2012 Challenge Cup

[Mathman]

^ I think it's the same.

U.S. Nationals. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pESb2qs3-Q

Challenge Cup. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gF_hOWljg9A

 

[DianaSelene]

^ I think it's the same.

U.S. Nationals. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pESb2qs3-Q

Challenge Cup. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gF_hOWljg9A

It seems like she has three layers in her skirt at the Challenge Cup when she only had one at nationals.

 

[centerpt1]

It makes the white "undie" look less pronounced. Tho I wonder why they just didn't use a skin tone panty in the costume rather than a white one.

 

[Kypma]

It makes the white "undie" look less pronounced. Tho I wonder why they just didn't use a skin tone panty in the costume rather than a white one.

'cause then she'd look like she had nothing on under the dress, and that'd only be worse (as a general public consensus, I think...).

Costume issues aside, I wish Alissa the very best at Worlds and hope that the Challenge Cup was the event where she got the negatives out of her system!

 

[DianaSelene]

It does look better with more layers- she doesn't look as exposed. However, a solution to that could be to make a non see through white skirt from the very beginning... Not that it matters anymore.

 

[mskater93]

It makes the white "undie" look less pronounced. Tho I wonder why they just didn't use a skin tone panty in the costume rather than a white one.

I saw someone compete with nude colored pants under their dress this weekend. No, that is not a good look. The skater looked like she had NOTHING on but tights. Ew.

 

[skateluvr]

I think the three ruffles is cute and it shows how thin she is that is looks great, like Suzuki, and Sasha, costumes help add some fullness. The first rendition made me think of the always sexy Butyrskaya. It is obviously intentional. Alissa is stunning-they will use sex appeal to blind the judges to her jumps, lol. Too bad Chan can get sexy. Ok, just kidding Chanadians. Patrick might be sexy to certain people. His costumes don't add much though.

 

[R.D.]

Alissa is stunning-they will use sex appeal to blind the judges to her jumps, lol.

what sex appeal? She has NONE! zero! she's as vanilla as one can get

 

[silverlake22]

I think the three ruffles is cute and it shows how thin she is that is looks great, like Suzuki, and Sasha, costumes help add some fullness. The first rendition made me think of the always sexy Butyrskaya. It is obviously intentional. Alissa is stunning-they will use sex appeal to blind the judges to her jumps, lol. Too bad Chan can get sexy. Ok, just kidding Chanadians. Patrick might be sexy to certain people. His costumes don't add much though.

Chan and Czisny both look about 16. I don't think of sex appeal when I think of either of them. They are both good looking individuals, but sexy? I don't see it. So much of sex appeal has to do with attitude anyways, and neither of them, ESPECIALLY Alissa who's so shy and quiet has the right attitude. When I think sex appeal I think Madison Hubbell.

 

[Spun Silver]

what sex appeal? She has NONE! zero! she's as vanilla as one can get

Poor Alissa. No jumps, no sex appeal... she's going to fade away until all that is left is that huge smile (like the Cheshire cat).

 

[icellist]

Chan and Czisny both look about 16.

Chan looks like he's 16? Have you seen his face? His smile is so big that it leaves permanent wrinkles on his face...

 

[krenseby]

what sex appeal? She has NONE! zero! she's as vanilla as one can get

Well, actually, there you might be right or wrong. You see, when you've got a wholesome sweet girl that doesn't try to be sexy, there is a certain charm to that.... and that charm in itself could be perceived by some as sexy. I am sorry if this is twisted logic, but hear me out, for some that kind of logic may just carry the day.

 

[skateluvr]

Men like innocence-I was demure once, too. Demure is sexy to many men. I Think Alissa could charm the skates off anyone she wanted. And the white dress is sexy.,"OOPS, did you see that fall or are you thinkking I'm wearing lingerie." Boop boop be doop. Bet the costume was Jason's idea. Wink Wink.

 

[R.D.]

Well, actually, there you might be right or wrong. You see, when you've got a wholesome sweet girl that doesn't try to be sexy, there is a certain charm to that.... and that charm in itself could be perceived by some as sexy. I am sorry if this is twisted logic, but hear me out, for some that kind of logic may just carry the day.

Keep in mind this is my point of view. I don't claim to speak for all straight men, but it's my personal opinion.

I get where you're going though. Personally, I think you can have the looks but lack (true) sex appeal. For the longest time I had Kiira Korpi in that category, for example.

To me, one of the key attributes of sex appeal (besides good looks, of course) is CONFIDENCE. You have to exude it, know what you've got, and not be afraid to show it off. As I mentioned before, Czisny completely lacks confidence on the ice. Strike one.

I typically don't mention or talk about costumes, but it's relevant here- she has a more conservative style. Nothing wrong with that (in many ways, it's a good thing actually), but in terms of SA, that's strike two.

Czisny's persona- she has chosen to take the route of putting herself forth as this wholesome, sweet, all smiles girl with no flaws (remember the Adam Rippon segment at Nationals? *cringe* ) This "wholesome" image just isn't helping mind-wise. Strike three. She's out!

_____

To be fair to Czisny though, vast majority of today's singles skaters lack it too (for different reasons- too young, too shy, haven't got it, etc).

