2021-2022 US Women's Figure Skating

[skatingiscool]

I'm just happy the women did well. I was not expecting so many women to go clean. Thanks to the women for proving me wrong. I don't necessarily agree with the placements and I thought Mariah was overscored in GOE, Alysa in PCS/ GOE considering her fall, and Karen's 3-3 should have been > not q ( Lindsay and Isabeau were correctly scored but since others were overscored it didn't seem fair) but the three leaders did well enough to show why they deserve to be on the team. Hope that continues on the LP.

You are correct. They really try to hold "juniors" down and make sure juniors are off podium, just like Rus champ.

 

[LiamForeman]

I admit that I totally did not recognize Alysa Liu!!! Still don't. When did this happen in the last four weeks?

Good for Mariah. She should be able to hold on to a spot. USFS seems to have their team picked now.

Karen- great skater, same as always

Isabeau- impressed she went for the --3loop. She'll do better in the LP.

Lindsay- I like her knees on her landings. She showed more personality at least.

Amber- I came in late and only saw her sitting in K/C getting her scores. When the marks went up I figured she actually went for the 3axel and fell on a DG. Since she doesn't do 3lutz in the SP, she's already at a deficit against the others. Hopefully she'll pull it together tomorow. What I would do is go for the 3axel in my first two jumping passes.

So, the Olympic Team will be Liu, Bell, and Chen. USFS like RusFed is holding down the juniors, as per usual. Where's the outrage for USFS?

 

[princessalica]

Did anyone else see the article where Gracie is quoted as saying that the Olympics are still attainable? Does she know something that we don’t?

Mariah Bell tops figure skating nationals short program; Gracie Gold surprises

Mariah Bell leads the U.S. Figure Skating Championships after the women's short program. Gracie Gold had her best skate in years.

sports.yahoo.com

Gold said making it back to the Olympics has been one of her goals.

“It is, in theory, completely attainable,” she said, expressing satisfaction with her short. “Copy and paste for tomorrow.”

 

[norwegianfairytale]

Did anyone else see the article where Gracie is quoted as saying that the Olympics are still attainable? Does she know something that we don’t?

Mariah Bell tops figure skating nationals short program; Gracie Gold surprises

Mariah Bell leads the U.S. Figure Skating Championships after the women's short program. Gracie Gold had her best skate in years.

sports.yahoo.com

Gold said making it back to the Olympics has been one of her goals.

“It is, in theory, completely attainable,” she said, expressing satisfaction with her short. “Copy and paste for tomorrow.”

I read that too and was wondering.

Just a thought, she has the LP minimum, is it possible she could be sent only to skate the LP in the Team Event? Is it possible to send 4 athletes if one of them skates only in the Team Event? I mean skaters who doesn´t have a spot in the singles event are going only to skate in the Team Event, so I know that is possible, but I don´t know if countries are allowed to bring 4 entries overall and split between singles and Team Event. I don´t think the Fed would do that though (it would also mean more expenses), i´m just wondering if it´s actually possible and that could be what Gracie is talking about.

 

[princessalica]

I read that too and was wondering.

Just a thought, she has the LP minimum, is it possible she could be sent only to skate the LP in the Team Event? Is it possible to send 4 athletes if one of them skates only in the Team Event? I mean skaters who doesn´t have a spot in the singles event are going only to skate in the Team Event, so I know that is possible, but I don´t know if countries are allowed to bring 4 entries overall and split between singles and Team Event. I don´t think the Fed would do that though (it would also mean more expenses), i´m just wondering if it´s actually possible and that could be what Gracie is talking about.

Or she might also be talking about 4 years from now.

 

[Amei]

I read that too and was wondering.

Just a thought, she has the LP minimum, is it possible she could be sent only to skate the LP in the Team Event? Is it possible to send 4 athletes if one of them skates only in the Team Event? I mean skaters who doesn´t have a spot in the singles event are going only to skate in the Team Event, so I know that is possible, but I don´t know if countries are allowed to bring 4 entries overall and split between singles and Team Event. I don´t think the Fed would do that though (it would also mean more expenses), i´m just wondering if it´s actually possible and that could be what Gracie is talking about.

