Cynthia Phaneuf switches to Orser

[Dragonlady]

I hope that Orser succeeds with Phaneuf, but I have some doubts of her being "a lost case". She is a very athletic looking person, but apparently all that athletism does not seem to give her much help in the jumping. Actually I wonder if she is in the wrong sport? Anyway, looking forward to see how she fares with Orser.

Most female figure skaters are in the 5 foot to 5' 4" range. Cynthia is closer to 5' 7" or 5' 8", without her skates. All of the jumping/spinning sports are easier for shorter people which is why figure skating, gymnastics and diving are dominated by shorter people. It's physics. It's easier for a shorter person to recover if they are off-axis than for a taller person. This is also why Allysa Czisny has struggled with consistency, being taller than average.

 

[dwiggin3]

I'm cautiously optimistic about this. Poor Cynthia. It couldn't have gotten much worse.

she could have skated like Rachel Flatt at SA (or was it SC?)...poor girl.

 

[Dragonlady]

Really? Most people I know have no absolutely no clue who Barbara Ann Scott is. However, many of them do know about Joannie from the Olympics, with quite a few of them "like"-ing her Facebook page.

I would say that if the only skater you know is Joannie and it's because of Vancouver, these people could hardly be called "skating fans". Ms. Scott was #3 on the Top 10 list of Canadian Female Athletes of the 20th Century and frequently attends Skate Canada events (especially those held in Ottawa). She's the only Canadian woman to win multiple World Championships, Europeans, and the Olympic Gold Medal.

 

[Jaana]

Most female figure skaters are in the 5 foot to 5' 4" range. Cynthia is closer to 5' 7" or 5' 8", without her skates. All of the jumping/spinning sports are easier for shorter people which is why figure skating, gymnastics and diving are dominated by shorter people. It's physics. It's easier for a shorter person to recover if they are off-axis than for a taller person. This is also why Allysa Czisny has struggled with consistency, being taller than average.

Yes, that all is true. On the other hand Lysacek is a very tall for a skater and he still managed to win WC and OG. In ladies Kiira Korpi is rather tall, but she does not have such an athletic look in her body like Phaneuf (and neither does Czisny).

 

[Dragonlady]

Yes, that all is true. On the other hand Lysacek is a very tall for a skater and he still managed to win WC and OG. In ladies Kiira Korpi is rather tall, but she does not have such an athletic look in her body like Phaneuf (and neither does Czisny).

The male skaters tend to be taller than the women - usually around 5' 8" so Evan is only about 3" taller than the average. Also Men have more upper body strength than women which will help them regain their axis more easily if they're off. And there are always exceptions to every rule. Plushenko is also tall for a skater but has such lovely straight up and down air position in his jumps, that's it's not a problem for him.

I want this move to work for Cynthia and I applaud her strength and resilliency for continuing on. But I am trying to be realistic about her chances. If anyone can teach her to jump properly, it's Brian Orser.

 

[prettykeys]

A sports psychologist might help her with that. She seems scared to jump, but when she goes into the jump with seemingly no fear, she literally is one of the biggest jumpers in ladies.

I didn't notice any outsize jumps from her (maybe the 3Loop a couple times). If there are clips to prove me wrong, please share! Either way, there is something about Cynthia's skating which appeals to me. I don't know if it comes from the Canadian tradition of skating/training or if it's just something Cynthia has, but she has wonderfully clean, solid stroking, like JRo did. Cynthia also has very nice speed and when she does her jumps right, they go in and out with amazing flow. I would really love to see Cynthia make her way to the top.

While we're on the topic of heights, I noticed that Cynthia is taller but she looks proportionate enough for balance, centre of gravity, axis, etc. That is, for her height, I don't think her centre of gravity is too high up. Compare with Adelina Sotnikova who has crazy long legs even though she is less than 5'5.

 

[sillylionlove]

I would say that if the only skater you know is Joannie and it's because of Vancouver, these people could hardly be called "skating fans". Ms. Scott was #3 on the Top 10 list of Canadian Female Athletes of the 20th Century and frequently attends Skate Canada events (especially those held in Ottawa). She's the only Canadian woman to win multiple World Championships, Europeans, and the Olympic Gold Medal.

What about Elizabeth Manley? She won Olympic silver during the battle of the Carmens in 1988 with Witt and Thomas. (did I just show my age there?)

 

[chuckm]

The male skaters tend to be taller than the women - usually around 5' 8" so Evan is only about 3" taller than the average.

Evan is 6'2"--that's quite a bit taller than the 'average' male skater (which is about 5'9")

 

[Sasha'sSpins]

I love Frank Carroll but I wish Mirai would consider someone like Brian Orser-he might be able to help her conquer her UR/insconsistent demons on the ice. Although, a sports psychologist might be able to help too.