 

[OS]

Ouch reading this thread shows what at tough spot it is to be at top when you fail to deliver a gold if you are coming from the USA. It happened to Rachel, it happened to Alissa, and I bet it happened to Sasha too. Does Evan or Jeremy have the sex appeal? Is it required in this sport? Hmm... i don't know the answer. Does Carolina have sex appeal? Is that why she get the marks? *Raise an eye brow* What about Mao and Akiko? *eye brows doing a dance*

Sex appeal means different things in different cultures to different genders anyway. Too much confidence shown by women in Asian culture could be off putting for example. One of the greatest icon to female worldwide is Audrey Hepburn, someone Alissa seems to resonate, does she have sex appeal? Is it needed to be appreciated? I don't think there had been any Angelina Jolie competing in the past, although the closest to it is probably Katerina Witt who oozes sex appeal so that can work too.

 

[Olympia]

I almost think it's unfair to talk about sex appeal in ladies' singles skating, because the competitors are so young. In fact, they're often even younger than their chronological ages because they live such sheltered lives by nature of their intense hours of practice and competition. They don't hang out at the mall with friends, they don't sit for hours in their room watching music videos, they don't go to their prom. Occasionally you get a skater who's lovelier, taller, older, and then this quality might or might not come into play. Witt was an obvious example--and didn't she know it. But these days, where do the ladies have the time in a routine to exhibit any sizzle? They're too busy maximizing points. If you want electricity, ice dancing is the place to go, for the most part. The ladies are generally older and taller, and they've got a cute guy right there pledging undying love through sinuous music.

Like many singles skaters, Alissa is rather reserved. I'm sure most skaters are told by their coaches to behave and not offend anyone, because they don't want judges to look askance at them. Every point counts. Confidence is another matter. It would be great if Alissa could muster some up. What one of you said about confidence is certainly true. Has anyone analyzed Madonna's face? She's not pretty, really--never was. But she just emanates confidence. The same was true of Barbra Streisand in her heyday. Even leaving sex appeal aside, their every gesture says, "I'm the one you've been waiting for, and you're not going to hear another voice like mine anytime soon." (With Streisand, this was actually true.) Maybe they could give tutorials!

 

[R.D.]

Ouch reading this thread shows what at tough spot it is to be at top when you fail to deliver a gold if you are coming from the USA. It happened to Rachel, it happened to Alissa, and I bet it happened to Sasha too.

You bet it did. I think it's only recently (and in retrospect) that her contributions to American ladies' skating have been truly appreciated by the majority of US fans.

Currently no one is getting it done for the US- the best we can do at worlds seems to be 5th now. That makes Cohen's 1.5 fall performances and silver medal finishes look astounding by comparison...

But these days, where do the ladies have the time in a routine to exhibit any sizzle? They're too busy maximizing points.

You're onto something. I think this is one of the reasons you see it more commonly among professional skaters- they have more freedom to think outside the box/step out of their comfort zone. Their job is to play to the AUDIENCE rather than to the judges. And this can be a tough adjustment for eligible skaters- I remember the year when SOI mixed up pros and eligibles (Olympians) in their show. I think this was 2010. And it was EASY to tell the pros from the amateurs in a) the amount of confidence they exuded, b) their audience projection (NIGHT and DAY difference in some cases), and c) their ability to entertain/think outside the box. Now, it's not all bad, because one thing you did get from the amateurs was harder jumps, and sometimes more jumps (since they were still training them). But you could tell they were still in their shell, stuck in the mindset of pleasing judges. They SKATE rather than PERFORM. They forget to let loose and let the joy of skating pour out. Takes a couple years for that to wear off I think. I saw the transformation with Cohen for instance. Only this year did I feel she finally let her guard down, stop just skating and begin performing like the other pro skaters.

Like many singles skaters, Alissa is rather reserved. I'm sure most skaters are told by their coaches to behave and not offend anyone, because they don't want judges to look askance at them.

Yes, this comes back to what I said above. But even in exhibitions you see this phenomenon a lot. Give her 3-4 years as a professional skater and perhaps that confidence will develop...

 

[Skater Boy]

Ah maybe we should focus on ice presence rather than sexiness. I am not sure anyone right now is that sexy male or female. Yes, Chan and Czisny suffer from being rather introverted on the ice and not showy and flamboyant ala Takahashi.None of the top ice dancers though attractive are that sexy - suppose Andrew Poje but everyone else is more Fred and Ginger than latin lover or seductress. (Of course I am not thinking so much of those off the podium so there may be some out there. mAHYBE THE THIRD rUSSIAN DANCE TEAM PERHAPS???

 

[R.D.]

QUICK REFERENCE

Czisny's Challenge Cup score (152) was ~2 points below what Rachel Flatt scored at Worlds last year during "tibiagate".

Her score would have placed her 13th at worlds last year and 14th at 2010 worlds

Take-home message: She MUST do better for us to have any hope, and MUCH better to take some of the burden off Wagner.

 

[Mathman]

^ Or you could look at it this way. If Alissa can get 14th at Worlds when she messes up every one of her jumps, think what she can score if she hits some of them!