- Joined
- May 19, 2011
Considering how much buzz and excitement the Russian test skates create for their skaters, you'd think the USFS would take a hint and open the test skates or at least record and post them online.
2018-19 U.S. Ladies' figure skating
- Thread starter Spirals for Miles
- Start date
Considering how much buzz and excitement the Russian test skates create for their skaters, you'd think the USFS would take a hint and open the test skates or at least record and post them online.
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2017
Could really give them some good press to start the season off strong right before the JGP
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2014
I think Russian test skates and Champs Camp serve two different goals. Russian test skates = pressure and sense of competition, US Champs Camp = lower pressure, chance for feedback before the public can judge you too harshly. Plus I don't think US skaters are totally ready for the season during Champs Camp, whereas Russian skaters tend to be more prepared for test skates.
That said, I do think the US should implement public test skates sometime between Champs Camp and the start of the GP.
Love the blue dress!
Both have lots of potential. Both have triple triple jump combinations. Both have musicality and appear to be competitors who will fight. Both are also VERY TINY. They both need to work on their stroking power. Both of them will also grow. Great potential, needs to be harnessed well.
On a side note I understand Kate is a very well rounded person off the ice as well
Agree. Exactly this. Seeing more and more of US skaters who need to work on basic front and back crossovers.
- Joined
- May 19, 2011
I get that but, in relation to the women's field, I also feel this is why US skaters are so far below the Russians (and Japanese) at this point.
What is preventing the US skaters from being prepared? The Russians usually are and their test skates aren't too far from now... If US skaters know they're coming to Champs Camp to be evaluated why not be ready to put forth your best? Less pressure is great and everything, but maybe they need more pressure. That's why the Russians are so strong--every competition no matter how small is a dogfight. They get used to the pressure which enables them to compete easily once they hit the international stage. US skaters need that kind of pressure to help hone their competitive skills.
Injecting a bit of seriousness/pressure into the test skates might motivate some of these skaters to be in better shape/competitive mode sooner. If Champs Camp is simply a monitoring session then I get why they don't open it up to the public. But I agree with you...the USFS needs to add actual test skate events to their schedule. It would be good for the competitors and good for the US fans.
Assuming they care...
hwell:
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2014
I get that but, in relation to the women's field, I also feel this is why US skaters are so far below the Russians (and Japanese) at this point.
What is preventing the US skaters from being prepared? The Russians usually are and their test skater aren't too far from now... If US skaters know they're coming to Champs Camp to be evaluated why not be ready to put forth your best? Less pressure is great and everything, but maybe they need more pressure. That's why the Russians are so strong--every competition no matter how small is a dogfight. They get used to the pressure which enables them to compete easily once they hit the international stage. US skaters need that kind of pressure to help hone their competitive skills.
Injecting a bit of seriousness/pressure into the test skates might motivate some of these skaters to be in better shape/competitive mode sooner. If Champs Camp is simply a monitoring session then I get why they don't open it up to the public. But I agree with you...the USFS needs to add actual test skate events to their schedule. It would be good for the competitors and good for the US fans.
Assuming they care...
The Japanese don't have public test skates, do they? (Idk maybe they do, but the Russian ones are the only ones I hear about.)
Let's be clear, the US system has been fine at producing ice dancers and men. They've basically always sucked at pairs (which I will attribute to a lack of elite coaches), and ladies is really the only discipline where we can say that they US system isn't working. Let's also be clear that the only dogfight-level pressure happening in Russia is in ladies. This is obviously the ladies thread - but I don't think holding up the Russian way of doing things as the best really makes sense when it's only in one discipline.
- Joined
- May 19, 2011
Fans have wanted Champs Camp to be covered w/ videos of the test skates/monitoring sessions for years so this request is nothing new. Referring to my original post, it's something that would generate interest and excitement among the US fans. It's less of a Russian thing and more of a "getting fans excited for the upcoming season" kind of thing. As for Japan, figure skating is squarely in the spotlight. Their skaters are constantly in the media with all kinds of news segments, specials, interviews, shows/showcases and press at their training facilities. They don't need test skates...at least not in the sense of getting people excited. They stay excited over there!
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2014
Japanese skaters would probably enjoy the level of privacy that US skaters have. Champs Camp is for the athletes, not the fans, and I'm okay with that. They post some cute things on social media when they want to share.
