Baldwin-- they need to retire! Fine, they may be able to still land the throw triple axel but we've SEEN all they can bring to the table, and its not that enthralling. I hope they announce their retirement and that Toth/Zhang get their spots.

And why would Gao choose not to go to the SGP? I would think its risker if she were to not to do well in the JGP against a talented young(er) field than to not do well in the senior grand prix against seasoned skaters.

 

[Sylvia]

I don't think it will be Dobbs [for the SA TBA spot], as she has China the week before that.

So does Kristine Musademba (China as her 1 GP assignment).

I thought Dobbs was a pairs skater. Has she decided on singles?

Dobbs is still doing both. She has 1 GP spot due to her top 24 SB score at 2010 Four Continents. She and her pair partner, Joe Jacobsen, are eligible for a Senior B assignment in pairs due to their 7th place finish at Nationals. Not sure if they are in contention for the Skate America TBA pairs spot (host pick) because of her singles schedule, though.

Toth and Zhang had said in a video interview that they hoped to get assignments for the senior grand prix this upcoming season-- were their disappointing jgp outings why they didn't get anything?

7 U.S. pair teams were ranked and selected ahead of them (3 teams got 2 GP assignments each and 4 teams got 1 apiece) and Zhang/Toth's ISU Season Best score is ranked #47 on the list, behind #44 Riseeuw/Paxton GBR on the GP alternate list as the top 2 of the remaining teams currently without an assignment. Zhang/Toth should be in contention for the Skate America pairs TBA spot.

And why would Gao choose not to go to the SGP? I would think its risker if she were to not to do well in the JGP against a talented young(er) field than to not do well in the senior grand prix against seasoned skaters.

Gao was guaranteed only 1 GP assignment and so maybe she is hoping to gain more ISU ranking points by competing well enough on the JGP to get 2 events and qualify for the Final again. I would imagine that she and her team weighed all the pros and cons of moving up/staying Jr. internationally before making the decision to return to the JGP -- we'll have to wait and see if it pays off for her.

 

[Tonichelle]

Agreeing with someone doesnt mean it was correct at first place for them to say it, I learnt this here but you kind of lost my point They didnt speak about Plushenko (btw last time Plushenko did a bielman was Worlds 2005 so I doubt they addressed to him) Browning said "we'll leave those to Johnny Weir" and then Patrick said "you lose respect among the men doing the bielman"!
Anyway it is another kind of humor i guess..

well then I judge Browning for not fact finding if he did give it to Johnny. I don't think he's ever done one.

 

[fairly4]

i am with you r.d the women assignments are spread out and appear to be about even or spread out, in most cases the medals are up for grabs with a only cup of russia and cup of china basically pre-competition appears to be yu-na, miki and akiko on inside track for the 3 medals, and mao on inside track for her medals at nhk and france, but
other skate canada and skate america are wide open for all three spots, depending on how they skate.
for me way too much different scenarios to pre-predict who will come home with the medals, .

for me all the discplines seem spread out for their assignments.

 

[silverlake22]

What about the JGP assignments? maybe it will be a bit more interesting than Senior Ladies'... :sheesh:

It hasn't been announced yet. I'm a little concerned about the JGP this year though, it's going to be very hard to make the final, with both Polina's, Anna, Sofya, maybe Roza (who has improved a lot this season) or Kristina Zaseeva, Gao, Baga on on the JGP for the second time, not to mention Liza and Adelina who will be making their JGP debuts but can put up massive scores and Kim Hae-Jin from Korea. I'm worried about the chances of skaters like Kiri or Anna or Sofya or Christina to even make the final, Kiri where she's inconsistent and doesn't have that much technical content in her programs, Anna where she has the tendency to struggle in the LP, Sofya where she is inconsistent, and Christina because of her PCS and recent struggles with her 3t-3t (i'm still hoping she upgrades it to 3f-3t next season, which will give her an advantage).

 

[Sylvia]

What about the JGP assignments? maybe it will be a bit more interesting than Senior Ladies'... :sheesh:

FYI, I've started a separate thread for Junior Grand Prix discussion -- link: http://www.goldenskate.com/forum/sh...11-JGP-Assignments-speculation-amp-discussion