No, the athletes for the individual event are the only athletes available for selection to the team event. If Gracie goes (which i don't think she can) she would have to be sent for the team and individual event or only the individual event.

Not sure if you remember but there was some drama/speculation that Plushenko had no intentions of doing the individual event in Sochi, he only want to do the team event and then they sub in Kovtun for the individual event but then it was said to be impossible to sub out a skater between the 2 events

 

[R.D.]

Did anyone else see the article where Gracie is quoted as saying that the Olympics are still attainable? Does she know something that we don’t?

Mariah Bell tops figure skating nationals short program; Gracie Gold surprises

Mariah Bell leads the U.S. Figure Skating Championships after the women's short program. Gracie Gold had her best skate in years.

sports.yahoo.com

Gold said making it back to the Olympics has been one of her goals.

“It is, in theory, completely attainable,” she said, expressing satisfaction with her short. “Copy and paste for tomorrow.”

No, I think she is just telling herself that to get through her training and to get through the week. Otherwise, why bother?

The only thing within her control at this point is how she skates tonight.

 

[Minz]

There is a competition that many people were talking about in the SP thread called the Bavarian Open which Gracie could theoretically be sent to get the tech minimums.

I have no idea about the logistics or anything behind that. (I wasn’t the one who suggested it, as I didn’t even know it was an option.) So, IDK if it would work or not.

 

[StitchMonkey]

There is a competition that many people were talking about in the SP thread called the Bavarian Open which Gracie could theoretically be sent to get the tech minimums.

I have no idea about the logistics or anything behind that. (I wasn’t the one who suggested it, as I didn’t even know it was an option.) So, IDK if it would work or not.

That would work for Worlds but I believe is passed the deadline for the Olympics.

Have to be honest and say i wish the schedule was a bit different so this did not happen, but ohh well.

 

[lurkerghost1]

Everyone’s scores were pretty off. Mariah had 3Tq and maybe 3Lz!, Karen had 3T<, Alysa had 3A<< although the PCS gap between her and Karen/Mariah was bigger than international. Isabeau had 3Lze, Lindsay 3Fe (maybe 3F! But I think it was worse) but clearly her spins were ridiculously underscored. Gracie, Isabeau, and Lindsay arguably all deserved higher PCS but as we know PCS is political not rooted in ability.
Overall though I think the placements are correct although maybe I would have flipped 1/2 and 4/5.

The theme of the night for me though is coaching change. Gracie is probably the only one it seems to really be working for right now. Alysa needs to change back to Jeremy or go to Lee Barkell as originally planned because I don’t see her enjoying skating long-term and sticking around with these coaches. Lindsay needs a coach who can stabilize a 3A and push her on the performance side, I’m not usually a fan of Orser but I could see him working out great for her. Isabeau should keep her coach for choreography but needs a jump specialist because I have no confidence in her coach getting her through puberty. Audrey (and Clare Seo) need to get out of Tammy’s camp and go to someone who will drill the jumps ASAP - maybe Osmond’s old coach? Starr is the same situation as always, she should have left 2-3 years ago. Bradie needs to leave Tom because everyone predicted he would break her and look what happened. And last but not least Amber - I am so devastated for her but if this performance doesn’t get her to leave the Cains and go somewhere where she is the #1 priority and get a sport psych involved, then I don’t know what her path forward is.

A third point - I would not be surprised at all if Arthur Liu’s shenanigans with Alysa’s coaches just cost her the team event spot and a medal. If she doesn’t win the National title which suddenly seems very possible, is USFS really going to deny Mariah or Karen the team spot? Alysa does not seem to be the fed favorite based on the PCS scoring. Alysa was totally on track to win nationals with Jeremy and Scali but who knows now.

 

[Amei]

What makes y'all think the Fed will take Gracie to the Olympics or Worlds if she is able to go somewhere and get the tech minimums? As delicately as it can be said she has had very few decent skates with technical content that would probably struggle to be 15-20th place for the last few years.

 

[norwegianfairytale]

No, the athletes for the individual event are the only athletes available for selection to the team event. If Gracie goes (which i don't think she can) she would have to be sent for the team and individual event or only the individual event.

