State of US Ladies in skating III: 2014-15 Season

[Tavi...]

She doesn't have any trouble rotating a double axel. With a different coach to help her, she can learn the correct technique from the start. I say, go for it!

Isn't her current coach known for coaching good jumpers like Max Aaron?

 

[Sandpiper]

(apologies for ruin the flow on the discussion on 3A.... but seriously 3A???!!!! Liza, Mirai, Who next?)

Alaine Chartrand, Miyabi Oba, Adelina Sotnikova, and of course, comebacking Mao Asada. I can dream, can't I?

 

[StitchMonkey]

Alaine Chartrand, Miyabi Oba, Adelina Sotnikova, and of course, comebacking Mao Asada. I can dream, can't I?

I think Miki Ando is going to marry Javi, get citizenship, make a comeback, and start landing the 3A for Spain. Maybe they can even skate pairs in 2018 with side by side quads and 3As.

There, now we are dreaming right?

 

[Sandpiper]

I think Miki Ando is going to marry Javi, get citizenship, make a comeback, and start landing the 3A for Spain. Maybe they can even skate pairs in 2018 with side by side quads and 3As.

There, now we are dreaming right?

No, they'll do side-by-side quad salchows. They're both better at those than 3As. I won't even be mad at them when they inevitably win the 2018 Olympics with monster TES, because it'll motivate my favourites Sui/Han to stay forever and win the Olympics in their old age just like their mentors Shen/Zhao. :yay:

EDIT: Oh, you mentioned quads. Sorry, I clearly didn't get enough sleep last night. Go Ando/Fernandez!

 

[Warwick360]

Every skater needs to have fun. Every skater needs do some things on ice just for enjoyment. Mirai has said she *likes* training the 3A. Give her something she enjoys and can motivate her and that she can do for love and passion of the sport, not just for competition prep. To me her training the 3A is a form of mentally training to keep her love of the sport and I think that is a good thing.

Richard Dornbush loves backflips, when asked at his Social Scene interview last year what he does for fun, he said "backflips with my friends". He can't do them in competition obviously, but he still trains them because he likes them. They are his thing or sorts. Hell, why can't Mirai train it for exhibitions for that matter? I am sure plenty of people would still enjoy seeing a lady to do an underroated, but attractive 3A in an exhibition.

It just seems everytime the 3A and Mirai is brought up people react as though if she is training it, she is not training anything else, or that she should only be grinding away at what her weaknesses are. There needs to be a balance, in the 3A keeps her happy when training the grindy stuff, it is serving a purpose.

I will close out with one more point I have made before. Do you think she would rather people talking about her being left of the Olympics, or do you think she would rather people talk about her 3A attempts? Who cares if it is under-roated, it is more than the other ladies and a better subject than last year. If nothing else it is a great distraction from last year's messiness. Frankly even catty comments about her 3A would be better than almost any comments about last year. By trying something no one else is, she is giving us all something different and better to talk about. Honestly I think it is a pretty good idea to come in with some obfuscation ammo.

One name. Brandon Mroz. All that promise and ended up focusing on things he didn't need to focus on while ignoring those that needed focusing on.

I like Mirai so I'd like her to succeed and would much prefer to see her prove me wrong. But I see bigger hole in her package/program, and that isn't the absence of triple axel.

 

[noskates]

I do not have Ice Network and will not see the ladies until NBC airs this weekend BUT I have seen many stills of the ladies this morning and have to wonder why we are dressing these girls like Jessica Rabbit! The costumes this year -IMO - are not attractive. I wish some of these girls would dress their age and get rid of the sexiness factor that just does not add to their skating.

 

[apgold]

After watching some of Sabinfire's videos (thanks!) of the Ladies SP, I was impressed by a lot of the talent we have, especially those on the junior/senior cusp. Happy to see that many of the ladies put 3-3s in their SP, even if many were UR or an easier combo. It looks like the depth of the Russian and Japanese talent is pushing the US ladies to add more difficulty.

As an aside, I thought Mariah Bell was underscored - she should've had higher PCS and been around 59-60 points. She skated with so much joy.

 

[Jammers]

I first noticed Mariah Bell as a novice about 4 years ago at Nationals and she's always had that "it" factor to her skating.

 

[OS]

Kudos to Sabinfire's video. I really enjoyed Mariah Belle's program too, she has great musicality. her exuberance. Her presentation is Jason Brown infectious. Thought she was underrated too, should be at least 60 at Nationals.

Courtney's jumps were explosive, was really expressed with her speed, flow and attack, and thought it was a great program for her to complement this athletic skater, I am impressed!! Should deserve to be among the top 3.

