- Joined
- Jul 9, 2014
That first line is exactly how I feel about Amber. She's fast, powerful, has big jumps, and now that she is skating clean programs.....It is such a thrill to watch her perform.
2024-25 GPF: Women's Thoughts?
- Thread starter gsk8
- Start date
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2006
I think a game changer for Amber this season has been skating to a piece of music that is true to who she is as a person off the ice, which I believe she has found in her FS music selection. Amber is a big fan of fantasy/adventure games and this music fully embodies that genre and theme. This program feels genuine and authentic and is further evidence of how she has truly taken ownership of her career this season. In the past she was known to skate to willowy ballads that didn’t exhibit how exciting a skater she can be. I believe the past music may have been detrimental to her performances because they were usually one note and sad while Amber is a powerful skater through and through. In the past she was trying to sell pretty princess when she was actually a warrior queen. Amber needs music in the style of Kaori and Wakaba. I also think her exhibition to “Hot to Go” is a perfect selection for her.
I know she says that Kaitlyn Weaver selected her SP music for her and Amber wasn’t sure if she could pull off a performance to it. In the GP of France, she definitely proved she could do the music and program justice. The SP calls for confidence and a feisty attitude, which is something that Amber has long struggled with projecting on the ice until this season. Her evolution this season has been nothing short of remarkable and outstanding.
I know she says that Kaitlyn Weaver selected her SP music for her and Amber wasn’t sure if she could pull off a performance to it. In the GP of France, she definitely proved she could do the music and program justice. The SP calls for confidence and a feisty attitude, which is something that Amber has long struggled with projecting on the ice until this season. Her evolution this season has been nothing short of remarkable and outstanding.
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2014
That first line is exactly how I feel about Amber. She's fast, powerful, has big jumps, and now that she is skating clean programs.....It is such a thrill to watch her perform.
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2023
Amber was awesome. Mone was lovely. Kaori is a fighter.
Gutted about Rino though, she's got the quality to be a champion if she ever skates clean.
Gutted about Rino though, she's got the quality to be a champion if she ever skates clean.
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2019
I certainly do not see Glenn as a skater's skater, but rather as someone who was thrown under the bus in favor of a skaters' skater as they tend to do in the US, when Amber G didn't go to the Olympics and Karen Chen did. Had been rooting for Glenn and her 3A ever since!
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2006
I really hate that Amber had the experience she did at the Nationals before the last Olympics coming ill with covid and having to withdraw after the SP, thus ending her bid for an Olympic berth. Fate has really dealt her some cruel hands in past years. It’s interesting to think of how the trajectory of Amber’s career could have been different if she had been named to the World team in 2021 when she was the National silver medalist, but was passed over for Karen Chen. That had to be a blow to Amber’s confidence at the time that the federation didn’t have faith in her. Thankfully, Karen delivered the goods at Worlds with a 4th place finish (for the 2nd time) earning 3 spots for the US women, when added to 2021 US Champion Bradie Tennel’s 9th place finish, at the following year’s Olympics.
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- Joined
- Jan 31, 2019
Now, Karen Chen was the typical skater's skater, lol.
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2006
Women were perhaps a little ignored/unappreciated - the short on the first day with the smallest audience, the free on Saturday early afternoon when the packed crowds of the latter part of the day had not arrived yet. I have no great passions for women at the moment, so really just hoped that they would not completely bomb since I had travelled all the way to Grenoble to watch the final live...
I had seen most of them skate live this season: Kaori at Lombardia, Amber and Wakaba at Lombardia and France, Hana and Rino at Finland, but Mone Chiba I had not seen in her current form (last year in France she was quite different). I managed to catch the short practice and it was impressive - all but Amber and Wakaba did full runthroughs and there was not a mistake in sight until Kaori went down in one of her jumps.
