2014 NHK Trophy Ladies Free Skate 11/29

[Skategmt]

That is an unduly pessimistic view of Polina's future, to say the least. Polina's 3Lz3T in the LP scored 10.80 points. I believe that is the highest score awarded to any one element in the entire ladies' competition. Her 3F1Lo3S scored 9.50 points, even with a ! call. Any skater would be lucky to have that to build on. What hurt Polina on the TES was the <s and a slew of negative GOEs, especially on her 2A. I see no reason to assume she can't improve in these areas, if she works at it.

I suspect that what hurts Polina's PCS most is her inability to maintain her speed throughout the program. When the pressure is on she seems to slow down and really draw out the approach to her jumps. Also, Polina's LP is intricate and nuanced. I love the program; it's my favorite ladies' LP of the season. But it's more challenging to keep the speed up in an intricate program than in a more conventional one. However, Polina isn't an innately slow skater. She isn't fast, but she can move at a respectable speed. She just needs to do it throughout her performance.

Polina is tall for a skater and that does present challenges. Tall skaters generally take longer to get their full growth and longer to get their bodies under control. The up side is if a tall skater can hang in there and get everything together, they tend to look more impressive and commanding on the ice than their smaller competitors. What Polina needs right now is persistence and time to season.

Miyahara is another skater who needs to simmer for a while. Her fans tend to talk as though she's already there, when she's really just starting. Over-hyping her isn't doing her any favors. That's too much pressure to dump on those tiny shoulders.

For those who are upset that Gracie won with a flawed skate, let me point out that whoever got the gold at this competition would have won with a flawed skate. All the ladies in contention for the top spot had mistakes in their programs. They were all under a lot of pressure. Leonova needed to impress the folks back home to bolster her chances in the extremely competitive Russian ladies field. Gold, Murakami and Miyahara also had to worry about competition at home, as well as snagging a GPF spot.

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

Hi Sam-Skwantch! Thanks so much for the wonderful video! I sent you a private message in response but I got a reply that your mailbox was full- empty it a bit and I will resend!

all clear

 

[creaturelover]

Agreed! They should just give zero points to the repeated jump, or at worst, make the whole combo worth 50% or something.

Agree 100%, really isn't fair the whole combination becomes invalid

 

[chuckm]

What I found funny was when Gracie was interviewed after she won, the interviewer mentioned the GPF. Gracie said "IF I make the GPF, I hope I will skate better than I did here". She didn't even realize that she had made the final!

Incidentally, I believe this is the first gold medal Gracie has ever won in international competition. She has won silver medals, but never gold. No wonder she was thrilled.

 

[Alba]

Agree 100%, really isn't fair the whole combination becomes invalid

It is indeed crazy.

What's the idea behind it in first place?

 

[gmyers]

People seemed to have forgotten that Yulia won at COR last season with a terrible LP. In fact it was worse then what Gracie put out there.

People did seem to forget! When she did so bad with single jumps in china people acted like she had never skated poorly before Olympics singles.

 

[creaturelover]

What I found funny was when Gracie was interviewed after she won, the interviewer mentioned the GPF. Gracie said "IF I make the GPF, I hope I will skate better than I did here". She didn't even realize that she had made the final!

Incidentally, I believe this is the first gold medal Gracie has ever won in international competition. She has won silver medals, but never gold. No wonder she was thrilled.

I loved in Kiss and Cry when she asked Frank if she won and was like "I won... I won!!" It was adorable!!

 

[gotoschool]

I don't why some people are so quick to tear down Satoko. Not everyone thinks she "skates like a small girl"--I think Satoko's maturity is amongst the best of all the skaters.

I agree with you. Satoko's LP skate at Skate Canada really moved me emotionally, especially the last section where she does some lovely pirouettes, and multi-directional spins before closing in a Biellmann. I also love her step sequences. The jump mistakes at NHK detracted a little, but that last section was still really beautiful. I admit she has small jumps, but sometimes it's nice to appreciate the things that are wonderful about a performance.

 

[satine]

What I found funny was when Gracie was interviewed after she won, the interviewer mentioned the GPF. Gracie said "IF I make the GPF, I hope I will skate better than I did here". She didn't even realize that she had made the final!

Incidentally, I believe this is the first gold medal Gracie has ever won in international competition. She has won silver medals, but never gold. No wonder she was thrilled.

Yes, besides a TE & a JGP, this is her first international gold medal. Good for her

 

[yuki]

I don't why some people are so quick to tear down Satoko. Not everyone thinks she "skates like a small girl"--I think Satoko's maturity is amongst the best of all the skaters.

I really don't understand the fixation on Satoko's height as validation for the scores she's been receiving. Unless she's participating in the "who's tallest" competition, maybe a better idea would be to actually look at her blades and movement on the ice.

 

[Crossover]

Satoko has a weak SP - I already said that the last time. No Mozart there, sorry. And her skating in general is very small. Here I see clear differences with Yulia who is not a big person herself but who does not skate like a small girl unlike Satoko.

Funny, I've always thought Yulia skates like a small girl. They share some similarities: noticeably one thing is their very small jump scale. Their jumps rely on the lightness of their weight which unfortunately can be easily collapsed as they're getting older.

As for your assertion that Satoko's SP has no Mozart, I quite feel the opposite. I really enjoyed watching her SP at SC because, to my eyes she was cheerful and endearing Papagena in the Magic Flute. Surely, she needs to work on her skills here and there, but I feel her interpretation to music is much better than Yulia's. Sometimes the absence of Yulia's facial expression does not convince me to believe the story that she delivers in her programs, especially her LP, Romeo and Juliet.

