The US Nationals Ladies Podium

Mathman · Feb 2, 2009

I don't think so. The USFSA picked the #1 and #2 finishers at Nationals for the world team. The results of Four Continents are pretty much irrelevant to the selection of the world team.

Similarly, if Alissa wins or doesn't win the University Games, that will not affect her place on the world team.

If Caroline skates great what we might be wishing is that she had skated a little better at Nationals and made the world team.

Joesitz (RIP) · Feb 2, 2009

Mathman said:
I don't think so. The USFSA picked the #1 and #2 finishers at Nationals for the world team. The results of Four Continents are pretty much irrelevant to the selection of the world team.

Similarly, if Alissa wins or doesn't win the University Games, that will not affect her place of the world team.

If Caroline skates great what we might be wishing is that she had skated a little better at Nationals and made the world team.

ditto! I think Caroline has a gold medal in her somewhere. What a coup if if it turned up here.

demarinis5 · Feb 2, 2009

Mathman said:
(snip)
If Caroline skates great what we might be wishing is that she had skated a little better at Nationals and made the world team.

Just an observation but I get the feeling that some people feel she did
skate better.

AwesomeIce · Feb 2, 2009

demarinis5 said:
Just an observation but I get the feeling that some people feel she did
skate better.

Lucky for figure skating, those people aren't judges. They don't know half of what the judges are looking for. The vast majority of them probably don't even know how to lace up a pair of skates. Just because something looks pretty or bendy, doesn't mean it is better.

R.D. · Feb 2, 2009

PolymerBob said:
Placement will say a lot, but we may not like what it says? If Caroline does better than Alissa or Rachael ( very possible ), and Team USA fails to get our 3 spots back ( again, very possible ), the USFSA will be severely criticized for picking the wrong team.

I can see Zhang placing above Czisny but not Rachel, not unless Rachel has a melt-down or isn't her usual stable self.

You can't really put it on USFS though. Regardless of the results, Czisny and Flatt were the top two finishers, thus they got sent. They also did pretty well in the GP (considering things) as well (although neither made the final).

PolymerBob · Feb 2, 2009

Red Dog said:
You can't really put it on USFS though. Regardless of the results, Czisny and Flatt were the top two finishers, thus they got sent. They also did pretty well in the GP (considering things) as well (although neither made the final).

Realistically, if the 4CC results are – Caroline 5th, Alissa 6th, Rachael 7th, then we are looking at “signal to noise ratio” as we say in engineering. On any given day, 3 fairly equal skaters can finish in any order. Nobody will blame the USFSA for picking the team they did. No harm, no foul.

So now, let’s rephrase the question. How poorly would one of Team USA have to do to in Vancouver to lose her spot in Los Angeles?

Mathman · Feb 2, 2009

PolymerBob said:
So now, let’s rephrase the question. How poorly would one of Team USA have to do to in Vancouver lose her spot in Los Angeles?

The world team has already been named. Nothing that happens at Four Continents is relevant.

Medusa · Feb 2, 2009

Mathman said:
The world team has already been named. Nothing that happens at Four Continents is relevant.

Sure about that? Perhaps nothing "official" but there may be an unforeseen injury...

antmanb · Feb 3, 2009

Medusa said:
Sure about that? Perhaps nothing "official" but there may be an unforeseen injury...

What you mean like Zhang hires a cronie to whack Alissa in the knee cap after 4CC

The skating world does need another one of those :rofl:

Ant

rosee · Feb 3, 2009

Medusa said:
Sure about that? Perhaps nothing "official" but there may be an unforeseen injury...

Hum not sure....I think that Katrina Hacker beated both Wagner & Liang at 4CC last year but still wasn't sent to worlds.

liketotally · Feb 3, 2009

rosee said:
Hum not sure....I think that Katrina Hacker beated both Wagner & Liang at 4CC last year but still wasn't sent to worlds.

I think that was because she had already turned down worlds..

mycelticblessing · Feb 3, 2009

antmanb said:
What you mean like Zhang hires a cronie to whack Alissa in the knee cap after 4CC

The skating world does need another one of those

Ant

A 15 year old hiring a cronie?? NBC would probably be secretly glad if something like that happens though. Their ratings would soar!

Mathman · Feb 3, 2009

The point I was trying to make is that Four Continents is outside the loop in terms of who the USFSA sends to wolrlds. If there are two spots, the first two at Nationals go.

Other federations do it differently (notably France and Russia). They may wait until after Europeans to make their selection, or arrange some other kind of skate-off challenge.

Japan just recently switched over to the U.S. model (that's why Fumie iSuguri is going to worlds and Yukari Nakano isn't.) They formerly had a point system covering all events for the two previous years, but there was a big dust-up in 2006 when the Japanese federation was accused of low-balling Yoshie Onda at Japanese Nationals to make sure that Miki Ando got enough points to make the Olympic team. (Of course, this can happen in any selection process.)

As for sudden injuries, anything can happen, especially if Alissa skates in both Four Continents and the Universiade. But Alissa seems to skate best when she is on the fly from one event to another, and to skate worse when she has a long idle time to brood over it and work her nerves up.

If the suggestion is that Carloine Zhang might skate so well at Four Continents that the USFSA will bribe or pressure Alissa to fake an injury, um, no. What would they offer Alissa? An automatic spot on the Olympic team? Money? What would they threaten her with? That they will only give her 6.25 in choreography at next year's Nationals if she doesn't play ball?

Tonichelle · Feb 3, 2009

With Boitano in her corner if they WERE to 'threaten her' (which I can't see happening) I doubt highly he'd keep his mouth shut about it.

PolymerBob · Feb 4, 2009

AwesomeIce said:
Lucky for figure skating, those people aren't judges. They don't know half of what the judges are looking for. The vast majority of them probably don't even know how to lace up a pair of skates. Just because something looks pretty or bendy, doesn't mean it is better.

Well, not only do posters on this board not "know how to lace up a pair of skates", but neither do all those people who gave Caroline her standing ovation. :sheesh:

The US Nationals Ladies Podium

Mathman

Joesitz (RIP)

demarinis5

Gold for the Winter Prince!

AwesomeIce

Match Penalty

R.D.

PolymerBob

Mathman

Medusa

antmanb

rosee

liketotally

mycelticblessing

Mathman

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll

PolymerBob

Similar threads

Connect with us