Wakaba Higuchi | Page 90 | Golden Skate

Wakaba Higuchi

Wakaba’s short was my favorite performance at Skate Canada (I’ve only watched Men’s and Ladies’). It gave me goosebumps.

I hope she returns to good health soon. She is still my no.1 favorite in the current ladies field based on all that I’ve seen so far this season!
 
Her SP was glorious! What happened in the FS? Is she injured? I hope she comes back stronger at her next event and if she‘s injured... takes time to heal to prepare for Japanese Nationals! I love her and was so happy after the SP and so sad when I saw results and noticed it wasn‘t her but other Japanese lady on the podium. Mako is lovely but Wakaba‘s got my heart... :(

But: If she‘s injured and skated her SP like that she can already be incredibly proud of herself. That‘s an achievement already. I hope she isn‘t to sad about losing a medal here.
 
Fluture said:
Her SP was glorious! What happened in the FS? Is she injured? I hope she comes back stronger at her next event and if she‘s injured... takes time to heal to prepare for Japanese Nationals! I love her and was so happy after the SP and so sad when I saw results and noticed it wasn‘t her but other Japanese lady on the podium. Mako is lovely but Wakaba‘s got my heart... :(

But: If she‘s injured and skated her SP like that she can already be incredibly proud of herself. That‘s an achievement already. I hope she isn‘t to sad about losing a medal here.
Click to expand...

Yes she's injured :( I'm hoping she'll take her next GP off and rest up! Or she'll take the time in between to heal so she competes at 100%
 
the oblivon of Wakaba sounds really sad, I'm a little disappointed that she did not skate on his MJ program, I know she wants to try several things but I can not find the Wakaba before and it's a shame .

Wakaba gambatte and take courage we know that you are capable of much better.

Even if it's hard as a fan of not seeing her again, I hope she will think about and withdraw from future competitions just like Satoko did.
 
solar said:
Yes she's injured :( I'm hoping she'll take her next GP off and rest up! Or she'll take the time in between to heal so she competes at 100%
Click to expand...

i really hope she isn't pushing herself too much and won't wind up with a worse injury because she didn't rest :(
 
Can someone explain to me why her GoE is so low?
I don't really get why her jumps are considered worse than Evgenias, for example.
 
lupina015 said:
Can someone explain to me why her GoE is so low?
I don't really get why her jumps are considered worse than Evgenias, for example.
Click to expand...

She was injured, so these weren’t her best skates, just as something to keep in mind.

I could likely break down the GOEs but for which programme — the short or the free?
 
In case anyone was interested, here's my 1080p fancam of her SCI SP Thursday afternoon practice (sorry for the wait, but my Dailymotion account has a strict upload limit, and my original files are roughly 1 GB each)---I sat in the second row from the boards: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6wfr2l I'm missing a bit of the beginning because several fans were looking for their seats and they completely blocked my view. :frown:
 
Don't get me wrong, I really wanted Evgenia on the podium. But did Wakaba really deserve 5th for the long? I am trying to learn but still don't understand a lot. I gasped when I saw 5th place. Were they harsh with her?
 
asingingwife said:
Don't get me wrong, I really wanted Evgenia on the podium. But did Wakaba really deserve 5th for the long? I am trying to learn but still don't understand a lot. I gasped when I saw 5th place. Were they harsh with her?
Click to expand...

She was seventh in the free, actually. Protocols. She finished fifth overall.