Since new comers out of the junior stage tend to get comparatively low PCS scores than those of much experienced seniors, Sataoko PCS reflects on that. Therefore, I believe she could get a higher PCS score if she builds up her career sincerely.

 

[satine]

I really don't understand the fixation on Satoko's height as validation for the scores she's been receiving. Unless she's participating in the "who's tallest" competition, maybe a better idea would be to actually look at her blades and movement on the ice.

What I remember Joanne commentating on (before I gave up on listening to ESP stream completely) was that 1) her large boots unsettled her, 2) her small size just had to be pointed out, & yet 3) she moved faster/got better ice coverage than the 'taller/bigger' girls.

 

[cohkaix]

Can anyone who actually watched Satoko live enlighten us? What about Satoko's ice coverage? Her projection? Compare to other top ladies.

I've watched Satoko skating live -- at 4CC 14 (also at Mao's ice show 'The Ice' during the summer). She was smaller at the beginning of the year. I don't think her ice coverage is ever a problem, as she seems to never lost speed throughout the program. When watching live, Satoko's skating was impressive in that she skates through her whole body. She learns to hold and extend her movements longer, and that compensates for her smaller body frame, I think. For last season she was less expressive with her facial gesture, but she has improved a lot with expressing the themes of both programmes this season. I think playing Kim of Miss Saigon and Papagena in the Magic Flute are both perfect choices for her.

 

[peg]

I seem to recall someone who was at SC this year saying that Satoko skates like a bat out of hell, so I don't think there's a lack of speed...

 

[kwanatic]

I do feel both Gracie and Alena were over scored but I suppose I agree with the outcome.

Gracie: I congratulate her on her win but 123+ for that was too much IMO. What's worse is that with the medal on the line, once again Gracie went out and froze up. Had she been in a more competitive field, it's very unlikely she'd have won this one. Still, a win is a win (only gold medal for the US ladies this season) and she finally earned a spot in the Final. She's got her work cut out for her against all of those Russians...that's going to be fun to watch.

Alena: She's having a really rough time getting through the FS. Her FS was just too sloppy. That score was generous...I did like her SP though...

Satoko: I do feel she should have been scored higher but she was off here as well.

I do think if Adelina had competed this would've been a more entertaining event. Great SP skating, crappy FS skating.

The Final is going to be great though!

 

[chezzu]

Yo are right!! Hanyu single in sp was invalidated not the whole thing. Only thing that should be invalidated is the one thing that's illegal.

Might be a bit of a dumb question and a little OT but why was Hanyu's single invalidated?

 

[hippomoomin]

Gracie is not perfect, but she still deserves to win here. She also looks much confident.

Satako: again I don't get the hype she receives. Her boots do look huge & heavy on her; I always feel her boots are like magnet and the ice is iron, that's why she cannot lift herself much from the ice. The program: Personally I dislike stories with dominant White guy-weak/submissive Asian lady kind of relationship, called ""Orientalism".

It's mysterious to me why Zijun lost her stamina, because she did fine at 4CC earlier this year, at which point she already grew much bigger. She is thinner than earlier this year.
If so, I would think Polina shares the same stamina issue. Isn't stamina the easiest thing to improve, as long as you keep on training?

 

[Barb]

I am happy with the places, not much with the scores, I agree Satoko deserves more, she doesnt skate like a little girl, yes she is short, but her skating is very mature, her SS and coreography are great too.
Polina was underscored too, her skating is so beautiful, her body is changing I hope she adapt to this later.

 

[Sandpiper]

Sad to see the second group didn't turn out so well in the LP, after nailing the SP (and after the first group turned in solid LPs).

Gracie: Probably deserved the win, and congratulations on making the final. But the performance itself... Four triples, bland presentation (toned down the pageant smile, thankfully, but replaced it with... nothing), and Conway's strange fawning just confused me even further. Great spins though. The scores make no sense but no one else was any better.

Alena: I'm starting to get her freeskate more. But the character wasn't really maintained throughout like during her short--it drifted in and out depending on what element she was preparing for. I'm happy for her getting a good placement after a bad first GP though.

Satoko: I guess when Satoko makes mistakes, no one's allowed to skate clean, hence the messy final group. I was rooting for her, but she didn't make a good case for herself. Her LP was magical at SC and I understand the resounding applause she got. But once the elements are messy, the program itself suffered, imo. She was a bit hosed in PCS for both programs, but frankly some of the UR calls were actually generous in the LP.

Murakami: And Zayak slays yet another one... I'm starting to understand why people dislike her POTO LP so much (those music cuts!!!)... but oddly enough, I actually like that she's portraying the Phantom instead of Christine. Maybe she needs to take it further--dress like a man, strengthen her movements further, wear a mask... Not sure if the last one is allowed but if you're going to think outside the box, then go all the way!

 

[amc987]

Okay, I think Miyahara and Edmunds were underscored here. Gold and Leonova were way overscored. I think Gracie should probably still have been first, but I don't think she should've been much over 117 for her 4-triple skate. I also just don't care for Gracie's style artistically- lots of arm flailing, marginal connection to the music, lots of her programs look the same. Her PCS were about 6 points too high. And the vocals she picked aren't very flattering- there's something about having a sound so high pitched carry through an arena...

Anyway, I think Leonova showed progress here over her last GP. Miyahara has a lot of potential- I just wish her jumps were bigger.

Also, can someone get Christina Gao a cheerleader or an energy drink or something? I'm not sure if it's her insecurity or her nerves or her music, but she seems so diffident out there on the ice. I just want to see her do a big attacking program where she looks more sure of herself.