Questions on US ladies

skateluvr · Nov 14, 2017

Unfortunately for many limited by time and energy some answers are buried in way too long threads lasting many months/years on skaters from x discipline from Y country. Fan fests are similar and catch as catch can. So I’m asking for any current practice reports on three ladies.

One- I saw Ashley skate from SC and was concerned because she looked pale and tense not smiling yet she did a good not great job and got third I believe. She said she needed to “up the ante” though what did that mean? Is there anything that can increase her tech score that is possible she can actually pull off under pressure?? Is she capable of any real changes before SA National or something new pulled out bY OLY time? What exactly was she saying? Her PCS -is always good -can she improve on her best skating to compete with Russian Japanese and Osmond.? I don’t see anyone else that is competitive no offense - Carolina is actually in mix so I add Italy.

I imagine her sesssions are closed to public but I hope someone can tell us from inside what she is doing and how she is skating in practice. I wish she would can her exhibition which is old too and skate lalaland so we can see it even watered down jumping. It looked very promising. I am a huge Bourne fan and it must be good. I support redoing her SP as if she is selling it and skating fast it does sing but I was disappointed with Moulin Rouge and if it will go against her. Technically can she at 26 truly up any ante in these programs?

Secondly what exactly is the issue with PolinaE. I saw her first skate this year and skinny Polina is gone. She looks filled out and very buff. She was not the Polina of old and I loved her and was disappointed for her. What is her injury and has anyone seen recent practices???

I feel she was underscored in the past internationally and even here in US. I think she would have been National Champion had Gracie not done Firebird with few errors. GWTW was very good- just wrong packaging leaving an awkward taste in many mouths. But her Sp was incredibly good and she was skating like a Carolina. Her ballet background informs every move so I was thrilled and shenI feel was not embraced my judges for some reason. Anyway does she from all sources have a chance to get on the Oly team? I never knew what her injury was but it had to be serious to take her out last season. Any good news regarding her current heath and any practice reports?

And Last will we see an appearance at Nationals from Gold? Is she skating or training programs.? All I know was her announcement and then she withdrew from GP as we knew she would. I wonder if she is skating under the radar in privatensessions to keep off pressure and scrutiny or maybe she is just doing some recreational type skating when she feels it is enjoyable. Is this a retirement or has she said after this season she may start serious skating again? I am aware she feels she has mental strength issues as well as an unspecified eating disorder and was seeking help. Has anyone seen her at rink at all. With this as Olympic year Gracie can look back and say she is twice US Champion, has a bronze team Oly medal and cane 8n 4th at Olympics against the likes of three great ladies with two very good confident skates. Then something went down hill. So she can leave with her head held high. But is she leaving for good or just this year. Maybe she doesn’t know. Could she if she wants skate at Nationals without having done comps this year? I don’t know the rules other than lesser beings needing to qualify thru Nationals but I think Gracie could get a by? Sorry I don’t know current rules. I was hoping that she might be asked to skate in the Gala at least and if this is goodbye we could see her skate something simple just so her fans get a nice moment before she quits forever. I guess it is selfish but I want to see her to give us a proper goodbye and happy memory. Would USFSA even allow this? I’m hoping she is secretly skating and I guess her proud wouldn’t allow her to just do doubles but I don’t care. I know if she feels heavy we will not see her at all. I read someone say they saw her and she gained a lot of weight but that is a very vague comment.

I love these three ladies as well as others I have been able to see this season. All new indo gratefully accepted.

insiders on GS tell us the stuff if you have it. Best to all.

Ic3Rabbit · Nov 14, 2017

skateluvr said:
Unfortunately for many limited by time and energy some answers are buried in way too long threads lasting many months/years on skaters from x discipline from Y country. Fan fests are similar and catch as catch can. So I’m asking for any current practice reports on three ladies.

One- I saw Ashley skate from SC and was concerned because she looked pale and tense not smiling yet she did a good not great job and got third I believe. She said she needed to “up the ante” though what did that mean? Is there anything that can increase her tech score that is possible she can actually pull off under pressure?? Is she capable of any real changes before SA National or something new pulled out bY OLY time? What exactly was she saying? Her PCS -is always good -can she improve on her best skating to compete with Russian Japanese and Osmond.? I don’t see anyone else that is competitive no offense - Carolina is actually in mix so I add Italy.

I imagine her sesssions are closed to public but I hope someone can tell us from inside what she is doing and how she is skating in practice. I wish she would can her exhibition which is old too and skate lalaland so we can see it even watered down jumping. It looked very promising. I am a huge Bourne fan and it must be good. I support redoing her SP as if she is selling it and skating fast it does sing but I was disappointed with Moulin Rouge and if it will go against her. Technically can she at 26 truly up any ante in these programs?

