2018-19 Russian Ladies' figure skating

[atsumiri]

Even if Canada wanted to welcome an additional Russian skater, there are rules on quota set by the ISU. Russia should be happy that they already achieved the maximum number of spots being a non-host.

So why did you write this as something unusual, as something they did more than they should have?
Because they didn't.

is welcoming two (2!) Russian ladies

 

[BillNeal]

So why did you write this as something unusual, as something they did more than they should have?
Because they didn't.

is welcoming two (2!) Russian ladies

In case you missed what my post was politely responding to :

Seeing Canada get to send three (THREE!!) ladies to JGP 4 just reminds me of why Russia needs to host a JGP. The junior depth in Russia is amazing and those three spots would help make the spots distribution easier (Gubanova AND Sinitsyna could get spots, for example)

ETA: And thanks Spirals for editing your post (to make it sound somewhat better from the one I originally responded to)

 

[Bluediamonds09]

(About the grey and black dress that Sinitsina wore in a March competition) : Does Sinitsina’s dress have a special meaning? I’m trying to understand it. Are the red sparkles at the top supposed to represent a bodice peeking out, or blood,or something? I’m asking because it’s a nice unusual dress design.

 

[[email protected]]

15 spots would be better than 14 but it would not be a revolutionary change. May be for the better: the girls know that they should win their first event or get a strong silver if they happen to skate along Trusova or Kostornaya. Only then will they get the second assignment. Thus they will build up the winner mentality. And this mentality will be essential in seniors.

 

[chopinskate]

Is evil Gub our new star? Paints her Romeo and Juliet in a new light.

 

[Fluture]

You guys are bashing Gubanova for not showing up for test skates and getting one JGP, yet congratulating a girl who bombs Junior Nationals + National Elder Age + Test Skate and getting TWO JGP

Such bias.

1) No one is bashing Gubanova just stating that it‘s not a very wise decision to send her to the second JGP if she has any major problem (if she didn‘t, why wouldn‘t she have shown up at the test skates?) and the majority, I believe, wants her for senior anyway, so there‘s that.
2) You don‘t like Shcherbakova, that‘s okay we don‘t have to like everybody. But to ignore the fact that she‘s a great skater with musicality, artistry and some of the best junior programs I have seen this season + has the potential for landing a quad is downright naive. She was injured last year and very severely so. She couldn‘t even skate on the ice without help from Daniil at first. To be able to land her triples now and even make a quad attempt (and land them in practice) is simply insane. You don‘t like the skater? Fine. But don‘t try to diminish her potential and talent.

And actually, she doesn‘t get 2 JGP. She is listed for two. She gets the first, if she does well there she gets the second. Just like it should be. And for the record, she didn‘t bomb test skates. She had a minor stumble in her SP but recovered quickly and the rest was very good. She had some troubles with her jumps in the FP after falling from a QUAD. It‘s early in the season. Trusova had problems with her quads, too last year up until JWC.

So, the only bias there is comes from you who obviously dislikes Anna for whatever reason. We are mainly concerned for the likes of Sinitsyna who only have juniors to compete in but might not get a JGP. That‘s why we think Gubanova should be pulled out from Linz and sent to the host spot. A bit like with Stanislava Konstantinova last year. Can‘t see any bashing here.

 

[luanddu]

Hi! First post on russian ladies thread!
I was thinking, do we know for sure that Shcherbakova is doing the first JGP? Would it be possible that JPG1 spot goes to Sinitsyna? And then JGP4 would be the first competition for Shcherbakova and Tarakanova so they have more time to prepare.

 

[Spirals for Miles]

Could be but I think it'd be more likely that they put Sinitsyna in JGP 4 and put Shcherbakova somewhere else since usually the first assignment for each girl stays the same.

 

[leoleo]

Nobody was bashing Gubanova or calling her evil, from what i've seen most people on this thread love her, me first but some people just decide to turn their brains off sometimes and only read whatever they want. The russian junior field is a blood bath right now. Tarakanova showed up with programs that obviously look unfinished (since she changed coaches and everything), Kostornaia's 3A doesn't seem ready to make it to competition yet, even Trusova who probably wouldn't even need to show up to get assigned was there, they all showed up to fight for a spot because that's how tough it is.
Of course we do not know Anastasiia's reasons for not showing up, maybe she couldn't even decide and her coaching team made the decision not to have her compete there, but even as a fan you have to wonder how she got assigned already without showing up. You don't have to be a hater or anything, it just seems like common sense to me!

The assignments are not even finalized yet so maybe we're rambling for no reason and they're negotiating for her to get the host spot, which is what i'm still hoping for:agree:.

 

[leoleo]

seen on twitter "Rostelecom Cup sales starting tomorrow. They will sell them in stages (so not all will be out tomorrow) and will start with all-event packages"
Is anybody here going? I wish i could, the line-up is fantastic.

 

[chopinskate]

Nobody was bashing Gubanova or calling her evil

Eeeevil Gub :dev3:

 

[*~RussianBleux~*]

It looks like the fed will be sticking with 7/7 rather than 8/6 for assignments. While I still feel that this is the best strategy, I have to say I'm disappointed to see that Sinitsyna will more than likely l be left out. I felt that she proved herself at test skates with two clean programs and a 3L+3Lo. If not Gubanova than certainly she deserves it over Kanysheva. I see more Kostornaia in Sinitsyna every time she skates. I was really impressed with her free skate whereas I found Kanysheva very boring. The more I think about it the more I think they should have done 8/6 if they weren't going to pull Gubanova. We have 8 very clearly deserving girls. I felt they all could have been given a chance and let the performances decide the second assignment. Maybe they will make changes.

