2014 Olympics Ladies Free Skate

[Nater]

The scores should have been close either way, but after watching the clearest video possible and taking the time to thoroughly examine the technical elements I'm quite upset with this result now. Sotnikova's footwork sequence had weak edges throughout the whole thing and really should not have gotten those crazy bonus marks for quality. Yu-Na Kim's footwork sequence was called as a Level 3 but I see no reason why it shouldn't have been called as a Level 4, after counting each and every step and rotation. Her execution of it was far better than what Sotnikova did as well.

That, combined with the underrotated jump Sotnikova didn't get called on AND the very bad PCS judging (I have to give Yu-Na extra credit for her speed in this performance and the sharpness of some of the arm movements I didn't get the full effect of in the previous video feeds), is just a ridiculous level of Russian bias.

Invalid turns. For example some skaters step out of loops or tuen out of them without a clean exit edge. Some hop turns. Some tuen off the wrong edge. Both kostner and Kim cut off loops among other things in footwork. Sotnikova didn't make the same error. She also gives herself a lot more chances to make up for mistakes since her sequence is overloaded with turns.

Again. People need to educate themselves. It muddies the discussion when people make statements that are wrong and present them as fact because they are not familiar with what the judges look for on elements like this.

Why so you think skaters have these 30 second footwork sequences. On skaters with shorter footwork I tend to look harder at the turns because they have less opportunity to make up for errors.

 

[Rashela]

When I read some of the posts I think this thread should be called "What I hate about Adelina´s skating". For me is the same situation as it was 4 years ago with Plushenko.
I´m not a fan of Adelina´s free program, but Yuna´s program didn´t move me at all. I think about Yuna free skate the best of it was Yuna herself. The choreography of hers was quite weak besides of Yuna jumps the choreo was the level of Marchei. The many plain cross overs (for some of her fans I think it means transitions worthy of 10) and longer preparations for jumps than Adelina. And the music didn´t help either. When I hear Piazzolla I want some passion!
If you want a fair figure skating I think you would have to cancel PCS and keep only the technical marks.
Some posts are really ridiculous like Adelina won with her junior free program from 2011 :scratch:
Here is the program for the forgetful : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeXXrxjNXtA
For me the real winner of the night was Kostner, I like nearly everything about her program. When all the three delivered it was pretty clear that some fans would be upset, but I´m ashamed of people who are posting such a hate posts on Adelina´s wall and her instagram. She always seems like a very nice girl polite to everyone and this...
The worst from this event for me was without any doubt the audience.

 

[whatif]

http://www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au...igure-skating-gold-medal-controversy/?cs=3329

Not one person in skating I've talked to said that's the way (the result) should have gone,” former US Olympic figure skating coach Audrey Weisiger told USA Today.

The judging pool for the free skating program was slightly different to the one that had awarded Kim top points in the short program the night before.One addition was Ukranian Yuri Balkov.In her book The Second Mark: Courage, Corruption and the Battle for Olympic Gold, author Joy Goodwin wrote that hours before the finals of the 1998 Olympic ice dancing competition in Nagano, Canadian judge Jean Senft tape-recorded a phone call made to her hotel room by Balkov.

Here is Elena Buyanova's (Adelina's coach) response: "It's good to know Ashley's true face as after the competition she came to Adelina to congratulate her and said that she was the best. Good to know for the future." Also they are thinking of including a quad jump.

http://www.sport-express.ru/olympic14/figureskating/news/672352/

 

[katymay]

Invalid turns. For example some skaters step out of loops or tuen out of them without a clean exit edge. Some hop turns. Some tuen off the wrong edge. Both kostner and Kim cut off loops among other things in footwork. Sotnikova didn't make the same error. She also gives herself a lot more chances to make up for mistakes since her sequence is overloaded with turns.

Again. People need to educate themselves. It muddies the discussion when people make statements that are wrong and present them as fact because they are not familiar with what the judges look for on elements like this.

Why so you think skaters have these 30 second footwork sequences. On skaters with shorter footwork I tend to look harder at the turns because they have less opportunity to make up for errors.

Thank you Nater.

 

[akoko]

Sotnikova went out while Yuna interviewed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OmCFxqU8eQ

Please people, give her a break. I am sure it was not meant to be an insult.

Didn't Yuna use her mobile while Mao was being interviewed a couple of years ago?

 

[Icey]

Sotnikova went out while Yuna interviewed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OmCFxqU8eQ

Maybe she needed to go to the bathroom? lol

 

[Sk8Boi]

Not much debate for me. Kostner was the best and should have won based on the strength of the PCS. To have that child get PCS for a Junior program that were better than Caro is never going to be justifiable.

Russia needed their singles champion and their Hockey champions and had counted on Plushenko and Ovechkin to get it. But the losses devastated the people. To take their minds off it, they gave them this surprise. It was supposed to be Lipnitskaya, but she fell.

This is similar to so many other Olympics - I have seen and remember them since 1968 - especially those of the late 1960's and 1970's.

 

[Nater]

OMG...how rude!! Didn't see that coming...

She was probably summoned off. She just won a title and probably has more media attention than ever. This happens sometimes.

Yuna is not a queen. Sorry to break the myth, but that nickname is not for serious consideration.

