2019-20 U.S. Ladies Figure Skating

[Moxiejan]

Good way to keep on the inside edge for the flip take-off, too. It would be really hard to lip with that entry.

And a true euler that is jumped with the proper cadence and not just stepped.

 

[yelyoh]

I would not be surprised to see Gracie top five or six after the short. The long with possible stamina issues and more possibly going wrong might drop her down but perhaps not. I think people not putting her somewhere in their predictions are doing so at their peril. However still rooting for Mariah and Bradie and Alyssa

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

I would not be surprised to see Gracie top five or six after the short. The long with possible stamina issues and more possibly going wrong might drop her down but perhaps not. I think people not putting her somewhere in their predictions are doing so at their peril. However still rooting for Mariah and Bradie and Alyssa

She could have a solid outing in the SP. We've see her to the 3-3 multiple times in practices, and a clean short with a tough combo would keep her close to the top 3. I agree that the LP will be more problematic, as she has run out of gas in both of her LPs this season. I'm not sure the stamina issue is one she can improve quickly enough to compete for a top placement this year, but we'll know in 8 days.

 

[NAOTMAA]

Still idiotic to have the Ladies free skate on a Friday night. Do they really think they will have a bigger crowd for the Ice Dance final on Saturday night? How did that become the big final for Saturday night instead of the Ladies?

NBC don't think they will have a bigger crowd for ice dance on Saturday because they won't be showing any skating at all. Saturday night they are showing the NHL All-Star game. In order to watch the ice dance final you have to watch NBC Sports channel.

 

[skylark]

I would not be surprised to see Gracie top five or six after the short. The long with possible stamina issues and more possibly going wrong might drop her down but perhaps not. I think people not putting her somewhere in their predictions are doing so at their peril.

Peril? As far as I know, it's still just a game.

 

[Ice Dance]

Still idiotic to have the Ladies free skate on a Friday night. Do they really think they will have a bigger crowd for the Ice Dance final on Saturday night? How did that become the big final for Saturday night instead of the Ladies?

Gee, I don't know? It would seem to me that the one discipline in which the United States earned two medals at the GPF and has also medaled consistently at the past three Olympics and umpteen World Championships in a row would be a perfectly logical discipline to give one evening in the starring role at a four-day U.S. Championships. Of course that's just me.

The ladies have two evenings. They're fine.

 

[sheetz]

NBC is only showing the Ladies' FS, Men's SP, and Men's FS. Everything else will only be on NBCSN.
https://usfigureskatingfanzone.com/...ing-announce-2019-20-television-schedule.aspx

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

NBC is only showing the Ladies' FS, Men's SP, and Men's FS. Everything else will only be on NBCSN.
https://usfigureskatingfanzone.com/...ing-announce-2019-20-television-schedule.aspx

With a 3 hour slot on Friday, NBC will also replay some of the ladies SPs. I'd expect to see Alysa, Bradie, Mariah, Gracie, Karen, and maybe a few others who place high.

 

[natsulian]

Confirmed withdrawals thus far: Emilia Murdock (injury), Ting Cui (injury), and Hanna Harrell (injury).

 

[MarinHondas]

Confirmed withdrawals thus far: Emilia Murdock (injury), Ting Cui (injury), and Hanna Harrell (injury).

Emilia too? Wow. This is getting depressing..so many injuries for these young girls.

 

[StitchMonkey]

Still idiotic to have the Ladies free skate on a Friday night. Do they really think they will have a bigger crowd for the Ice Dance final on Saturday night? How did that become the big final for Saturday night instead of the Ladies?

Some would argue by winning world, GPF and Olympic medals. Ice Dance in the USA has earned some love.

 

[dancelion21]

Some would argue by winning world, GPF and Olympic medals. Ice Dance in the USA has earned some love.

I second that. Ice Dance is the strongest discipline in the US, and I think capitalizing on the success of US Ice Dancers is a path that USFSA can take to try to regain some momentum for figure skating in the United States. Fans like to see their country doing well, and ice dance has been the most consistently strong discipline for over ten years now in the USA.

 

[princessalica]

I second that. Ice Dance is the strongest discipline in the US, and I think capitalizing on the success of US Ice Dancers is a path that USFSA can take to try to regain some momentum for figure skating in the United States. Fans like to see their country doing well, and ice dance has been the most consistently strong discipline for over ten years now in the USA.

You could also argue that they should focus on men's, since we have a 2X world champion and another US man on the podium at World's last year. We haven't won gold since Meryl and Charlie. (Not to say that we don't have a strong field in ice dance, we do, but we have several that could place top 5/6 and more that could be top 10 to top 15, but we aren't quite up there with Papadakis and Cizeron.) I mean in men's we have Nathan who is pretty awesome to watch and brings his own flavor to his events, and really the only challenger to Nathan is Hanyu at the moment - They're in a league of their own.

But I think there is still a stigma to ice skating and the ladies event is the biggest draw. I think this year will be interesting with the expected top 3 and some who really could play spoiler - we will just have to see. Of course in the movies I think Pairs and Ladies draws the most attention. Unfortunately those are currently our weakest fields.

