2018 US Championships Sr Men SP

[Mathman]

Ok so if Grant skates the FS of his life would it even be sliiightly that he makes the Olympic team?

I think it's an uphill battle for Grant. He already gave the skate of his life in the short program, but only got 4th for it. Even if Jason falls off the pace, Grant still has to hold off Vincent to make the podium.

I do think, though, that the USFSA will go with the first three (assuming that Nathan is a lock).

 

[Spinning]

The matt black velvet looking finish is very 'in' right now. 'Athleisure' is also the IT trend in the fashion world past 2,3 seasons.

The double stripes gear is might be a couple of years too late to be the "in". If he wants the athletic looks, why not using New Balance. They design the coolest footy training gears this season. And I think they sponsor the Korean skating team.

Too bad Nathan has a great SP music with trendy choreography but the costume is the downside. :disapp:

 

[museksk8r]

Why was there no inquiry on Jason's uncalled UR on the 3Axel? Too bad this is not like gymnastics where the coach of Grant Hochstein, Peter Oppegard, could have filed an inquiry on the improper call. This is your pupil's shot at making an Olympic team at stake. Very frustrating!

https://youtu.be/o5iyqzrgcss

 

[Baron Vladimir]

Yes, the narrative they and other commentators push around Jason relative to the other men really irks me, especially when they project it out into the future -- comments like "in this day and age" his skating style isn't enough

It depends how you look at it. The narrative here is - we want Jason/or other American to win, and most people who watch it from time to time will agree with it, because the only thing they care about watching FS is win. For some of us, who dont look at FS (and other sports) through the win or lose narrative, Jason skating perfectly deserves to be seen by bigger audience and on the biggest stage.

 

[Crossover]

Wait...we only have 2 spots for the men?

No, three spots earned by Nathan and Jason together at Worlds 2017.

 

[Mathman]

Wait...we only have 2 spots for the men?

Three (as Crossover mentioned in the post above). But I think what some posters are saying is that the USFSA will probably send the first and second place finishers to the Olympics automatically. But the skater who finishes third could conceivably get bumped by someone else who has a more substantial record at international events, etc.

 

[synteis]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXv7NcFZCv0 their rinkside reactions.

 

[Miss Ice]

The others definitely have better SS than Rippon. But Zhou?? Come on. He is getting better but elegant and refined are not words I would use to define him. But, I agree that Zhou's and Adam's basic SS are at about the same level (Ashley's SS are better than this.. not the best but better than those two). The difference is the performance quality and musical interpretation. He does every movement with pizazz and his upper body movements are among the best in the world. And, he performed a perfectly clean program with beautiful spins. You might not like this program ( I don't) but he sells the hell out of it.

I didn't say Zhou has peaked artistrically or anything. But I think that the USFSA should recognize and invest in the potential of rising stars like him rather than hyping up older skaters who are mostly performers but don't have too much going for them technically (e.g. Rippon, Brown).

Re: Adam first, that would be an insult to figure skating. But actually, it would just be USFSA shooting themselves in the foot. The best Adam could place with that SP at the Olympics would be 4th, and that's already a stretch.

Also, this it outrageous. Jason's axel is definitely UR. If they are calling Vincent's 4F UR, this 3A is definitely UR. What a fraud. But again, they are only hurting themselves. I don't think international judges will play favorites with Jason like the US ones: https://youtu.be/o5iyqzrgcss?t=6m15s

This is frustrating...

 

[Kelly]

I feel like Adam should be in first...

If Nathan hadn't established himself already internationally, even though he has two clean quads the USFS would have made Adam first.

 

[Skatefan15]

My heart is just broken for Max:sad21: I really wanted him to make the team but since that is virtually impossible I really wish Grant could be on the team.

 

[da96103]

Ok so if Grant skates the FS of his life would it even be sliiightly that he makes the Olympic team?

If Grant gets third, he would go to Olympics if 4th place is not Brown or Zhou.

 

[da96103]

I didn't say Zhou has peaked artistrically or anything. But I think that the USFSA should recognize and invest in the potential of rising stars like him rather than hyping up older skaters who are mostly performers but don't have too much going for them technically (e.g. Rippon, Brown).

Re: Adam first, that would be an insult to figure skating. But actually, it would just be USFSA shooting themselves in the foot. The best Adam could place with that SP at the Olympics would be 4th, and that's already a stretch.

This would probably the last year USFS would prop up non-quad skaters.

Both top 3 in Japanese and Russian nationals this year have at least 2 different quads. You can even extend that that to 4th place as well.

 

[da96103]

Why was there no inquiry on Jason's uncalled UR on the 3Axel? Too bad this is not like gymnastics where the coach of Grant Hochstein, Peter Oppegard, could have filed an inquiry on the improper call. This is your pupil's shot at making an Olympic team at stake. Very frustrating!

https://youtu.be/o5iyqzrgcss

Can another skater/coach complained about a judging error of another skater?

Actually come to think of it, there should be an avenue for such occurrence.

 

[lavender]

Three. But I think what some posters are saying is that the USFSA will probably send the first and second place finishers to the Olympics automatically. But the skater who finishes third might conceivably get bumped by someone else who has a more substantial record at international events, etc.

Thank you...i was reading an article and they mentioned us 2 spots. I should have known that they were only talking 2nd and 3rd since they had a pic of Jason, Adam, Zhou and not Nathan. Nathan can fall twice and they are still sending him

 

[Miss Ice]

Can another skater/coach complained about a judging error of another skater?

Actually come to think of it, there should be an avenue for such occurrence.

