2017-18 State of U.S. Ladies Skating | Page 283 | Golden Skate

2017-18 State of U.S. Ladies Skating

I would be surprised if this decision was already made, although the USFSA now has all the data points it would use to do so. As long as the Shibutanis participate I'll be happy.

Maybe false info was leaked? Who knows. According to TSL and the texts they received, the Shibutanis requested to skate both programs in the team event. TSL went on to debate why that would be the case and how national champions could be denied the opportunity.
 
Frankly I think that Bradie will also skate the LP because they won't wear out Nathan, who is the one with an actual shot at the podium and they have three equally worthy ice dance teams to split the team event.

It would really depend on what happens in the SP. Nathan is under no obligation to go all out. If the USA is essentially locked into 3rd place Nathan might not have to do much more than go out on the ice and skate around in circles.
 
I think strategically it makes sense for Nathan to do both. In Men's, Nathan has been undefeated this season and can get the first or second in both portions. With Adam, it's assured he's going to place below the Hanyu/Uno, Kolyada, Jin, and most likely Chan. If the US wants to be serious about sending their A team to win the team silver, go with Nathan. He also gets to skate on Olympic ice again and get his jitters out before the individual competition. He probably does more than 2 full run-throughs of both programs in a week. Bradie is clean in the SP. Mirai has TES to surprise in the FS. Shibs have a great SD and can't go wrong with either C/B or H/D.

Easy decision for me that the team be Nathan (both), Bradie (SP), Mirai (FS), Shibutani (SD), H/D (FD) and S-K/K (both)
 
I think the worry for Nathan, being the skater who might medal in his individual event, is that a good performance leaves you emotionally empty. That part might be hard to recover from and recreate in such a short period.
 
I think strategically it makes sense for Nathan to do both. In Men's, Nathan has been undefeated this season and can get the first or second in both portions. With Adam, it's assured he's going to place below the Hanyu/Uno, Kolyada, Jin, and most likely Chan. If the US wants to be serious about sending their A team to win the team silver, go with Nathan. He also gets to skate on Olympic ice again and get his jitters out before the individual competition. He probably does more than 2 full run-throughs of both programs in a week. Bradie is clean in the SP. Mirai has TES to surprise in the FS. Shibs have a great SD and can't go wrong with either C/B or H/D.

Easy decision for me that the team be Nathan (both), Bradie (SP), Mirai (FS), Shibutani (SD), H/D (FD) and S-K/K (both)


They can’t win silver. Only if Patrick is in terrible shape and either the pairs or Kaetlyn crumbles is this a possibility. Gold and silver is between Russia and Canada.

Nathan is the only legitimate gold medal threat. After what happened to Julia and since the men’s event is only a few days later, it’s a bad idea to use Nathan.
 
It makes sense. Mirai’s short compares unfavorably to Evgenia’s, which has the same music and will inevitably score higher. Bradie also has the Korean music, which will be a sure crowd pleaser.
 
This is exactly how that post came off to me. Not at all complimentary to the Japanese ladies who are a strong team and hoping Ashley medals at 4CC while the U.S. ladies don't at the Olympics as sort of a 'so there' to the USFSA. Perhaps it was not the intention but that's how it read to me.

Same to me as well! I don't understand why the original poster is insinuating that MarinHondas is incapable of understanding English completely and this is why the post came off as rude to him/her. English is my native language and I thought the post came off rather rude as well.
 
My point is that for that night I felt that the top three had more compelling performances, and I have a feeling it reflected in the PCS scores. Again YMMV, but that is just how I saw it.

I was actually looking forward to see La La Land and as I said, I have enjoyed seeing Ashley's skating in the past, but she didn't do it for me as much as she has in the past.

All that said, I hope she does great at 4CC, I agree with another poster that I do appreciate the departure from her usual past programs.

On that night Mirai's performance left me empty. I felt like she was all about concentrating on the jumps - not a criticism just the reality and clearly the judges valued that more. My friend who rarely watches figure skating who was in the rink with me felt the same and was puzzled by the standing ovation. I know that the standing O for Mirai was really for her years of perseverance and I appreciate her for that.

In comparison Ashley's performance was in a different league. I think everyone is so used to her very dramatic, angst filled programs that this program with a much lighter feel left them wanting more. Personally I loved it. The nuances of the choreography that matched the music were lovely.
 
Maybe false info was leaked? Who knows. According to TSL and the texts they received, the Shibutanis requested to skate both programs in the team event. TSL went on to debate why that would be the case and how national champions could be denied the opportunity.

Hmm...I don’t know whether to believe this - BUT if I was the decision-maker and I got such a request from them, I’d likely just go ahead and honor it (I’d split it otherwise)...any of the teams are highly capable anyway.

