2015-16 Grand Prix assignments

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Yup, i guess everybody agrees people happen to peak from times to times and have some laaaaaaaame skates from times to times, leading to huge differences over the season =D

Agreed. Hanyu scored 229.80 points at NHK Trophy and then 288.16 points at the GPF just two weeks later. Similarly in the Olympic season, he scored 234.80 points at Skate Canada and less than a month and a half later won the GPF with 293.25 points (a personal best). :dance:

 

[silverlake22]

You also forgot the final spin she messed up and it scored no value. Yes, she had a slew of errors in that GPF trainwreck FS, but still nailed a 3Z+3L and a 2A+3T and still attempted to maintain the performance in spite of the many errors (which is a stark contrast to her FS in 2012 CoR where the performance fell apart; and unlike CoR Sotnikova at least had a clean SP at the GPF). As far as a 45 point improvement... obviously her GOE and PCS were off the charts in Sochi, but she was MUCH better in Sochi than anything she had done before. A 45 point swing going from a trainwreck GPF FS with the errors mentioned to a solid Sochi FS, isn't inconceivable. Don't get me wrong, I still think she should have lost in Sochi and got inflated marks, but there's no denying that the performance was significantly improved. It's quite laudable how she was able to achieve such a turnaround in just 3 months.

I agree with everything you said. My response was more that she wasn't a completely different skater the season she won OGM - during that season she continued to be a fabulously talented yet inconsistent skater. She got it together for Nationals, Euros, and the Olympics, but she had a number of rough outings in the fall. It wasn't just the GPF FS - at TEB she waxeled in the SP and lost to Ashley Wagner overall despite a very strong FS, at CoC she lost to Pogo with a FS that seemed fairly decent but cost her a lot of points, and at Japan Open she was all over the place similar to the GPF. Adelina has always been a hot and cold skater, that didn't go away during the 2013-2014 season. She just happened to be "hot" when it really mattered - at Russsian Nationals and the Olympics. Do I think she deserved to win Olympic gold? No, her PCS were way to high. Do I think she skated great and deserved to medal? Absolutely, she delivered at the Olympics and Mao's artistic superiority was rightfully not enough to outweigh her SP bomb (I actually think Adelina should have been 4th in the SP - Behind Yuna, Carolina, and Gracie on account of Gracie doing a harder combo, then 4th in the FS - Behind Yuna, Carolina, and Mao, but still a solid 3rd overall, because Mao bombed the SP and Gracie fell and was quite iced over artistically in the FS).

I think if Adelina continues we will see more of the same from her. When she is on, she can contend with anyone in the current field to be at the top of the sport, but if she's off, she's easily beatable.

 

[silverlake22]

Agreed. Hanyu scored 229.80 points at NHK Trophy and then 288.16 points at the GPF just two weeks later. Similarly in the Olympic season, he scored 234.80 points at Skate Canada and less than a month and a half later won the GPF with 293.25 points (a personal best). :dance:

People forget that Adelina skated 2 very nearly clean (about as clean as her Olympics skate) FS programs shortly before the Olympics and scored 129 (TEB) and 131 (Euros) for those performances, respectively. So 18 points over the course of 1-3 months is quite a hefty jump. So it's not just about her "lame" GPF FS. Her Sochi scores were way higher than the other scores she got for GOOD performances earlier that season, too.

I also felt a little bad for Yuna, she had basically the same jump layout in Sochi that she had at Worlds in 2013 (only difference being 3s-2t was in the second half of the program at 2013 Worlds), and at the 2013 Worlds all the commentators were saying she was back and looked as good as ever, and her FS score was only 2 points off her Vancouver FS score, yet in Sochi when everyone else is getting huge inflation, Yuna's routine is suddenly not that strong technically (mind you the only difference between this program and the 2013 one is the 3s-2t combo being earlier and a slightly shaky landing on her second 3lz) and her score is 4-5 points lower than her 2013 FS score (which is comparatively lower than that since most everyone else was scored much higher than usual). Erm. 2013 Worlds made it look like Yuna could win if she delivered clean programs with that layout. So that's what she did in Sochi and then surprise, the girl who scored 176 at the 2013 Worlds beats you!

 

[aromaticchicken]

People forget that Adelina skated 2 very nearly clean (about as clean as her Olympics skate) FS programs shortly before the Olympics and scored 129 (TEB) and 131 (Euros) for those performances, respectively. So 18 points over the course of 1-3 months is quite a hefty jump. So it's not just about her "lame" GPF FS. Her Sochi scores were way higher than the other scores she got for GOOD performances earlier that season, too.

