2018 US Championships Sr. Ladies SP

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Actually, it means she hasn't done 4CCs. It doesn't mean she doesn't do 4CC's.

Exactly. It's not like she's the only one who has forgone 4CC.

Considering she's done GPFs 4 out of the past 6 seasons, it's not like she's cutting her season particularly short. And if she was injured this season and competed less, that's hardly something to hold against her... especially when skaters like Wang and Nagasu have themselves faced injuries/tumultuous seasons in the past.

And I don't get why all of a sudden it's a strike against Ashley if she doesn't go to 4CC, when everyone knows that 4CC is right before the Olympics and it's been used to "excuse" other skaters who are/will be forgoing that competition to not burnout just before the Olympics.

You'd think some people would actually praise Ashley for forgoing 4CC the past few years and giving opportunities to other US team members to compete at an ISU championship, instead of "hogging" all the big competitions for herself (which she very well could have) -- which I would bet some of her anti-fans would have accused her of if she HAD gone to 4CC... damned if you do, damned if you don't.

 

[LiamForeman]

I don’t understand what you’re saying here. You determine the rotation of the jump by where the skater took off and where the skater landed, NOT by how many feet they landed on. So even a two-footed jump can be fully rotated. It’s not likely, yes, but Mirai’s 3A here was fully rotated even with the huge step-out.

Her 3axel appeared OVER-rotated to me....

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Her 3axel appeared OVER-rotated to me....

I was about to say, her 3A was over-rotated, hence the stepout... it looked liked she landed exactly backwards on a flat instead of a little less than than to check out on an edge. Either way, in realtime it was definitely rotated.

Gotta give it up to her, people said a lot of shade about it, but she stuck to her guns and it's looking fabulous. She could be the first American since Tonya Harding to cleanly land it in international competition... in like 25 years. After people had written her off. Go girl!

 

[mirai4life]

Mirai landed the 3A abruptly, on two feet, then stepped out of it and put a hand down. It was a hot mess. A jump must be landed on ONE foot to be completely rotated. Mirai's 3A was not, yet the tech team let her have it anyway. That is not fair to skaters who DID fully rotate and land their jumps, as well as unfair to skaters who URd their jumps and got gigged for it.

If Mirai gets uncalled URs in her FS and wins over a clean Bradie, that will be a HUGE scandal. It won't help Mirai at the Olympics in the long run, because international tech teams haven't been kind to her when it comes to URs, especially on her 3As. Most of her 3As have not been ratified internationally.

You don't get to make the rules.

 

[skatefan17]

I do not have any issue with Bradie's PCS, at least relatively speaking. I think because she seems so secure in her jumps, she can pay attention to presentation throughout her program. Felt Karen Chen's overall PCS should be higher than Bradie's, and it was. I will say I would've called an e for Bradie's lutz, but it looks like no lutzes were e'd in the entire event (really?!), so maybe they are just being lenient.

Bradie's blade doesn't switch before takeoff. Her takeoff is just very quick, but her edge is still outside barely before the flat edge.

 

[Icey]

A 14 year old interprets and performs "Fever". What in the world? A case where USFSA should have stepped in and said "No".

 

[college pat]

me-- how dumb that i forgot to do the nbc sport olympic channel--live-it shows it after i signed up . i missed the all but the last pairs group.

 

[NAOTMAA]

Bradie's blade doesn't switch before takeoff. Her takeoff is just very quick, but her edge is still outside barely before the flat edge.

In a way this is another difference between Bradie and the other girls at the moment and its very noticeable. Bradie goes into her jumps quickly without hesitation, they blend in with the rest of the program. The other girls on the other hand seem more anxious and they grit their way through the jumps and don't look as confident or effortless. It plays a big part in the overall presentation of the program which is why I have no problem with Bradie's bigger PCS (its nationals).

 

[Spirals for Miles]

A 14 year old interprets and performs "Fever". What in the world? A case where USFSA should have stepped in and said "No".

She's 16, number 1.
Number 2, it's not the most outlandish choice we've seen in a while. Eunsoo Lim and Daria Panenkova (love ya ladies but it's true) are not only younger than her but also have provocative music.
Number 3, her music selection is not up to USFSA.

 

[lavender]

It feels weird not really having a prospect for gold...or even the podium. I'm really interested in dance and men. . Ladies use to always come first in my heart...things have changed.

 

[ask]

chuckm is a consistent Mirai basher.
FYI, Mao used to double foot her 3a and earned 6+ Points and enraged Kim's fans for a whole season.

 

[LiamForeman]

Oh, and before we move onto the Ladies' FS thread, can I please THANK those two skaters who skated to BRENNA WHITAKER!!!! What a find. Is she an LA phenom? One More Try and You Don't Know Me were perfect for her voice! I might just buy a CD in the last ten years... I could listen to her all day. I've been listening to her on YouTube all day. Good picks, ladies!

