Alissa Czisny plans to compete next season

Jammers · Apr 21, 2012

Pepe Nero said:
I apologize to all for responding before I've read all posts. Sometimes posts strike me so much that I feel compelled to respond immediately.

With respect to this one: For real?! Alissa Czisny won the the Grand Prix Final last year. Part of me has felt (long before AC won this title) that GPF Champion is the most prestigious title of the year. More or less anyone can swoop in and win the World Championship. GP Final Championship requires consistency, ironically, the one thing AC is so often alleged to lack.

The GPF isn't anywhere close to being as important as Worlds. At Worlds you are going against the whole field and top skaters while at the GPF you just skate against a few other top skaters. And not just anyone usually wins at Worlds it's usually the best and most consistent skater which Alissa is not. However i do think the GPF should be considered a Championship event it's the top skaters of the Grand Prix season going against each other and usually the skaters who make it are the top skaters at Worlds also. The 4CC on the other hand has only a few top skaters and lots of awful ones. Usually it's only 3 countries with decent skaters the US, Canada and Japan.

Mathman · Apr 21, 2012

The ISU has done everything it can to make Four Continents an important event. The reason for awarding a big cash prize a couple of years ago for the skater with the highest season ranking was an attempt to get the top skaters to participate in Four Continents. Previous to 2007 no U.S. champion participated due to general lack of interest and unfortunate timing between U.S. Nationals and Worlds. In fact, it was hard to find anyone willing to go. Kimmie Meissner went in 2007 only because it was in Colorado Springs and the USFSA wanted to put on a good show. She got first, Emily Hughes second, Alissa Czisny fifth.

In 2008 4C's was in Japan and now it was Japan's turn to try to make something of the event. They sent Mao Asada (first) and Miki Ando (third). The next year was the pre-Olympic year and 4Cs was held in the Vancouver at the same facilities as the Olympics. All the Olympic hopefuls came. The ladies podium was Yiu-na Kim, Joannie Rochette and Mao Asada. Patrick Chan beat Evan Lysacek for the men and Davis and White placed over Virtue and Moir in dance. The event was off to he races.

The Grand Prix has a much longer history. The individual events like Skate Canada and Skate America go back to the 1970s. The ISU organized them into a championship series in the 1994-95 season largely to cash in on the popularity of all the TV pro "competitions" that were making money back then. The first ladies winner of the Finals was Michelle Kwan, followed by Tara Lipinski. Irina Slutskaya won three times, as did Yu-na Kim, and Mao Asada won twice. Unlike Four Continents, the Grand Prix series has always attracted the top skaters in the world.

It will be interesting to see what happens going forward.

dorispulaski · Apr 21, 2012

I just hope they will never hold 4CC's in Colorado Springs again. It nearly killed Alex Shibutani, Charlie White, and Nan Song. If Co SPr wants an event, let it be Skate America or the GPF, when the kids will have enough time to fully recover before Worlds.

Mathman · Apr 21, 2012

^ About Colorado Springs, it is hard to find a city/local club in the U.S. that has the money and community and volunteer support to put it on. Since the USFSA has its headquarters there, I guess that is the venue of last resort.

Skate America will probably go there in 2012 for the same reason.

macy · Apr 21, 2012

i'm just going to say that i do support alissa to continue next year because that is what SHE wants. although, i will be on edge every time she competes almost to the point to not watch because i will most likely be very nervous for her. i just hope that this season has been a learning experience and she, yuka and jason can figure out what went wrong and where so she can target those problems and overcome them. a season like 2010-2011 would be great, even if she doesn't skate a clean program every time (the only LP she skated clean that season was at nats). i enjoyed that season very much and i hope she can repeat it or get close.

drivingmissdaisy · Apr 21, 2012

I agree macy. My only concern is if she achieves that high level for one event (nationals), makes the world team again then bombs. There is no excuse for a senior skater in singles (or even pairs) to not land at least ONE clean 2A or 3T in the span of two programs.

Jammers · Apr 21, 2012

If Gracie improves during the off season then i think we saw our team for Worlds next year. Finally two skaters who seem to be good competitors and will fight.