 

[leoleo]

Eeeevil Gub :dev3:

she's too angelic to be evil http://pds25.egloos.com/pds/201612/27/97/b0068897_58613717bfb46.gif

 

[Fluture]

she's too angelic to be evil http://pds25.egloos.com/pds/201612/27/97/b0068897_58613717bfb46.gif

That‘s the strategy. She looks all innocent and angelic and when you don‘t expect it at all she strikes and steals your JGP spot. :dev3:

 

[BillNeal]

I wouldn't be because it's crazy unfair to have to decide between all these wonderfully talented ladies
But at least they do have the max number of spots. What if there was a new rule? If a country sweeps the podium at JWC, then they get 3 spots per event... it wouldn't change this year since Mako got bronze last year but it could conceivably happen this year.

There are many things that are much more unfair.

I don't think max obtainable jgp spots would increase if a sweep were to happen for a country period. No special exceptions were implemented after previous sweeps in junior ladies: Russia swept the podium in 2013+2014 and US in 2007+2008. They will have to work within the limits while some countries get two or three spots in total. Those countries can also complain about changing the rules to get more spots.

 

[leoleo]

One thing for sure is, the russian ladies field especially the junior field is gonna get a lot more competitive in the future so maybe we should get ready now and get used to seeing some of our favorites not even get a chance to compete and show what they got :gaah:

 

[*~RussianBleux~*]

Hopefully they will replace it with a GP host spot.

Here is my speculation:
RusFed wants Gubanova to be in JGP, therefore she is listed as a candidate. Buyanova wants her for the GP host spot instead, therefore refrained her from showing up in the test skates.
Negotiation is still in progress, hence no change in entry list for JGP Linz.

This is what I think as well. We have to remember that the JGP is better than no GP at all for Gubanova. She can still do challengers and every other event this season as a senior including Euros and Worlds if she earns the spot, as Konstantinova did last year. But she will want to appear on the GP for exposure. And we have to try to understand her position. The fed will not make a commitment on the host spot yet. They likely want to make the decision closer to Rostelecom to see who looks the best in challengers, and they could be planning to award it to Samodurova if she does well at Skate America so she will have a chance at the final. But Gubanova has to decide whether she wants to do the JGP before she knows whether she will be chosen for the host spot. If she holds out for the host spot and they give it to someone else she gets nothing, whereas at least appearing as a junior is a sure thing. And I'd say she has a decent chance to make the final as a junior which is a noteworthy accomplishment. It is a difficult position to be in.

Ultimately I really cannot understand the opinion that at 15 years old she has "aged out" of juniors and should definitively be competing as a senior. There are many more spots available on the JGP than seniors, and this is valuable experience for a skater regardless of their age. Juniors should be for age eligible girls who cannot get a senior assignment for whatever reason whether it is because they are too young or they simply didn't qualify. This is why we see skaters such as Amy Lin, Silvia Hugec, and Kristen Spours competing as juniors last year at 17 and 18 years old. I fail to see why Russian skaters should be held to a higher standard. If a skater is age eligible for juniors (which is high school age, very reasonable IMO) and was not awarded a senior event yet is good enough for a junior assignment then there is nothing wrong with them competing. I think she is just as good as the other Russian girls who received a JGP, in fact she beat all of them except Trusova and Kostornaia at nationals. I can respect her decision not to hold out for the host spot and if that's how it turns out then I think she is exactly where she needs to be.

 

[sweetice]

That‘s the strategy. She looks all innocent and angelic and when you don‘t expect it at all she strikes and steals your JGP spot. :dev3:

In the meantime, someone has already robbed from her a deserved JWR spot...

Better find another strategy :think:

 

[Spirals for Miles]

There are many things that are much more unfair.

I don't think max obtainable jgp spots would increase if a sweep were to happen for a country period. No special exceptions were implemented after previous sweeps in junior ladies: Russia swept the podium in 2013+2014 and US in 2007+2008. They will have to work within the limits while some countries get two or three spots in total. Those countries can also complain about changing the rules to get more spots.

Russia has a basis for needing more spots. Sinitsyna has a 3Lz-3Lo combo and is likely to be left out. Even if we took Gubanova out and put Sinitsyna in instead, Viktoria Vasilieva would still not get spots, and she has a 3F-3Lo. I don't think it is fair for a country with dozens of girls with a 3Lz-3T combination and clean skates to have such a low number of spots, even if it is the max. There are simply too many talented ladies, and I don't think that that should be a problem. But it is.

ETA: The difference between skaters like Amy Lin and Silvia Hugec, who are senior eligible but competing in juniors, is that they are not blocking anyone. Gubanova, and Konstantinova last year, were blocking skaters who had no other option because they weren't old enough for seniors. Many of these girls had more of a basis for getting spots, but they did not have the right influential coach or love from TAT and the RusFed.

 

[Mrs. P]

That's the breaks. Some countries have deeper fields in certain sports, which means talented athletes who would have a spot for competitions if they represented a different country, have to stay home. It's not a problem that is limited to women figure skaters from Russia.

The positive thing is that the skaters you mentioned, Spirals For Miles, are young and have plenty of years of junior eligibility left. If they are not able to get a JGP this year, they will likely get one this year when several skaters move up to seniors.