 

[katymay]

While I 'get' that the issue is the margin of points, I can understand how margin (yes, perhaps overscoring) happened. You take a kid like Adelina, who is known to fall apart-and wonder of wonders-she is firing on all cylinders. She is having the skate of her life. If she were always perfect, it would be, well, ho hum, another perfect skate. Human nature. Adelina skated with enormous energy, and judges, being human, cannot help but be affected by that energy. (And yes, of course the crowd enters into it) As polished as Yuna is, I was not similiarly affected by her performance. This competition reminded me a great deal of the Lipinski/Kwan Olympics. While everything has to evolve down to numbers, I felt Adelina's skate was more special.

 

[Mista Ekko]

.

 

[Nater]

Thank you Nater.

I'm thinking of doing a slo mo of the few to show people why Adelina got level 4 and the others only level 3.

 

[minion]

Why would they let anyone who had been caught trying to fix the results in the past anywhere near a judging panel for the Olympics? Just asking for trouble.

They can't dump someone they'd pulled in on a deal, can they?

 

[qwertyskates]

I'm thinking of doing a slo mo of the few to show people why Adelina got level 4 and the others only level 3.

Oh please do! I can't do the slo mo myself, and it will be educational for us skating fans. It's the Olympics after all.

 

[daniel1406]

to all those who say Adelina deserved the scores she got from both of her programs. just look at the protocols and compare them to Yuna's, Caro's, Mao's and Gracie's. just grossly overscored. if I was a slight inflation (say a couple of points), then I would understand, considering the competition was held in Russia and the whole crowd was supporting her. But this was like a fraud.... on other players and this sport. Shame on the judges.

I am happy I can leave this sport with Yuna and Mao(possibly).

 

[Nater]

Two judges in the FS:

One of the judge's husband is the head of the Russian Federation! Another was a Ukraine judge once suspended for fixing the Nagano Olympics.

Now look at these scores from Judge 7 and 2 for Adelina:

Judge 7:
GOE:
3
3
3
3
3
-1 (the combo jump where she stepped out)
3
3
3
2
3

PCS:
9.5
9.5
9.75
9.75
9.75

Judge 2:
GOE:
2
3
3
3
3
-1
2
3
2
3
3
3

PCS:
9.5
9.25
9.75
9.75
9.75

Common now. These scores says Adelina's FS was best ever. Clear over scores if I ever saw one. Look at the average PCS and number of +3 GOEs. People who says there is no controversy is out of their mind. These two judges most likely underscored Yuna and Caro also. How can this be fair?

Scores in random order. Those scores aren't all from the same judge. Really. This is the 200th time we've said this. At this point you're starting to look a bit restarted with your psychic way of weeping out a specific judges marks.

The only people who know which judges gave what marks are the ISU officials that have access to that information. No one on this forum knows about that info. What you see in the protocols is basically scrambled scores. Random order and you have no idea which scores were dropped.

 

[Mista Ekko]

Before even going in to GOE justification and proper element and level scoring,

-If Sotnikova's gonna be the winner, I need a better answer to why she gets over 9's for PCS all of a sudden here than "It's Skating, You know, At home it's always inflated, Go with it", Or "They wanted her closer to the top to make the race more exciting"

-Is there a precedent under this system to a winner having a 10+ raise in PCS per competition right before Olympics as opposed to anything he got in the previous season? or even before ? i'd like to see that too
(I\K would not be consedered a good example )

I'm at least happy for Kostner and Kim for taking it well, Along with asada they are the 3 most celebrated skaters here, And they have done absolutely evertything (Apart from Asada's SP)
in their power, So they MUST be super prowd, And know now when the scores are presented that they had no chance to beat a clean Sotnikova\Lipnitskaya in this event.

 

[Icey]

Do you even know how the scores are tabulated?? The highest and lowest scores are disregarded, 2 scores are randomly selected and then dropped, you don't know which judges scores were kept or dropped, so again, you're clueless about the system and repeating ad nauseum doesn't make it fact.

GOE is easily reviewed based on a formal criteria of execution, speed, flow, height, entrance, exit, etc. faster, higher, stronger, like the song goes.

Opinion that she shouldn't score higher than Kim for each jump doesn't make it fact. Show us the EVIDENCE, play by play, why her GOE is undeserved.

The GOE value from the nine judges is averaged using the "trimmed mean" procedure, discarding the highest and lowest values and averaging the remaining seven.[2]

 

[Mathman]

Scores in random order. Those scores aren't all from the same judge.

No, all the scores are from the same judge. They randomize separately for each skater, but not for each element and component.

 

[leafygreens]

Oh please do! I can't do the slo mo myself, and it will be educational for us skating fans. It's the Olympics after all.

A slow-mo like this?

http://cdn.theatlantic.com/newsroom/img/posts/2014/02/2014_02_20_14_15_34/5e0be99f9.gif

Yep, I can see how this skate rivals Yuna's 150 in Vancouver.

I would also love to see more slow-mo's of Adelina, breaking at the waist and high kicking.

 

[Dots]

Carolina is the one that should feel robbed! In what universe was Yu Na's lifeless performance gold medal worthy? both Yuna and Adelina should feel lucky that Mao was so far behind. Shame on the judges for holding up those two.