2020-21 Russian Ladies' Figure Skating
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They better ditch it. There’s a damn good reason men aren’t performing 3Lz-3Lo. Absolutely no reason to risk it for such minimal reward when you’ve got multiple quads to pump up your tech score.
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- Apr 17, 2018
Nastya Tarakanova did so good! Argh, why did she have to perform at this stage! At any other stage I think she would've been like 4th or 5th.
Liza Nugumanova's jumps were probably UR, but I love that program.
Kseniia Tsibinova was a really nice surprise. I really enjoy her fun FS, very different from a lot of the other programs this season. Her SS are really great too!
Liza Nugumanova's jumps were probably UR, but I love that program.
Kseniia Tsibinova was a really nice surprise. I really enjoy her fun FS, very different from a lot of the other programs this season. Her SS are really great too!
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2011
the only flaw i saw in this dress was the skirt. it needs to be more flowy, it's too evenly cut the whole way around.
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2018
I watched live, or at least tried to. Online lectures distracted a bit. 
Some thoughts:
SASHA!!!
That 4S! Let me tell you, my jaw dropped when I saw it. So high, so clean, just insane. Also, she finally landed the 4Lz again and another 4T+Eu+3S. One of a kind. The 4T fall made me gasp, though, and it looked like it hurt quite a lot. I was honestly worried she‘d seriously hurt herself and I have no idea how she managed to pull off another quad combo after that. The 3Lz+3Lo seems to become a problem, however, just like with Anna. I don‘t know if it‘s nerves (in Sasha’s case, stamina probably played a role too and the painful fall rattling her a bit), a coordination problem or both at the same time. Like with Anna, though, I wonder if it might be better to just drop it. Her PCS were overscored quite a bit (like at the last stage) but still - I do like this program and I was happy she didn‘t do the hip shimmy move. Overall, I‘m so happy for her. Two Gold medals, this must have restored her confidence. Onto Rostelecom! Now that Aliona doesn‘t seem to be in contention for gold this season and Zhenya’s out completely due to injury, I‘m wholeheartedly rooting for Sasha to do her thing and collect some more titles for her resume.
Which brings me to our second place today. Aliona. Ah, I still love her. And yes, I do like the program, I think it has tons of potential. For those who already complained about the “lack of Eteri magic“. Let me put some things in perspective for you: After months off the ice due to covid and going through puberty (remember that Aliona is a full year older than both Sasha and Anna), she began to restore her jumps, only to AGAIN have major time without training because of a disruptive coaching change. She had to learn two new programs in time for the season and when she finally began to try the 3A again, she fell, hurt her back and broke her boots. All of this about two weeks before this competition, which meant she lost another week breaking the new boots in. And this hasn‘t even touched onto all the psychological stress such a chaotic off-season leads to. Just think of the tension the first competition with her new team must have caused. She‘s a teenager who was smeared in the media and called a “traitor“ and legitimately feared for her career. (She herself said she was scared the judges would drop her because of the hate and drama) And yet she went out there and skated two relatively solid programs without any falls and only one step out, really. Were they perfect? Hell no. But what she did showed quite a lot of strength and she should be really, really proud of herself. Thankfully, her coaches seem to have helped her with a similar mindset. She looked relaxed and at peace with what she‘d done.
Now, back to reality: Were the performances she put out enough to help her onto the podium in a field as deep as Russia‘s? No. Hence my comment that she likely won‘t be contending for major Golds (or Silvers, really) this season. There‘s just too many issues she has to deal with at once but that‘s okay. There‘s no better season for this than that one. First of all, she needs to heal her back and not push it further. I liked that they didn‘t try to include the 3A and risk injury for a relatively minor event. (we have seen where needlessly pushing yourself can lead in the case of Medvedeva) Then, she‘ll have to do a lot of run throughs to get comfortable with her programs, especially the FS.