 

[dancelion21]

You could also argue that they should focus on men's, since we have a 2X world champion and another US man on the podium at World's last year. We haven't won gold since Meryl and Charlie. (Not to say that we don't have a strong field in ice dance, we do, but we have several that could place top 5/6 and more that could be top 10 to top 15, but we aren't quite up there with Papadakis and Cizeron.) I mean in men's we have Nathan who is pretty awesome to watch and brings his own flavor to his events, and really the only challenger to Nathan is Hanyu at the moment - They're in a league of their own.

But I think there is still a stigma to ice skating and the ladies event is the biggest draw. I think this year will be interesting with the expected top 3 and some who really could play spoiler - we will just have to see. Of course in the movies I think Pairs and Ladies draws the most attention. Unfortunately those are currently our weakest fields.

When people think of figure skating, I think they always think of the ladies event first, which is also probably why figure skating isn't doing as well in the United States. While figure skaters in other disciplines, like Nathan, Vincent, and the US ice dancers, have been performing strongly at international competitions, the general audience is still looking for a lady, which is also why Alysa got so much buzz in the media last year. It's unfortunate that the general public in America is so fixated on ladies skating, because they miss out on how well the US is doing in other disciplines.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

You could also argue that they should focus on men's, since we have a 2X world champion and another US man on the podium at World's last year. We haven't won gold since Meryl and Charlie.

Our dance teams have been strong, and I'd say the Shibutanis have been more successful than any US woman since Sasha Cohen. Women and pairs have been the weaker divisions here for awhile now.

 

[arewhyaen]

When people think of figure skating, I think they always think of the ladies event first, which is also probably why figure skating isn't doing as well in the United States. While figure skaters in other disciplines, like Nathan, Vincent, and the US ice dancers, have been performing strongly at international competitions, the general audience is still looking for a lady, which is also why Alysa got so much buzz in the media last year. It's unfortunate that the general public in America is so fixated on ladies skating, because they miss out on how well the US is doing in other disciplines.

I've never really agreed with this notion that the American Public thinks of ladies figure skating first. The public is interested in storylines and winning - the stars that are made are merely products of those two things. For example, I don't follow gymnastics, but because of Simone Biles, I became more invested in following the sport. Similarly, I never followed swimming until Michael Phelps. On this point, figure skating is still recovering from a time there between 2007 to around 2015 when the only "stars" in US figure skating were in ice dance - which has historically been the least popular of the disciplines. But I think if Nathan continues to dominate the way he does (and raises all the other American men along with him) then figure skating will be just fine.

 

[skylark]

On this point, figure skating is still recovering from a time there between 2007 to around 2015 when the only "stars" in US figure skating were in ice dance - which has historically been the least popular of the disciplines. But I think if Nathan continues to dominate the way he does (and raises all the other American men along with him) then figure skating will be just fine.

I think Olympic Champion, gold medalist Evan Lysacek was a phenomenally great star. When he didn't WD because of injury, he medalled.

 

[oatmella]

Not everyone is fixated on the ladies, and I think this is overstated. I know older people who mostly seem to remember Scott Hamilton and Brian Boitano.

I don’t think Alysa got media attention last year just because she is a ladies skater. A lot of it was likely due to her being so young.

 

[moonvine]

I've never really agreed with this notion that the American Public thinks of ladies figure skating first. The public is interested in storylines and winning - the stars that are made are merely products of those two things. For example, I don't follow gymnastics, but because of Simone Biles, I became more invested in following the sport. Similarly, I never followed swimming until Michael Phelps. On this point, figure skating is still recovering from a time there between 2007 to around 2015 when the only "stars" in US figure skating were in ice dance - which has historically been the least popular of the disciplines. But I think if Nathan continues to dominate the way he does (and raises all the other American men along with him) then figure skating will be just fine.

Based on attendance at figure skating events, I must disagree. Ladies is the one with the best attendance. I still don’t understand how they draw more than the men. But they do.

 

[lusterfan]

I've never really agreed with this notion that the American Public thinks of ladies figure skating first. The public is interested in storylines and winning - the stars that are made are merely products of those two things. For example, I don't follow gymnastics, but because of Simone Biles, I became more invested in following the sport. Similarly, I never followed swimming until Michael Phelps. On this point, figure skating is still recovering from a time there between 2007 to around 2015 when the only "stars" in US figure skating were in ice dance - which has historically been the least popular of the disciplines. But I think if Nathan continues to dominate the way he does (and raises all the other American men along with him) then figure skating will be just fine.

And I think this is precisely why USFS and everyone in general pushed Alysa so far into the media. Not necessarily a good or bad thing, but I think their intention is to stir interest via building a star. A star-less sport, especially one that's been relegated to a niche spot like FS, is hard to appeal to the masses. With hardly any ladies champions in the US recently, interest is dwindling. People still very much so think of figure skating as a more feminine sport, so the ladies discipline in a way benefits more from that than do the men. Regardless of the gendered discussion though, especially given her young age and bubbly personality, Alysa comes with an entire storyline and image all ready to be sold by the media - that should be an inspiration for young girls (and even young boys) all around the US to get into the sport!