2018-19 U.S. Ladies' figure skating

[andromache]

Did anyone realize that at Midwestern sectionals, the competitors consist of Hannah Miller, Hanna Harrell, Paige Rydberg, Vivian Le, Pooja Kalyan, and Amber Glenn??? 2 of these skaters will NOT make it to nationals. Wow.

Wow....that's a little ridiculous, honestly. Though the more competitive that sectionals are, the better.

Hanna Harrell and Pooja are probably the two more promising talents who are still young enough to make a splash in the future. So I guess I'm rooting for them?

 

[kwanatic]

I agree her extension, interpretation and musicality all improved a lot since Asian Open. The 3A looked great but the 3Lz-LT looked under rotated. The combo in particular does not have much height. Hope she gets more lift in her jumps.

She does look better and that's good too see. Her axel was nice though. I hope as she gets older she can get it to be more like Rika Kihira's 3A...she stalks it far less than Liza T or Mirai. There's less of a break in the performance for the setup which is great to see and is deserving of +GOE IMO.

I also hope they work with Alysa on her leg wrap. I noticed it on her flip and the combo; her ankles are not together. As she grows that may cause her some problems. Overall though very cute program. 74+ is a monster score...If by chance she was able to get a score like that at senior nationals she would put immense pressure on the top competitors to perform.

 

[Bluediamonds09]

Wow....that's a little ridiculous, honestly. Though the more competitive that sectionals are, the better.

Hanna Harrell and Pooja are probably the two more promising talents who are still young enough to make a splash in the future. So I guess I'm rooting for them?

Me too. Hanna Harrell honestly is very talented and should be a top junior in the world. Yes, it’s true.

Of these six ladies, though, I have no idea who’ll make it to nationals.

 

[Spirals for Miles]

Did anyone realize that at Midwestern sectionals, the competitors consist of Hannah Miller, Hanna Harrell, Paige Rydberg, Vivian Le, Pooja Kalyan, and Amber Glenn??? 2 of these skaters will NOT make it to nationals. Wow.

I'm rooting for Hanna and Pooja. Hanna's trying the difficult content and just needs to stop falling everywhere! I don't think Vivan Le or Paige Rydberg will make it to nationals.

Also: just watched Alysa's program, and WOW am I impressed. Fits her perfectly - I hope she keeps it for her junior debut.

 

[SimplyAFan]

I’ll be curious to see how Mids plays out. I was impressed with the senior ladies at Pac Coasts. Also, was that Agnes Zawadski at the boards for a few skaters?

 

[sheetz]

Alyssa Liu just skated her short at Pacific Sectionals. Squeaky clean 3A, 3F and 3Lz/3t. 74.94. WOW!!!

Not to start another boys vs girls argument, but Alysa was the only senior competitor of either sex at Pacific Sectionals to attempt a 3A in the SP.

 

[princessalica]

Also to put Alysa's score in perspective - Her short program score is higher than Trusova's highest short this season. I realize this is a National score and not international (obviously since Alysa isn't even old enough to compete on the Junior level).

 

[concorde]

Also to put Alysa's score in perspective - Her short program score is higher than Trusova's highest short this season. I realize this is a National score and not international (obviously since Alysa isn't even old enough to compete on the Junior level).

You are comparing a Junior score (I don't think 3a or quads are allowed) to senior score (with 3a). Its not a apples to apples comparison.

 

[halulupu]

37 points wow.

this two guys coaching gracie gold should have said her the truth. I mean that is what coaches are here for. sry to say that but she wasn´t ready at all - its still a sport after all.

I fear psychologicaly the shame will kick in and this could be a defining moment in a negative way for her career. hope she withdraws from the lp and accepts the truth and comes back when she is really ready.

 

[macy]

37 points wow.

this two guys coaching gracie gold should have said her the truth. I mean that is what coaches are here for. sry to say that but she wasn´t ready at all - its still a sport after all.

I fear psychologicaly the shame will kick in and this could be a defining moment in a negative way for her career. hope she withdraws from the lp and accepts the truth and comes back when she is really ready.

i'm not sure why this result is a surprise to you. the girl hasn't step foot on competitive ice in 2 years, dealt with some serious demons during that time, and is ballsy enough to come back when she knows she's not even close to 100%. that is an extremely brave thing to do. consider for a second the nerves she probably felt, i assume it was almost crushing. it's going to take a lot of time and practice to feel comfortable with thousands of people watching and judging you again. give the girl a break, she deserves some serious credit.

 

[Metis]

Gracie Gold doesn’t owe anyone anything and has no reason to feel ashamed. If this is how she wanted to start, it’s her life and her choice.

 

[halulupu]

i'm not sure why this result is a surprise to you. the girl hasn't step foot on competitive ice in 2 years, dealt with some serious demons during that time, and is ballsy enough to come back when she knows she's not even close to 100%. that is an extremely brave thing to do. consider for a second the nerves she probably felt, i assume it was almost crushing. it's going to take a lot of time and practice to feel comfortable with thousands of people watching and judging you again. give the girl a break, she deserves some serious credit.

well noone expected her to score above 60, but maybe 50 yes I think that was within the range of expectation for an ex top skater. I just don't think she is doing herself any favor for showing up when clearly not ready. but of course its her decision and her choice.

