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- Mar 22, 2018
For now it looks Mao shimada and Hanna Yoshida are the best bet for junior worlds, but hey we may see 4 japanese ladies at the jgpf
2022-23 Japanese Women's Figure Skating
- Thread starter figureskatingandrainbows
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- Joined
- Mar 9, 2013
According to the News (in Japanese) of Sept 30th, Wakaba WD-ed from the Tokyo regional. That's a wise choice as she doesn't really need the competition to advance.
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- Mar 21, 2018
The good news is that Chiba got a second GP. She’ll be in Italy and Nakai will be in Poland next week. The bad news is that Kushida got the boot and I’ll rather watch her than Nakai.
And last but certainly not least: Congratulations to Little Mao! She’s the first qualifier to JGPF!
- Joined
- Mar 22, 2018
If only japan would have gotten all the junior spots, poor kushida :'(, Mao and Mone were espectacular!
she was scheduled to have 4 ice shows on Oct 9/10. Not having a consistant coach is really not doing anything good to her. I can't understand why she keeps doing that.
They could even medal at senior nationals with their jump content.
It will be an exciting event for sure!
Looking forward to seeing Hana and Mone compete again at JGP Egna.
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2018
Yeah, I can’t wait to December! Nationals is going to be awesome!
But unless there’s a situation where the senior ladies implode, I’ll be shocked if either Yoshida or Shimada go clean at Nationals and land on the podium. Japan don’t play that. Their scores are going to be lower domestically than internationally. Especially Shimada’s. Japan has very strict rules on seniority and they don’t like mixing the juniors with seniors.
This means that the top 6 at Nationals will be especially important this year. I think that if any junior lady gets on the podium (regardless if they’re age eligible for seniors), they will be sent to Junior Worlds only. 4th place finisher always gets sent to 4CC, but I think they’ll also send any junior-senior that lands on the podium. If Nationals results are…interesting then post-Nationals assignments are going to be….interesting.
In recent years, Rika K and Tomoe landed on the podium whilst skating in juniors. Also, Hana and Mao's coach is Hamada, doesn't she have some pull with the fed? Although Mao is too young for international seniors anyway...I feel like there will be a lot of attention on her anyway because of her quad and 3A.
Here's a message from Wakaba:
I wish her all the best with her current goals!
Yes. I don’t think Hana, Mao or even Mone can be stopped, if they skate cleanly. As you mentioned, Rika and Tomoe both made the podium at a young age. Kaori and Mai seem to be in decent shape. But, the other Senior women are inconsistent and vulnerable to being surpassed. I predict an unpredictable Nationals. May the best lady win.In recent years, Rika K and Tomoe landed on the podium whilst skating in juniors. Also, Hana and Mao's coach is Hamada, doesn't she have some pull with the fed? Although Mao is too young for international seniors anyway...I feel like there will be a lot of attention on her anyway because of her quad and 3A.
Here's a message from Wakaba:
I wish her all the best with her current goals!
Also, Hana and Mone are age eligible for Worlds. So, the Japanese federation isn’t going to be discouraged from giving good scores to these two athletes. Mao, is the most talented Japanese lady athlete ever. If she lands her true ultra-c elements, nothing will stop her from a podium spot at Nationals.
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- Mar 22, 2018
Important to note, hanna yoshida, mao shimada and Ami Nakai can do the triple axel in the sp at nationals
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- Mar 5, 2014
Congratulations to Mao Shimada on winning and Chibe Mone for finishing second and giving such impressive performances at Gdansk. I can see just as was the case with Mao Asada, the ISU is already handing out overly harsh tech calls against Mao Shimada with the bogus tech call on her quad. I have seen a lot of quads with less or just as much rotation counted good.
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- Dec 8, 2020
Mone and Hana will likely (deservedly) get solid PCS at Nats, considering their age and talent for performance. Mao will get dinged pretty hard. She was well ahead at junior Nats last year in the tech score, but had one of the lower PCS scores of the top skaters. That's fair, her performance is very shallow and her skating skills, while good for a junior, are far below Hana and Mone. She could easily win TES at Nationals if she skates like she did at JGP Gdansk, but still finish in 8th place if the other women above her have great skates as well. Nats will be an absolute bloodbath, though, no matter how it shakes out.
