2022 U.S. Nationals: Women's Free Skate

[jenaj]

There is a lot that could be said about the state of US women's skating and the fact that the winner of nationals didn't do a 3-3 in the free, but I'll just say Mariah Bell is national champion and I'm happy! The prettiest camel spin in the world won, and Kamila Valieva has never brought tears to my eyes like Mariah's joy last night did. So there!

Yes. Say what you will about the American ladies, they both know how to create a moment--something that cannot be taught.

 

[moonvine]

Yes. Say what you will about the American ladies, they both know how to create a moment--something that cannot be taught.

I love the US ladies and don’t care if they do 3-3s. It takes nothing away from my enjoyment of the performance if they do a 3-2. I don’t count revolutions as I’m watching.
The Cold War is over. I don’t care if we beat the Russians or not.

 

[mskater93]

1 isabeau 2 karen 3 mariah

No. Karen's TES was overscored. There were at least 4 jumps that should have been < or <<. Mariah, while safe, was clean

 

[bubblecherry]

No. Karen's TES was overscored. There were at least 4 jumps that should have been < or <<. Mariah, while safe, was clean

okay? i simply don’t care about what calls the fans or judges make. that’s my personal ranking

 

[Tinymavy15]

Never heard about her before, but Isabeau Levito is the one that impressed me most in this discipline, WOW!!!

She is very impressive. More so than Alysa was when she was Isabeau's age, although they both seem to love the sport and both come to play. The attention to details, the extension, the flexibility, she does really remind me of an Anna S. We'll see how things are when she is finally old enough to complete internationally....

 

[mrrice]

There is a lot that could be said about the state of US women's skating and the fact that the winner of nationals didn't do a 3-3 in the free, but I'll just say Mariah Bell is national champion and I'm happy! The prettiest camel spin in the world won, and Kamila Valieva has never brought tears to my eyes like Mariah's joy last night did. So there!

Well, you have to take in mind that our two best jumpers were not there. Alysa and Bradie both have 3,3s and it's just sad that neither of them were there for the free program.

 

[MarkinBerkeley]

Bell, Chen, and Liu make the Olympic team as expected.

 

[artsciboy]

Well, you have to take in mind that our two best jumpers were not there. Alysa and Bradie both have 3,3s and it's just sad that neither of them were there for the free program.

But what does it mean to have 3-3s? Alysa and Bradie both get them underrotated on a regular basis, so shouldn't we be discounting those as failed attempts the same way that fans might criticize Mariah's failed attempts from earlier this season or last season? So do Alysa and Bradie really have 3-3s if they are oftentimes not deemed clean by technical panels, especially if many on the Board are saying that Mariah doesn't have 3-3s given her recent pops/falls, etc. on 3-3s?

Just a general query to everyone, since that continues to be a knock against Mariah - why are we treating Mariah as some second-rate jumper in the U.S., when she rarely gets rotation issues and just did a 3-3 in the SP at this event and was incredibly consistent with them in the 2019-2020 season?

 

[Blades of Passion]

Karen's TES was overscored. There were at least 4 jumps that should have been < or <<.

Total absurdity. Her opening toeloop and last loop were < (definitely NOT <<) and they were called. The second lutz wasn't perfect, but acceptable. Especially since she actually does the take-off correctly and therefore rotates more than almost everyone else in the world these days.

 

[Wafflecakes]

I love the US ladies and don’t care if they do 3-3s. It takes nothing away from my enjoyment of the performance if they do a 3-2. I don’t count revolutions as I’m watching.
The Cold War is over. I don’t care if we beat the Russians or not.

It is concerning though. While the technical difficulties overall have risen so much in recent years our ladies are skating programs whose content wouldn't have gotten a medal a decade ago before the Russians were even starting their dominance.

The slide is real.

 

[skatingiscool]

I love the US ladies and don’t care if they do 3-3s. It takes nothing away from my enjoyment of the performance if they do a 3-2. I don’t count revolutions as I’m watching.
The Cold War is over. I don’t care if we beat the Russians or not.

Isabeau has 3-3 and I enjoy her performance way more than Gracie and Mariah. The statement about "more enjoyment with 3-2" is just a personal choice and I respect that. Cheesy US ice princess style vs Sasha badass style , I choose the later.

 

[moonvine]

Isabeau has 3-3 and I enjoy her performance way more than Gracie and Mariah. The statement about "more enjoyment with 3-2" is just a personal choice and I respect that. Cheesy US ice princess style vs Sasha badass style , I choose the later.

I don’t have more enjoyment with a 3-2. I have the same amount of enjoyment with a well executed 3-2 as I do a well executed 3-3. I am not good at counting revolutions in the air. Quite a few 3-3s were landed in the short.

Sasha isn’t a US lady. I have no opinion on her.

 

[Joe Mendoza]

don't rain on the hate, but after getting a few moments to breathe from all the figure skating this weekend, I wanted to see if yall see or feel whether Alyssa Liu actually wants to be on the Olympic team, much less actually want to skate? maybe I'm over-reading or over-interpreting her instagram posts and recent demeanor on the ice, but I don't know - her presence and interviews were giving me 'indifferent' vibes. I sincerely hope I am wrong.

