2012 Cup of Russia Ladies SP

[Mrs. P]

I've seen her skate in person, and she's very pretty yet also rather boring to watch, she just doesn't interpret music well and perhaps she needs to get a little more daring in her choices. Actually looks pretty similar on screen as she does in person.

Hm....guess I was hoping for something live that we werent seeing on a fuzzy Internet feed. But alas...

 

[Skater Boy]

Gracie finally shows the power and grace we expected her and probably the Gold (tongue in cheek on purpose). Physical beauty should not be a factor, but probably is to a point. I have seen Kiira skate in person - nope she is the same as she is on tv. And she is a good skilled skater just not super good and you have to put it in context of easier jumps. Maybe the ISU should consider bonus marks for landing cleanly with no more than -1 GOE 5 of the 6 triples? I do like Murakami's skating. Adelina needs to pull it together and ditto for Leonova or she will be left in the dust. Too bad Osmond wasn't skatng in place of Zhang I would have loved to see her try for the GPF and to skate against Gracie to see if Osmond is for real. Right now I think Gracie has the momentum and the US and the world have high expectations for her compared to Osmond.

 

[brightphoton]

One judge gave Caroline Zhang a 3.75 for transitions. Ouch! What is going on with her training? She's practically stepping into her elements. Even her spins are getting slower. Her pearl hasn't come back either. Maybe her back injury is taking its toll.

 

[deedee1]

Okay, I have watched all ladies SP on TV, not thru tiny PC screen, finally this afternoon.

Programs as whole, I really liked Marchei's, Murakami's and Korpi's.
Sotnikova needs to skate with more confidence for that kind of music.

P.S. Still do not like Kanako's entries into jumps (wild swinging arms+free leg) and hard toe kick on her Flip, though. She needs to fix them if she wants to get onto the worlds podium, or she may end up like Yukari, I am afraid...

 

[3T3T]

Well done to both the American girls, great on the TES but I think some work is required on the PCS, I found both of them a bit bland and generic. Disappointed for Sotnikova, it was a great performance apart from the flip, she really presented the programme well. I hope she has a good free skate. Delighted to see Polina K skate (nearly) clean, I am a big fan of her style.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

One judge gave Caroline Zhang a 3.75 for transitions. Ouch! What is going on with her training? She's practically stepping into her elements. Even her spins are getting slower. Her pearl hasn't come back either. Maybe her back injury is taking its toll.

I know Caroline has had to work so hard to get her flip and lutz fixed, but it's really time for her to work on other aspects of her skating. She gives away a ton of points on PCS, and the low marks are absolutely deserved.

 

[bigsisjiejie]

I know Caroline has had to work so hard to get her flip and lutz fixed, but it's really time for her to work on other aspects of her skating. She gives away a ton of points on PCS, and the low marks are absolutely deserved.

To me it looks like she's become ambivalent about skating, period, and is just phoning it in at this point. It would not surprise me to see her retire after Nationals, for which I don't have expectations of her placing in the top 7 or 8. I doubt she will be considered for any more major internationals like 4CC, barring a miracle from God.

 

[ILoveFigures]

Totally incorrect. Look at the point on the ice she takes off from. From that point she always rotates this combo at least 2.25 times in the air, marking it as a completed triple. Remember - the toeloop, salchow, and loop naturally pre-rotate .5 of a turn on the takeoff and there is .25 leeway on the landing. Achieving 2.25 rotations IN THE AIR is what signifies these jumps as being rotated enough to not get a < call. The tech callers seem to be just choosing a random spot on the ice as the "1/4 turn mark", rather than actually paying attention to where a jump takes off from.

What's even more frustrating is that not only does Murakami always get the rotation, she also always gets good spring on that second 3Toe and lands cleanly. So, again, the way she has been getting scored on this combo ever since 2011 Worlds is total crap and nothing but uneducated calls by tech panels. ISU needs to teach their tech panels how to determine rotation (I've sat through ALL of the tech training seminars and it's NOT done properly) and the rules also need to clearly define the mechanics of jump rotation and exactly how it is going to be scored, so that competitors know what they need to be doing and can learn how to properly analyze their own jumps.

Once again your logic that everyone is wrong except yourself prevails. Just because you tell yourself that your way is the correct way, does not make it so. I'm fine with being able to see what the tech panels see. All panels have been made up by different people, so maybe you need a wake up call?