2021 Worlds: Ladies' Short Program

[Jontor]

Rika got a q on 3A and 3T
Kaori got an e on 3Lz
Bradie got a q in 3Lz
Haein got a ! on 3Lz and q on 3T
Loena got a q on 3F
Sasha got a ! on 3F

 

[Skatefan15]

Don't confuse an Eteri bonus with merely the power of the Russian Fed.

Remember Anna got a 35 internationally in PCS last year as Russia's number 2. It was obvious she was getting a PCS jump of a point or 2 as Russia's number 1. And as a second year senior. Her PCS were also helped by Sasha messing up before her - think Adelina after Yulia messed up at the Olympics.

I honestly think there is an Eteri bonus as well as an extra bump for all russians. The Eteri one is just a little more obvious (and has been for me for many many years). Anna should not have been ahead of Rika (or Kaori or Satoko) in PCS as much as she was! Sasha and Liza’s were also too high but they had things called whereas Anna walks away call free with high PCS...

 

[LadyB]

That was kind of depressing (I respect Shcherbakova, but she does nothing for me unfortunately). Luckily, I don't root for anyone in particular in pairs, so they should be easier to watch.

I envy you!!!!

 

[chasingneverland]

Worth noting last time judges actually called Anna's flutz, Russia immediately enraged threatening the judges (Cup of China)

Actually that's not true. Russia was enraged in regard to Aliona and Alina's scores earlier. The letter was regards to that. Obviously though no Russian skater has been called internationally since.

 

[TontoK]

I kind of miss the "payer's lounge" competition threads where the events are discussed live.

I hope @gsk8 brings it back next season.

 

[randomfan]

Sasha should be able to push through the standings with even a clean-ish FS, but if the top 3 also skate clean-ish then she'll likely settle for 4th.

I'm worried about Satoko. That SP was probably the worst one she's done in her entire career (worst FS being Nationals 2019). She can redeem herself with a strong FS and place within the top 10, but JSF may be done with her after this competition. She's already been often given lower PCS than Kaori and Rika in the latter half of the 2018-19 season, and if somebody else (like Wakaba, Mako, Rino, Mai, Mana) is a lot stronger next season then they'll certainly ditch Satoko completely...

 

[chasingneverland]

I honestly think there is an Eteri bonus as well as an extra bump for all russians. The Eteri one is just a little more obvious (and has been for me for many many years). Anna should not have been ahead of Rika (or Kaori or Satoko) in PCS as much as she was! Sasha and Liza’s were also too high but they had things called whereas Anna walks away call free with high PCS...

The Eteri bonus is domestically - but it's also just a reputation bonus - Aliona's scores this year make that obvious. Remember Aliona without a 3A also outscored others with a 3A.

I don't believe Sasha and Liza got anything called.

 

[CellarDweller]

Truly enjoyed watching the skating today.

Loved Rika's skate!

Others may not agree, but I agree with the standings so far.

Congrats to Liza and Karen, they were both amazing! Hoping that Bradie can shake off today and come out guns blazing tomorrow.

I haven't had the opportunity to read all the posts here, or see the news, because I'm at work (and will be for the next 6 hours) so I'm asking, has there been an update on Mae?

 

[labgoat]

Am still catching u, but Schizas and Mikutina were impressive. Nice skate for McKay as well.

 

[kwanatic]

Some questionable calls for sure and the PCS are utter bull excrement but what else is new?

Anna - Lovely and easy, looked very relaxed. Definitely deserved an "e" on the lutz and 37 in PCS is excessive. Still, nice job.

Rika - Great to see her hold up after a rough warmup and skating last. Calls were fair; others didn't receive calls they should have tho...

Liza T - Happy to see her deliver. I thought her combo was tight and at least a "q" but no call.

Karen - Very surprised to see her 4th but happy she was able to deliver. Also thought her combo deserved a call.

Yelim - Best 3Lz-3T of the competition. Very elegant program. Happy for her.

Kaori - Overall solid performance. She fought for the combo but should have done a loop instead of lutz. Edge call hurt her score.

Bradie - Definitely missing the spark. She looked a little muted; nowhere near the fire she had at nationals. Hope she brings it for the FS.

Haein - Haven't seen her but apparently she did well so kudos.

Alexandra - Shocked on the combo and ouch on the score. Has plenty of room to make up ground in the FS but she needs to be clean.

Satoko - The jumps were completely MIA but the program was still the class of the field. Hoping she can move up to top 10 with a good FS.

The FS should be interesting.

 

[readernick]

You know you can put someone on ignore so you can't see their comments? Lifesaver.

Rika was probably scored fairly, it's just that Anna wasn't. Not on this planet does she deserve the highest SS scores by half a freakin point.