I agree that there should be serious and public test skates, but maybe a month after Champs Camp. Let them learn from Champs Camp and incorporate feedback before the test skates.
I just really wanted to clarify that it's not the fact that there are test skates in Russia and not in the US is somehow making Russian skaters successful and US skaters not successful. Otherwise we would see more success across all disciplines in Russia, which isn't the case.
It's not just a matter of who is eligible. Gropman & Somerville and Nguyen & Kolesnik have international records that easily rival Hanna Harrell, and they are the top two junior dance teams that seem able to compete at the moment. She's an exception, that's all I'm saying. I don't have anything against them inviting Hanna. But it's not Audrey that is the exception.
Audrey didn't place last year. Her international scores last year were terrible. Her current score domestically are 169. Hanna was 4th. She had the highest domestic score of all the juniors last year. 189. She had a respectable performance at the JGP. And she is currently second highest in the domestic score with US juniors. Alyssa is the odd one, because she can’t even go to the JGP. But she does have a 3A and is the reigning junior champ. So she was included.
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2014
Very odd that Audrey would be included. She was promising a few years ago, right? It's possible that USFS would just want to figure out what went wrong that she did so poorly last year. It's also possible they want to see how she's progressed with Raf?
Overall, I wish USFS would extend extra invites to junior ladies. They need all the help they can get.
I think they probably want to keep it small considering they can’t guarentee everyone will get spots.
Audrey’s problem is rotation. They killed her scores last year and are still killing her scores this year. I know for the protocol for one of the few competitions that had them she had six under rotations in her FS. And that’s domestic! International, they’d kill even more of her jumps. Just based on that I’m confused why they didn’t give that spot to Gabrielle Izzo that scored 169 internationally.
She hasn’t progressed with Raf at all. She stil, has that leg wrap all season. He was more focused on getting his seniors to the Olympics. Now that he has Marin and Eunsoo, it was a good idea for Audrey to start working with Tom Z instead. I think he’ll focus on fixing those jumps. But it will take a long time to see any results. Fixing old habits are tough. But at least she’s only 14/15.
My point was that there is nothing surprising about the fact that they didn't invite Audrey. You're comparing the ladies with each other, but my point is that the criteria they used to select Hannah doesn't match whatever criteria they used to select the athletes from the other disciplines. Alysa is different in her own way in that she cannot compete on the JGP, but her results at Nationals are equal to the athletes they invited. They could have opted to leave her out, but I am glad they didn't. As I said, I don't have a problem with them inviting Hanna; but we have athletes in the other disciplines that have matched & surpassed her results. It would have been nice if they had received an invitation as well.
It's not hard to find people in their disciplines that match or exceed US junior ladies, unfortunately. It like comparing apples to oranges. They invited the "best" of each discipline.
???As far as we know, they didn't invite any dancers. I'm sure they would have invited Lewis & Bye and the Greens if those teams were ready/able to attend. But they could have reached down to invite Gropman & Somerville, who have 1. the second highest junior summer score, 2. two fourth place finishes on last year's JGP, 3. a pewter medal from nationals, and 4. a win this summer. Maybe G&S were invited & chose to work toward Bratislava instead, but since Kalyan & Torgashev went to camp, we can't assume that.
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2014
I just want to point out that it could be that some of these young ones were invited but for whatever reason did not attend. Remember at that age it is the moms and dads that make the final call... some may have had issues or conflicts... so I am going to give USFS some room on this one and not worry too much.
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2017
I guess she's included only because she has a JGP (Lithuania if I'm right). But I wish that spot would have gone to Gabriella Izzo, who doesn't struggle as much with rotation. 6 UR calls in a domestic competition is absolutely ridiculous in my opinion, and I'm scared she'll be so sad watching her score really drop because of them.
USFS has updated its International Assignments Page:
Autumn Classic:
Emmy Ma
Bradie Tennell
Starr Andrews
Ondrej Nepala Trophy
Megan Wessenberg - Challenge Series/International Competition debut
Katie McBeath - Challenger Series debut
Autumn Classic:
Emmy Ma
Bradie Tennell
Starr Andrews
Ondrej Nepala Trophy
Megan Wessenberg - Challenge Series/International Competition debut
Katie McBeath - Challenger Series debut
Ok... this is so confusing. Gabby is competing at US Classic and Bradie is competing at Autumn Classic. Is this a US/Canadian National Champ exchange?
That said, I can’t wait to see Bradie’s programs this season.