As for Tennell SP and Nagasu FS - that’s a riskier ploy than having Tennell do both, unless Tennell specifically does not want to do both programs. But depending on how the other teammates do, and who the competition is, perhaps there’s far less to lose and it’s less of an impact if Nagasu lays an egg...that said, I will note that historically Nagasu has seemed to peak this time in the season, typically having her best skates at 4CC (in years that she made it), before dipping by Worlds, so there’s that too....hmm.
 
I think that Russia and Canada are favorites for Gold and Silver, but if anyone on either team pulls a Jeremy Abbott, the US team has a chance to get silver with a double Nathan team.
 
On that night Mirai's performance left me empty. I felt like she was all about concentrating on the jumps - not a criticism just the reality and clearly the judges valued that more. My friend who rarely watches figure skating who was in the rink with my felt the same and was puzzled by the standing ovation.

In comparison Ashley's performance was in a different league. I think everyone is so used to her very dramatic, angst filled programs that this program with a much lighter feel left them wanting more. Personally I loved it. The nuances of the choreography that matched the music were lovely.

Mirai surprised me actually. I found myself crying by the end of her performance. I'm not a huge U.S. Ladies fan and wasn't really rooting for Mirai really, but there I was tearing up. And Karen did too. I certainly can understand if she didn't have that impact on others, though.
 
I think the worry for Nathan, being the skater who might medal in his individual event, is that a good performance leaves you emotionally empty. That part might be hard to recover from and recreate in such a short period.

Exactly. I do not worry about the physical recovery but also about the emotional part of it. At Sochi we saw Yulia shining at both team events and then crumbling in the individual one when she was a favourite to podium and even gold. On the other hand, we saw Yuzuru doing only the SP, marking his own presence to the judges and feeling the Olympic ice and ending with a OGM; the fact that even he had problems with his then LP (with a conservative - compared to now - TES value) shows that the team event is mentally and physically draining. Nathan is the best shot at a gold medal in the entire team and I think they won't compromise his chances (also Yuzuru and Shoma will probably split and Boyang will probably skate just the SP and that must be taken into account).
In the end, it makes more sense IMO to have Bradie skate both segments, since gold and silver are probably out of reach for the US team and Bradie herself is a long way to an individual podium.
 
I dont think that Nathan's situation can really be compared to yulia's regarding the team event. Yulia didnt win GPF and never faced off against world and defendig champ Yuna and didnt win her own Nationals that year. She was European champ, but she only started to be really hyped as the clear favorite after her great team event skates. She was 15 and overwhelmed with all the sudden expectation of replicating her team event skates.
But Nathan is older and has been undefeated this whole season and that was without clean skates! He knows his position and possibilities well in advance and even if he won both team events segments, there wouldnt suddenly be more expectations of individual gold than he is already facing now. From a mental point of view, I dont see a problem with him doing both segments. He hasnt gone clean yet and he could use that additional "rehearsal" since he's been playing around with his insane jumping layout. Even if by some miracle he goes clean on the TES I dont think he'll give a perfect performance of the artistic side of the program so I wouldnt worry about him losing motivation after a "perfect" skate. He knows he's sacrificing the non technical content for his jumps so I'm sure his motovation for the induvidual event would be a better performance of the program in addition to clean jumps.
The only reason I could think of for him not wanting to do both would be physical fatigue and needed time of rest instead of any mental reasons. But of course it's just my speculation. I hope we'll soon find out who the team event entries are :)

I would split the Ladies into Bradie for the short and Mirai for the long and split dance into shibs for short and H/D for long. Nathan in both could maybe give them a shot at something higher than bronze and Bradie could use more exposure to the international judges in the SP because her SP will determine her chances of skating in a later group for the FS in the individual event. Mirai could use one last rehearsal of her difficult FS and it's nearly risk free for the team because you can only finish as low as fifth. Bradie would probably be forth so why not give Mirai one more try if the worst she could do would be one place lower than Bradie.
And I love Miss Saigon the musical so I love every outing of that beautiful music :D
 
I dont think that Nathan's situation can really be compared to yulia's regarding the team event. Yulia didnt win GPF and never faced off against world and defendig champ Yuna and didnt win her own Nationals that year. She was European champ, but she only started to be really hyped as the clear favorite after her great team event skates. She was 15 and overwhelmed with all the sudden expectation of replicating her team event skates.
But Nathan is older and has been undefeated this whole season and that was without clean skates! He knows his position and possibilities well in advance and even if he won both team events segments, there wouldnt suddenly be more expectations of individual gold than he is already facing now. From a mental point of view, I dont see a problem with him doing both segments. He hasnt gone clean yet and he could use that additional "rehearsal" since he's been playing around with his insane jumping layout. Even if by some miracle he goes clean on the TES I dont think he'll give a perfect performance of the artistic side of the program so I wouldnt worry about him losing motivation after a "perfect" skate. He knows he's sacrificing the non technical content for his jumps so I'm sure his motovation for the induvidual event would be a better performance of the program in addition to clean jumps.
The only reason I could think of for him not wanting to do both would be physical fatigue and needed time of rest instead of any mental reasons. But of course it's just my speculation. I hope we'll soon find out who the team event entries are :)

