2021-2022 US Women's Figure Skating

[skatingiscool]

Kaitlyn Weaver retweeted this article two days ago. If this is what's required to be a women's (girlOGM

Can you share the tweet here? Thx.

 

[Sjs5572]

Can you share the tweet here? Thx.

Oops. This can be one significant reason why Russian girls have the right body type. Article retweeted by Kaitlyn Weaver, with comment, " does this sound healthy to you?"

Eteri Tutberidze: “It seems that with each gram of weight a gram of laziness is added”

Glamour magazine reposted an old interview with Eteri Tutberidze (from March 2018, rubric

fs-gossips.com

 

[Skater Boy]

To get one of the 3 Olympic/Worlds spots, the issue isn’t how Amber rates against international skaters. It’s how she rates against the other Americans who are eligible (thus making Isabeau irrelevant this year).

Realistically, there are 6 battling for the 3 spots, with Alysa a notch above the rest. We haven’t seen Bradie; a complete question mark. That leaves one & (sadly) likely 2 spots available.

We have seen the 4 contenders — Amber, Karen, Mariah & Lindsay. Of those, Amber & Lindsay have been strongest this fall (though Amber beat Lindsay easily at 2021 Nationals), with Karen imploding at SC & Mariah scrambling with 2 replacement programs.

Currently, I’d have the team as Alysa, Amber/Lindsay. But a LOT will depend on the remaining GPs & any Senior Bs that they do (and it will be important to see how Lindsay scores at senior level). And of course Nationals 2022 as the final piece of info.

Factors in Amber’s favor are that, unlike Karen, she rarely gets UR calls from international judges and that, unlike Mariah, she can consistently deliver a clean 3/3.

interesting assessment I would guess Alyssa gets one spot and at least Bradie, Mariah and or Karen get one spot atleast. Maybe two. I am not sure Amber or Lindsay have a body of work to really be a threat.

 

[mrrice]

interesting assessment I would guess Alyssa gets one spot and at least Bradie, Mariah and or Karen get one spot atleast. Maybe two. I am not sure Amber or Lindsay have a body of work to really be a threat.

Lindsay may not have the senior body of work but, she does have International Success which is something Amber never had as a Junior. If Lindsay makes the Podium, I would definitely send her. She has stronger technical content and scoring potential than every senior except Alysa.

 

[MCsAngel2]

interesting assessment I would guess Alyssa gets one spot and at least Bradie, Mariah and or Karen get one spot atleast. Maybe two. I am not sure Amber or Lindsay have a body of work to really be a threat.

But the discussion is centering around the fact that there's a fair chance that Bradie will not be healthy enough to go, so the US has 2 spots to fill. The reason so many of us are saying Amber and Lindsay over Mariah and Karen, is because Amber and Lindsay have a higher tech ceiling than Karen and Mariah do. And right now, tech is what is needed to be competitive.

 

[Amei]

To get one of the 3 Olympic/Worlds spots, the issue isn’t how Amber rates against international skaters. It’s how she rates against the other Americans who are eligible (thus making Isabeau irrelevant this year).

Realistically, there are 6 battling for the 3 spots, with Alysa a notch above the rest. We haven’t seen Bradie; a complete question mark. That leaves one & (sadly) likely 2 spots available.

We have seen the 4 contenders — Amber, Karen, Mariah & Lindsay. Of those, Amber & Lindsay have been strongest this fall (though Amber beat Lindsay easily at 2021 Nationals), with Karen imploding at SC & Mariah scrambling with 2 replacement programs.

Currently, I’d have the team as Alysa, Amber/Lindsay. But a LOT will depend on the remaining GPs & any Senior Bs that they do (and it will be important to see how Lindsay scores at senior level). And of course Nationals 2022 as the final piece of info.

Factors in Amber’s favor are that, unlike Karen, she rarely gets UR calls from international judges and that, unlike Mariah, she can consistently deliver a clean 3/3.

Lindsay though to her credit has improved her Tech - SP: this year she has been back-loading her combination, something she didn't do at Nationals last year. FS: Her last JGP event and the US Championship series event last week, she back-loaded 2 triple-triple combinations and even with getting a downgrade on her triple axel attempt (which takes about 4 points off her BV) has increased her TES BV by 10 points between nationals and her competition in Leesburg last week - BV at Leesburg was 65 which is higher than what Amber is doing.

Amber's doing roughly the same technical content, her FS BV at Skate America was just under 56 points, at Nationals last year it was a little over 58 points.

 

[dancelion21]

interesting assessment I would guess Alyssa gets one spot and at least Bradie, Mariah and or Karen get one spot atleast. Maybe two. I am not sure Amber or Lindsay have a body of work to really be a threat.

