2019-20 Russian Ladies' Figure Skating

[Edwin]

Since Tarusina was the only substitute listed and she didn‘t replace Sinitsyna does that mean she‘s still in recovery from her injury? I know she had issues with that injury she got back then from the accident but does anybody know something a bit more concrete? Is it serious or will she be back soon?

According to the post Test Skates interviews, Davydov said that Tarusina suddenly felt the pain in her once injured knee flare up. It was diagnosed there were some bone chips floating about, and these had to be removed just before Test Skates. Further news still none. He said back then, Anna's recovery should take little time, since it was a clean endoscopic operation. Since you probably need a 200 score in JGP, is Tarusina capable of that?

 

[Grin]

I just hope that all the seniors assigned to skate at Skate America take good note of this and make sure their documents are fixed way in advance! Stasya should be fine because she just was in the US but then again, we thought the same of Kseniia. But I‘d be mad if Anna missed her senior debut or Liza wouldn‘t be able to skate. This makes me anxious. No more visa problems please... Silver lining is.. at least Kseniia‘s not injured.

Like it or not there will be visa problems for Russian athletes in US becasue relations between two countries arent' really good atm. But I also hope this won't happen to Anna or Liza

 

[Fluture]

According to the post Test Skates interviews, Davydov said that Tarusina suddenly felt the pain in her once injured knee flare up. It was diagnosed there were some bone chips floating about, and these had to be removed just before Test Skates. Further news still none.

Ouch. That sounds incredibly painful. What a fighter she is. She might not be my favourite skater but I‘ve admired her for some time now for her strength and determination to come back after such a horrible accident. I admit I rooted for Kanysheva to take the last spot for the final last year but I hoped that they‘d both be able to make it this season. Fingers crossed for Anna!

 

[Fluture]

Like it or not there will be visa problems for Russian athletes in US becasue relations between two countries arent' really good atm. But I also hope this won't happen to Anna or Liza

I‘m aware of that but didn’t want to comment on any political topics since they’re not supposed to be here. That‘s why I said I hope all the skaters‘ parents are double checking the documents now. Of course sometimes they will be refused to travel without any reasons given but at least they can make sure they‘ve done everything in their power to prevent this from happening.

 

[flanker]

What was lost year's cutoff? 28 points? And who lost the draw based on total scores?

26 points, there was a tie breaking between Anna Tarusina and Yelim Kim, who had both 26 points for two silver medals and Yelim Kim had better total score. But having better placement counts more than a score, so being 1st and 3rd is more than being 2nd two times.

 

[Edwin]

Like it or not there will be visa problems for Russian athletes in US becasue relations between two countries arent' really good atm. But I also hope this won't happen to Anna or Liza

It's a mess for sure.

In Lake Placid, Anastasiya Tarakanova now will fight with twice the strength of Russia because her rink mate Kseniya Sinitsyna transferred her powers to Nastya ;-)

 

[*~RussianBleux~*]

Thanks Makes sense. Khromykh and Usachyova are still only 13 and can have two more JGP seasons. Give their second chances to the 15 year olds.
17 y.o. Tarusina and Vasil'yeva are in their third and final JGP season and with all respect, do not play a significant part IMO, 15 y.o. Tarakanova in her second or third already? 14 y.o. Kanysheva in her second for sure.
Next year, only 2007 born Samodelkina is age legible, so there is still a part to play for Khromykh and Usachyova.

Yes it just goes to show that all is not lost, and there are still enough spots to go around. It was originally supposed to be 9/6. Now it’s 8/6. We can just think of this JGP USA as Frolova’s spot. Really sad for Frolova, she should have had a chance to step up as an alternate here. Her coach and teammate are already going. It is a wasted spot from that sense.

I do agree that it makes no sense to send a front runner to such a high risk event against a skater who is being pushed politically whether or not that is deserved (Liu) in her home country. I maintain that Sinitsyna should never have been given that assignment to begin with as #2 at test skates, #4 at nationals behind the 3A. It should have been someone towards the bottom. Honestly I think it’s better this way. Definitely better for Sinitsyna and also really good for Tarakanova.

I just hope that from here out the spots are distributed fairly and equitably, not based on who the coach is but the skater’s achievements and likelihood to place in the top 2 at the particular assignment.