I also felt a little bad for Yuna, she had basically the same jump layout in Sochi that she had at Worlds in 2013 (only difference being 3s-2t was in the second half of the program at 2013 Worlds), and at the 2013 Worlds all the commentators were saying she was back and looked as good as ever, and her FS score was only 2 points off her Vancouver FS score, yet in Sochi when everyone else is getting huge inflation, Yuna's routine is suddenly not that strong technically (mind you the only difference between this program and the 2013 one is the 3s-2t combo being earlier and a slightly shaky landing on her second 3lz) and her score is 4-5 points lower than her 2013 FS score (which is comparatively lower than that since most everyone else was scored much higher than usual). Erm. 2013 Worlds made it look like Yuna could win if she delivered clean programs with that layout. So that's what she did in Sochi and then surprise, the girl who scored 176 at the 2013 Worlds beats you!

Seriously. One of the major defense people gave was that her technical wasn't high enough, but that same technical plan gave her a ridiculous margin in 2013 so I don't think she anticipated quite the challenge she received. But regardless of whether adelina should have won overall, Yuna undeniably deserved much higher PCS relative to sotnikova.

Wish Yuna had skated les miserables at Sochi. There was something magical about that program. I'm honestly more of a Mao fan but that les miserables FS is still my favorite skating performance of the last 10 years

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Adelina has always been a hot and cold skater, that didn't go away during the 2013-2014 season. She just happened to be "hot" when it really mattered - at Russsian Nationals and the Olympics. Do I think she deserved to win Olympic gold? No, her PCS were way to high. Do I think she skated great and deserved to medal? Absolutely, she delivered at the Olympics and Mao's artistic superiority was rightfully not enough to outweigh her SP bomb (I actually think Adelina should have been 4th in the SP - Behind Yuna, Carolina, and Gracie on account of Gracie doing a harder combo, then 4th in the FS - Behind Yuna, Carolina, and Mao, but still a solid 3rd overall, because Mao bombed the SP and Gracie fell and was quite iced over artistically in the FS).

I think if Adelina continues we will see more of the same from her. When she is on, she can contend with anyone in the current field to be at the top of the sport, but if she's off, she's easily beatable.

I totally agree with everything you said. The one thing I'll add to it though is that Adelina was superb at Euros leading up to the Olympics. Winning Russian Nationals and winning the silver at Euros with essentially clean skates were what she needed going into Sochi. I think if she had bombed at Euros that would have jeopardized her stock going into Sochi - including the ridiculously high PCS scores she got. Euros was the international event that pushed both Lip and Sot into the stratosphere of PCS inflation, and was key to their success in Sochi (as in, Lip actually beating Carolina in the team SP and somehow getting higher PCS than Mao in the FS, and Adelina winning the individual event).

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

People forget that Adelina skated 2 very nearly clean (about as clean as her Olympics skate) FS programs shortly before the Olympics and scored 129 (TEB) and 131 (Euros) for those performances, respectively. So 18 points over the course of 1-3 months is quite a hefty jump. So it's not just about her "lame" GPF FS. Her Sochi scores were way higher than the other scores she got for GOOD performances earlier that season, too.

Agreed. The GPF FS was the previous season. Who cares about that... it was her GP season (which wasn't that great performance-wise but still had positive moments and got her 2 silvers), and strong Euros performance that built towards her Sochi performances. It was also getting people to believe in her... when certain people snarked that she couldn't even do a 3F and it was a huge mistake putting those in her programs. That's why I'm a bit miffed when people attribute Sotnikova's success as a flash in the pan when she actually built towards that success with decent segments in her GP events (and her SP in particular became consistent - and she performed it extremely well in Sochi).

 

[WeakAnkles]

So about those, you know, GRAND PRIX ASSIGNMENTS...

 

[silverlake22]

Agreed. The GPF FS was the previous season. Who cares about that... it was her GP season (which wasn't that great performance-wise but still had positive moments and got her 2 silvers), and strong Euros performance that built towards her Sochi performances. It was also getting people to believe in her... when certain people snarked that she couldn't even do a 3F and it was a huge mistake putting those in her programs. That's why I'm a bit miffed when people attribute Sotnikova's success as a flash in the pan when she actually built towards that success with decent segments in her GP events (and her SP in particular became consistent - and she performed it extremely well in Sochi).

Euros definitely played a big role. Jenny and Dave talked about how the PCS inflation for the Russian ladies had started getting out of control at Euros, and that made the Sochi Gold a possibility for both Julia and Adelina. Adelina's clean FS at TEB earned her 64 for PCS (fair/deserved PCS for a good skate by Adelina, IMO), then with a good FS at Euros it jumped 5 points to 69, so then in Sochi it jumped 5 points again to 74. If she hadn't been at Euros, the jump would have been 10 points which would have REALLY raised some eyebrows, but because her PCS had already jumped 5 points at Euros, to have it jump 5 points again just seemed like par for the course, especially because Euros was not in Russia.

