2020-21 Russian Ladies' Figure Skating

[nussnacker]

Well, i guess i will just watch Liza's skate. That must be her best free program since 2019 WTT.
That's how you show that you're still in the game.

Apparently, Trusova was 2017 worlds Anna pogorilaya's level or worse, Alena Leonova 2016 GP France. Incredible.
I don't want to see that. I'll just rewatch her 4th stage free skate. Davai Sasha. You will do better next time.

Kostornaya probably had jumps with 0 flow out to get them reviewed and called. Why is she struggling with spins and step seq?

Congrats to Guliakova for her bronze and Nugumanova for her not so bad results for her 1st GP.

At least in one of the spins in her free she repeats the same feature twice in her first and second spins (from I remembered from Stage 4), which then doesn’t count and was why she lost level on her second spin on Stage 4. Additionally, she didn’t quite do all 8 rotations back then, so it could’ve been L2 if judges were strict.

I’m not sure if the same thing happened here, because I haven’t watched the competition yet, but I saw that she got L2 on that spin here from the score sheets. It might have been a fluke mistake last time if the reason for the levels is different this time, I‘ll have to check the video first. So until then, that would be my guess on the spins at least.

 

[Fluture]

Anyone who knows about jumping technique: I wonder what Aliona can do to fix her leg wrap and delay of rotation? It used to be fine in juniors and last year when she could rotate faster but now that she's grown, she obviously can't and keeps URing her toe jumps. I don't want to see her end up like Tsurskaya, who had gorgeous height but so many URs. So... what does she have to do to fix it? And how quickly can such a change be made?

(and I'd appreciate serious, technical answers, not something like: go back to Eteri) Thanks in advance.

 

[Novalis]

Arseniy, Kolya, Moris, Kamila x2, Alina x2 - a master-class from Khrustal'nyi during the gala

I see TeamTutberidze as a winner here. Simply by being absent from the ladies competition and of course, Moris showing that they can improve other than young girls.

And now, they're just doubling down by taking over the Gala

 

[Fluture]

At least in one of the spins in her free repeats the same feature twice in her first and second spin (from I remembered from Stage 4), which then doesn’t count and was why she lost levels on her second spin on Stage 4. Additionally, she didn’t quite do all 8 rotations back then, so it could’ve been L2 if judges we’re strict.

I’m not sure if the same happened here, because I haven’t watched the competition yet, but I saw that she got L2 on that spin here. It might have been a fluke mistake last time if the reason for the levels is different this time, I‘ll have to check the video first. So until then, that would be my guess on the spins at least.

I'm not too knowledgeable on spins but my guess is that she just doesn't have enough stamina yet. The first in the FS always looks good (and the three in the SP were fine too) but the last two are right at the end, and she loses gas about in the middle of the program. She noticeably slowed down on that level two spin and didn't hold one of the positions long enough, I think. The spins she will fix with more stamina, we've seen them get better in the SP.

Problem is the step sequence + jumps. For the first, it doesn't even look like it's choreographed as a level 4, way too much two footed skating. She needs to schedule another video session with Shae-Lynn asap. Jumps... I don't know what she can do about those, to be honest. At this point, it's not even about the 3A. It's about rotating her triples.

 

[yume]

At least in one of the spins in her free she repeats the same feature twice in her first and second spins (from I remembered from Stage 4), which then doesn’t count and was why she lost level on her second spin on Stage 4. Additionally, she didn’t quite do all 8 rotations back then, so it could’ve been L2 if judges were strict.

I’m not sure if the same thing happened here, because I haven’t watched the competition yet, but I saw that she got L2 on that spin here from the score sheets. It might have been a fluke mistake last time if the reason for the levels is different this time, I‘ll have to check the video first. So until then, that would be my guess on the spins at least.

For the feature, that's Rozanov's work. That kind of mistake shouldn't happen.

 

[Scott512]

Yesterday was a little bit dull to watch, but today
I'm not a fan of Liza FS but today she really was on fire and she deserved to win in my opinion. I didn't think the judges would go for it, though, that was a surprise! I thought Alena's reputation would save her (I thought the same for Sasha).
Alena FS was way better than in the 4th stage of Russian Cup and today she seemed more prepared. Even if the program is not the best she was a joy to watch as usual, but without the 3A the technical advantage wasn't there.
Guliakova was really really good! I don't usually follow her closely, but today she totally deserved the third place. As for Liza, I didn't think they would put her above Sasha, but for once the judges positively surprised me.
Sasha clearly had a rough day, I think she seemed off from the warmup. The program was painful to watch today, I hope she's not too disappointed. It was good to see her smile in the kiss and cry, but a skate like that could really shake her confidence... I hope that's not going to happen.