USFS has defined the body of work they're using to decide which competitors to send based on only competitions this season plus last year's worlds. So yes, Amber and Lindsay don't have the BOW over the last quad, but that's irrelevant to USFS's eyes. As such, all the ladies started off on equal footing at the start of the 2021-22 season, and based on their showings in the 21-22 season, Amber and Karen are basically equal, as USFS said they would measure consistency/BOW based on the median of the skater's scores, and Amber and Karen have near-identical medians right now. Alysa is in a tier all on her own in terms of high-scores and consistency, Mariah hasn't competed enough to get a median yet, and Lindsay has had some quite impressive junior showings so far, demonstrating consistency that the other US ladies, bar Alysa, haven't. It will be exciting to see her compete at a Senior Challenger to see how her scores will stack up with senior scoring compared to the other US ladies.

USFS has defined Groups to put the Olympic hopefuls in to look at come Nationals. As of now, Alysa is in Group 2, Karen is in Group 3, and Amber and Bradie are in Group 4. However, come Nationals, it's very likely that Karen, Amber, Mariah, and Lindsay will all be in Group 3 based on their results at fall competitions.

It's tough for Bradie because as of now, it looks like she's too injured to compete at all in the fall. If US Nationals is her first competition of the season, she will have no BOW as defined by the Selection Committee. As such, to put herself in contention, she would need to place top 3 at Nationals to get herself in Group 3 and on equal footing with the other US ladies. Even then, without a BOW to differentiate herself compared to the US ladies who got to compete on the fall circuit, she probably needs at least second-place finish to be selected. It's a really tough position for her to be in, especially considering how successful she has been in the last quad.

 

[skatefan17]

If Bradie cannot go, Alysa, Amber and Lindsay is my team. I just think this team is exciting and makes sense!

But the discussion is centering around the fact that there's a fair chance that Bradie will not be healthy enough to go, so the US has 2 spots to fill. The reason so many of us are saying Amber and Lindsay over Mariah and Karen, is because Amber and Lindsay have a higher tech ceiling than Karen and Mariah do. And right now, tech is what is needed to be competitive.

 

[readernick]

not sure Amber or Lindsay have a body of work to really be a threat.

According to the USFS, they most important body of work is what skaters do this year and at last year's Worlds and they set benchmark scores for different A,B,C groups. Other seasons don't matter. So, both Lindsay and Amber could satisfy this requirement if they skate cleanly at their upcoming international events.

 

[mrrice]

After watching Skate Canada, I think out best bets are Liu, Tennell and Glenn. Here's the problem. The skating world has moved on so far technically that I don't think we will medal at the Olympics or Worlds. The Russians are doing Quad toe Triple toe combinations and Triple Axels with arms over their heads. This Russian lady whom I had never heard of before just beat her teammate TukTamusheva by thirty or so points. And then there's the issue of American nerves. Which to me dates back to late Michelle Kwan performances. Sasha Cohen, Kimmie Meissner, Ashley Wagner, and Alyssa Cziny were all exquisite skaters until it mattered. I don't know why it is so difficult for our skaters to do what they do in practice. I've bought this up before and I've been given warnings on this board, yelled at and insulted. The thing is American ladies have trouble putting together performances under pressure and when they do, it's a fluke that they can't repeat. I don't know if the rest of the world has stricter training, with limits on outside distraction or freedoms. But here's what I do know, true to form Karen Chen fell twice in the free skate. Alyssa Liu fell on her triple axel and ended up 49 points behind the Russian. Every time an American lady takes the ice, I have to pop a Xanax because I can't stop shaking and my teeth are shattering.

You never know.......Remember in 2006 when Kimmie Meissner Won. Worlds following the Olympics are always a little bit of a surprise. Tara, Shizuka, Sarah Hughes and other OGM winners, choose to skip worlds. In 2010 Yuna went and lost to Mao. So, anything can happen

 

[skatefan17]

Don’t be dissing Wagner this way! She made the GPF 4 times (winning medals in 3) & was Top 5 at Worlds several times (winning silver at one).

I was about to say! Ashley became very consistent toward the end of her career and was well liked and respected as a skater. She did a great job upholding US ladies once Kwan left a big gap open in the sport.

 

[skatefan17]

Same question for Russian Men. When did Russian MEN win Olympics/World gold last time? I think there is something to do with the body type and weight.

Asian men are much skinnier and hence they can rotate faster in the air. Hanyu's weight is about 116 pounds. How many Russian men are in that size range? Hanyu is the only one can land 4A IMO. Russian girls are skinnier/thinner than American girls in general. Their petite body type is easier for them to learn and master quad compared to American women.

Katelyn Osmond was not a super skinny skater and she jumped amazingly well and even became world champion. I think the problem lies in the system set up for skating. In a way, it’s great that skaters can have longer careers now than before and skate into later years. Quads cannot be good on the body. It’s literally flinging yourself into the air 4x in a snap of a second and pounding onto ice.

 

[catjohnsn2]

If Bradie cannot go, Alysa, Amber and Lindsay is my team. I just think this team is exciting and makes sense!

