2015 JGP Colorado Springs Ladies FS Sep 5

[oleada]

Such disappointing competition. I wish they wouldn't hold events at this altitude, it always sucks. The winner here would've been 4th in Slovakia and 5th in Riga.

I do like Shiraiwa and Honda a lot, though. Anni from Finland was a nice discovery.

Le missed a big chance, but hopefully she can use this time to work on the consistency of her 3LO and 3S, which hurts her a lot compared to the other girls. I think her speed and spins are wonderful. But her choreography is pretty simple, too.

U.S. ladies are disappointing in the JGP this year. Likely another JPN vs RUS final again.

 

[Layback11]

A blog post I wrote about the ladies event, entitled "Altitude Sucks": https://salchowsandswarovskis.wordpress.com/2015/09/06/altitude-sucks-a-recap/

 

[Interspectator]

an Alert viewer noticed that the Olaf plushy Marin had in the kiss and cry was thrown on the ice by Sota. http://eggplantgifs.tumblr.com/post/128448241523/sota-throwing-a-plushie-for-marin-2015-jgp-usa

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

Where were you, Sam?? I had to witness this Colorado disaster without you!

It was beautiful outside today and as someone who frequents Colorado I know how difficult simple things like walking up a staircase can wind someone into submission. I posted before it began that I had a bad feeling about this event.

I'm trying to catch up and so far Valeriya was the only skate I've really enjoyed and her arm movements are so understated I kind of chuckle at how little effort she puts into them. I can see why her PCS suffers a bit. Good for her though in doing about everything she is capable of. She should leave that place proud of herself. It's always cool to see someone pumped after they skate. She was after both programs. Nina let me down a bit today (her and Amy were my favorites yesterday) although she almost looked as though she was going to shoot the duck again during her 3-3. The force is strong with this one. Vivian is the exact opposite of Valeriya in that her arms are just so busy and rarely is there any good use of momentum or shape. Good on the camera guys for not cutting her head off of her jumps though this week. Must have been a memo out about that to the camera staff. Speaking of memo's ..... I do wonder if everyone was aware that the winner of the Freezer Challenge will be awarded extra PCS points for all events taking place in Club World Arena for one calander year. JK

Back to the videos I go!!

Edit: I liked Marin's FS program but it wasn't performed very well. I agree with others in saying that it's very complex and as such it's difficult to expect her to be able deliver it to its full potential but good on her for breaking out of the mold. I'm a little underwhelmed at times by how often skaters come out as version 2.0 of a their predecessors. Her only real struggle seemed to be to keep it going...well aside from the jumps today. Maybe it's just the thin air but it seemed most noticeable on those exaggerated turns and on the illusion spins. I think she should drop the illusion spins myself. Actually can I ask that 90% of lady skaters stop doing them since they are so often done poorly and in excess. We need a list of skaters with bad Illusion spins

 

[Layback11]

I get a kick out of watching her old programs. Nice jumps but what was going on with those arms?

I loved her Life Is Beautiful FS, actually. And her The Mission FS, and her Hernando's Hideaway SP. Her 2011-12 SP did nothing for me. All of her Olympic year programs were fine. I'm not sure about POTO but I didn't hate it with a burning passion...

 

[Layback11]

Edit: I liked Marin's FS program but it wasn't performed very well. I agree with others in saying that it's very complex and as such it's difficult to expect her to be able deliver it to its full potential but good on her for breaking out of the mold. I'm a little underwhelmed at times by how often skaters come out as version 2.0 of a their predecessors. Her only real struggle seemed to be to keep it going...well aside from the jumps today. Maybe it's just the thin air but it seemed most noticeable on those exaggerated turns and on the illusion spins. I think she should drop the illusion spins myself. Actually can I ask that 90% of lady skaters stop doing them since they are so often done poorly and in excess. We need a list of skaters with bad Illusion spins

1. Am I the only one who thinks Marin looks extremely similar to Haruka Imai (appearance-wise, not skating-wise)?

2. GAAAAAH!!! It's so bad!!!!!! And they can be so good when somebody does them right! IT'S A TRAGEDY :scowl::no:

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

I loved her Life Is Beautiful FS, actually. And her The Mission FS, and her Hernando's Hideaway SP. Her 2011-12 SP did nothing for me. All of her Olympic year programs were fine. I'm not sure about POTO but I didn't hate it with a burning passion...