This is a sport. They should be able to file a complaint or appeal if the tech call is blatantly incorrect. Although, this has been a problem with figure skating in general since 2014...

 

[double_flip]

I personally much prefer Nathan's previous costume with his cute curly hairs. The shirt with long and wide sleeves is not only very classic and chic but also I can feel the wind and the air flows around him. I loved watching male skaters in such shirts which were commonly worn before the IJS era. Unfortunately, it is not a common item any more.

Totally concur re sense of movement. While I agree with Johnny that Nathan has an innate sense of musicality and artistry from all his dance training, this year is about making that case to an Olympic judging panel. This new costume and hair feels static and contradicts imo the dynamism of the choreography, as well as the general vibe of the song - if you listen to the lyrics, it's clearly not about a sporting challenge. I have watched and loved this programme all season - including live in Moscow - and this is the least inspiring outing it's had for me. I know he's been sick and pressure is on, but the new styling isn't helping - it actually feels less mature and like a step backwards to me. If I were on his team, I'd encourage him to ask Vera for a refund or consign it to the practice ice.

 

[Tavi...]

As a reminder regarding Jason’s scoring, the tech panel and judges don’t see what we see on television - even on replay; in borderline situations, the skater is supposed to receive the benefit of the doubt. Jason didn’t receive full credit for his 3A: he got -1.86 GOE. Even if an < had been called, his score would still have been over 90.

As to who will make the Olympic Team, in a press conference the other day, USFS President Sam Auxier emphasized that the Body of Work criteria are part of the selection process. Based on those criteria, skaters who placed poorly in their international assignments in 2017, and who have low international scores, are unlikely to make the Olympic Team no matter how well they perform at Nats.

 

[Mrs. P]

My random rink thoughts

I was relieved to see Nathan do well after hearing about his struggles in practice -- he also had a few pops during the 20-minute warmup period prior to the short program. I don't like the costume --but I appreciate OS viewpoint regarding how it could be eventually be seen as a symbolic piece of athleisure. However I do not quite see Vera's genius quite yet. I do love that step sequence and the program. I'd say if he could work on anything, I'd say the spins. I understand there's more to gain with the jumps, but his spins --especially compared to Jason and Adam -- really are not the best out there. And yeah, the 3A.

It was interesting, in person, to see Adam and Jason skate back-to-back. I would say that Adam probably had the more electric and charismatic performance, no doubt. The energy in that arena grew and grew. It was really cool to witness. I think it would have been difficult for ANY skater to go after him. I didn't love this particular program for him, but he really does sell it. His SS isn't the best -- his skating has stops and starts rather than a smooth glide.

Jason's overall skating quality is definitely notably higher -- and a sizable improvement from 2014, which I also saw live. He really has worked on it. He probably has one the best SS in this particular domestic field (I say only Ross Miner probably matches him). The 3A error was probably maddening for him because he did not miss a single attempt in either the 20-minute warm up before the competition or the 6-minute warm-up in the competition. The axel was done on the other side of the rink from where I was sitting so I don't think I could say if it was UR with my naked eye. But the rest of the skate was pristine and lovely and he performed well, as always.

I did find it interesting that the judges gave Jason and Adam the exact same SS score (don't quite agree with that). They gave a sizable edge to Jason in transitions and a slight edge on transitions and composition. Adam did have a edge in performance, which I think was correct.

All that said, I would have been fine with Grant being in third. That was a wonderful performance and really heartening to see after his struggles earlier in the season. Grant always seems to turn it on at Nationals in recent years, so in a way this performance wasn't that surprising. And he really puts his heart out there.

Vincent had such a cute fan club! They sat near me in the area and had awesome signs. I loved the raining of plushies that occurred after his performance. I think he's really trying to improve his performance and artistry but it's not quite soup yet to me. His 4Z-3T was amazing to watch (and it was right in front of me, which was pretty cool!).

I was also thrilled Ross turned in a clean skate. He has beautiful skating skills and he really draws you in with his performance.

Outside the top six, I also enjoyed Timothy Dolensky, Alexei Krasnozhon, Jimmy Ma (the Cains really had a great night with those three!) Andrew Torgashev (his has really awesome skating skills--and such a presence! I was thrilled to see him do well), Alexander Johnson -- even though he skating to music that Shoma did a few seasons ago, he really has his own take on it. Sean Rabbit, always fun to watch and it was nice to see him do a less high-energy piece. And I loved Emmanuel Savary -- he really has a sophisticated style and that program was a perfect fit for him!

Overall it was a really great men's event. I think the big heartbreaking moments was Max Aaron (though I could really see improvements in his performance and spins) and Jordan Moeller, but otherwise I think the men really put everything out there.

 

[da96103]

As a reminder regarding Jason’s scoring, the tech panel and judges don’t see what we see on television - even on replay; in borderline situations, the skater is supposed to receive the benefit of the doubt. Jason didn’t receive full credit for his 3A: he got -1.86 GOE. Even if an < had been called, his score would still have been over 90.

As to who will make the Olympic Team, in a press conference the other day, USFS President Sam Auxier emphasized that the Body of Work criteria are part of the selection process. Based on those criteria, skaters who placed poorly in their international assignments in 2017, and who have low international scores, are unlikely to make the Olympic Team no matter how well they perform at Nats.

Well I guess the team is already determined then. Raffie's two sons and Brown.

 

[matmuh]

this was overall very good event, congratz to top 3 but how awesome and captivating Alexander Johnson is!!! he had some not so perfect elements but he sold that program!! which brings the question, how is he almost 8 points behind Adam on PCS and 3 points behind Vincent it just feels wrong