I would give Rika higher scores in SS and keep the rest as they are so I think around 36 is fair. But, given Anna's not great SS she should get around a 35. I feel like the Japanese ladies always get robbed in PCS.

 

[apgold]

Lovely. I'm glad that Peacock has brought in a commentator. And I love Mark's accent. Is he commentating by himself?

He is also on the ISU stream, which I was able to watch on the Opera browser with the VPN set to Asia.

Kudos to Karen and Yelim making the final group. I'm sorry for Satoko and Sasha being far down in the standings. Sasha will fight back in the FS, as I'm sure the standings will change considerably. I think Anna has this unless she has a few mistakes in the free with Rika right behind her. It would be amazing if Liza got the bronze!

 

[randomfan]

Haein's step sequence GOE is quite impressive!

 

[ancientpeas]

I kind of miss the "payer's lounge" competition threads where the events are discussed live.

I hope @gsk8 brings it back next season.

I'm assuming that they will. The Olympics will mean way bigger bandwidth requirements and that is why the live threads had to over to paid content. GSK8 really didn't want it to happen but it was necessary.

 

[Shayuki]

So is this scoring system becoming 100% just reputation not even looking at the ice?

If the edge is wrong, it should be called, if the edge is flat, you get the !. That's how it should work.

For the most part it works that way, but i do see double standards on the way the range of acceptable edges.

Worth noting last time judges actually called Anna's flutz, Russia immediately enraged threatening the judges (Cup of China)

As for this competition, the order is not that outrageous, but some of the points difference are questionable to say the least. The top 3 should have all been very close within a point of difference, and nothing more.

Also Kaori was robbed in the PCS.

Well that CoC thing is not really accurate, but anyway...

Traditionally, changing to flat on the last second(the way Anna's Lutz is, at worst[usually very slightly outside]) has not been called. And changing to inside at the last second has been !. A dragging deep inside edge for a good amount of time has been an e. As I've said many times, there are dozens of skaters who need to get their Lutz edge called before Anna(And Anna's at worst is a ! anyway, if we're as strict as we can be).

It's telling that the main point people seem to complain about with Anna is the Lutz edge, which would just be an objectively very strict call, when in this competition there'd be a much better case to argue about the step sequence GOE.

 

[rollerblade]

The Eteri bonus is domestically - but it's also just a reputation bonus - Aliona's scores this year make that obvious. Remember Aliona without a 3A also outscored others with a 3A.

I don't believe Sasha and Liza got anything called.

Trusova had an unclear edge call on her 3F.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

Kaori was definitely not given enough credit for her exquisite edges and skating skills. It looks like the judges dinged her in the scoring for the save on one of her landings, which was noticeable but not bad. All her jumps are fully rotated. I guess no Japanese judges on the panel also doesn't help.

Ye-Lim Kim is a fantastic skater, and Haein Lee is also very good. Their scores held back a bit for being fairly new on the scene I suppose. Maybe the U.S. ladies have a good chance to stay in good position -- hopefully overall no less than 5th/ 6th, 6th/ 7th, or even 5th/ 8th would still give U.S. ladies a third spot for the Olympics which would be great. Still, there's also a possibility of the podium overall for one of them if others make mistakes in the final flight.

 

[Baron Vladimir]

Rika has a lot of transitions. A more complicated StepSeq. Better SS. The other PCS categories are open to debate but never does Anna deserve higher PCS in those categories than Rika.

Even American judge gave Anna half point more in SS, and a point more in IN. Every single judge gave Anna more points in every single component. I don't want to argue, but protocols are not that hard to read.

 

[rain]

No time to watch yet, but woah Trusova and Miyahara, and yay! to Maddie Schizas in the top 10 in the short.

 

[Mirunna]

So, in a more positive note, I think we can celebrate and focus on the good aspects since in the end it's been 2 years since the last world competition:

1. Anna kept her nerves after Sasha faltered and skated beautifully irrespective of how fans view her scores. Just think of the pressure she was under to deliver.
2. Rika was off in the warm up and nailed in the competition when it mattered the most. I think it's safe to say that she is becoming a strong competitor at this point.
3. Liza is getting a small medal after 7 years of not being on the world team (which she won) I am sure that pretty much any figure skater fan is rooting for her at this point in a way or another to get a medal here.
4. Yelim Kim skated beautifully and surpassed expectations.
5. Karen Chen skated beautifully and proved she was the right pick for the Worlds team
6. Josefin Taljegard qualified to the free in 15th place after a very enjoyable skate
7. Jenni Saarinen made a respectable return on the world stage

I wish a speed recovery to Mae and wish to all ladies, especially Sasha and Satoko, to have good free skates.