2017 World Ladies FS

[andromache]

I think maybe Ashley wasn't motivated this season. The season after winning the elusive World medal and before the Olympics...if she was younger she would've had more of a fire under her butt this season, but it's clear that her age is showing in her jumps and spins. She's never had solid, instinctive jump technique to rely on (a la Carolina or Yuna) to make those jumps work for her, to make them super impressive even when she's well-trained. And we see the spins of lots of skaters get worse as they age, partially due to pain. I understand that she didn't want to burn herself out this season, but she was maybe too conservative, and it showed. Her programs didn't help matters. We will see what she does next season.

I might get flayed on here for suggesting this, but she might be better off if she skips the GP series, unless she really gets back to the form she was in last season. Not making the GPF next season won't do her any favors, and neither will USFS if Karen and Gracie step it up.

Karen needs to win a GP medal or two next season or this 4th place finish is meaningless.

Mariah was too nervous. But she has the experience and with some more time with Raf, we'll see what she's capable of next season.

I didn't think Gabby and Katelyn would stand up to the pressure. I'm so thrilled for them!

Anna . I wonder if we will ever see her at Worlds again. She got lucky last season, in a way - if Liza T. had been a little bit better or if Yulia had made a mini-comeback then RusFed would've happily kept Anna at home - but they didn't have anyone better. So they sent her and she wowed. And all season she's been building herself up as their solid #2, only to completely blow it in her last program of the season. The total opposite of last season, in a bad way. I hope they don't dump her.

Evgenia was Evgenia. There's nothing else to be said, really.

Mai might just snag an Olympic spot last season, if she shows some consistency. Get her better programs, JSF!

I guess we were due for a bad Worlds in ladies after how wonderfully almost everyone skated last year.

 

[Violet Bliss]

Anna messed up only one competition this year, but the most important one. :sad21: I think after SP when she was only fourth the pressure got to her. !

It's even worse considering it looked like this season Anna turned things around, yet in the end it all fell apart.

Anna needs mental stamina. Just one more competition to stretch for.

You can do it, Anna!

 

[nolangoh]

They had better not blame Mai, Wakaba, or Satako. Satako was injured, she never should've been pushed to compete in the first place. This was Mai and Wakaba's first world. They already had a lot of pressure. Rika was injured and had no notice that she would even be here. If the Japanese Fed had planned better maybe they could've salvaged something. But they did their best under the circumstances. Watching japanese nationals is going to be heart breaking.

Agree, the unfair scoring aside they have tried their very best already. And I knew something would happen back in December when they announce the Worlds Team, but I did not expect that it would end like this...

 

[Rissa]

Finally this season of ladies skating is over, the summation of it being exactly what I thought it would be - the skating is tacky, superficial, repetitive, and forgettable. There wasn't a single good long program in this competition. Lots of random movements going on, more and more of something happening, but ultimately all meaningless. No real development of worthwhile themes, no real artistry. This was exactly representative of a Trumpian era. Lots of big, empty, manic showboating, all punctuated by plenty of cringe-worthy moments.

I respectfully disagree. There were plenty of good programs... they just weren't skated well today. Med (yes, I do think this is a good program), Rika's free (my favorite), Pogo's free (my second favorite), Elizabet's, Laurine's, Ashley's, Nicole Shott's...

Uhhh, you might have a point after all. That's not plenty of good programs. But there are some.

 

[Figure 8's]

So proud of Karen!!! Where are all those naysayers that said the US will definitely lose the 3 spots and Karen should be replaced? Like a true Champ she showed up when it counted.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Not pleased that Kaetlyn beat Gabby...

In the FS or overall?

Kaetlyn should have come 2nd in the FS, slightly, but the lead she had over Gabby in the SP was deserved. Regardless, the overall result was fine. Gabby made a mistake on her 2A series, and Kaetlyn doubled her loop. I did like Gabby's performance more in the FS, and Kaetlyn's in the SP.

So happy for them, and I don't think it matters whether they were 2nd and 3rd or 3rd and 2nd.

 

[FlattFan]

Can you stop theorizing ad nausea for once?

You're still desperate to cross "A" o "B" skaters off. It's annoying.

Fo you placing low and bombing is getting 3rd place twice at Junior Worlds?

Why should I stop? I'm telling you facts and trend for these facts. It's annoying you want to coddle them. They are athletes, not baby.
Yes, Wakaba is not competitive. She's not competitive ever. That's the whole point. Even when she is clean, her PCS is crap compare to other girls. Why does JSF continue to give her big PCS at home when she's no where near that in real competitions. Isn't that the same damn problem with Agnes?

 

[purplecat]

I too am so pleased for Karen. Hope this is the confidence she needs to continue to skate strong programs.

What a difference a year makes! Aside for Evgenia dominating at the top, Ashley, Pogo, Mao, Satoko, Radinova and Gold were battling for the podium. The two who did medal last year were the only ones back and they both did not fare well. So much can happen in a year. I'm hoping against hope that Gracie will be back strong next year.

I'm not a big Pogo fan but I want to give her a big hug, I felt so bad for her after the wonderful season she had.

Congrats to the podium skaters... all well deserved!!

 

[nolangoh]

I will also have to agree with this. This will be the 1st Worlds where I personally won't be going back to re-watch any programs from the ladies event.

Same for me. Though I might come back and see Gabby's SP again, this is the least expected Ladies Worlds for me from the beginning because of the absence of my favourites. Most programs here, as BoP said, are forgettable.

 

[apgold]

Just catching up.
Don't know if I can watch Ashley's skate. 10th in the FS? :noshake:


We have 3 spots, which is great. But I just am in shock about Ashley.