My personal favs are Karen Chen, who skate like she i's 6 ft tall, all attack, big jumps, no bars hold, love her promising debut and did 3lz3t to be among the big girls after coming back from the ankle injury. She may be small, but she skate big! So proud of her!!! Sentimental Fav... Mirai Mirai.. what can I say! : Perhaps Phil's article sums it up well,

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...-skating-scars-with-pride-20150122-story.html

he described her 'eloquent' quotation on: if this (SP skate) or anything can make up for what she lost a year ago.

"Sometimes you get cut in life, and you bleed. . .my coach taught me this. . .but you heal over time, and they make you as a person because you still have these scars. I like to think of scars as warrior wounds and battle scars. They don’t define who you are. The way you overcome them makes you who are.

"Nothing would make up for the disappointment (but) I’m lucky enough that I’m here and competing and lots of other people don’t have these same opportunities. I think being grateful is really important, and I’m appreciative of what I have."

*sniff* Mirai has grown up, more mature and philosophical now. I like her attitude very different from certain federation anointed teenage skaters.

Great skate by Ashely, going for the 3lz3t, we know nationals scores are high - so she might as well enjoy it! Hope Gracie come back stronger today, she is a better skater than she was able to shown in her SP.... oh and she and Frank had the best Kiss and Cry this competition.

Doppelgangers of the day, Maria Yang and Marai Negasu's costumes... a sleeve away.

 

[AsadaFanBoy]

Polina...oh where do I begin?

I don't know how she could skate so beautifully, with attack, with grace, and get lowballed like that. It feels like her grand prix circuit performances poisoned her nationals score.

Ashley - YASSS. Wish she would stop that two footing habit because she looked mostly around. I love the fire in her skating.

 

[AsadaFanBoy]

Congrats to Ashley! That was the best I've ever seen from her. Love to see that in our new champ.

That freeskate was EVERYTHING. I'm still tingly all over!

 

[noskates]

Aside from Ashley and Gracie (who I thought really had a relatively good skate) my standout person tonite was Mariah Bell. I was really impressed with her. Ashley isn't my favorite skater but you have to respect and admire the determination she brought to this competition. She was fierce!!! And I've never seen her skate better or with more confidence and conviction. Very happy for her.

 

[AsadaFanBoy]

I hope Ashley can replicate this freeskate at worlds. Good god she matched the Russians' technical content and dod them one better by not being sloppy and having a great version of artistry.

 

[R.D.]

Don't do this often but it's very relevant to this thread so...copying and pasting my post from the Nationals FS PBP thread here:

Onto the skating...first, I want to say this: Wow, what a women's event we had tonight. So many great performances, redemption skates, etc.

This Karen Chen girl, we might be onto something here. She is small yet skates big - she has a lot of confidence - she stands out. And she skated really well...yet another surprise medalist after Edmunds came out of nowhere last year. This year, it's Chen. And she's even too young to go to Worlds so Edmunds in 4th lucks out with another (likely) trip to worlds this year, hope she makes the most of it! Only thing is that I want to caution people against anointing Chen- she WILL grow and she WILL go through some rough patches. Are we going to give her some space and let her develop or are we going to burden her with expectations and then get all mad if/when she doesn't live up to them immediately?

Nagasu - You know, I get the feeling I'm more emotionally detached watching skating then the average skatefan. It takes a LOT to make me feel much of anything. Yet, for the first time I really felt for Nagasu here. Even more so than last year, because she'd already been to the Olympics after all - I saw a LOT of skaters skate very close to the walls here in Greensboro but she's the only one that actually caught the end and fell. An awkward fall, too...busted her knee, looked to be in serious pain and it took her out of the performance. She was doing so well up to that point and then a freak accident like that happens. Can't catch a break, just bad luck again for yet ANOTHER year. But I know she'll be the stronger for it in the end - she fought through the rest of the skate and she needn't feel sorry for herself. There's always next year.

Good for Cesario for coming back after her shaky SP - one of many redemption skates we had tonight. Gao (who skated much earlier) had another one.

Too bad for Hicks - this was really her time to shine and she squandered a GREAT opportunity to get on the podium. Just wasn't her night, and after a killer SP it was rather disappointing. Because, outside of the Big Two, a solid Hicks is probably the next best thing to have at Worlds. Unfortunately Hicks just can't seem to get it together at the big events and it continues to hurt her.