I do think it has a lot of potential overall - the step sequence only got a level 2 because she stumbled - but the choreography was pretty unique and right on the music. Everything‘s a bit empty right now, so she‘ll need some more skype lessons with Shae to fill in the gaps once she‘s ready. Her spins also seemed to be an issue. I think it might partly still be from her hurting her back a few weeks ago. Also, there were a lot of comments about her presentation: Of course it‘s not the best yet because she‘s literally just not comfortable with the choreography! Once she is, she‘ll do better. If she fixes all this and skates two clean programs, she should be okay even without the 3A. For this season at least. She‘ll lose to Anna and Sasha and Kamila but the latter is not senior eligible. So, she has one season to get all her issues under control. It seems doable. We will see how she‘ll cope. For now the goal is to win another Silver at the next stage and medal at Rostelecom and then do well enough at RusNats to be chosen for the team, should there be major internationals this season.
Now, third place.. Maiia. Sigh. She looked so confident yesterday, I really thought she‘d skate cleanly today. Well, eventually she‘ll get it right, maybe RusNats will be the time. I liked how she fought for her 3-3 combos, well done on that! Other than that, I honestly have to say that I didn‘t understand her score at all. Like, I‘m sorry she didn’t do well but how she got lots of 2s and 3s in GOE on some wonky jumps is just as questionable as Aliona getting positive GOE for her combo yesterday. I also don‘t get her PCS, for me she lost presence after the 4S fall and I didn‘t see a whole lot of anything from her. She can be a really beautiful skater but today that was not it. I like her 2A, though, and she still won Bronze, so that‘s good.
As for the rest:
Sofia did MUCH better, I‘m so proud of her. She‘s still lacking a bit of stamina (similar to Aliona) but she‘s getting there. These girls literally all just need time. Everything‘s difficult enough already, we should give them a break.
Nugumanova was beautiful. Her jumps will probably never be rotated but oh my, what a skater she is. Tsibinova and Shulskaya were both solid enough but I honestly wouldn‘t be able to differentiate their skating if they were in practice clothes and had the same music. A bit more work on presentation needed there.
Stasya didn‘t bomb and she fought, so that‘s good.
Edit: Forgot Nastya Tarakanova. She‘s back!!! So happy for her and I almost teared up too when she burst into tears after the FS. I felt she was a bit underscored but then, she had some URs, so it‘s okay. I‘m just so happy and proud to see her again.
Overall, the level of competition was really insane and at times, I had to remind myself that I was watching a minor Russian Cup and not the World Championships. Just... wow. Congrats to all these ladies and their coaches.
Some thoughts:
SASHA!!!
That 4S! Let me tell you, my jaw dropped when I saw it. So high, so clean, just insane. Also, she finally landed the 4Lz again and another 4T+Eu+3S. One of a kind. The 4T fall made me gasp, though, and it looked like it hurt quite a lot. I was honestly worried she‘d seriously hurt herself and I have no idea how she managed to pull off another quad combo after that. The 3Lz+3Lo seems to become a problem, however, just like with Anna. I don‘t know if it‘s nerves (in Sasha’s case, stamina probably played a role too and the painful fall rattling her a bit), a coordination problem or both at the same time. Like with Anna, though, I wonder if it might be better to just drop it. Her PCS were overscored quite a bit (like at the last stage) but still - I do like this program and I was happy she didn‘t do the hip shimmy move. Overall, I‘m so happy for her. Two Gold medals, this must have restored her confidence. Onto Rostelecom! Now that Aliona doesn‘t seem to be in contention for gold this season and Zhenya’s out completely due to injury, I‘m wholeheartedly rooting for Sasha to do her thing and collect some more titles for her resume.Which brings me to our second place today. Aliona. Ah, I still love her. And yes, I do like the program, I think it has tons of potential. For those who already complained about the “lack of Eteri magic“. Let me put some things in perspective for you: After months off the ice due to covid and going through puberty (remember that Aliona is a full year older than both Sasha and Anna), she began to restore her jumps, only to AGAIN have major time without training because of a disruptive coaching change. She had to learn two new programs in time for the season and when she finally began to try the 3A again, she fell, hurt her back and broke her boots. All of this about two weeks before this competition, which meant she lost another week breaking the new boots in. And this hasn‘t even touched onto all the psychological stress such a chaotic off-season leads to. Just think of the tension the first competition with her new team must have caused. She‘s a teenager who was smeared in the media and called a “traitor“ and legitimately feared for her career. (She herself said she was scared the judges would drop her because of the hate and drama) And yet she went out there and skated two relatively solid programs without any falls and only one step out, really. Were they perfect? Hell no. But what she did showed quite a lot of strength and she should be really, really proud of herself. Thankfully, her coaches seem to have helped her with a similar mindset. She looked relaxed and at peace with what she‘d done.