Secondly what exactly is the issue with PolinaE. I saw her first skate this year and skinny Polina is gone. She looks filled out and very buff. She was not the Polina of old and I loved her and was disappointed for her. What is her injury and has anyone seen recent practices???

I feel she was underscored in the past internationally and even here in US. I think she would have been National Champion had Gracie not done Firebird with few errors. GWTW was very good- just wrong packaging leaving an awkward taste in many mouths. But her Sp was incredibly good and she was skating like a Carolina. Her ballet background informs every move so I was thrilled and shenI feel was not embraced my judges for some reason. Anyway does she from all sources have a chance to get on the Oly team? I never knew what her injury was but it had to be serious to take her out last season. Any good news regarding her current heath and any practice reports?

And Last will we see an appearance at Nationals from Gold? Is she skating or training programs.? All I know was her announcement and then she withdrew from GP as we knew she would. I wonder if she is skating under the radar in privatensessions to keep off pressure and scrutiny or maybe she is just doing some recreational type skating when she feels it is enjoyable. Is this a retirement or has she said after this season she may start serious skating again? I am aware she feels she has mental strength issues as well as an unspecified eating disorder and was seeking help. Has anyone seen her at rink at all. With this as Olympic year Gracie can look back and say she is twice US Champion, has a bronze team Oly medal and cane 8n 4th at Olympics against the likes of three great ladies with two very good confident skates. Then something went down hill. So she can leave with her head held high. But is she leaving for good or just this year. Maybe she doesn’t know. Could she if she wants skate at Nationals without having done comps this year? I don’t know the rules other than lesser beings needing to qualify thru Nationals but I think Gracie could get a by? Sorry I don’t know current rules. I was hoping that she might be asked to skate in the Gala at least and if this is goodbye we could see her skate something simple just so her fans get a nice moment before she quits forever. I guess it is selfish but I want to see her to give us a proper goodbye and happy memory. Would USFSA even allow this? I’m hoping she is secretly skating and I guess her proud wouldn’t allow her to just do doubles but I don’t care. I know if she feels heavy we will not see her at all. I read someone say they saw her and she gained a lot of weight but that is a very vague comment.

I love these three ladies as well as others I have been able to see this season. All new indo gratefully accepted. insiders on GS tell us the stuff if you have it. Best to all.

Good luck with this.

Those who have insider information aren't going to tell or need to tell what is going on with x skater when and where. So there's the answer about Ashley, along with, watch Skate Am next week and find out what she's doing.

Polina E skates at Grand Prix France this weekend so there's where you'll find out about her. She matured and so did her body. It happens.

And as far as Gracie. She stepped away to take care of herself and that's all the public needs to know. When and if she is ever ready to tell the world her status at any given time then she will do so.

sross43 · Nov 14, 2017

I imagine that if Gracie does decide to make a run for Nationals, she would already be training. However, I think she would be keeping quiet either way. There's no benefit to announcing a try at Nationals early, and she could train in privacy and without stress from the media. I'm hoping that's what's she's doing (Ashley hinted at a possible Gracie comeback in an interview after SC). However, ultimately I hope she does whatever will allow her to live her happiest and healthiest life, even if that doesn't involve skating.

skateluvr · Nov 14, 2017

I would love to see give us agoodbye skate if this is it. We all love her here in America and she has been a beautiful nice spirit on the ice. I heard MK was skating again because she wants to skate again before she is forty! My god MK was just a little jumping bean a few years ago... my I feel older than dirt.

brightphoton · Nov 15, 2017

Ashley Wagner - she recently did an interview, and she said that the only reason she continued skating after the 2014 Olympics was because she wanted an individual medal at the 2018 Olympics. She also says she knows that her skate at Skate Canada wasn't enough, at all, and so she needs to "up the ante" at Skate America and US Nationals. Hey, she's honest. Ashley doesn't sugarcoat.

Polina - I didn't watch much of the summer competitions or the senior Bs, but I understand Polina did one of those and didn't do that well. Either she left out jumps or doubled? I was a little surprised she made a comeback, because I thought she'd hang up her skates, be a college girl, and become an engineer or programmer. I remember her father said that Polina's future is better spent with education, not with figure skating. This was after people said she lost points at US Nationals because her dress wasn't pretty or her hair was in curls. :eek:

hwell:

Gracie - she officially suspending training to deal with depression and an eating disorder. Same thing that took Julia Lipnitskya. No skating for Gracie this year. My opinion, her family put wayyyyy too much pressure on her to be the golden girl, Olympic gold medal winner. Moving the entire family across the country, uprooting her, and with an unemphatic and harsh coach.

princessalica · Nov 15, 2017

Re: Gold

completely suspending training was not what I took from any of the articles that I read on the subject. It is possible that she hasn't been training, but her statement was specific to the Grand Prix series. “It saddens me deeply to sit out of this Grand Prix series, but I know it is for the best. . . . I will not have adequate training time to prepare and compete at the level that I want to,” Gold added, thanking her fans, coach, U.S. Figure Skating and others for their “continued support.”