Srin Odessa · Apr 21, 2012

Mathman said:
In 2008 4C's was in Japan and now it was Japan's turn to try to make something of the event. They sent Mao Asada (first) and Miki Ando (third). The next year was the pre-Olympic year and 4Cs was held in the Vancouver at the same facilities as the Olympics. All the Olympic hopefuls came. The ladies podium was Yiu-na Kim, Joannie Rochette and Mao Asada. Patrick Chan beat Evan Lysacek for the men and Davis and White placed over Virtue and Moir in dance. The event was off to he races.

2008's Four Continents was actually in Goyang, South Korea.

Nonetheless, your point still stands. Travel time between Japan and South Korea isn't that significant. Mao used the 2010 4CC in Jeonju South Korea to bug test before the Olympics when most skaters were a no-show.

R.D. · Apr 21, 2012

Tonichelle said:
The same was said for Wylie...

I wonder how often lightning strikes twice in the same spot...consecutively.

_____________

If Gracie improves during the off season then i think we saw our team for Worlds next year. Finally two skaters who seem to be good competitors and will fight.

I hope so but let's not count chickens yet. Wagner has been able to reach (near) the top, but now she has to prove she has staying power. Meissner/Hughes were unable to do that.

Jammers · Apr 21, 2012

The one thing Ashley has that Alissa and Mirai don't have is being a tough competitor. When she skates she attacks and doesn't back down. No deer in a headlights look on that girl she likes to compete. And she usually brings it in the LP while Alissa, Mirai or Agnes usually bomb or are very shaky.

R.D. · Apr 21, 2012

Jammers said:
The one thing Ashley has that Alissa and Mirai don't have is being a tough competitor. When she skates she attacks and doesn't back down. No deer in a headlights look on that girl she likes to compete. And she usually brings it in the LP while Alissa, Mirai or Agnes usually bomb or are very shaky.

Perhaps, but my point still stands. After all, I considered Meissner and Hughes to be fairly strong competitors as well.

Wagner just needs to stop messing up the short program. She's a strong freeskater, which is good, but if she keeps having to come from behind, she's not winning anything any time soon.

I won't count out Nagasu or Zawadzki yet- they could still get it together as they are young- but I do agree that Wagner/Gold looks to be best bet IF both can keep the upward trend going.

drivingmissdaisy · Apr 21, 2012

R.D. said:
Perhaps, but my point still stands. After all, I considered Meissner and Hughes to be fairly strong competitors as well.

I'm a bit more optimistic for Ashely because the body changes that might have affected Kimmie and Hughes are behind her.

Jammers · Apr 21, 2012

Ashley is a much better skater then Hughes ever was and Gracie has more potential also. We'll see next season. It should be fun.

Tonichelle · Apr 21, 2012

R.D. said:
I wonder how often lightning strikes twice in the same spot...consecutively.

I was unaware that Paul had a sex change, as well as turned back the hands of time... It's not like Wylie's story happens all the time, and it may not happen for Alyssa, but if there's one thing Paul teaches us is - it can and does happen... I'm a believer!

silverlake22 · Apr 21, 2012

Jammers said:
If Gracie improves during the off season then i think we saw our team for Worlds next year. Finally two skaters who seem to be good competitors and will fight.

My only concern for Gracie is that she's still young enough that her body could change like Kimmie's did and totally throw off her jumps/consistency. Meissner didn't struggle with the puberty monster perse because her struggles came after puberty. Her height was the same when she won Worlds to when she was struggling so much the following two seasons, but her body build was much different. Gracie probably isn't growing any taller, but like Kimmie she also used to be a little waif and now is getting sturdier. I guess the fear is that if she continues to fill out, it could hurt her jumps, although maybe it's different, because Kimmie's jumps were never as big and her 3-3s were always suspect, and Gracie's jumps actually seem to have gotten bigger since she started filling out, but who knows. Also the pressure could get to her later, Adelina seemed to be fearless just last season and now the pressure seems to affect her a lot. Ashley is really impressing me this season but for Gracie, I want to see how she does in her first senior season first.

Gracie is similar to Agnes in a LOT of ways and Agnes has not exactly taken the senior international ranks by storm, at least not yet. She was consistent the year she won junior, and though her body did change some since then, she still has enormous jumps, she's just no longer very consistent, and her weaknesses (bad packaging, awkwardness, lowish PCS) still seem to be hurting her.

Jammers · Apr 21, 2012

I think Gracie is further ahead in her development then Agnes.