The short was a bit of a bomb, a low point compared to the pretty exciting day before it. The women's tech panel was very generous IMO - it was the same for junior women and I think there were some ignored iffy landings there (also) which did not show in the score sheets. Wakaba's step sequence and Amber's 3A were the highlights of the short. Mone I would have wanted to see from the judges' side, but since good seats there were not available there, I had to take the opposite side. From behind she was ok, but nothing special, it looked better in the practices when I was able to sit on the judges' side. I love Hana's music but feel that she is not quite able to own it, the choreo is not quite up to what the music is.
Saturday was a pleasant surprise with pretty good performances from all 6. Nothing out of this world, but solid stuff, mainly a few pops and bad landings after all.
Rino just floats on ice but the free started to feel boring quite quickly and she does not have enough charisma to make it interesting. Wakaba, on the other hand, has a great presence on ice, she has sharpness and strength to do different kinds of choreos compared to most women. The steps again a highlight of the afternoon!
Hana I have liked a lot and I liked the free in Finland - it had a beautiful flowy quality there which fitted the music very well. This time I did not get that and the whole was not that effective. I am not sure if the music choice is good for Kaori, since she is not able to change her movement style whatever the music is. This time, it did feel like she put in a little bit more into the interpretation and character.
Mone's performance made me wonder what it would have been like to see Michelle Kwan live. It was elegant, she was good with following the ebb and flow. I do think that she is not as charismatic as Kwan was, but a very good take on a piece of music I cannot remember hearing too many times in these contexts.
As has been noted above, following Amber's path from a skater who mostly messed up royally any chance of success she had to someone who delivers (fairly) reliably time after time, feels a bit of a miracle. Though in reality, it is a result of a lot of work over the years, not perhaps so much skating but her mental side ofc. The 3A is magnificient and the rest is also pretty good. She is not perhaps the most engaging performer, but I am warming to the short. Some of the best Kiss and Cry moments. I am rooting her for continued success this season and hope she continues to talk about her journey and give a positive example to those who have similar struggles.
Overall, ok with women, it could have been much worse after all!
E
I had seen most of them skate live this season: Kaori at Lombardia, Amber and Wakaba at Lombardia and France, Hana and Rino at Finland, but Mone Chiba I had not seen in her current form (last year in France she was quite different). I managed to catch the short practice and it was impressive - all but Amber and Wakaba did full runthroughs and there was not a mistake in sight until Kaori went down in one of her jumps.
The short was a bit of a bomb, a low point compared to the pretty exciting day before it. The women's tech panel was very generous IMO - it was the same for junior women and I think there were some ignored iffy landings there (also) which did not show in the score sheets. Wakaba's step sequence and Amber's 3A were the highlights of the short. Mone I would have wanted to see from the judges' side, but since good seats there were not available there, I had to take the opposite side. From behind she was ok, but nothing special, it looked better in the practices when I was able to sit on the judges' side. I love Hana's music but feel that she is not quite able to own it, the choreo is not quite up to what the music is.
Saturday was a pleasant surprise with pretty good performances from all 6. Nothing out of this world, but solid stuff, mainly a few pops and bad landings after all.
Rino just floats on ice but the free started to feel boring quite quickly and she does not have enough charisma to make it interesting. Wakaba, on the other hand, has a great presence on ice, she has sharpness and strength to do different kinds of choreos compared to most women. The steps again a highlight of the afternoon!
Hana I have liked a lot and I liked the free in Finland - it had a beautiful flowy quality there which fitted the music very well. This time I did not get that and the whole was not that effective. I am not sure if the music choice is good for Kaori, since she is not able to change her movement style whatever the music is. This time, it did feel like she put in a little bit more into the interpretation and character.
Mone's performance made me wonder what it would have been like to see Michelle Kwan live. It was elegant, she was good with following the ebb and flow. I do think that she is not as charismatic as Kwan was, but a very good take on a piece of music I cannot remember hearing too many times in these contexts.