I have been so up and down with Gracie. It's taken some time but I do consider myself a fan. I've said it before but she is one of the best spinners and is able to really move across the ice.

Paige reminds me of Gracie a lot but not always in the good way. She has similar tight air position that seems to look a bit stiff. Kind of a too vertical to land clean look to it. I want to like her FS but the StSeq just screamed everything that's wrong with CoP. I knew it was coming as soon as the music changed and wasn't filled with joy at that moment. Then again I'd say my beef there is more or less with the way StSeqs are scored and inevitably choreographed.

Anyway....all nitpicking aside maybe like Gracie I'll come around to her. Right now I 'm just projecting all the little things I had to learn to forgive in Gracie onto Paige. I'm curious to see more from her though but I'd give anything to see a bit more creativity and originality.

 

[Layback11]

Unrelated: I just found out that Evgenia Medvedeva is not Zhenya but, according to Instagram, Janny...who knew?

 

[FSGMT]

My main thoughts:

1) WHAT. A. DEPRESSING. LAST. GROUP.

2) Poor Mikhailova. She so deserved to win this :disapp:

3) To Le and Shiraiwa: close that mouth!! Skating with your mouth wide open does not make you artistic, on the contrary it's distracting and ugly

 

[Johns]

My main thoughts:

1) WHAT. A. DEPRESSING. LAST. GROUP.

2) Poor Mikhailova. She so deserved to win this :disapp:

3) To Le and Shiraiwa: close that mouth!! Skating with your mouth wide open does not make you artistic, on the contrary it's distracting and ugly

Wow, that's harsh! I enjoyed these girl's performances, both nights! Perhaps I didn't pay so much attention to their faces, but concentrated on the quality of execution and the overall flow. Very talented young ladies!
Explain to me, why do you think mikhailova should win, when her skating skills are so poor and childish? Her jumps are great, but that's it. There is No artistry, her steps are short, she is slow, she constantly watches the ice through out the performance, her eyes are always down, as if she is so unsure where her next step goes. I watched couple of her programs from 2-3 years ago, I haven't noticed any changes, her jumps were great then, but her skating skills haven't changed whatsoever, there is no progress. Her components are never high because of all of the above, therefore her only chance at winning is only at the point when all other competitors are having terrible performances. That's not a good policy for future champion, in my opinion.

 

[TheGrandSophy]

Oh, sorry that breathing is so ugly. Perhaps they should have just kept their mouths shut and passed out from lack of oxygen at altitude. Blue is the latest for faces. Much prettier.

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

I think there might be a case for Valeriya to have made the podium. I'm fine with her PCS marks where they are but it doesn't take too much imagination to find a 4pt difference between her and the 2nd and 3rd place final total scores. Especially when that difference is 100% in PCS marks.

Some judges agree with me and others didn't but I for one probably wouldn't score Vivian higher than low 6's for even a clean skate and that doesn't mean I don't like her or anything. I just think I'm a lot less wowed by her than some of the judges scoring her closer to 7 for less than stellar outings. YMMV.

 

[FSGMT]

Wow, that's harsh! I enjoyed these girl's performances, both nights! Perhaps I didn't pay so much attention to their faces, but concentrated on the quality of execution and the overall flow. Very talented young ladies!
Explain to me, why do you think mikhailova should win, when her skating skills are so poor and childish? Her jumps are great, but that's it. There is No artistry, her steps are short, she is slow, she constantly watches the ice through out the performance, her eyes are always down, as if she is so unsure where her next step goes. I watched couple of her programs from 2-3 years ago, I haven't noticed any changes, her jumps were great then, but her skating skills haven't changed whatsoever, there is no progress. Her components are never high because of all of the above, therefore her only chance at winning is only at the point when all other competitors are having terrible performances. That's not a good policy for future champion, in my opinion.

