2018 US Championships Sr. Ladies SP

[Mathman]

And nothing beats a clean performance. Ask Sasha Cohen. Sasha's program was elegant, difficult and beautiful. But Arakawa's was clean.

Back then, you just couldn't win an Olympic gold medal if you fell twice. (By 2014 times had changed.) Sasha herself was surprised that she got a medal at all.

But even if Sasha had stayed upright, Arakawa had her number. Shizuka won handily, thanks to her basic skating skills and edge work, even omitting both of her planned triple-triples.

 

[Anyasnake]

Back then, you just couldn't win an Olympic gold medal if you fell twice. (By 2014 times had changed.) Sasha herself was surprised that she got a medal at all.

But even if Sasha had stayed upright, Arakawa had her number. Shizuka won handily, thanks to her basic skating skills and edge work, even omitting both of her planned triple-triples.

Quite true, that has to do with the upgraded content too. Sochi, the OGM fell twice, OSM had a rough skate, OBM was in 9th adter the SP and 4th place wasn't the cleanest and Zayaked.
I agree that Shizuka would have won anyway, she was just too good that day.
I think the OGM in ladies will be clean this year (and probably the whole podium), but in men I frankly doubt it. It's more like : "the cleanest will win" or "if one is clean he wins". Well that's competition I guess.

 

[Ylyzybyth]

What an event! Can't wait for the free.

Ashley Wagner- her dress color is beautiful and unique. That dress pattern I simply can't deal with. It's the type of pattern that reminds me of lotus pods. I don't see what it has to do with her program. I like what she brings but that chin hop hip clearly is not working for her this time.
Barrie Tennell- its nice to be able to relax and watch a US lady skate and not be worried. Could totally watch her without taking an anti ulcer medication. Doesn't captivate me or feel thrilling but it works.
Mirai - glad to see her do well. I wish her programs had more to them.
Karen Chen- I love her short. It's so memorizing and magical. Gosh I would love to see her on the podium, I love her skating.

 

[slider11]

she's also got the difficult transitions as well! She's like baby Gracie except with the you know consistency

It's funny people think Mirai should have gotten higher PCS marks when she did nothing but crossovers, spent who knows how long setting up that 3A and didn't exactly do much actual interpreting of the music expression wise either. All season long people were saying her programs are even more empty then Carolina Kostners and that it was embarrassing for a top level skater yet they want her to get higher PCS marks then someone who actually had a full rounded program? Bradie still has tons of room to grow but at this point she still projects far more then Mirai does :confused2:

Interesting that you compare Mirai's transitions to Carolina. I don't disagree. But Carolina consistently gets 9s in her components. When 2 US judges saddle Mirai with 6s that is just wrong. I would not put Mirai in the same "9" category as Carolina but certainly 7s and 8s are appropriate. Mirai's expression is very understated much like Chopin's music.

 

[jenaj]

she's also got the difficult transitions as well! She's like baby Gracie except with the you know consistency

It's funny people think Mirai should have gotten higher PCS marks when she did nothing but crossovers, spent who knows how long setting up that 3A and didn't exactly do much actual interpreting of the music expression wise either. All season long people were saying her programs are even more empty then Carolina Kostners and that it was embarrassing for a top level skater yet they want her to get higher PCS marks then someone who actually had a full rounded program? Bradie still has tons of room to grow but at this point she still projects far more then Mirai does :confused2:

The 3A is the most difficult jump for ladies skaters--one that a lot of the men flubbed last night. I think it's unreasonable to expect Mirai to attempt it without as much set up as she needs. And she did not do "nothing but crossovers." I saw three turns into triple loop, butterflies into camel spin, layback out of steps, mohawks and three turns into triple flip. And the Nocturne is a melancholy piece. It would have been inappropriate for her to smile throughout that piece. She definitely felt the music. Mirai is always under-scored on PCS but she has a smart strategy to maximize her TES, which the system rewards more than PCS and which she has more control over.

 

[mrrice]

I love Starr's "star" quality and choice of bold and gorgeous costume. She is 16 years old, so the choice of music is OK for me after seeing a very tiny Russian girl of 13 years old doing "Chicago" in junior circuits (really uncomfortable to watch). The costume is somewhat reminiscent of Surya Bonaly's and I hope she builds her career as much as or more than Surya's.

I don't think you realize what a huge star Surya was in Europe.......If Starr winds up being half the "Star" that Surya was in France she will be a lucky young lady.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

I never said anything about her liking Beyonce to be a problem. Fever, on the other hand, is a little mature for her.

Agreed it's a bit too sexy a song choice (not that Tarasova/Morozov's "panties drop"/"cherry pop" Candyman doesn't take the OTT sexy cake this season ), but she performed the HECK out of that number. And you can tell she felt empowered by the music.

I was kinda reminded of Mae Berenice Meite's personality and performance that she has brought to her more recent short programs the past 2 seasons thanks to her music selection (i.e. Who Run The World, Freedom).

Strong, black women performing to strong, black singers. This is no coincidence, and I am SO for it.

 

[Kinga]

Its only her 2nd year using HHCC. Its also Karen's second year (in a row) using her short. Why would they be sick of Ashley's and not Karen's?

I think it has to do with program character/concept. There are programs that are fun 2-3 outings and then they become not so interesting any more, no matter what. I think HHCC falls into that category. And there are programs that are sort of timeless and one can watch them 2 seasons. Plus Karen tried anew SP this year? (So her Gold Pond program got some "break")

Lynn Rutherford just tweeted this:

"In the mixed zone, @AshWagner2010 said she and Raf would "go back to the drawing board" after #USchamps18 and consider working up a new short. She's inspired by the freshness of "La La Land" and wants the same feeling in the short."