Not sure if you remember but there was some drama/speculation that Plushenko had no intentions of doing the individual event in Sochi, he only want to do the team event and then they sub in Kovtun for the individual event but then it was said to be impossible to sub out a skater between the 2 events

Thank you for the confirmation. I suspected it was not possible because then I think Liza would have been in discussion of going to skate the SP or LP in the Team Event and Anna, Sasha and Kami for the individual.

But can´t they sub a skater if one of the skaters actually get injured after the Team Event, or is it too late to bring in the sub if I understand correctly? So in Sochi the Fed or Plushy had a plan of only do the Team Event and then suddenly WD before the individual so that Kovtun could do the individual? Only until they learned that if Plushy WD they would have a skater less in the individual and it was not possible to sub in Kovtun?

 

[StitchMonkey]

What makes y'all think the Fed will take Gracie to the Olympics or Worlds if she is able to go somewhere and get the tech minimums? As delicately as it can be said she has had very few decent skates with technical content that would probably struggle to be 15-20th place for the last few years.

I don't think it is very likely. I could see them doing it more for the psychological point and the opportunity to be better set for next season.

I think Worlds would likely be too much too soon, but i think if she holds it together in the free an assignment, though not a prestigious one, is not unreasonable.

 

[Minz]

The theme of the night for me though is coaching change. Gracie is probably the only one it seems to really be working for right now.

Gracie changed coaches over 3 years ago.
That’s not particularly recent..

 

[princessalica]

What makes y'all think the Fed will take Gracie to the Olympics or Worlds if she is able to go somewhere and get the tech minimums? As delicately as it can be said she has had very few decent skates with technical content that would probably struggle to be 15-20th place for the last few years.

I don’t. I just was asking because of her quote. I think from here she deciding if she’s making the run for the next four years or retiring on her own terms. She’s gained so much ground!

 

[lesnar001]

I think the top 6 all skated very well. I know that Alysa fell, but it was on her 3A attempt.

I felt that Isabeau, Lindsey, and Gracie were underscored in comparison to the top 3. I'm not saying whether the rankings should have changed or not, but I think their scores should have been closer to the top 3. For example, Gracie Gold who did a 3-3 combo was scored very closely to Gabby Izzo who did a 3-2 combo. And Lindsey Thorngren & Isabeau Levito both did their 3-3 combos after the halfway point, which Mariah Bell and Karen Chen did not do. I know that Isabeau Levito UR'd the 3Lz-3Lo, but once again this is a very difficult combination and I give her a lot of credit for putting it in her program.

I do realize that Isabeau, Lindsey, and Gracie have it a little "easier" in that they don't have the weight of Olympics expectations. Of course they want to do well for their own personal goals, but it is not quite the same pressure cooker of trying to make an Olympic team. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the long program.

It just dawned on me that Gracie Gold will be skating in the final group! I'll be honest, when she started her comeback a couple of years ago I really did not think she would reach that level again. Good for her.

 

[flipsydoodle]

Flying on different flights is quite a common security practice. For example, in the US, the President and the VP can’t fly on the same plane, just in case. (Though this rule has been broken occasionally.)

The entire US figure skating team, coaches, EVERYONE, was killed in a plane crash in Belgium. 1961. The whole US figure skating infrastructure had to be rebuilt. Since then, I don't think they'd put the whole team on one plane.

Sabena Flight 548 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[norwegianfairytale]

The entire US figure skating team, coaches, EVERYONE, was killed in a plane crash in Belgium. 1961. The whole US figure skating infrastructure had to be rebuilt. Since then, I don't think they'd put the whole team on one plane.

Sabena Flight 548 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Holy crap I never heard of this accident, so sad.

 

[Minz]

The entire US figure skating team, coaches, EVERYONE, was killed in a plane crash in Belgium. 1961. The whole US figure skating infrastructure had to be rebuilt. Since then, I don't think they'd put the whole team on one plane.

Sabena Flight 548 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Yes, I know about 1961. The Wiki page you linked cited an ESPN article that talked about how it is actually a rule. The whole team isn’t allowed to fly on the same floght.

 

[macy]

And last but not least Amber - I am so devastated for her but if this performance doesn’t get her to leave the Cains and go somewhere where she is the #1 priority and get a sport psych involved, then I don’t know what her path forward is.

yeah, this. if this isn't the last straw or rock bottom for her i don't know what else would be.