 

[AngelENTL]

Bradie's blade doesn't switch before takeoff. Her takeoff is just very quick, but her edge is still outside barely before the flat edge.

I disagree. To me it's generous to call it a flat edge at take off and reasonable to say she's on a shallow inside edge.

 

[sweetice]

Bradie and Mirai as expected. A very good competition for the first place.

I cheer for Ashley on the third place, but Karen deserve it too. I hope the federation can do a similar choice than JP fed, and see some of the girls that don't make it to the olympics on the 4 continents and worlds championship.

 

[Miss Ice]

I disagree. To me it's generous to call it a flat edge at take off and reasonable to say she's on a shallow inside edge.

I agree. The edge is definitely at least flat, and deserves a "!". Although if you pause the video at 4:14 I actually think it deserves an "e". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouBc4RHi9yc&t=25s It is a slight inside edge. But NBC has called obvious flutzes a textbook lutz, so I guess anythng goes now. Why even bother learning the right technique. In that I commend Karen for doing a clean outside edge, only toe-assisted lutz.

 

[TCAngel18]

I agree. The edge is definitely at least flat, and deserves a "!". Although if you pause the video at 4:14 I actually think it deserves an "e". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouBc4RHi9yc&t=25s It is a slight inside edge. But NBC has called obvious flutzes a textbook lutz, so I guess anythng goes now. Why even bother learning the right technique. In that I commend Karen for doing a clean outside edge, only toe-assisted lutz.

I agree, it is a flutz. Didn’t look so in RT, but in the replay, it does switch to an inside edge right before takeoff.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

She's 16, number 1.
Number 2, it's not the most outlandish choice we've seen in a while. Eunsoo Lim and Daria Panenkova (love ya ladies but it's true) are not only younger than her but also have provocative music.
Number 3, her music selection is not up to USFSA.

Actually, they monitor these things and can suggest a change in music/program.

 

[klutzy]

First, I think that we can drop the "blonde" from the "Little girls in pretty boxes" syndrome. Of the 7 U.S. Olympic champions, only Tara Lipinski was blonde (sort of). What that book ("Little girls in pretty boxes" by Joan Ryan) was about, by the way, is a criticism of the gymnastics and figure skating establishments for insisting that the girls have essentially boys bodies, and that as soon as they develop breasts and hips, they are thrown on the trash heap to suffer with anorexia. Anyway, I think that the classic U.S. figure skating star is more the all-American girl next door (Peggy Fleming, Dorothy Hamill) than the Disney Princess.



I remember in 1992 that people raised the point that Kristi Yamaguchi did not rake in the same financial benefits (from endorsements, etc.) as previous Olympic gold medallists had, especially Dorothy Hamill. Kristi being Asian American meant that she did not fit sponsers' profile so well.

However, times change. If anything, nowadays ladies' figure skating in the U.S. is perceived as essentially an Asian American sport. Mirai certainly would have been America's skating sweetheart if she had won in 2010 -- she was anyway, based on her 4th place "Carmen's little sister" performance. Now Mirai is too old to be a little girl in a pretty box. But Karen would certainly become be skating's darling, if not America's ("America" doesn't have darlings any more. They have women athletes who kick butt. )

Just my opinion, of course.

Exactly. I remember that Kristi didn't get the rewards she deserved because she was Japanese-American, but that's changed--thanks to Michelle Kwan's dominance and evolving attitudes. Even back in Yamaguchi's day, she was portrayed as sweet, wholesome and cute.

Basically, Peggy Fleming--ideal--wholesome and pretty. Michelle Kwan, actually, fell into this category. Nancy Kerrigan. The other big category is cute and spunky gamine--so Janet Lynne, Dorothy Hamill, Tara Lipinski. This is kind of where Mirai would get slotted.

What's not been favored by the federation is blue-collar tough girl--Tonya Harding, of course, but also Nicole Bobek. Ashley Wagner's faced a bit of that. The Skating Federation does not want anyone who *might* give the sport a bad image, though, ironically, the Harding-Kerrigan knee-whack did wonders for the sports popularity.

Right now, though, the U.S. needs someone who can skate and score under the new system--everything takes a back seat to that. They need winners.

 

[Mathman]

Actually, they monitor these things and can suggest a change in music/program.

Actually, though, I don't think it's so outlandish that an American teenaged girl likes Beyonce.

Now if she had skated to the original 1958 Peggy Lee version ...

 

[Spirals for Miles]

Actually, they monitor these things and can suggest a change in music/program.

Sorry, didn't know that.