It is a pity she didn't feel the need for "the freshness" of the SP before the season begun

Well this is a perfect event to show why the women just tend to bore me...

Noooo. Ladies are not boring at all this season!!! (At least on international level, I don’t know about US ladies on their own ) They constantly deliver clean-cleanish programs. It is mens competitions that are a hot bloody mess. Plus US men don't really have the goods (except for Chen), so it not like they are that superior to US ladies.

 

[Crossover]

I don't think you realize what a huge star Surya was in Europe.......If Starr winds up being half the "Star" that Surya was in France she will be a lucky young lady.

I've been following figure skating since 1992 Olympics held in France, so I know how famous Surya was not only in Europe, but also "internationally". She was a definitely star with flamboyant styles and characters that fascinated me. She with "it" factors is one of my all-time favorite ladies skaters. I don't care about some people lowballing her SS and unique artistry. My previous post is just my wishful thinking for Starr because she reminds me of Surya somehow.

 

[largeman]

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.

Huh

[emoji848]

 

[chuckm]

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

Starr is 16.

 

[chuckm]

Funny that posters are complaining about Mirai's PCS when those are exactly the same PCS scores Mirai's been getting from ISU judges.

It seems Mirai herself has been complaining on twitter about her Nationals PCS scores. NOT cool. Judges don't like their scores being questioned. Maybe she should have waited until after the competition was over.....

 

[MK's Winter]

Funny that posters are complaining about Mirai's PCS when those are exactly the same PCS scores Mirai's been getting from ISU judges.

It seems Mirai herself has been complaining on twitter about her Nationals PCS scores. NOT cool. Judges don't like their scores being questioned. Maybe she should have waited until after the competition was over.....

Mirai questioned a 6, which I also question. And look at last night- even Tara and Johnny called out the UR on Jason's 3A....

 

[bobbob]

Funny that posters are complaining about Mirai's PCS when those are exactly the same PCS scores Mirai's been getting from ISU judges.

It seems Mirai herself has been complaining on twitter about her Nationals PCS scores. NOT cool. Judges don't like their scores being questioned. Maybe she should have waited until after the competition was over.....

Yeah, Mirai's PCS was consistent with her ISU scores (and Ashley's was maybe 1 point lower) but everyone else's was WAY higher than their ISU scores (with programs that were not necessarily stronger than what they have produced internationally). Bradie got a 3 point boost, Karen a 3 point boost, even Angela probably got a 2 point boost...so relatively speaking she was underscored. If you're going to have Nationals INFLATION, everyone has to get equal treatment...but here Nationals INFLATION is just used by judges to promote certain skaters unfairly because it gives more room for variance.... Her "complaint" was that she hasn't seen a "6.25 in a long time"...fair enough...though their have definitely been more outspoken complaints from skaters.

 

[Icey]

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.

Musical choice may not be up to the USFSA, but they certainly advise skaters, if no other way than thorough the judges. I well remember that Michell dropped a Beatles' short during her career, because it didn't go over well with the judges.

 

[Icey]

Starr is 16.

Same opinion even if she is 16, instead of 14.

 

[chuckm]

Yeah, Mirai's PCS was consistent with her ISU scores (and Ashley's was maybe 1 point lower) but everyone else's was WAY higher than their ISU scores (with programs that were not necessarily stronger than what they have produced internationally). Bradie got a 3 point boost, Karen a 3 point boost, even Angela probably got a 2 point boost...so relatively speaking she was underscored. If you're going to have Nationals INFLATION, everyone has to get equal treatment...but here Nationals INFLATION is just used by judges to promote certain skaters unfairly because it gives more room for variance.... Her "complaint" was that she hasn't seen a "6.25 in a long time"...fair enough...though their have definitely been more outspoken complaints from skaters.

The Nationals judges may be trying to send a message to Mirai that it isn't enough to up the tech---she isn't getting the PCS scores from ISU judges and without the 8s and 9s that the top ladies are getting, more tech isn't enough to be competitive.

Karen, Angela and Bradie show a lot more expression and relation to their music than Mirai does by a long shot. And no, Chopin isn't "low-key". Junior champ Alysa Liu skated to a Chopin medley for her winning FS and she was out there using her face, arms and whole body to emphasize every note of the music. And one of the medley just happened to be Mirai's SP music.

 

[Mathman]

The Nationals judges may be trying to send a message ....

Shame on the judges if they think that it is any part of their job to "send messages."

 

[Shayuki]

Yeah, Mirai's PCS was consistent with her ISU scores (and Ashley's was maybe 1 point lower) but everyone else's was WAY higher than their ISU scores (with programs that were not necessarily stronger than what they have produced internationally). Bradie got a 3 point boost, Karen a 3 point boost, even Angela probably got a 2 point boost...so relatively speaking she was underscored.

Agreed. Especially Bradie's I don't understand. She really... Well, I don't hate her skating but it's really not polished at all. The interpretation is weak and she just seems robotic. Even though she's 19 or something she's not mature in her skating at all. Even Mirai's skating compares quite favorably to hers. I just don't see how she can get so much PCS if they are going to score Mirai like this. It's as if they've already decided they're going to send Bradie to Olympics because they know she'll at least skate clean. But I hope that if that's the case, she actually earns it.

The only thing I really want to happen is for Mirai to skate clean and get chosen to the Olympics. The others don't really matter a whole lot to me at this point in time.

 

[chuckm]

You thought Mirai's 3a in the SP was polished? Oy!