Emily Declines 4C's

[dwiggin3]

Any idea why she would decline? I can't believe it would be b/c she thinks she may make it to Torino....I'd think MK is sure she can go....

 

[graceness]

Her dad and coach mentioned that she is going to train,
train, train for World's. Makes sense to me!

 

[Piel]

Wouldn't training for and competeing at 4C uhm carry over to Worlds, LOL? I would think the 4C experience would be more helpful for Worlds than the usual day at the rink. Also I think a good result at 4C would help sway the committee in favor for Turino if they are on the fence after watching Michelle skate.

 

[nubka]

Perhaps since this is her first World's, they feel like she has enough on her plate with that...who knows? It would be interesting to know if this was her decision, or her parents/coach. Does she have a website? Maybe she'll post something about it.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

I don't think non-skaters understand that with all the aspects of travel, it takes up a lot time away from practice. Pack, get to airport, arrive some hours later, check in hotel, find out how to get to the arena for practice, go there, practice for the competition (how many days?), skate the competition SP one day LP another day. Throw in some meals here and there and some sleep time. repack, go to airport, fly home, rest, go back to normal practice. Not easy.

Joe

 

[NorthernLite]

Folks, it's highly likely she's been advised by TPTB to act as if she's going to Torino.

 

[Piel]

OR maybe her team doesn't want her to do 4C and risk having another bad skate like the Nationals LP for the committee to see prior to the Olympics.

 

[soogar]

I think it's b/c she lost a lot of training time b/c of her illness and her two GP events (and the cheesefests). Now it's time to rest and get caught up with her training and kick a$$ at worlds and try to beat Sarah's bronze medal showing.

 

[NorthernLite]

Whatevs. Lots of stuff is going on behind the scenes. With Michelle still questionable TPTB certainly would want an alternate to take care of herself.

Also, Emily's parents aren't big on their kids missing weeks of school. If she missed a week for Nats, and will miss another for Worlds, and possibly two-plus weeks for the OOOOOs, they don't want to add a week for 4Cs to that.

btw MK's private skating test is Friday, before 4CCs is even over. And one member of the committe said the criteria to consider a bye is how well *she* skates, nothing else.

 

[Piel]

btw MK's private skating test is Friday, before 4CCs is even over. And one member of the committe said the criteria to consider a bye is how well *she* skates, nothing else.

Yes, but the chance that Kwan or anyone else may have to withdraw for whatever reason is always there. My guess is team Hughes want to keep Emily in the best possible light so that if something happens to any of them she will go to Turino.

 

[NorthernLite]

Yes, but the chance that Kwan or anyone else may have to withdraw for whatever reason is always there. My guess is team Hughes want to keep Emily in the best possible light so that if something happens to any of them she will go to Turino.

Huh? Emily has been declared the first alternate. By definition, the first alternate goes. Period.

 

[Piel]

It is my understanding that nothing is set in stone until the list is turned in to the IOC on January 30. Just speculating here but the Hughes family are not dummies. I think if Emily would have a disasterous skate before the list is turned into the IOC, and one of the three named to the team had to withdraw, the USOC might have grounds to reconsider placing Emily on the team. If you notice the language used by the committee, it says the list of names turned in are the committee's NOMINATIONS. The committee can do what the committee wants to do as long as it is within their bylaws. Just my thoughts as to why they wouldn't want her to skate at 4C which are January 23 - 29.

The USOC must then approve the nominations no later than its final required submission date of Jan. 30 to the Torino Organizing Committee.

 

[guinevere]

Hughes 2.0 has now officially arrived as one of the elite US skaters - she has turned down a 4CC assignment

ETA: Actually, can dwiggin3 or somebody post a link to this decision by Emily? I can't find any information about this announcement. In fact, it's pretty hard to find ANY information about 4CCs. Kind of sad considering the competition is next week.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

When is Kwan's test skate? there are posters who want her to pass and others wanting her to fail. It's like a communal baited breath.

Joe

 

[flowjo35]

When is Kwan's test skate? there are posters who want her to pass and others wanting her to fail. It's like a communal baited breath.

Joe

Joe

I think there are two dates floating around 1/20 and 1/27. I think 1/20 is for the committee to view her practice and 1/27 might be when she has to skate her short and long, if that's what the committee plans for her to do. It's not clear on what they will be looking for (ie. number of jumps, program content). Do anyone have any insight?

 

[chuckm]

Emily could have easily gone to 4CC, since it was in Colorado, involving minimal travel. Technically, it would have been a good opportunity for her to put her programs again before ISU judges and maybe get better marks than she got in the GP; 4CC is a SENIOR event, and would carry more weight than her Junior Worlds bronze. A good 4CC performance would set her up for a higher ranking at Worlds.

However, I suspect Emily was concerned that she might be beaten by a strong performance from Katy Taylor, who IMHO should have won the bronze medal over Emily. Emily was WAY overmarked in the SP for a program with a flawed combination jump, and WAY overmarked on PCS in the FS for a program with a horrendous fall. Katy was WAY undermarked in the SP (she got PCS scores in the 5s) and in the FS (undermarked in PCS because she didn't skate in the final group). If Katy hadn't gotten the 4CC assignment, I think Emily might have accepted it.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

Chuckum - Your suspicion is quite valid. With a gold medal under her belt, Katy will be given two GPs next year and a sense of confidence that has been lacking. If Bebe and Alissa get their acts together, Emily has her work cut out.

Joe

 

[Mathman]

I don't see any evidence that Emily Hughes is afraid to compete against Katy Taylor and deliberately dodged her at Four Continents. All these armchair psychologists who think they can read skaters' minds...

MM

 

[antmanb]

I don't see any evidence that Emily Hughes is afraid to compete against Katy Taylor and deliberately dodged her at Four Continents. All these armchair psychologists who think they can read skaters' minds...

MM

Exactly MM. 4CCs was too close to US nationals...after a competition like nationals you want to get back to your home rink and anaylse your performance with your coach. Look at areas in teh program that gave you problems, iron out any obvious kinks and most importantly get back to your usual training schedule. When you are at a competition you get next to no ice time compared to your usual training regime. The last thing you want to do is pack up and get going to another competition - all in all it takes away too much time from your training. I think its great that Emily is looking to worlds and training hard for her senior worlds debut. She knows that she has to go out at worlds and show the judges what she's got to set herself up for the next four year cycle.

I'm sure big sis has some pretty good theories on breaking the final group at worlds and making a steady climb for four years peaking at just the right time!

Ant

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

I don't see any evidence that Emily Hughes is afraid to compete against Katy Taylor and deliberately dodged her at Four Continents. All these armchair psychologists who think they can read skaters' minds...

MM

Did anyone mention fear? I thought it was work work work like most skaters do to prepare for tough competitions.