I think at this point, no one who knows anything is talking. If she does and is ready, then fantastic, and if she's training and still doesn't feel ready that is fine too. Just put her off your radar for the time being, and if she decides to show up at Nationals and blow everyone else out of the water, yay for her. And if she has given up, then I still support her. Ashley's comments didn't seem to indicate that she thought Gracie was completely out of the mix and in the last year, they seem to have gotten closer. I think we are just going to have to wait and see with Gracie. (Which is also true about Polina's form this weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing how she's doing, because while she has physically matured a lot since she last competed, I think she has likely also mentally and emotionally matured, and she could also very well be a factor. I can completely imagine a team sent that is the same as 2014 and one that is completely different. I do think its pretty unlikely that Ashley won't make it.

noskates · Nov 16, 2017

Sadly I would be surprised if Polina makes a successful comeback. If history repeats itself, trying to balance elite figure skating/training with college doesn't work out too well. Rachel Flatt and Debbie Thomas being prime examples. I think the same happened with Kimmie Meisner and Sarah Hughes may not have matriculated until after her OGM. Polina is going to Santa Clara University which has a reputation for being very academic. She's also in a sorority and seems to be pretty active in their events, etc. How you still train multiple hours every day and weekend would definitely be challenging.

As for Ashley - I think there is wayyyy too much speculation about what she thinks, feels, professes, etc. There has always been a divergence between her promises and what she delivers. I suppose an individual Olympic medal is possible but a certain number of other women would have to bomb to open the door. But I also feel like one skate doesn't determine whether a person is going to be successful the rest of the season. People have off days.

Gracie. Again, too much speculation. I just hope she's getting the help she needs and that someday she's back on the ice. I still feel like she's the best hope (in her prime) for an international medal.

R.D. · Nov 16, 2017

Wagner - lets see her at SA next week

Edmunds - like Flatt and S Hughes before her, she's trying to do the college/skating thing. I would not hold my breath for any drastic transformations if I was a fan of hers.

Gold - dealing with career-ending personal issues. I fully expect her to move on but sounds like (officially anyway) she hasn't completely shut the door.

desertskates · Nov 16, 2017

I agree with all the thoughts on Polina. Because she was a bit of a surprise member of the Sochi team, it feels like we didn't have the many years to watch her grow as a skater. But if college takes over now, she can feel very proud of a top ten finish at the Olympics! I hope she skates well in France this weekend, but am pretty certain she won't be going to Korea.

temadd · Nov 16, 2017

skateluvr said:
Unfortunately for many limited by time and energy some answers are buried in way too long threads lasting many months/years on skaters from x discipline from Y country. Fan fests are similar and catch as catch can. So I’m asking for any current practice reports on three ladies.

One- I saw Ashley skate from SC and was concerned because she looked pale and tense not smiling yet she did a good not great job and got third I believe. She said she needed to “up the ante” though what did that mean? Is there anything that can increase her tech score that is possible she can actually pull off under pressure?? Is she capable of any real changes before SA National or something new pulled out bY OLY time? What exactly was she saying? Her PCS -is always good -can she improve on her best skating to compete with Russian Japanese and Osmond.? I don’t see anyone else that is competitive no offense - Carolina is actually in mix so I add Italy.

I imagine her sesssions are closed to public but I hope someone can tell us from inside what she is doing and how she is skating in practice. I wish she would can her exhibition which is old too and skate lalaland so we can see it even watered down jumping. It looked very promising. I am a huge Bourne fan and it must be good. I support redoing her SP as if she is selling it and skating fast it does sing but I was disappointed with Moulin Rouge and if it will go against her. Technically can she at 26 truly up any ante in these programs?

Ashley's training rink is open to the public. I went once last season before worlds. I'd like to think I'll make it again sometime before nationals.

drivingmissdaisy · Nov 16, 2017

R.D. said:
Edmunds - like Flatt and S Hughes before her, she's trying to do the college/skating thing. I would not hold my breath for any drastic transformations if I was a fan of hers.

Edmunds didn't skate well at her Senior B, but I didn't think she was far off from competitive form. Her choreography is better than ever, IMO. I'm really looking forward to seeing how much she has progressed this weekend.

Questions on US ladies

skateluvr

Ic3Rabbit

Former Elite, now Pro. ⛸️

sross43

skateluvr

brightphoton

princessalica

noskates

R.D.

desertskates

temadd

drivingmissdaisy

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