Mao still has to do it

[slutskayafan21]

Mao wasn't anymore ripped off than Sasha Cohen was ripped off when she wasn't old enough for Worlds. Pu-leaze!!!!!

The year Sasha was too young for Worlds she wasnt able to even medal at Junior Worlds. Even in her free skate where she had only a couple of mistakes the international judges gave her low scores, at the junior level. Her lack of speed, skating basics, and solid technique, bothered international judges much more then the U.S judges who placed her 2nd behind Kwan and ahead of Sarah Hughes. She would not have done squat all at Worlds that year had she gone, a top 10 finish would have been a miracle that year.

Mao was actually a real contender at Worlds and Olympics last year had she been able to go.

 

[rtureck]

Mao wasn't anymore ripped off than Sasha Cohen was ripped off when she wasn't old enough for Worlds. Pu-leaze!!!!!

I do feel Mao was a bit ripped off. Cohen OTOH was never ripped off. She competed first time as a senior (nationals 2000) at age 15? or was it 14?There was a loop hole back then if she placed well on the podium at junior world that year, she had a chance to go to worlds. She was HYPED to win junior worlds, and she was beat by Jenny Kirk - gold, Dee Stellato- silver, forgot who was bronze. (USA sent 3 skaters to jr world that year Jenny and Dee did their job) Cohen who was supposed to win jr worlds and go on to senior world was placed #6 behind her 2 team mates . Sarah Hughes who is younger than Cohen did well enough in jr world the previous year, and placed well enough at nationals 1999, went to senior worlds in 1999 at the age of 13!!!!

 

[Fossi]

I still don't think Mao was "ripped off." The Japanese Federation knows the rules. Oh boo hoo htat she wasn't old enough. The rules were there before the season started so they knew what to expect.

Should htey have bent the rules for her? No guarantee she would've won. We've seen very experienced skaters (Kwan, Slutskaya,) cave under Olympic pressure.

Let's say she did win......another flash in the pan, blip on the radar? Who knows.

Thanks for bringing up the positive Sarah mentions in your post. Sarah was overlooked by US judges in Sasha's favor many times....but she showed them in the end!

 

[slutskayafan21]

I still don't think Mao was "ripped off." The Japanese Federation knows the rules. Oh boo hoo htat she wasn't old enough. The rules were there before the season started so they knew what to expect.

Should htey have bent the rules for her? No guarantee she would've won. We've seen very experienced skaters (Kwan, Slutskaya,) cave under Olympic pressure.

Let's say she did win......another flash in the pan, blip on the radar? Who knows.

Thanks for bringing up the positive Sarah mentions in your post. Sarah was overlooked by US judges in Sasha's favor many times....but she showed them in the end!

I am not saying she was gauranteed to win the Olympics. She may have faltered and not even medaled (with the way Cohen and Slutskaya made major mistakes, and her extremely high jump content she would have probably had to falter to not medal). I am just saying she was much more a factor IMO then Sasha potentialy ever would have been had she been able to go to the 2000 Worlds.

All in all I agree with most of what you are saying. The thing I dont agree with in a way though is if you are not going to allow skaters of a certain age to be eligible for Worlds or the Olympics why make them eligible for the Senior GP circuit? It makes no sense to allow them to take on the best, maybe find out they can beat the best (even comparing scores from junior to senior events doesnt show this, there is no gaurantee of the same marks) and then not be allowed to compete at the biggest events. For me anyway, it should be one way or the other, if you are going to let them be eligible for the Senior GP circuit at a certain age, then they should be allowed to compete at Worlds or Olympics at that age. If they are not eligible for Worlds or Olympics at a certain age, they should not be eligible for the Senior GP events either. It was just ridiculous to have the skater winning the Senior GP final over Slutskaya no less, and already beating Cohen and Arakawa twice in her GP events, taking 1st and 2nd in the strongest GP fields of the season, to be ineligible then for the Olympics. She should not have been eligible for the Senior GP in the first place then, to prevent ridiculous situations like that. The Senior GP final winner ineligible for the Olympics, that just is plain bizarre.

 

[fourclover]

As I watched Mao in the competition this weekend, I couldn't help but think that, while she makes all the jumps look very easy, she doesn't connect with her music. She looked to me like she was just going from trick to trick. I didn't "feel" the music from her interpretation. I don't know if she understood the music of her long. It was a very sophisticated piece.