 

[Edwin]

26 points, there was a tie breaking between Anna Tarusina and Yelim Kim, who had both 26 points for two silver medals and Yelim Kim had better total score. But having better placement counts more than a score, so being 1st and 3rd is more than being 2nd two times.

26 sounds doable, one gold, one bronze or two silvers. Makes it all the more exciting.

 

[Edwin]

Yes it just goes to show that all is not lost, and there are still enough spots to go around. It was originally supposed to be 9/6. Now it’s 8/6. We can just think of this JGP USA as Frolova’s spot. Really sad for Frolova, she should have had a chance to step up as an alternate here. Her coach and teammate are already going. It is a wasted spot from that sense.

I do agree that it makes no sense to send a front runner to such a high risk event against a skater who is being pushed politically whether or not that is deserved (Liu) in her home country. I maintain that Sinitsyna should never have been given that assignment to begin with as #2 at test skates, #4 at nationals behind the 3A. It should have been someone towards the bottom. Honestly I think it’s better this way. Definitely better for Sinitsyna.

I just hope that from here out the spots are distributed fairly and equitably, not based on who the coach is but the skater’s achievements and likelihood to place in the top 2 at the particular assignment.

Anna Frolova surely must be sad and disappointed. Her reaction at Test Skates showed she probably knew she'd blown it. She is 14, so still has two other chances in JGP.
And I do sincerly hope FFKKR only looks at the skaters potential and leaves all other, often petty, motivations out of the selection.

 

[mathlike]

Lol, so you agree it could be tactical?
I expected to get scolded for my 'theory'. :scard8:

 

[*~RussianBleux~*]

According to the post Test Skates interviews, Davydov said that Tarusina suddenly felt the pain in her once injured knee flare up. It was diagnosed there were some bone chips floating about, and these had to be removed just before Test Skates. Further news still none. He said back then, Anna's recovery should take little time, since it was a clean endoscopic operation. Since you probably need a 200 score in JGP, is Tarusina capable of that?

I’m not sure as a junior. Tarusina is wildly undermarked in PCS and apparently has edge issues. She was 198 as a senior at Alpen Trophy last year with ChSq1. But it is the points that matter more for the final, scores are only a tie breaker. Tarusina can win a silver medal easily on JGP as she is very competitive against the Japanese and Korean girls as long as no one is doing a 3A. I do believe she would have won silver at France if healthy. She is unbelievably consistent. Not a single mistake last year except ! and did the wrong spin (coach fault).

This year is much more unpredictable than last. Last year Trusova, Kostornaia, and Shcherbakova had a strong hold on the gold medals and there was not Alysa Liu or Japanese girls doing 3A like Kawabe in the mix. This year crazy things can happen in the ladies like Stephen Gogolev completely bombing out on his second assignment (5th!) but still making the final and winning. A bronze medal is perhaps not a kiss of death with a high enough score. Seoyeong for instance managed silver last weekend but can she do it again? Maybe not if the Russian girls are solid and Japanese girl with a 3A shows up, she could finish 4th or even 5th then her points are a wash.

 

[Vandevska]

What was lost year's cutoff? 28 points? And who lost the draw based on total scores?

Thinking of Alysa Lyu as the only 'unbeatable' candidate that is best avoided, planning the strongest 'assault' for JGPF gives me a headache ;-)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018–19_ISU_Junior_Grand_Prix

Tarusina lost the draw. Maya is definitely in big danger of not making the JGPF with 3rd place, but we can only wait and see. Things are uncertain until the end.

 

[*~RussianBleux~*]

Lol, so you agree it could be tactical?
I expected to get scolded for my 'theory'. :scard8:

Hahaha after I sat down and figured it all out I have to admit from Panova’s perspective it makes a lot of sense. ;-) This is highly beneficial to both her top students assuming the fed will still give Sinitsyna a spot.

 

[Edwin]

Lol, so you agree it could be tactical?
I expected to get scolded for my 'theory'. :scard8:

No, these things makes sense when you look at them without emotional attachment to this skater or that.

Of course we'd love to see our favourites skate as often as possible, but with JGP rules, their efforts will be wasted for the 'greater good' of reaching JGPF. With one Bronze, any of Sinitsyna or Tarakanova needs a Gold in another event to get at least the 26 points that were last year's cutoff. That's a tough call even without Alysa Liu or Kamila Valiyeva/Alyona Kanysheva in that particular event.

