If one still wants a career in the sport as a pro/show skater it can still be done if you want it bad enough and were high enough level and done well enough to do so. Many have done the whole University and Grad school thing, have a career they could fall back on when and if the time comes and still do pro/show skating and choreo/coaching. It can be done as I know personally.
My point is that skaters shouldn't retire at 18 if they don't want to.
And they shouldn't have to skate into their 20s if they don't want to.
Well, of course not. How do you force someone to compete if they don't want to?
I agree 100%. We all know how much I love Maria Butyrskaya. She didn't win her World Title until she was 26 years old. If they still have the drive and desire to compete at a high level, I say keep fighting.
It's ok. There's a lot of gaslighting happening in this thread right now.
US Nationals. He did her Britney Sp .. didn't like that lol but it was slightly better. . However Shae lyn Bourne choreographed her Hallelujah FS . She had a beautiful fS there. I just say this not out of any malice. I actually think Mariah has the potential to skate to music more layered and I have always wanted to see her challenged . Give her a beautiful classical piano piece. Or even a ballet I think she could it I don't feel she has anyone really stretching her ability.
Anna in her junior ,novice years did do fun ,
Well said I concur.
I feel bad for skaters who have to spend thousands of dollars to get a program choreographed (esp if everyone hates it). And then on top of that you seem to suggest the motions are kind of basic and similar to previous years' choreography. It makes no sense to have to spend so much money then!
Well, you did say "Seeing 26 y/o's plodding along aimlessly and unsuccessfully with no college degree depresses the heck out of me".
I had high hopes for Gracie. But it seems to be more mental. I just don't see the joy in the skating any more. I don't see the fire. I don't see the drive when she competes at least. Liu is US hope to beat the Russian ladies. Without a GP event I am not sure what she has for the body of work to compete for an olympic spot - well I guess she could win Nationals. But right now that seems a long shot. I wonder if she is in demand for show skating? Mind you that has dried up a lot. Regardless of what happens she has nothing to be ashamed of as a National Champion and world contender and Olympian
Of course! and 100% agree
, they should stop if they don't want to or no longer feel inclined to compete. It's a personal choice. My point being that youth has also something to do with being fearless and being so mentally strong. Quoting Evgenia Medvedeva; "It's much easier to accomplish sporting feats with a child's thinking and a child's brain". And being that Russian ladies (especially Eteri ones, as I think Liza had to face this as well and move past it) are very Olympic driven (nothing wrong with that!), and suddenly not being able to perform at their best for other circumstances (including age) may also have an impact on their mental strength going forward. 
They're allowing the GP to be moved (as mentioned in other thread), Helsinki (FIN) is one of a few feds vying for it.
Agreed. Gracie was never an expressive skater and it feels like it's gotten worse since her comeback. If she is happy it's hard to tell. I admire her for coming back and making it this far but I feel like Cranberry was really her last opportunity to get back in it. She needed something to get her momentum going. It still may happen but it looks pretty bleak. As I said I still hope she's able to skate well at nationals--it'd be a nice way to send her off.
Honestly, I think people underestimate her popularity with at least a segment of the figure skate fandom. The cheers for her at Nebelhorn were as loud as those for Alysa. People were asking the Skating Club of Boston on their social media where she was/if she was coming, not any other skater. I’m not alone here on some limb, I talked to several other of her fans, we all have her pictures on our phones, we all love her. I’m sure she would be in demand for show skating.
There were scoring changes that led to this sea change and there may be more in the future. In the meantime I personally have more interest in the men, pairs and dance, where I can watch skaters for longer periods of time (generally). In particular the men where I don’t have to worry about pairs breaking up.
Agreed. My sole focus used to be the women's event but it's lost a lot of its excitement for me. I figured the men or pairs would be a good substitute but I've found that I really love ice dancing. I don't understand much of the scoring so I can just sit back and enjoy it rather than pick it apart---which I tend to do with the women b/c I've been watching for so long and know how it's supposed to be scored.
It's only bleak if our expectation is that she will skate as well as she did before. For me, it's tough to reset what I, as a fan, would like to see her accomplish. There obviously aren't medals in her future given the number of American women who are now better at everything (jumps, spins, speed, transitions, etc.), but you occasionally see moments of her previous best in her programs which I enjoy.