 

[Sasha'sSpins]

Really? Most people I know have no absolutely no clue who Barbara Ann Scott is. However, many of them do know about Joannie from the Olympics, with quite a few of them "like"-ing her Facebook page.

Barbara Ann Scott is a legend-but perhaps a lot of the younger generation aren't as familiar with her. Those old enough to remember 1988 would probably have Elizabeth Manley up there and of course Joannie.

 

[Dragonlady]

Evan is 6'2"--that's quite a bit taller than the 'average' male skater (which is about 5'9")

With his skates on, maybe, but in his street shoes, he's no taller than me.

 

[blue_idealist]

This is good to hear. Cynthia needs to do SOMETHING to fix her problems this season. I was wondering last week if having Shawn Sawyer missing from her rink this year caused a difference, but I don't know how much she actually trained WITH him, just under the same coach.

 

[skateluvr]

Evan is 6'2"--that's quite a bit taller than the 'average' male skater (which is about 5'9")

I'll bet the avg; male skater these years is maybe 5' 5". The top guys are tiny-Dai, Chan, Oda... Taka seems tallest of the best guys. Evan is a throwback to decades ago. Plush is tall, but I think only Robin Cousins is another OGM who is gloriously tall, over 6 feet like Evan.

 

[evangeline]

I would say that if the only skater you know is Joannie and it's because of Vancouver, these people could hardly be called "skating fans". Ms. Scott was #3 on the Top 10 list of Canadian Female Athletes of the 20th Century and frequently attends Skate Canada events (especially those held in Ottawa). She's the only Canadian woman to win multiple World Championships, Europeans, and the Olympic Gold Medal.

When I think "national icon," I think of people like Wayne Gretzky, Pierre Elliot Trudeau, etc. People who have instant name recognition among the general populace, rather than a very small subset of the population.

 

[prettykeys]

I'll bet the avg; male skater these years is maybe 5' 5". The top guys are tiny-Dai, Chan, Oda... Taka seems tallest of the best guys. Evan is a throwback to decades ago. Plush is tall, but I think only Robin Cousins is another OGM who is gloriously tall, over 6 feet like Evan.

I don't know if it was you who described Chan as "tiny" in another post I saw...but he is not tiny. He is 5'8, taller than Kozuka. (That other poster also lauded Elvis Stojko, who is 5'7.)

 

[Tinymavy15]

I'll bet the avg; male skater these years is maybe 5' 5". The top guys are tiny-Dai, Chan, Oda... Taka seems tallest of the best guys. Evan is a throwback to decades ago. Plush is tall, but I think only Robin Cousins is another OGM who is gloriously tall, over 6 feet like Evan.

I think Plushenko is 5'9", average for a "regular person" but on the tall side for skaters. Cousin's skated pairs, so his height would have worked to his advantage (at times). I think that several of the pair skating men are taller than the average singles skaters, especially the russian and european teams.

 

[Tonichelle]

I'll bet the avg; male skater these years is maybe 5' 5". The top guys are tiny-Dai, Chan, Oda... Taka seems tallest of the best guys. Evan is a throwback to decades ago. Plush is tall, but I think only Robin Cousins is another OGM who is gloriously tall, over 6 feet like Evan.

what about Boitano? pretty sure he was an overly tall OGM

When I think "national icon," I think of people like Wayne Gretzky, Pierre Elliot Trudeau, etc. People who have instant name recognition among the general populace, rather than a very small subset of the population.

Kurt Browning won awards over Gretzsky as "most popular/best Canadian" for a few years... does that make him a National Icon? it was voted by the people.

 

[dorispulaski]

According to wikipedia, Brian Boitano is 5'11" (180 cm)
So I'd call him a tall skater.

And the French champion Laurent Tobel was huge.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=54151681654&v=wall#!/group.php?gid=54151681654&v=info
Maybe 6'2", I think?

 

[skateluvr]

I don't know if it was you who described Chan as "tiny" in another post I saw...but he is not tiny. He is 5'8, taller than Kozuka. (That other poster also lauded Elvis Stojko, who is 5'7.)

Really Chan is that tall? He looks shorter on the tube. He's a bit taller than me...hmmm. How tall is Scooter?

 

[Tonichelle]

Really Chan is that tall? He looks shorter on the tube. He's a bit taller than me...hmmm. How tall is Scooter?

Scooter as in Scott Hamilton? He's 5'3 and 3/4 according to his autobiography... or is someone else going by scooter these days and I'm just not with it?

Kurt Browning is 5'8" (I'm 5'7.5 and he's a bit taller but not by much lol)