Ashley isn't that bad. She got dinged on her second combo and the flip being UR plus and edge call on the lutz (and lost points by singling the toe on her first combo) If you ignore all that, her skate is really quite lovely, I watched it again b/c my stream was skipping during her performance.

 

[evasorange]

Just catching up.
Don't know if I can watch Ashley's skate. 10th in the FS? :noshake:



We have 3 spots, which is great. But I just am in shock about Ashley.

its not a trainwreck, but its definitely the most lackluster Ash performance we've had in quite some time. =( Breaks my heart!

 

[leafygreens]

IMO yes. Chen and Wagner are IMO fairly safe bets, maybe not mortal locks but extremely likely to make it. It will be down to who gets the 3rd spot mainly, which if she shows up recovered and skating great at Nationals (although maybe not likely to happen) would automatically be Gold, and quite possibly in some place better than 3rd too of course, but she would make the team in that case. If this doesnt occur it could be any of Nagasu, Edmunds in her comeback, or I guess Bell, although I think Bell would need a fair bit of improvement to make it without it being a splatfest.

Ashley IS the third spot, that's why I said Karen just won Ashley her spot (and second Olympic medal.) Ashley bombs when the pressure is on for making the Olympics. If there were two spots Ashley would hardly have a chance. She will be the high US performer in everything but Nationals, where she will place third or lower; there by either legitimately clinching the 3rd spot or bumping someone by virtue of her GP season. Once she is placed on the team, she will be gifted with the team SP, over the 2nd place finisher, for the guaranteed bronze medal. Her Olympic medal provides an illusion that she contributed to the medal and was justified in being sent, when any female skater could have produced the same team result. Reasoning: Sponsorships, pre-purchased ads, BP, Cover Girl, Money flowing into USFSA, etc.

 

[medvedevasocks]

If Gracie comes back renewed and landing jumps she will take her title back. If Daleman can win a World medal then Gracie sure can. That's all she ever had to do to win whatever event she was in.

Yes since Gracie is sure likely to miracelously turn into this consistent skater she wasnt even in her prime from 2014-2016, after her worst season ever and turning into a massive headcase. Not impossible of course, but I tend to deal more in realism.

 

[TT_Fin]

Evgenia did not know, I think, why people were cheering anna and closed her ears not to hear the points. While Gabby heard evgenias points she clapped with the audience. Like she had got power from it. Gabbys speed on the ice is huge.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

So proud of Karen!!! Where are all those naysayers that said the US will definitely lose the 3 spots and Karen should be replaced? Like a true Champ she showed up when it counted.

Yeah, she absolutely slayed.... she got some help from the tech specialist in the SP and definitely got a ton of US-champion-bonus PCS in the FS (I mean, a fall and a stepout and she clears her PCS PB by about 4 points?!), but she came out swinging in the FS, and skated well. And with the bad skates by Pogo and Sotskova, managed to maintain 3 spots with Ashley.

All those Chen naysayers are quietly fuming/pouting, along with the Canadian skater haters.

 

[medvedevasocks]

Ashley IS the third spot, that's why I said Karen just won Ashley her spot (and second Olympic medal.) Ashley bombs when the pressure is on for making the Olympics. If there were two spots Ashley would hardly have a chance. She will be the high US performer in everything but Nationals, where she will place third or lower; there by either legitimately clinching the 3rd spot or bumping someone by virtue of her GP season. Once she is placed on the team, she will be gifted with the team SP, over the 2nd place finisher, for the guaranteed bronze medal. Her Olympic medal provides an illusion that she contributed to the medal and was justified in being sent, when any female skater could have produced the same team result. Reasoning: Money, sponsorships, pre-purchased ads, BP, Cover Girl, Money flowing into USFSA, etc.

I think it depends who the 2nd person is. If it is Polina Edmunds again, or heaven forbid Mariah Bell then you are right. If it is Nagasu then there is a good chance Wagner would still do the Team Event over her. If Chen and Gold both place over Wagner at Nationals, I dont see Wagner getting to partake in the Team Event though.

 

[yyyskate]

One thing is interesting. Why don't you criticize Ashley's 68,17?

Ashley is not Asian perhaps, a little closer to Europeans genetically.

But come on, Ashley's performance is intact at least, just popped a jump.

 

[andromache]

I'm in the minority, but I found Ashley mesmerizing from an emotional point of view.

Was it a particularly great display of skating skills, transitions, or elements? No. (Don't laugh! I'm just being honest!) She looked like a 6.0 skater out there, and while it's not good for competition in 2017, it's incredibly watchable and enjoyable.

 

[FlattFan]

Karen is the new US #1. Do I hear disagreement?

 

[Alchamei]

Finally this season of ladies skating is over, the summation of it being exactly what I thought it would be - the skating is tacky, superficial, repetitive, and forgettable. There wasn't a single good long program in this competition. Lots of random movements going on, more and more of something happening, but ultimately all meaningless. No real development of worthwhile themes, no real artistry. This was exactly representative of a Trumpian era. Lots of big, empty, manic showboating, all punctuated by plenty of cringe-worthy moments.

I disagree that there weren't any inspiring programs in this competition. Kaetlyn has star power even though her short is better and Gabby's free is a warhorse but still very good. Karen's program is also very good, especially considering she choreographed it herself. Mai was amazing, other lower ranked girls were also good.

But in a long term, I am afraid I must admit you have a point.

My sister and dad are casual viewers and shared your opinion. That all girls looked the same. The ladies also have a disadvantage that the top basically has the same jumping content. The rules are too strict. And there just too many ice princesses who look the same and have no really magic in their skating. I don't say being an ice princess is necessarily bad, just some girls are forced into it. Not many ladies have their own distinctive style. I feel the men, even though their jumps are much harder, offer much bigger artistic variety and quality than ladies.