Now, back to reality: Were the performances she put out enough to help her onto the podium in a field as deep as Russia‘s? No. Hence my comment that she likely won‘t be contending for major Golds (or Silvers, really) this season. There‘s just too many issues she has to deal with at once but that‘s okay. There‘s no better season for this than that one. First of all, she needs to heal her back and not push it further. I liked that they didn‘t try to include the 3A and risk injury for a relatively minor event. (we have seen where needlessly pushing yourself can lead in the case of Medvedeva) Then, she‘ll have to do a lot of run throughs to get comfortable with her programs, especially the FS.
I do think it has a lot of potential overall - the step sequence only got a level 2 because she stumbled - but the choreography was pretty unique and right on the music. Everything‘s a bit empty right now, so she‘ll need some more skype lessons with Shae to fill in the gaps once she‘s ready. Her spins also seemed to be an issue. I think it might partly still be from her hurting her back a few weeks ago. Also, there were a lot of comments about her presentation: Of course it‘s not the best yet because she‘s literally just not comfortable with the choreography! Once she is, she‘ll do better. If she fixes all this and skates two clean programs, she should be okay even without the 3A. For this season at least. She‘ll lose to Anna and Sasha and Kamila but the latter is not senior eligible. So, she has one season to get all her issues under control. It seems doable. We will see how she‘ll cope. For now the goal is to win another Silver at the next stage and medal at Rostelecom and then do well enough at RusNats to be chosen for the team, should there be major internationals this season.
Now, third place.. Maiia. Sigh. She looked so confident yesterday, I really thought she‘d skate cleanly today. Well, eventually she‘ll get it right, maybe RusNats will be the time. I liked how she fought for her 3-3 combos, well done on that! Other than that, I honestly have to say that I didn‘t understand her score at all. Like, I‘m sorry she didn’t do well but how she got lots of 2s and 3s in GOE on some wonky jumps is just as questionable as Aliona getting positive GOE for her combo yesterday. I also don‘t get her PCS, for me she lost presence after the 4S fall and I didn‘t see a whole lot of anything from her. She can be a really beautiful skater but today that was not it. I like her 2A, though, and she still won Bronze, so that‘s good.
As for the rest:
Sofia did MUCH better, I‘m so proud of her. She‘s still lacking a bit of stamina (similar to Aliona) but she‘s getting there. These girls literally all just need time. Everything‘s difficult enough already, we should give them a break.
Nugumanova was beautiful. Her jumps will probably never be rotated but oh my, what a skater she is. Tsibinova and Shulskaya were both solid enough but I honestly wouldn‘t be able to differentiate their skating if they were in practice clothes and had the same music. A bit more work on presentation needed there.
Stasya didn‘t bomb and she fought, so that‘s good.
Edit: Forgot Nastya Tarakanova. She‘s back!!! So happy for her and I almost teared up too when she burst into tears after the FS. I felt she was a bit underscored but then, she had some URs, so it‘s okay. I‘m just so happy and proud to see her again.
Overall, the level of competition was really insane and at times, I had to remind myself that I was watching a minor Russian Cup and not the World Championships. Just... wow. Congrats to all these ladies and their coaches.