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2014
Your subjective preference for skaters like Mone or Hana over Mao is evident but the great praise for Mao's performances by the announcers, under her videos and the judges own PCS scores indicate that Mao who is 4 years younger is comparable with Mone in PCS scores and they are both really impressive. It will be a great injustice if Mao is deflated to eighth place because of seniority discrimination despite having the highest tech scores considering her excellent artistry, impressive edge work in holding spirals and landing jumps, not to mention her challenging and picturesque transitions.
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- Mar 22, 2018
PCS has nothing to do with age, Mao is very good already, judges should score what they see not if skater is older or has accomplished already something
I agree. Mao will be fine. It is not like she has anything to lose.
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- Mar 9, 2013
Formal announcment about Wakaba's WD-ing from the skating season of 22'-23' (by JSF, so no GP, and no All Japan Nationals): https://www.skatingjapan.or.jp/common/img/info/2022-23_Wakaba Higuchi.pdf
If Wakaba planns to take one season off, this is the best time to do that now...(of course there will be other considerations about being absent for a whole year, but given her condition, perhaps that's the right choice.) Good luck, Wakaba.
If Wakaba planns to take one season off, this is the best time to do that now...(of course there will be other considerations about being absent for a whole year, but given her condition, perhaps that's the right choice.) Good luck, Wakaba.
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2013
Best wishes to Wakaba! I hope her injury heals fully. She'll be missed this season.
About Mao Shimada, I agree with @figureskatingandrainbows here. PCS should not depend on age, and performance is only one of the three categories, but the performance department should be scored lower than those who portray their music better, such as Mone or Mai. Mao does nothing for me artistry-wise, her movements are well timed to music, but it seems learned and mechanical rather than her being naturally musical. She mostly performs with a cute smile plastered on her face, which I don't consider performing or emoting. She's just 13, so loads of time for her to grow into a great artist, but right now, I very much agree with those who don't see much of a performance there yet. I don't understand how anyone can consider that a slight against Mao.
About Mao Shimada, I agree with @figureskatingandrainbows here. PCS should not depend on age, and performance is only one of the three categories, but the performance department should be scored lower than those who portray their music better, such as Mone or Mai. Mao does nothing for me artistry-wise, her movements are well timed to music, but it seems learned and mechanical rather than her being naturally musical. She mostly performs with a cute smile plastered on her face, which I don't consider performing or emoting. She's just 13, so loads of time for her to grow into a great artist, but right now, I very much agree with those who don't see much of a performance there yet. I don't understand how anyone can consider that a slight against Mao.
Like Rika, trying to compete with the Russian relay team came at a price.
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- Aug 16, 2018
I'm glad Wakaba feels comfortable enough to make the decision early to shut down her season. Wishing her the best for the rest and recovery and looking forward to see her come back strong! I think experience may have played a part too, Wakaba forced herself to skate through the 2018-2019 season injured after winning 2018 Worlds silver and it didn't go too well, so glad that she chose to rest this time.
It's definitely going to be an interesting season and Japanese Nationals. The older skaters should have the edge in components against the younger skaters, but there are some outstanding juniors who not only have the high BV but also (so far) the consistency and good programs that are well-suited for their current performance abilities (Hana Yoshida and Mao Shimada comes to mind). Are Hana and Mao excellent, innate performers that can wring out every emotion in the music with all the nuances and project them to the audience? Not really (but Mone Chiba is doing well on that front). But do they have efficient, unique programs that made great use of their current strengths and relative youth to mask their weaknesses? Yes. I don't think they need super high PCS to edge out the older skaters at Nationals- just enough.
It's definitely going to be an interesting season and Japanese Nationals. The older skaters should have the edge in components against the younger skaters, but there are some outstanding juniors who not only have the high BV but also (so far) the consistency and good programs that are well-suited for their current performance abilities (Hana Yoshida and Mao Shimada comes to mind). Are Hana and Mao excellent, innate performers that can wring out every emotion in the music with all the nuances and project them to the audience? Not really (but Mone Chiba is doing well on that front). But do they have efficient, unique programs that made great use of their current strengths and relative youth to mask their weaknesses? Yes. I don't think they need super high PCS to edge out the older skaters at Nationals- just enough.
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