Mrs. P · Apr 21, 2012

silverlake22 said:
My only concern for Gracie is that she's still young enough that her body could change like Kimmie's did and totally throw off her jumps/consistency. Meissner didn't struggle with the puberty monster perse because her struggles came after puberty. Her height was the same when she won Worlds to when she was struggling so much the following two seasons, but her body build was much different. Gracie probably isn't growing any taller, but like Kimmie she also used to be a little waif and now is getting sturdier. I guess the fear is that if she continues to fill out, it could hurt her jumps, although maybe it's different, because Kimmie's jumps were never as big and her 3-3s were always suspect, and Gracie's jumps actually seem to have gotten bigger since she started filling out, but who knows. Also the pressure could get to her later, Adelina seemed to be fearless just last season and now the pressure seems to affect her a lot. Ashley is really impressing me this season but for Gracie, I want to see how she does in her first senior season first.

Gracie is similar to Agnes in a LOT of ways and Agnes has not exactly taken the senior international ranks by storm, at least not yet. She was consistent the year she won junior, and though her body did change some since then, she still has enormous jumps, she's just no longer very consistent, and her weaknesses (bad packaging, awkwardness, lowish PCS) still seem to be hurting her.

Anything can happen of course, but I have been impressed with how she handled herself at this competition. She really soaked up the experience rather than worry about the pressure. I think it was smart she had her senior debut here instead of the GP. Unlike Agnes, who basically came into the GP cold turkey, Gracie now knows how she stacks up with the top competition and what she has to work on. (It's pretty awesome to get compete against the top 5 from the World Championships, I'm sure!)

She seems to LOVE Daisuke and CaroK, so I'm hoping perhaps she glean some lessons on what makes them tick and apply them to her own skating.

As for her body, she seems pretty developed, both height and lady wise.

Look at this photo: http://yfrog.com/nvctkuij

She is about the same height as Ashley and Meryl and she's definitely no waif! In fact, I didn't know she was 16, I probably think she was closer in age to those two.

Tinymavy15 · Apr 21, 2012

Jammers said:
The one thing Ashley has that Alissa and Mirai don't have is being a tough competitor. When she skates she attacks and doesn't back down. No deer in a headlights look on that girl she likes to compete. And she usually brings it in the LP while Alissa, Mirai or Agnes usually bomb or are very shaky.

ashley looks like she enjoys skating and enjoys competing. she also has presence on the ice, every arm movement is defined, clear, intensional whereas Mirai forgets half the choreography when she missed a jump. Ashely holds herself like national champion, something Flatt, Nagasu or Czisny ever grew into.

Jammers · Apr 21, 2012

Tinymavy15 said:
ashley looks like she enjoys skating and enjoys competing. she also has presence on the ice, every arm movement is defined, clear, intensional whereas Mirai forgets half the choreography when she missed a jump. Ashely holds herself like national champion, something Flatt, Nagasu or Czisny ever grew into.

Well said. :thumbsup:

Jammers · Apr 21, 2012

Mrs. P said:
Anything can happen of course, but I have been impressed with how she handled herself at this competition. She really soaked up the experience rather than worry about the pressure. I think it was smart she had her senior debut here instead of the GP. Unlike Agnes, who basically came into the GP cold turkey, Gracie now knows how she stacks up with the top competition and what she has to work on. (It's pretty awesome to get compete against the top 5 from the World Championships, I'm sure!)

She seems to LOVE Daisuke and CaroK, so I'm hoping perhaps she glean some lessons on what makes them tick and apply them to her own skating.

As for her body, she seems pretty developed, both height and lady wise.

Look at this photo: http://yfrog.com/nvctkuij

She is about the same height as Ashley and Meryl and she's definitely no waif! In fact, I didn't know she was 16, I probably think she was closer in age to those two.

I just hope Gracie's body doesn't change much. Look at Mirai she is much more stocky then when she was Gracie's age. But luckily Gracie has much better jump technique so she may be all right in the future.

Alissa Czisny plans to compete next season

Jammers

Mathman

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl

Mathman

macy

drivingmissdaisy

Jammers

Srin Odessa

R.D.

Jammers

R.D.

drivingmissdaisy

Jammers

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll

silverlake22

Jammers

Mrs. P

Uno, Dos, twizzle!

Tinymavy15

Sinnerman for the win

Jammers

Jammers

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