- Joined
- Jan 23, 2009
Did a couple of US Skaters with lower world rankings than Mirai get two GP's this season?
Yup. Christina Gao has 2 spots and Agnes Z received her second one recently.
Did a couple of US Skaters with lower world rankings than Mirai get two GP's this season?
this is typical some skaters will be passed over in favor of the hailed
next skaters to beat, I don't think Mirai or Caroline have the US backing anymore
they are focusing on Gracie, Ashley and Agnes
And that is why Mirai, and not Christina, Agnes, Caroline, or Rachael, was the first team alternate for Worlds.•World Team 1st Alternate in the 2012-13 season
■Placing in the top four at the current season's sectional championships
■Placing in the top five in a senior event at the previous year's U.S. Championships
■Winning a medal at the most recent Olympic Winter Games
■Winning a medal at the previous year's World Championships
■Advancing to the current season's Grand Prix Final or Junior Grand Final
■Earning an "international bye" based on proximity of an international assignment in the current season to the sectional championships
Okay.
USFS has no power at all to give a GP second event to anyone, except at Skate America. The only events to which they can Assign skaters are Senior B's & such, Skate America (3 slots), 4CCs & Worlds. And they can negotiate with other federations to get them to take one of our skaters for their host pick. But they can't force them to take any skater.
Now let's look at Mirai's situation. She finished 7th at US Nationals, and was assigned 1st alternate to Worlds last year. She didn't make the GPF. She did get a medal at CoC (silver) last year.
.
USFS assigns no one to GP events except SA which is reserved for the US Champion and two skaters who the US Champion *should* be able to beat (ie, not a real challenger and based on what you all seem to think who are arguing that USFS is "against Mirai" then they *shouldn't* pick her as she would challenge Ashley at SA, so your logic is circular and/or flawed). Mirai was guaranteed 1 GP event based on her scores from last year, which she got. She tanked at Nationals last year (7th is pretty awful for someone with "all that talent") and has not been able to withstand pressure in many of her international outings (4th at the Olympics with no pressure on her and then she completely blew her LP at Worlds when she was in 1st after the SP, skated poorly and got no credit for a SPIN of all things at the following Nationals right after Alissa pretty much blew the doors off her program to keep herself off the World team, a terrible skate at Skate Canada to start last season's GP when she was trying to prove she was focused and ready...).
FWIW, Gracie has to go to (Upper Great Lakes) Regionals before her international assignments and has to finish in the top 4 there in order to move on to Nationals (one of her GPs is within a week of Midwestern Sectionals which gives her a bye through Sectionals), so how are the assignments USFS gave (Finlandia, which they CAN give) Mirai NOT a kind of help (especially having watched her skate from Glacier Falls which was less than stellar and showed she had A LOT of work to do to be competitive this year)?
I suspect there is an understanding that if Alissa withdraws from NHK that she will be replaced by Mirai and that the expectation from USFS and the JSF is that the likelihood is pretty high.
Personally, Mirai has been disappointing in that she has much potential and CAN hit, but rarely has and has often done herself in.
Sorry that sounds like a Gracie fan post.
When Gracie was not good enough to get out of regionals Mirai was already a Natl champion.
Mirai had no pressure at the Olympics? How in the world can you make such a careless and uninformed remark?
Do you know Mirai personally? Do you know what Frank's feelings and expectations were? Of course you do not!
In case you slept through the Ladies skating at Vancouver, the final group laid down the best skating in Olympic history.
Mirai only had to follow perhaps the most emotional skate from Joannie in Olympic history. That's got to easy - nothing to it
No pressure you say? Do you say that from your own Olympic skating experience
Geez, I can't believe what you just wrote.
Indeed USFS has plenty of practice bending rules for people who do badly at US nationals that they want to favor, because of Alissa. People they don't like, (as say Tonya Harding back when she finished 7th at US Nationals) had to go to regionals & sectionals.
Mirai doesn't.
That would be the difference.
I think what Mskater93 is saying that Mirai had no pressure placed on her, not that she didn't feel any pressure personally. And I don't think that's a stretch to say. All eyes internationally were on Mao vs. Yuna and to some extent Joannie as the hometown favorite. And from the U.S. team perspective, all eyes were on the national champion, Rachael. I think everyone knew Mirai had enormous talent and could potentially do well, but I don't think anyone expected her to get as close as she did to the podium.
There is a perception among fans that Mirai does well when there isn't some expectation placed on her. How many times on this board have people joked that they hoped Mirai would be second or third after the SP because of her past history to do poorly after placing first? I will point out that there is a key exception to this -- she was first after the SP at 2010 Nationals and she followed that with a good performance in the FS.
Also, Gracie didn't qualify because of placing 5th in sectionals, not regionals, in 2011.
Can someone explain how the USFSA is "bending the rules?" Don't the rules say that you are exempt from sectionals and regionals if you have a conflicting international assignment?
As for "favoring" the top guns in giving out these assignments, doesn't this work mainly to the advantage of the lesser known challengers at sectionals and regionals, so they don't have to go up against former champions to have a shot at making nationals?
Can someone explain how the USFSA is "bending the rules?" Don't the rules say that you are exempt from sectionals and regionals if you have a conflicting international assignment?
As for "favoring" the top guns in giving out these assignments, doesn't this work mainly to the advantage of the lesser known challengers at sectionals and regionals, so they don't have to go up against former champions to have a shot at making nationals?
Could be lots of reasons for Rachael's low score.
She could have just been coming off vacation and wanted to get back on the ice at a low profile summer event.
Maybe she was trying out a new program and left out some of the more difficult elements.
I don't see much comparison to a summer club event and an ISU Intl senior event.
I haven't seen Caroline's skates from Nebelhorn and don't feel any need to - just hope she does better next time.
It does seem strange that all the other federations, except China, passed on Mirai when it came to inviting skaters for their big shindigs.
The ISU ranking (based on last season plus the season before factored at 80%) goes Alissa, Ashley and Mirai, followed by Agnes, Caroline Z, Christina Gao, Rachael, Vanessa Lam, and Gracie Gold.
The personal best list for active U.S. skaters is topped by Ashley, Mirai, Rachael, and Alissa, in that order.
Records aside, Mirai (when she's on) is a charismatic crowd pleaser. Seems like someone would think she was a worthy addition to their roster.
I completely agree with what you said here! :agree:It makes me wonder after watching this again:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igZAmv_kF0w&feature=related
The EuroSport team called it the second best LP at Vancouver and I agree. I think it is one of the greatest LP's ever skated by an American Lady on Olympic Ice.
Where is this rush to write off Mirai coming from?
If that had happened with Ashley at 19 ........ just thinking about that should wake a few people up.
What about Carolina Kostner? Or Akiko? I guess some Gracie fans would like Mirai and Alissa to retire, or any skater they see as a threat to Gracie.
After watching Gracie making mistakes at her most recent events I can see she needs more time and seasoning to challenge the top skaters in the world.
That's fine and the way it should be.
The thing is a high degree of talent is needed to succeed at the highest levels in skating. If some think it is a sprint under this scoring system they would be wrong. Sure consistency matters - but so does the abilty to skate brilliantly at times matter.
As to Agnes, Christina and Gracie getting two GP's ahead of Mirai - it seems bizarre to me. Nothing they have ever shown can match Mirai's best.
Potential is one thing - but laying down some great skates is something different. Mirai has done it - and hoping someday Agnes, Christina and Gracie will do it too.