Where did aliona finish? Reading your post Guliakona finished third?

I don't think Sasha was injured before the FP. If she was, I'm sure her coaches wouldn't have let her jump 4 quads or at least I would hope so.
I think changing the costume and the spikes gimmick was a big mistake. It adds pressure of having one more thing to worry about on top of the already difficult layout. And it really adds nothing to the program and it was very distracting.
Everything that could go wrong with this program really went wrong.

I take off my hat to Liza. She really said "that gold is mine" after Sasha's meltdown. She gave it everything she had and it was such a pleasure to watch that skate. Well deserved standing ovation.
After Aliona's skate I was ready to throw something if the judges gave the gold to her over Liza going by PCS alone, but I'm glad they didn't.

Aliona wasn't as inspired today and she really needs to check that step sequence because she keeps losing levels.
I guess this adds more pressure for her to get the 3A back, considering she will face both Kamila and Liza with 3A in two weeks at the fifth stage of the cup.

Anyone who knows about jumping technique: I wonder what Aliona can do to fix her leg wrap and delay of rotation? It used to be fine in juniors and last year when she could rotate faster but now that she's grown, she obviously can't and keeps URing her toe jumps. I don't want to see her end up like Tsurskaya, who had gorgeous height but so many URs. So... what does she have to do to fix it? And how quickly can such a change be made?

(and I'd appreciate serious, technical answers, not something like: go back to Eteri) Thanks in advance.

No one would say go back to EG. It's too soon for that. I'm willing to give Aliona and everyone a pass for this season no matter what happens and who wins what.

 

[karina17]

Ok, I went back after all and now I get it: she is raising the spiky bits on her sleeves. Nice detail, but it was a bit disruptive to the program, especially since she was behind the music. See here:

Yeah, you're right. I didn't really catch the malfunction because I think I had my head in my hands after the 3Lz fall, but now I've rewatched it and it just looks awkward.

I still really like how they look after she fixes them, though. It really stands out against the white ice and I think it makes her arm movements look more dynamic.

 

[Fluture]

For the feature, that's Rozanov's work. That kind of mistake shouldn't happen.

What's the feature she's repeating?

 

[Lunalovesskating]

What a terrible and disrespectful audience today. While Aliona was in the KnC they shouted to her "Liza was better, Liza first. Liza Liza Liza".

 

[Scott512]

Hey everybody the new star KV is going to skate in the gala after she was not allowed to skate in the competition! Wow isn't that nice? But if she's too young for the stressful competition why isn't she too young for the gala when she has to show your beautiful artistry and musicality? The stress might be too much for her.

 

[Fluture]

What a terrible and disrespectful audience today. While Aliona was in the KnC they shouted to her "Liza was better, Liza first. Liza Liza Liza".

That's disgusting. Poor Aliona.

 

[Edwin]

Anyone who knows about jumping technique: I wonder what Aliona can do to fix her leg wrap and delay of rotation? It used to be fine in juniors and last year when she could rotate faster but now that she's grown, she obviously can't and keeps URing her toe jumps. I don't want to see her end up like Tsurskaya, who had gorgeous height but so many URs. So... what does she have to do to fix it? And how quickly can such a change be made?

(and I'd appreciate serious, technical answers, not something like: go back to Eteri) Thanks in advance.

I was wondering too, because it seemed to me she still skated very fast. Speed is your friend in having that nice running edge out of your jumps and will convert forwards momentum into height when properly converted over the toepick or blade edge.

So my guess is weight and don't hack me off for it, but Alyona has gained and needs to loose it again so her muscle memory becomes most effective again.
And perhaps still a pain in her ankle, which is also effected by weight. Remember a 2 kgs increase in a 40 kgs person is 5%, and that will surely affect.

 

[dhjh811]

What a terrible and disrespectful audience today. While Aliona was in the KnC they shouted to her "Liza was better, Liza first. Liza Liza Liza".

How are people so immature? Openly announcing their stupidity. I would be embarrassed to act like that in public.