I always try to be positive in my comments, but in this case comparing these girls' performances to those of Tsurksaya, Sotskova, Mihara or Sakamoto is really disappointing.
As for Mikhailova, I basically agree with what you said: her skating is not artistic in itself, but it's not certainly worse than most of the others, certainly not 6 points behind Le and Shiraiwa in PCS, especially because she was the only one who didn't show hesitation in both her programs and produced determined clean performances.

Oh, sorry that breathing is so ugly. Perhaps they should have just kept their mouths shut and passed out from lack of oxygen at altitude. Blue is the latest for faces. Much prettier.

I'm afraid that Le skated in the exact same way two weeks ago in a completely different place (I remember reading a comment about it by someone else), and all of the others who ran out of stamina didn't do that (and from the beginning of the program!). It's just her way of skating, and I personally find it extremely annoying. This doesn't detract from all her other qualities, but it can be corrected (as I've seen done n many other cases).

 

[ice coverage]

Vivian Le was sick hwell: for the last week -- per the IN recap of the Ladies FS.

Excerpt:

Team USA's Vivian Le took third with 156.08 points. Le was pleased with her result, considering that she had been sick all of last week.

"I'm so shocked right now," Le said. "I've been sick for the last week and didn't get a lot of training in. I'm really emotional right now."

http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2015/09/04/147660544 (Sep 5)​

ETA, see also the caption to photo #3 in the gallery in the IN gallery for the Ladies FS:

Despite fighting an illness for the past week, Team USA's Vivian Le claimed her second bronze medal ...
http://web.icenetwork.com/photos/147693100?image_id=3​

 

[frida80]

Vivian Le was sick hwell: for the last week -- per the IN recap of the Ladies FS.

Excerpt:

Team USA's Vivian Le took third with 156.08 points. Le was pleased with her result, considering that she had been sick all of last week.

"I'm so shocked right now," Le said. "I've been sick for the last week and didn't get a lot of training in. I'm really emotional right now."

http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2015/09/04/147660544 (Sep 5)​

That explains a lot. It's hard to be consistent when you've been out of practice for a whole week. Especially when your body is recovering.

 

[ice coverage]

What weird funny medals? All the same colour? I didn't know ISU is that short of funding these days.

A ring of gold, silver, or bronze within the medal :yes: denotes the placement.

The rings within the medals are visible in the close-up photos of the top three ladies in the IN gallery mentioned above.

http://web.icenetwork.com/photos/147693100 (see photos #4, 5, 6, 7)​

ETA, forgot :hopelessness: to say Congratulations to Yuna, Marin, and Vivian .​

 

[bluelutz]

I agree that Vivian, while not mathematically out for sure, is out based on previous scores needed for qualifying.

But regarding the Russian/Japanese girls final, I'll be interested to see how USA's Bradie Tennell does next week to play spoiler to that.

I do not think Bradie can be a factor.

https://youtu.be/dihyj9oCRQ8

She got 116.98 for her FP @Nationals,
but judging with her immature skating skills & presentation and some under-rotations,
definitely it does not deserve that kind of score @JGP events.

Among US junior ladies, only one who got all the goods to beat Russian and Japanese was Amber,
but she turned out to be the same as the last year, seriously inconsistent,
and has been already out of the race for JGPF.
Vivian was over hyped regardless of her illness or not though she is the one to watch for the future.

Again I predict most likely the final consists only Russian and Japanese like last year.
Three Russians are going to be Polina, Maria & Serafima.
Three Japanese are harder to predict,
but probably Wakaba, Yuna_S and one of other three, Mai, Kaori & Marin,
all those three second finishers have to finish second or higher for their next ones.
Because Yuna_S won, even if she finishes 4th her next one, she will be in.

Of course, we have not seen Serafima and Wakaba yet,
but I can hardly see they finish lower than the second @theirs if they are healthy enough.

Who can be a spoiler?
Dabin was third @her first one, so she can be in if she wins her next one.
However, she is an excellent jumper without much else,
I do not think judges will give her enough PCS to beat Russian & Japanese girls.