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- Joined
- Apr 26, 2018
Well, I expected this comment from you. Sorry for my bluntness but what‘s so hard to grasp about Aliona being not ready to perform a full FS yet and them likely planning to include more details once she‘s more comfortable? The basics are there but it would be a pretty horrible strategy to try and cram in transitions only to have her out of gas and making mistakes on the jumps... You think Shae-Lynn Bourne can’t choreograph a FS with a level 4 step sequence and transitions? Don’t make me laugh. Everything will come. If you weren‘t so toxic in your anti-Plushenko agenda and took Aliona‘s off-season (and her current boot and injury troubles) into consideration, you‘d understand how nonsensical this kind of comment really is.
Edit: Agree with the common perception of her dresses, though. It doesn‘t help that I dislike pink for costumes (mostly looks cheesy) but her SP dress was a miss for me, too. But that puts her in a long, long lists of costumes I dislike this season, so it‘s not as bad, I guess...
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She has new skates. I think she just finished learning the program, I"m sure it is a work in progress. She had no option but to compete here, but not sure the FS was 100% ready to go.
So in the last week we will have
Kostornaia, Valieva and Tuktamysheva batteling it out for the medals?
And then Sultanmagomedova, Guliakova, Tsibinova, Tarakanova, Andreeva and Sarnovskaya batteling it out for the last spots to nationals?
If Medvedeva and Sinitsina is still injured I and dont compete here I guess that 3 or possibly four of these skaters can qualify.
I think it would make natinals more interesting if they are given a bye for nationals but at the same time I want Guliakova and Tarakanova to qualify...
I need to go and do some math now on possible results and placements...
I agree. It didn't look like it fit correctly for one thing. And that puffy skirt. No. They need to start from scratch on this one.
I want Tarakanova to qualify in the worst way. LOL.
Everyone knows about her season and the struggles.
It's not about putting in transitions everywhere, it is about the whole picture. Last season she had programs, choreography and costumes that suited her well.
This new season the choreography is generic, not highlighting any of her strengths, the dresses are horrible and make her look like a muffin on skates and I don't see any of the artistic "Aliona magic". And so do a lot of people here.
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2011
no it wasn't, not yet. it's impressive she skated clean after all the stuff she's had to deal with and fight through the last few months and i give her a lot of credit. she is still really behind the other girls in terms of training time. the stamina will come with time, she will be fine. i don't understand why some people would discredit Shae Lynn like she doesn't know what she's doing, when Aliona is just not trained and comfortable with it yet. the "Aliona magic" will be there when she's in as good of shape as she was last year.
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2018
Oh well, not completely because it's still her but.. you know... Eteri factor....
Shae Lynn is definitely capable of creating great programs but perhaps between Alena's program and Mariah's this year is possibly just an off season for her 
Or maybe she was just sattled with certain requests from the teams she found difficult to work through when making them
Or maybe she was just sattled with certain requests from the teams she found difficult to work through when making them
I hate the SP music, but let's not get too hasty this was her first time competing them
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2019
You know the Eteri factor ... which I sincerely hope will diminish because the Plushy factor appears
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2018
It makes me kind of mad because there‘s fanart of costumes out there that looks 100% better than what she‘s got now.
You don‘t because she‘s struggling to skate clean. These girls are not machines and it might surprise you but it‘s very hard to emotionally engage in a program when you‘re not comfortable with the choreography and not trained enough to get through the jumps easily. The way she skated last season was an exception, not the norm and sorry but it IS nonsensical to expect the same level of “magic“ after that off-season. It will come. Give her time.
Agree with you about the costumes but like I said, most dresses for most girls this season are rather bad, programs relatively uninspired. Who really stands out? And not to mention that Aliona‘s FS was choreographed via skype and her and Shae have never worked together before. There‘s like tons of factors that need to be taken into consideration that it just seems needlessly petty to make passive aggressive comments and call Aliona things like a “muffin on skates“.
There‘s legitimate criticism to be made about the program - it‘s just not there yet. Fair enough, I‘m not saying she should get 76 PCS. But there‘s a way to word things and it‘s also obvious when criticism isn‘t made for the sake of it but to push a certain agenda. That was why my original comment was that harsh.
It means "it's more Jersey Shore, at times".
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