 

[halulupu]

Gracie Gold doesn’t owe anyone anything and has no reason to feel ashamed. If this is how she wanted to start, it’s her life and her choice.

well she oviously felt ashamed in the kiss and cry or are you denying that? her coaches are to blame in my opinion not her. but yes her choice and life

 

[tothepointe]

Gracie Gold doesn’t owe anyone anything and has no reason to feel ashamed. If this is how she wanted to start, it’s her life and her choice.

The problem I have is that USFS had to pay for that. I think it would have been more appropriate to stage a comeback next summer paying her own way into some summer competitions. I almost feel like the plan is to do this, get the bye to nationals then hopefully get into the top 6 in order to get a bye for next year and hopefully get asked to do Stars on Ice for the summer.

 

[Mrs. P]

The problem I have is that USFS had to pay for that. I think it would have been more appropriate to stage a comeback next summer paying her own way into some summer competitions. I almost feel like the plan is to do this, get the bye to nationals then hopefully get into the top 6 in order to get a bye for next year and hopefully get asked to do Stars on Ice for the summer.

Actually the Russian federation is the one who covers costs for skaters for GP.

 

[frida80]

well noone expected her to score above 60, but maybe 50 yes I think that was within the range of expectation for an ex top skater. I just don't think she is doing herself any favor for showing up when clearly not ready. but of course its her decision and her choice.

You expected 50? I didn't. I was expecting low to mid 40s. I just couldn't see this going well at all for someone that completely lost her jumps and hasn't competed for nearly two years. Anything higher than that was just completely unrealistic.

Am I upset? Not at all. I know everyone has their opinions on how Gracie should have come back. And I actually think she should've waited a little bit. But sometimes you just have to make that first step. To know that this is real and to push yourself off the wall and start running. If this has to be the way, so be it. She has to make her recovery her own way. And I salute her for making that leap off the ledge. Now all I can do is support her while she swims towards her goal.

 

[tothepointe]

They still have to pay for all her travel costs and champs camp and other associated expenses as well as giving a stipend.

 

[KatGrace1925]

37 points wow.

this two guys coaching gracie gold should have said her the truth. I mean that is what coaches are here for. sry to say that but she wasn´t ready at all - its still a sport after all.

I fear psychologicaly the shame will kick in and this could be a defining moment in a negative way for her career. hope she withdraws from the lp and accepts the truth and comes back when she is really ready.

You clearly don't understand she wasn't at this competition to do anything but get a bye to nationals. She knew she wasn't going to be ready or be at the level she wants to be at yet, she doesn't need to withdraw if she doesn't want to. She is coming back on her own terms and going out there after all she has been through is admirable.

 

[macy]

well she oviously felt ashamed in the kiss and cry or are you denying that? her coaches are to blame in my opinion not her. but yes her choice and life

i'm assuming you've never been a competitive figure skater based on your posts, so let me break it down for you.

Gracie's life drastically changed from when we last saw her at nationals in 2017. she didn't train for at least a solid year, and who knows if she skated at all during that time. she went from training several hours a day to nothing for a long period of time. after your life physically and mentally changes so much in that amount of time, it is HARD to get back to even a fraction of where you were when you stopped. you lose stamina, muscle mass, mental toughness, etc. when she decided to return, i'm sure she knew it wouldn't exactly be like riding a bike. she had to first get comfortable back on skates, work on basic skills and skating, get into shape and get her stamina back, regain some flexibility for spins and spirals, then re learn double and triple jumps, then learn new programs and begin training them. that is a TALL order when you haven't done programs in 2 years.

there's really no one to blame in this situation. i am sure gracie was well aware that this wouldn't be easy after being out of the spotlight for 2 years. i could tell right away this was a nerve problem, not a stamina problem. she has to re learn how to control competition nerves, and that is neither her fault nor her coaches. this is something that just comes with the territory of a come back and repeated exposure to competition settings is what she needs.

she has to start somewhere, and IMO the sooner the better if she wants to be ready by 2022.

 

[andromache]

I'm able to live with her performance - very nice StSq (it was only level 2, but a LOT of skaters have missed their step levels this season), decent spins, still good skating skills. The program is good. She didn't PERFORM the heck out of it the way she could, but the choreography and overall impact have a ton of potential.

Honestly, I'm still feeling devastated by her reaction in the K&C. She seemed fine at first, but then she seemed to really lose it once she saw the numbers. I'm just feeling really worried and concerned and sad.

I do think she probably practices better than that. She really wasn't GOING for any of those jumps other than 3F. Otherwise, she was extremely hesitant in approaching her jumps.

I hope she can turn this into a positive psychologically - she went out there and skated about as badly as she could have, jump-wise. And the world isn't over. Something about not letting bad performances define you.