Wagner - I don't even know where to start...You know, we fans who have followed skating have known of Wagner since 2008, and it feels like she's been on the scene a long time. Yet, every time she appears to be regressing or stagnating after a great prior skate and people start to count her out, she somehow manages to pull a rabbit out of a hat and take things to the next level. I guess passion and dedication have no bounds. First, I thought 2012 worlds was the best it was gonna get for her...then 2014 Olympics...then 2014 Worlds...and then finally, 2014 GPF. But no, she continues to raise the bar of what we all thought was possible from her. I mean, who would have thought she would do a clean 3-3? A lutz-toe at that? Two of them (even if one is a sequence)? That FS was probably the first time I've seen her truly give a world-class skate. One of the best National performances I've seen in a long time, especially from ladies. I actually had flashbacks to Kwan in 2004 at the end, it was that good. Do that at Worlds and you just may have yourself a medal, assuming you haven't buried yourself with yet another mediocre SP...Wagner got a huge, HUGE monkey off her back tonight. She actually delivered the goods when it counted most, and at Nationals to boot, her weakest event traditionally. Well-deserved winner, even if the score was a bit But I will hold off on the anointing once again - ice is slippery, and I find myself doubting that she can do it again at Worlds. But hey, she's on a roll here proving people wrong with great skates, why not once more?

Gold - Considering the position she was in, I think she actually did really well. Fall aside, she didn't let the task of skating after Wagner overwhelm her and she held it together. It's like Sochi when she followed Sotnikova's skate (sorry to bring her up again) and did decently there, too. That said, I think Gold's weaknesses were accentuated skating immediately after eccentric Wagner. To me, Gold's performance, although technically solid minus a fall, fell flat. There really was no way Gold was going to beat Wagner that night even if clean - forget the 5 point SP lead - it was one of those nights that just belonged to Wagner and no one else. Still, Gold goes to Worlds and call me crazy if you want, but Gold is STILL very much a contender for a World podium spot, and Gold is STILL the best the US has to offer when she is on, although I must say Wagner is closing the gap very quickly(!). Don't count Gracie Gold out yet, guys. I get the feeling she's not done yet...it's gonna be a great rivalry between her and Wagner as long as both can stay healthy and keep their level.

Edmunds - Decent effort here too, although the fall likely cost her bronze. Not that it matters that much, given that Chen isn't old enough for Worlds anyway. Got a monkey off her back too, clean SP finally followed by a FS where she didn't fall apart.

So...definitely an exciting night - and hopefully the tone was set moving forward. I would like for one (or both, even!!) of Wagner and Gold to finally end our 8-year drought of world medals...it IS possible...and doable...they just need to execute...the Russians, although tough, aren't invincible, as we have seen...

 

[AsadaFanBoy]

Thanks for xposting! I didn't know there was a live blog thread.

 

[Jammers]

What was with the ridiculous scores last night? This isn't an Olympic years. 148 points should be reserved for the Yuna's and Mao's of the world. All the top skaters seemed to be overscored by 8-10 points .

 

[RABID]

What was with the ridiculous scores last night? This isn't an Olympic years. 148 points should be reserved for the Yuna's and Mao's of the world. All the top skaters seemed to be overscored by 8-10 points .

While I agree with you, when the high scores did start showing up I wasn't really surprised.... at all. Since last year's Olympic season it seems apparent to me that all restraint is off and that there is a scoring "arms race" going on.

 

[r1kubu]

American figure skating world needs to bring popularity back.There's no time to wait.
Look at empty seats in Skate America. It's so sad to see.
Now USFSA are trying to boost their skaters up to the very limit (Sotnikova's score at Sochi).
A little bit ridiculous but it's national competition so I think it's ok.

 

[CutieP]

Now USFSA are trying to boost their skaters up to the very limit (Sotnikova's score at Sochi).
A little bit ridiculous but it's national competition so I think it's ok.

The thing is, for me, it seems that in Russian Nationals everybody's score (who skated at least fairly clean) was equally inflated. In U.S. nationals the inflation seems more "progressive". The lesser known names didn't seem to get much inflation (Karen Chen's PCS was a bit grazy, but otherwise). The big names were automatically very inflated (to the moon). This time it may not have effected the rankings as such (with Gracie just deserving her silver), but it could potentially end up being very unsportsmanlike.

 

[LyraAngelica]

The thing is, for me, it seems that in Russian Nationals everybody's score (who skated at least fairly clean) was equally inflated. In U.S. nationals the inflation seems more "progressive". The lesser known names didn't seem to get much inflation (Karen Chen's PCS was a bit grazy, but otherwise). The big names were automatically very inflated (to the moon). This time it may not have effected the rankings as such (with Gracie just deserving her silver), but it could potentially end up being very unsportsmanlike.

I feel that the scoring at Nationals rewards mediocre programs by labeling them great and that only hurts the skaters in international competitions. There level of disconnect between the performances and the scoring just made me shake my head. I think USFSA should tighten up the scoring so that American skating fans especially the casual ones aren't tuning out because the scores Americans get at nationals are usually never the scores they get international competitions.

I still believe the US is dire need of a complete skating superstar or two with the ability to hit the technical content and deliver the performance/artistic aspect. I didn't see that from any of the ladies last night. Wagner skated well but I wasn't moved by it. It felt exhibition skate but I'm also a purist for skating without lyrics.