Alisa can be in if she wins her next one.
According to the ISU assignments, at this moment, only one can block that is Marin.
But very possibly Japanese federation will switch the assignments,
and send Mai or Kaori, or both, to ESP because this one got the easier field.
If so, Alisa's win will be much more difficult.

If Yuna_S gets another assignment @ESP since she and Marin shares the coach,
it is going to be a good news for Alisa since it can be easier to beat Yuna_S than beating Mai or Kaori.

Rin Nitaya was 4th @her first one, which means she can also be in if she wins her next one.
But she is up against Polina again, which kills her possibility pretty much.

If Japanese and Russian federations will not do any switching,
Alisa and Marin are going to be lucky ones.

We will see.

 

[Lipea]

I think there might be a case for Valeriya to have made the podium. I'm fine with her PCS marks where they are but it doesn't take too much imagination to find a 4pt difference between her and the 2nd and 3rd place final total scores. Especially when that difference is 100% in PCS marks.

Some judges agree with me and others didn't but I for one probably wouldn't score Vivian higher than low 6's for even a clean skate and that doesn't mean I don't like her or anything. I just think I'm a lot less wowed by her than some of the judges scoring her closer to 7 for less than stellar outings. YMMV.

Share your opinion entirely.
On more practical note: if Valeriya would get her absolutely deserved bronze here she wouldn't make it to JGP final anyway, whereas Vivian still has some chances. Yes, Vivian is no doubt stronger overall as a skater, but she did too many mistakes at this competition to beat basically clean Valeria.
Also, I still don't get why Russia couldn't send one of its strongest ladies here (Polina for ex.), instead of pairing two 13-years old; the only reason they did it is to save money on sending one coach???

 

[Lipea]

I do not think Bradie can be a factor.

https://youtu.be/dihyj9oCRQ8

She got 116.98 for her FP @Nationals,
but judging with her immature skating skills & presentation and some under-rotations,
definitely it does not deserve that kind of score @JGP events.

Among US junior ladies, only one who got all the goods to beat Russian and Japanese was Amber,
but she turned out to be the same as the last year, seriously inconsistent,
and has been already out of the race for JGPF.
Vivian was over hyped regardless of her illness or not though she is the one to watch for the future.

Again I predict most likely the final consists only Russian and Japanese like last year.
Three Russians are going to be Polina, Maria & Serafima.
Three Japanese are harder to predict,
but probably Wakaba, Yuna_S and one of other three, Mai, Kaori & Marin,
all those three second finishers have to finish second or higher for their next ones.
Because Yuna_S won, even if she finishes 4th her next one, she will be in.

Of course, we have not seen Serafima and Wakaba yet,
but I can hardly see they finish lower than the second @theirs if they are healthy enough.

Who can be a spoiler?
Dabin was third @her first one, so she can be in if she wins her next one.
However, she is an excellent jumper without much else,
I do not think judges will give her enough PCS to beat Russian & Japanese girls.

Alisa can be in if she wins her next one.
According to the ISU assignments, at this moment, only one can block that is Marin.
But very possibly Japanese federation will switch the assignments,
and send Mai or Kaori, or both, to ESP because this one got the easier field.
If so, Alisa's win will be much more difficult.

If Yuna_S gets another assignment @ESP since she and Marin shares the coach,
it is going to be a good news for Alisa since it can be easier to beat Yuna_S than beating Mai or Kaori.

Rin Nitaya was 4th @her first one, which means she can also be in if she wins her next one.
But she is up against Polina again, which kills her possibility pretty much.

If Japanese and Russian federations will not do any switching,
Alisa and Marin are going to be lucky ones.

We will see.

Good rational predictions here. For some reason, I have a feeling it is also very possible to have 4 Japanese and 2 Russians in the final. I mean no Serafima, although it would be quite sad.

 

[Johns]

At the end of each competition it all comes down to fans' discussions about who deserved or didn't deserve higher marks. Though I have no personal preferences among the skaters I always hope to see interesting newcomers, who's skills may not be at the high level for now, but the talent is there, promising to develop into a high quality skater. Perhaps judges are the same! Setting aside political issues they are people who want to see more talented skaters on the ice, therefore in one way or another, we see their preferences in those (not always fair) marks.