 

[moonvine]

don't rain on the hate, but after getting a few moments to breathe from all the figure skating this weekend, I wanted to see if yall see or feel whether Alyssa Liu actually wants to be on the Olympic team, much less actually want to skate? maybe I'm over-reading or over-interpreting her instagram posts and recent demeanor on the ice, but I don't know - her presence and interviews were giving me 'indifferent' vibes. I sincerely hope I am wrong.

I’m actually seriously concerned about their mental health.

 

[Greengemmonster]

don't rain on the hate, but after getting a few moments to breathe from all the figure skating this weekend, I wanted to see if yall see or feel whether Alyssa Liu actually wants to be on the Olympic team, much less actually want to skate? maybe I'm over-reading or over-interpreting her instagram posts and recent demeanor on the ice, but I don't know - her presence and interviews were giving me 'indifferent' vibes. I sincerely hope I am wrong.

Yeah .... That's a pretty strange situation there

Mariah made a very lovely post with a fun but appropriate picture of herself, expressing her happiness at making the team.

Alysa had one too but it was very..... Let's just say "casual."

However I'm like a billion years old though so maybe that's just what kids these days do???

I almost feel like Alysa is under some sort of duress with skating. There's definitely something tough going on. Whatever that is I hope she has fun at the Olympics and is able to move onto whatever she wants for her next stage in life.

In Alysa's case there is really no one much better to send so it's not like she's robbing anyone of a spot. She might as well enjoy the experience!

 

[Horsefeathers]

I'm wondering what the solution is to the precipitous fall for the US ladies in world competition?

It's pretty obvious American coaches and the USfed don't want to grind the Novice and Junior girls into an orthopedic clinic by pushing quads ala Eteri & Company before they hit the senior level. I would not want them to do that anyway. They could study the Japanese playbook and focus on getting girls comfortable with the 3A and various 3-3s, but there's no way (no legal way in any case) to ensure that they still have those skills after maturing (ala Alysa). Or is it a matter of just waiting patiently for this phase of Russian dominance to fade?

Alysa won't get far if she's ambivalent at best. The judges will see it. The audiences will see it. Girl, you'd better find your fire or retire.

 

[skatingiscool]

Yeah .... That's a pretty strange situation there

Mariah made a very lovely post with a fun but appropriate picture of herself, expressing her happiness at making the team.

Alysa had one too but it was very..... Let's just say "casual."

However I'm like a billion years old though so maybe that's just what kids these days do???

I almost feel like Alysa is under some sort of duress with skating. There's definitely something tough going on. Whatever that is I hope she has fun at the Olympics and is able to move onto whatever she wants for her next stage in life.

In Alysa's case there is really no one much better to send so it's not like she's robbing anyone of a spot. She might as well enjoy the experience!

I'm sure Alysa is under some stress, who doesn't in Olympics year? On top of that, she just has coach change situation. However, we should NOT jump to conclusion and think that she has "mental issue". Based on her response from interview and instagram, I don't see any red flag. I have seen tons of teenager's Instagram worst than hers. What I see is just "kids being kids". Actually, she is a very cool kid - very genuine and not fake. Being an elite skater doesn't mean you have to talk/act like a fake politician. I like Amber's personality too. Kudo to Amber by coming out about as bisexual. You won't see that kind of responses in Russia and China. We should feel lucky to see skaters can be themselves in US. (Jason Brown, Amber, Alysa)

BTW, Alysa's latest Instagram picture shows her "big smile". Seems like she is happy at this moment.

 

[moonvine]

I'm sure Alysa is under some stress, who doesn't in Olympics year? On top of that, she just has coach change situation. However, we should NOT jump to conclusion and think that she has "mental issue". Based on her response from interview and instagram, I don't see any red flag. I have seen tons of teenager's Instagram worst than hers. What I see is just "kids being kids". Actually, she is a very cool kid - very genuine and not fake. Being an elite skater doesn't mean you have to talk/act like a fake politician. I like Amber's personality too. Kudo to Amber by coming out about as bisexual. You won't see that kind of responses in Russia and China. We should feel lucky to see skaters can be themselves in US. (Jason Brown, Amber, Alysa)

BTW, Alysa's latest Instagram picture shows her "big smile". Seems like she is happy at this moment.

I think having anxiety and depression is pretty “normal.” I did not mean to imply they had some sort of huge mental health issue. Being 16 can be hard for a non elite athlete.

 

[mskater93]

Total absurdity. Her opening toeloop and last loop were < (definitely NOT <<) and they were called. The second lutz wasn't perfect, but acceptable. Especially since she actually does the take-off correctly and therefore rotates more than almost everyone else in the world these days.

You missed the opening 2A in the combo which was at best a Q, but likely < as well. Let's just admit - she doesn't rotate her jumps completely consistently