Hahaha after I sat down and figured it all out I have to admit from PanovaÂ’s perspective it makes a lot of sense. ;-) This is highly beneficial to both her top students assuming the fed will still give Sinitsyna a spot.

Obviously, mainly because #TeamPanova is so unknown to us, but perhaps not fo FFKKR? We only have seen public Test Skates, but no doubt FFKKR have more detailed training and progress reports submitted to them and might send one of their specialists to check on proceedings themselves.

 

[*~RussianBleux~*]

Obviously, mainly because #TeamPanova is so unknown to us, but perhaps not fo FFKKR? We only have seen public Test Skates, but no doubt FFKKR have more detailed training and progress reports submitted to them and might send one of their specialists to check on proceedings themselves.

Could you explain this more for me? Are you talking about Sinitsyna or someone else?

 

[Edwin]

Could you explain this more for me? Are you talking about Sinitsyna or someone else?

About #TeamPanova in particular, but I think this applies to all rinks who have skaters in contention for JGP. Given all the troubles over USA visas, the amount of money involved for flights and living, any federation will want to make sure their athletes are ready for the job at hand. FFKKR will want to know how everybody is doing, if the targets set for them after Test Skates evaluation are being met and how and with which probability, etc. Given the intense internal competition in Russia's ladies and girls singles, all small details matter, in maximising the chance to get into JGPF.

 

[*~RussianBleux~*]

About #TeamPanova in particular, but I think this applies to all rinks who have skaters in contention for JGP. Given all the troubles over USA visas, the amount of money involved for flights and living, any federation will want to make sure their athletes are ready for the job at hand. FFKKR will want to know how everybody is doing, if the targets set for them after Test Skates evaluation are being met and how and with which probability, etc. Given the intense internal competition in Russia's ladies and girls singles, all small details matter, in maximising the chance to get into JGPF.

This makes sense, thank you. Yes we can only speculate about the skaters’ potential based on past competitions and test skates, but the Fed has eyes behind the scenes. All we can do is sit back and hope that they will make the right decisions regarding the assignments to maximize the chances for our girls.

 

[SkateSkates]

You can’t maximize chances for JGPF if you’re not maximizing entries in every event. The federations fatal mistake was only assigning 1 sub to the event, who ended up being injured. Now there is essentially no sub, and due to a visa issue, Russia has lost a spot, likely Frolova’s. I don’t know why they didn’t assign her as a sub since her coach is already making the trip. She was definitely at the bottom of the list to get a spot, but with Tarusina and Vasilieva potentially injured, she essentially becomes the #7 instead of #9 and is now in the running for at least 1 spot. Also, competition is unpredictable. The 3A were an exception winning all their events with overall solid skates (1-2 mistakes max per event), not the norm. Yes Anna Frolova likely has the lowest maximum scoring ceiling but we never know what will happen in competition. Maya was so solid last season I didn’t think she would finish with bronze, under 180 points, but this happened.

 

[Elucidus]

The federations fatal mistake was only assigning 1 sub to the event, who ended up being injured. Now there is essentially no sub, and due to a visa issue, Russia has lost a spot, likely Frolova’s. I don’t know why they didn’t assign her as a sub since her coach is already making the trip.

They could assign whole national team as the subs - it doesn't matter and wouldn't change anything. If you have problem and need of substitution this late - just before the competition - noone wll be able to make it in time even for usual event. And it's many times more true for US event.


What I am truly concerned about though - is first two senior GP events. Is there a chance the same issues can happen there as well? Or ISU have more control over logistics matters there?

 

[Ziotic]

They could assign whole national team as the subs - it doesn't matter and wouldn't change anything. If you have problem and need of substitution this late - just before the competition - noone wll be able to make it in time even for usual event. And it's many times more true for US event.


What I am truly concerned about though - is first two senior GP events. Is there a chance the same issues can happen there as well? Or ISU have more control over logistics matters there?

The ISU has zero sway or pull with USA customs so it could easily happen at Sr level too.

I worry most about Anna as she is a minor. Liza isn’t and I believe Stanislava is also of age.