I felt this too. Her programs, both SP and LP, while beautiful and effortless, doesn't make you "hear" the music. Especially, her SP, Fantasy for V & O, is a very emotional music but when I saw her skate to it, I thought she was just going through the motions and couldn't really connect with the music. Even with Chopin, it seems as though she's using the beautiful music to cover up her poor expression. The music is supposed to accentuate your skating and vice versa, but I got the feeling that the Chopin's music was used to cover-up what she was lacking.

 

[rtureck]

Even with Chopin, it seems as though she's using the beautiful music to cover up her poor expression. The music is supposed to accentuate your skating and vice versa, but I got the feeling that the Chopin's music was used to cover-up what she was lacking.

Skating to solo piano music is probably the most difficult. There is no huge orchestra to support the melody. Every scratch of the blade on the ice is audible to the judges. If Mao dares to choose Chopin nocturne, at least she has quiet edges. Since no skater is perfect, a smart choreographer uses music to compliment (or cover up if you will) the skating. It is not easy to skate to Chopin, so far off the top of my head 3 skaters had done it will, AP, Fumie and Mao. They have a certain ethereal poetic quality about their skating that suit the music well, JMHO.

 

[fourclover]

Skating to solo piano music is probably the most difficult. There is no huge orchestra to support the melody. Every scratch of the blade on the ice is audible to the judges. If Mao dares to choose Chopin nocturne, at least she has quiet edges. Since no skater is perfect, a smart choreographer uses music to compliment (or cover up if you will) the skating. It is not easy to skate to Chopin, so far off the top of my head 3 skaters had done it will, AP, Fumie and Mao. They have a certain ethereal poetic quality about their skating that suit the music well, JMHO.

I have to disagree with you. Although Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu is a solo piano music, it DOES has huge rise and falls in melody. It's an easy music to skate to because it's easy on the ears too; who doesn't like Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu? It's a lot easier than skating to loud galling orchestra music with sometimes jangling noises like Miss Saigon ost (except the Sun and Moon part) - the music Yu-na's skating to. Unless you are Alissa Czisny who's really weak on jumps and splats four times in a program AND can't hold up a program until the end because of a fall in the beginning, in other words, if you are Mao or Yu-na or even Kimmie, Chopin is a good choice of music. I'm just disppointed that Mao's performance didn't show that she understood the ups and downs in melody with Fantasie Impromptu. Hopefully, she'll get better later in the season. Same with her short too.

 

[rtureck]

I have to disagree with you. Although Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu is a solo piano music, it DOES has huge rise and falls in melody. It's an easy music to skate to because it's easy on the ears too; who doesn't like Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu?

I haven't seen Fantasia Impromptu yet. I was talking about last year's nocturne.

 

[carolinefan177]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0H3AMSDZ6Lg

Interesting...
I know her coach was working on the flutz thing

 

[Tinymavy15]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0H3AMSDZ6Lg

Interesting...
I know her coach was working on the flutz thing

the first issue i can remeber about the ISU and the flutz. All you flutz haters shoudl be happy!

 

[Bennett]

You'll forgive me if I believe Mao's presentation comes according to what the choreographer tells her to do. It's fine! Don't get me wrong, but the praise should go to the choreographer now. I think Mao in a year or two will be using her own nuances while performing and become a good stylist. Of course, her technical is the most point gathering.

We've seen Kimmie, Miki and Mao and awaiting breathlessly for Yu Na.

Joe

I think this is such a biased argument.

If a pianist plays Chopin beautifully, who should get the credit for the artistry? Of course, both the pianist and composer (and the piano teacher if I were to add).

The pianist has to do a significant amount of work to understand and interpret the scores while buttressing the techniques to fully express the beauty.

It is quite unfair to say that the credit should go only to the composer, but somehow not to the pianist who delivered it beautifully.

Back to the skate, how many top skaters in the world can even deliver all these complex choreos on this extremely fast music? it takes countless hours of practices to even properly do "what the choreographer tells her to do." Without robust techniques and great musicality, I don't think it possible. Further, the way Mao presents it so graceful and effortless. I have no idea why she should not deserve credit for that.