 

[chuckm]

Note: Madame Piseev aka Alla Shekovtseva was on the judging panel of every event in which Adelina competed in the Olympic season.

 

[AlexRus]

People forget that Adelina skated 2 very nearly clean (about as clean as her Olympics skate) FS programs shortly before the Olympics and scored 129 (TEB) and 131 (Euros) for those performances, respectively.

No, Adelina's FS both at TEB and Euro were not so clean as at Olympics.
Both times 6 triples in FS (3Lz+2T at TEB, 3Lz with step out and one URed jump at Euro), worse non-jumping elements.

Adelina's skating at Olympics was extremely good for her, really better than at any other competition.

 

[AlexRus]

Note: Madame Piseev aka Alla Shekovtseva was on the judging panel of every event in which Adelina competed in the Olympic season.

Only one of 9 judges.
And at OLympics - only in FS.

PS Now at Piseev's place is Alexander Kogan, and he was judge at important competitions. Referee at China GP Event, judge at Japan GP Event. And nobody sees problem in this.

 

[Li'Kitsu]

So about those, you know, GRAND PRIX ASSIGNMENTS...

It was a good effort...

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

What needs to happen in order to get Brooklee back on the GP? That's sad she didn't get an assignment.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

What needs to happen in order to get Brooklee back on the GP? That's sad she didn't get an assignment.

It might be an invite only thing. Unfortunately, her Worlds performance was abysmal, so it'll be hard to get back on the GP again. There's always other minor competitions as well as 4CC, but too bad for her.

 

[[email protected]]

Does anyone know when JGP assignments are going to be announced?

 

[catchie]

Does anyone know when JGP assignments are going to be announced?

Usually a month before the event.

 

[cheerknithanson]

I'm pretty sure there's at least one person that was wondering how I was handling the fact that Kevin Reynolds didn't have any GP assignments. To some of your amazement, I did very well. I was not surprised he didn't get any. And I have 2 reasons why:

1. His score from the Autumn Classic wasn't good enough to make the top 24 or 75 SB.

2. He's recovering from surgery.

And to be honest, I don't want him to have any GP assignments. Not even a host spot. Why? I want him to recovery fully, healthy, safely, and carefully. Because it'll be better in the long run and I don't want him to get anymore serious injuries. It's a marathon, not a sprint to recovery.

No tears, no screams, no whines, no tantrums. I was okay with it. Totally okay with it.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

I also felt a little bad for Yuna, she had basically the same jump layout in Sochi that she had at Worlds in 2013 (only difference being 3s-2t was in the second half of the program at 2013 Worlds), and at the 2013 Worlds all the commentators were saying she was back and looked as good as ever, and her FS score was only 2 points off her Vancouver FS score, yet in Sochi when everyone else is getting huge inflation, Yuna's routine is suddenly not that strong technically (mind you the only difference between this program and the 2013 one is the 3s-2t combo being earlier and a slightly shaky landing on her second 3lz) and her score is 4-5 points lower than her 2013 FS score (which is comparatively lower than that since most everyone else was scored much higher than usual). Erm. 2013 Worlds made it look like Yuna could win if she delivered clean programs with that layout. So that's what she did in Sochi and then surprise, the girl who scored 176 at the 2013 Worlds beats you!

Had Yuna gotten the BV and GOE she earned at Worlds 2013, she would have won in Sochi with the PCS she earned at the Olympics. For whatever reason, her GOE was lower across the board by most of the judges in Sochi, not just one or two. This was the case on most elements, not just the 2nd 3Lz:

2013: http://www.isuresults.com/results/wc2013/wc2013_Ladies_FS_Scores.pdf
2014: http://www.isuresults.com/results/owg2014/owg14_Ladies_FS_Scores.pdf

In 2013, two judges gave her one +1 and two judges more than one +1; everything else was +2 or +3. At Sochi, every single judge gave her more than one +1. To say she performed her elements the same as she did in 2013 except for the shaky lutz would be an assertion that none of the judges would agree with. None of this is my opinion, it's just to show that the entire judging panel did not think the program was performed at the same level of technical quality as 2013.

 

[chuckm]

Only one of 9 judges.
And at OLympics - only in FS.

PS Now at Piseev's place is Alexander Kogan, and he was judge at important competitions. Referee at China GP Event, judge at Japan GP Event. And nobody sees problem in this.

Are you saying that Kogan is now head of the Russian federation, and he is still judglng? That is far worse than having his wife judging!! Yes, it is outrageous if true.

 

[chuckm]

Brooklee Han is scheduled to compete at the Lake Placid Championships, starting on Thursday.