Ok.....I've looked all over this thread but can't find out what exactly Bradie's injury is. I know her blade broke in a practice at Worlds and just keep seeing the words "healthy"and "injured" but nothing more specific than that. One person says she was injured in June and another says it happened in August. Is it a stress fracture, deep bruise, tendon issue, a boot issue? I'm just overly curious at this point and think that the silence/lack of specific information, sounds extremely ominous!

 

[ucrgirl]

Ok.....I've looked all over this thread but can't find out what exactly Bradie's injury is. I know her blade broke in a practice at Worlds and just keep seeing the words "healthy"and "injured" but nothing more specific than that. One person says she was injured in June and another says it happened in August. Is it a stress fracture, deep bruise, tendon issue, a boot issue? I'm just overly curious at this point and think that the silence/lack of specific information, sounds extremely ominous!

I agree that the lack of specific information is very ominous. It makes it seem like the injury is an ongoing problem.

 

[moonvine]

Re: Gracie Gold, I know someone mentioned a few pages back that she came 3rd in the short at the competition she did last week (the one that Isabeau withdrew from last minute), but she had a fall in the long and checked out for the rest of the program, and came 5th, finishing 4th overall. Well, apparently when she finished, she came off the ice and left immediately. She did not sit in the K&C to get her scores. Behavior like that does her no favors. For the person a few posts up who said it was good to see her in the conversation for the US team still, to clarify, there's no way Gracie is making the Olympic Team - the question of the moment is whether or not she'll make Nationals as the last spot. I'm thinking it won't happen.

I previously said Bradie is the only US woman who has the political capital to spend on missing all the fall competitions without it hurting her reputation, AS LONG AS she skates in top form at Nationals. I still believe that, but it's certainly looking like a taller and taller order to fill. But if anyone can do it, Bradie can.

However, if you believe Bradie is unlikely to be in top form by January....I've got to say, I think that gives Amber's chances of making the team quite a bump. And I'm a HUGE Amber fan. I would love to see her go.

I don’t think we were discussing Gracie’s chances of making the Olympic Team. I believe what was being discussed were her chances of making Nationals (which at this point are okayish). She has another competition yet to skate in in Alpharetta.

Gracie skated a good short program. She had a totally random fall at the end of her step sequence but no falls on any jumps.

She went for the 3/3 in the long even though she did not need it for this comp. She got too close to the boards and got rattled and it affected the rest of her performance. I don’t think she was “checked out” at all. I also watched every single skate from that competition (well, Junior men, Senior women and Senior ladies). Sorry Junior ladies there were just too many of you to keep up with. Based on what I saw it isn’t super unusual to not stick around for scores at this level/type of competition.

If Gracie puts together a long and short that she is currently capable of in Alpharetta I believe she will have no problem making Nationals. I sure hope that happens.

I would like Bradie to recover…but it’s November now..

I love Amber also. Would like to see her put it together as well.

 

[moonvine]

Honestly I have entertained the same thought. Karen though she earned the US the third spot (right?) has been to the Olys and is not having a great year so far. Bradie has also been to the Olys and is a question mark. Mariah and Amber have me a little more in their corner. But if Lindsay does much better at Nats let her have a spot. I'm glad I'm not a US judge.

I don’t see any reason to send a lady who has zero international experience as a senior to the Olympics. But I’m not on the selection committee.

 

[moonvine]

I'm with you on willing Amber onto the team! I just don't like Karen as a choice because of her technical issues (low relative difficulty, tendency to UR) -- so I'll hold onto hope for Bradie or one of the others.

None of them is going to win a medal. Alysa might make top 6.

 

[moonvine]

Oops. This can be one significant reason why Russian girls have the right body type. Article retweeted by Kaitlyn Weaver, with comment, "is this healthy?"

Eteri Tutberidze: “It seems that with each gram of weight a gram of laziness is added”

Glamour magazine reposted an old interview with Eteri Tutberidze (from March 2018, rubric

fs-gossips.com

Of course it isn’t healthy. Is that a serious question? This is a sport rife with eating disorders. I just can’t even. Now THIS makes me want to take a Xanax.

 

[moonvine]

Lindsay may not have the senior body of work but, she does have International Success which is something Amber never had as a Junior. If Lindsay makes the Podium, I would definitely send her. She has stronger technical content and scoring potential than every senior except Alysa.

There is a big difference between juniors and seniors. Many who have great success on the junior level never make it as seniors.

 

[Sjs5572]

Of course it isn’t healthy. Is that a serious question? This is a sport rife with eating disorders. I just can’t even. Now THIS makes me want to take a Xanax.

Actually, I slightly misquoted. Kaitlyn said "Does this sound healthy to you?" She was asking a rhetorical question; of course, she doesn't think it's healthy and neither do I. I would say more about what I think about Eteri's methods, but I don't want to run afoul of the moderator.