As has been noted above, following Amber's path from a skater who mostly messed up royally any chance of success she had to someone who delivers (fairly) reliably time after time, feels a bit of a miracle. Though in reality, it is a result of a lot of work over the years, not perhaps so much skating but her mental side ofc. The 3A is magnificient and the rest is also pretty good. She is not perhaps the most engaging performer, but I am warming to the short. Some of the best Kiss and Cry moments. I am rooting her for continued success this season and hope she continues to talk about her journey and give a positive example to those who have similar struggles.
Overall, ok with women, it could have been much worse after all!
E
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2003
That is an interesting opinion. What is a "skater's skater? To me, that designation refers to a skater with skills (especially edge quality and control) that are appreciated by other skaters and by experts in the sport, but are not immediately apparent to casual fans. I think Shizuka Arakawa was a skater's skater. (Maybe Jeff Buttle for the men.)
To me, Karen Chen's calling card was her gorgeous presentation, obvious to all.
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- Oct 31, 2006
Yuka Sato was the definition of a skater’s skater, as was Janet Lynn.
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2018
That is a question that I had too, is it those who skaters actually name when talking about their idols and inspirations?
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2005
The first time I heard the term "skater's skater" was when Scott Hamilton used the term to describe Yuka Sato.
So my impression would be a skater whose sublime skills (some of which might escape fans) are appreciated and recognized by other skaters.
Probably offhand the best example for me would be Patrick Chan.
So my impression would be a skater whose sublime skills (some of which might escape fans) are appreciated and recognized by other skaters.
Probably offhand the best example for me would be Patrick Chan.
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2003
I think that it goes a little beyond that. Echoing @lesnar001, I would say that the criterion is that what is great about the skater is something so subtle that most people don't even know it exists.Yuka Sato's quiet blades, for example. The average viewer probably never thinks aout it one way or another.
In fact, I remember one time on a TV broadcast the lead announcer remarked," Oh, I like to hear the sound of the blade going across the ice!" The skating expert commentator -- was it Scott Hamilton? -- replied, "well the next skater is Yuka Sato. You won't hear that."
Another thing might be power and acceleration. Irina Slutskaya (though not perhaps the first person that comes to mind when we hear the term "skater's skater') was super at power stroking.
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- Joined
- Feb 12, 2014
Kurt Browning used it during Matt Savoie's LP at 2006 Nationals.
Yes, I have lost track of how many times I've watched that skate.
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2019
Satoko Miahara, Jason Brown, Karen Chen, Gracie Gold. The way I determine them is that to me, their skating/programs are either boring or pretentious or both. But everyone here raves about them to the n-th degree and demands that their PCS was all set to 10.0 so they could win stuff.
Amber is not like them at all. She fought and won with that 3A! She totally deserved to win, and that's that. She is a true, legit champion, not a skater's skater. Look, she even acquired that guy who always blathers how the champions URs and q's. Now, that's the right of passage, so I predict she goes to win everything, and, honestly, that's been long overdue.
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- Joined
- Jun 21, 2003
Maybe we need a thread on the topic, what is a skater's skater and who is an example of such a rare beast.
To me, a sskater's skater" does not equate to "skates pretty, weak/unreliable jumps." If fans rave about a skater and want the judges to give him/her all 10.0s in PCSs, that skater is a "people's skater."
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2020
So is it mutually exclusive? Like a skater's skater is by definition underrated by the public and appreciated by other skaters and experts only? Or can one be both a skater's skater and a people's skater?
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2011
i think it can definitely be both, like Amber. she is a champion and loved by many fans for not only her skating but her journey and personality that makes her so relatable. but one of Amber's biggest strengths that the average fan might not realize is how freaking STRONG she is. she is so powerful. that's one of the biggest things i appreciate about her skating, her jumps in particular and the "acrobatic" moves she can do. she has that super quick twitch muscle strength that is so key.
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2019
I think so, it's absolutely mutually exclusive. I can't remember anyone who was hailed as a skater's skater that I could stand (the skating, not the person. all athletes deserve respect). I am basically a lithmus test there, and I am telling you, Amber Glenn is NOT a skater's skater. Her 3A and energy is the proof. No way, no way she is the skater's skater.
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