 

[Baron Vladimir]

I'm not too knowledgeable on spins but my guess is that she just doesn't have enough stamina yet. The first in the FS always looks good (and the three in the SP were fine too) but the last two are right at the end, and she loses gas about in the middle of the program. She noticeably slowed down on that level two spin and didn't hold one of the positions long enough, I think. The spins she will fix with more stamina, we've seen them get better in the SP.

Problem is the step sequence + jumps. For the first, it doesn't even look like it's choreographed as a level 4, way too much two footed skating. She needs to schedule another video session with Shae-Lynn asap. Jumps... I don't know what she can do about those, to be honest. At this point, it's not even about the 3A. It's about rotating her triples.

Her triples are still mostly good rotated, especially if you compare it with the other skaters here (see their protocols). It's not like she got 'too many' calls as some other Russian skaters got. Basically, that combo in the second half was the 'only' problem. So, it may also be due to the stamina/not enough training process and it can get better - the whole second half of the programme during the course of the season.

 

[skatesofgold]

Unpopular opinion: I like Aliona's long program dress.

 

[dhjh811]

Hey everybody the new star KV is going to skate in the gala after she was not allowed to skate in the competition! Wow isn't that nice? But if she's too young for the stressful competition why isn't she too young for the gala when she has to show your beautiful artistry and musicality? The stress might be too much for her.

I mean, Rostelecom is a senior GP event, and skaters under the senior age limit can't skate there. That's always how it's been for ISU senior grand prix events. Juniors have often skated in the gala for senior events, so this isn't something new.

 

[elbkup]

What a terrible and disrespectful audience today. While Aliona was in the KnC they shouted to her "Liza was better, Liza first. Liza Liza Liza".

what soccer match was this?!!

 

[Amei]

Today was obviously a very off day for Sasha, and honestly, I'm glad she doesn't have any competitions in the coming month, and thus cna take some time to practice or heal if she has an injury. She's still the quad queen.

oh my god these are the comments i was just waiting for. ONE bad skate. Sasha had bad skates under Eteri right? And Eteri isn't a magical wizard, she can't just whisk away q's and edge calls. We really need to stop looking at one bad competition and using at as precedence for a skater's entire career.

Umm, except this isn't 1 bad competition or a strange off-day for Trusova, this was just another occurrence to be added to her list of poor performances along with the GPF last year as well Europeans and Nationals, she wasn't exactly fantastic at her cup event a few weeks ago either....

I'm not going to say she's done that's dumb to say, but it seems clear after today that her issues with performing cleanly have not gone away, when the lights come on competition time she's struggling to deliver. That could be a problem for her especially if it repeats at Nationals and/or the Cup final, and if there is no Europeans or Worlds this year for her to possibly show up big and perform well, that means she'll go into next year having to fight and prove that she doesn't falter under pressure because the coaches council is likely to have plenty of quality skaters with quads and/or triple axels to replace her with for Europeans/Worlds/Olympics teams even if she finishes the 2022 Nationals on the podium.

 

[prorussian fan]

Cualquiera que sepa sobre la técnica de salto: me pregunto qué puede hacer Aliona para arreglar su vendaje de pierna y el retraso de la rotación. Solía estar bien en juniors y el año pasado cuando podía rotar más rápido, pero ahora que ha crecido, obviamente no puede y sigue haciendo UR con los saltos de sus pies. No quiero verla terminar como Tsurskaya, que tenía una estatura preciosa pero tantas UR. Entonces ... ¿qué tiene que hacer para arreglarlo? ¿Y con qué rapidez se puede realizar ese cambio?

(y agradecería respuestas técnicas serias, no algo como: volver a Eteri) Gracias de antemano.:gracias:

 

[Fluture]

I was wondering too, because it seemed to me she still skated very fast. Speed is your friend in having that nice running edge out of your jumps and will convert forwards momentum into height when properly converted over the toepick or blade edge.

So my guess is weight and don't hack me off for it, but Alyona has gained and needs to loose it again so her muscle memory becomes most effective again.
And perhaps still a pain in her ankle, which is also effected by weight. Remember a 2 kgs increase in a 40 kgs person is 5%, and that will surely affect.

....that's not how it works. She's a 17 year old going through puberty she will INEVITABLY gain weight. That's just how it is, she's never going to look like she's 15 again simply because she's not a child anymore! Look at her arms, she's still very thin, what weight should she lose?

She has to adjust her technique so that it works for her current body shape. Her problem is the delayed rotation that she's ALWAYS had. It was always problematic technique (because less efficient) but before this season, she was small enough to rotate faster and jump higher to make up for it.