I would split the Ladies into Bradie for the short and Mirai for the long and split dance into shibs for short and H/D for long. Nathan in both could maybe give them a shot at something higher than bronze and Bradie could use more exposure to the international judges in the SP because her SP will determine her chances of skating in a later group for the FS in the individual event. Mirai could use one last rehearsal of her difficult FS and it's nearly risk free for the team because you can only finish as low as fifth. Bradie would probably be forth so why not give Mirai one more try if the worst she could do would be one place lower than Bradie.
And I love Miss Saigon the musical so I love every outing of that beautiful music :D

I agree!
 
Mirai surprised me actually. I found myself crying by the end of her performance. I'm not a huge U.S. Ladies fan and wasn't really rooting for Mirai really, but there I was tearing up. And Karen did too. I certainly can understand if she didn't have that impact on others, though.

Hmmm, I didn't have that reaction to Mirai--though her jumps (and twirling red skirt) was lovely--the crowd, though, was really in her court--so there was that emotional oomph. For me, the lack of connecting choreography and musicality just leave me cold. Ashley *could* have won me over, but didn't. Karen Chen's effort seemed more valiant than anything--I knew she was sick and I had the sense that she was holding it together in order to pull off the jumps. Even though she's a local girl, I didn't have the sense that Karen had the crowd in her pocket the way Mirai did. (She doesn't have the same local presence as does Polina Edmunds.) The break-out star of the whole thing, in terms of crowd response, was Starr Andrews.

It was an interesting contrast, to me, to the ice dancing, where the crowd favorite coming in was clearly the Shibutanis, but everyone was won over by the sizzling free dance of Hubbell/Donohue. I didn't feel like there was that kind of moment in the Ladies FS.

As a side note--thanks for the upload of Alysa Liu's FS--not only can the girl jump, she has a dazzling spin.
 
I'm not really worried about Nathan Chen's mental game--he seems pretty stable--more risk of injury/fatigue, but if there's enough time between the team and the men's he should be fine.

Good points about judge's having an extra opportunity to see Bradie's short--since she has an outside chance of hitting the final six in the FS.

I think the Shibs can't expect to get both dances now that they've lost the U.S. championship and were third there in the FD. Even though C/B won the FD at Nationals, I think it will be H/D.
 
This from the poster who still has hope for the U.S. junior ladies?

There are a big difference in saying that I think little girls from the US still have the potential to be competitive in the future, and saying that the current team that we are sending to Pyeongchang isn’t strong enough to overcome the relative strength of the Canadian team. I’ve crunched the numbers many times, it requires Patrick to bomb and Kaetlyn to bomb as well as Nathan to win both the FS and the LP and by some miracle Bradie must beat everyone but Alina in the LP. These outcomes are very unlikely and not worth the physical effort. Our pairs just aren’t strong enough.

- - - Updated - - -

I'm not really worried about Nathan Chen's mental game--he seems pretty stable--more risk of injury/fatigue, but if there's enough time between the team and the men's he should be fine.

Good points about judge's having an extra opportunity to see Bradie's short--since she has an outside chance of hitting the final six in the FS.

I think the Shibs can't expect to get both dances now that they've lost the U.S. championship and were third there in the FD. Even though C/B won the FD at Nationals, I think it will be H/D.

It’s only four days.
 
Hi, I haven’t logged on in almost a week to not try and stir the pot ab the Olympic decision. I respect the ony team going to Korea and think they will do really well, however, I do think Ashley Wagner was given harsh judging compared to the others. Karen Chen had SIX under rotations between both programs, and Ashley had TWO. Ashley popped a Salchow, but Karen almost fell on a salchow that was ur. I also think Bradie’s PCs was way over scored. However, I think no matter what happened last week, the three us ladies deserve it (they couldn’t do another 2014 with Ashley). Is Ashley going to 4CC btw? Cuz it’s unclear, but if she is LMAOOOOO. Forget the Olympics Ashley, 4CC will be held in Asia anyways:laugh2:. Also, if Ashley decides to continue, I think this will help her actually become motivated again. Best of luck in whatever’s next for you Ash, and congrats to Karen, Bradie, and Mirai! (Also I think Mirai was my favorite of the event, so happy for her!)
 
My only thought is they are going for "better than bronze" and want to get Nathan to do both. A Shib short dance plus a H/D free with debut as National champions boost could be powerful. Toss in a clean 8 triple free from Mirai, two Nathan skates and a small miracle from Alexa and Chris and it could happen with this team.

It would be a pity for Nathan to burn himself out in the team event when the medal is likely set regardless of who competes for Team USA. Nathan doing one program would also allow his training mate Adam to earn an Olympic medal (if chosen).
 
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