I wouldn’t say she was judged especially harshly. She received an unclear edge warning (!) on the flip, which has always been an issue for her. She popped an opening 3S to a 2S, had two UR calls, and her 3Lo was downgraded to a 2Lo in terms of BV. Medvedeva had an unclear edge warning and an outright incorrect edge call on her Lutzes (! and then e on the second), and a UR call on her 3Lo. Medvedeva had some landings I thought were suspect (not exceptionally strong), but was generally secure on all her jumps. She also saved both triple-triple combos for the bonus, had a Level 4 step sequence, and two surprisingly strong 2As. Neither she nor Wakaba earned exceptionally high positive GOE marks for their jumps — Medvedeva was clustered around 2-3, with the sole +4 being tossed from the average — but Wakaba had some very rough landings. The downgraded 3Lo was two-footed, the subsequent 3F was meant to be part of a jump sequence (she did 3F-1Eu-nothing, so the negative GOE reflects both the edge issue at takeoff and the incomplete jump sequence of the landing), and her step sequence was given a Level 2.

The !, e, </UR, and <</downgrade calls given by the tech panel lower GOE. Since one level of GOE is now 10% of the Base Value (BV) of an element, those calls are quite costly. The final GOE awarded is the total of the negative and positive features (so if a jump earns +3 GOE for positive features but a -1 in negative features from a judge, the final GOE is +2), and that’s before the tech panel examines various elements and issues any edge warnings or calls, UR calls, etc.

In the case of edge violations on the flip and the Lutz: an unclear or blurry edge without a call from the TP is -1 GOE (in other words, a judge can lower the GOE for the element by -1 if that’s the only negative feature, and that -1 is weighed against any positive factors; the presence of negative features generally means the skater isn’t likely to have executed an element otherwise worth +5 GOE, however); -1 to -3 for an unclear or blurry edge with an edge warning given (!); and -3 to -4 for an incorrect takeoff edge (e). A UR, uncalled, is -1 to -2 GOE, and -2 to -3 if called. A downgraded jump is given -3 to -4, as is a two-footed landing — in Wakaba’s case, she not only had her 3Lo downgraded (<<), but she also landed it two-footed, bringing the jump’s base value down to that of a 2Lo, and with -5 GOE, the actual value was cut in half. In other words: the base value of a 3Lo is 4.9 and a 2Lo 1.7. A downgraded 3Lo is a 2Lo, and with -5 GOE, that’s 0.85 points, before adjusting for the 10% bonus for being one of the final three jumps in the back half.

Medvedeva lost 10 points in TES between leaving the ice and receiving her score due to technical calls. I don’t remember if Wakaba’s score also fell, but she also lost a lot of points straight off by popping her opening jump, not completing her 3F-1Eu sequence, and the 3Lo. It definitely wasn’t Wakaba’s best skate, and some of the jump issues caused her to omit some choreography in order to try to salvage combos. Ultimately, Wakaba was a little over 14 points behind Medvedeva in TES. I feel like the judging was pretty fair, as well as the technical calls — I called Medvedeva’s sit spin issue in real time and she was given a V by the tech panel, for example. The judges didn’t have it out for Wakaba. I’ve felt she’s been robbed before, but this wasn’t one of those times.

Also, if most of this post didn’t make a lot of sense, just tell me and I’ll try to explain protocols more clearly. :)
 
macy said:
does anyone know who does her costumes? is it lisa mckinnon? i was especially obsessed with her blue bond dress last year :love:
Click to expand...

The one who did Wakaba Higuchi Dresses Last years was Satomi Ito.
https://cargocollective.com/stmito/Wakaba-Higuchi-Gypsy-dance-1
https://cargocollective.com/stmito/Wakaba-Higuchi-007-Black
https://cargocollective.com/stmito/Wakaba-Higuchi-Gypsy-dance
https://cargocollective.com/stmito/Wakaba-Higuchi-Gypsy-dance

I don't Know This Year though. :scratch2:
 
QuadSal said:
The one who did Wakaba Higuchi Dresses Last years was Satomi Ito.
https://cargocollective.com/stmito/Wakaba-Higuchi-Gypsy-dance-1
https://cargocollective.com/stmito/Wakaba-Higuchi-007-Black
https://cargocollective.com/stmito/Wakaba-Higuchi-Gypsy-dance
https://cargocollective.com/stmito/Wakaba-Higuchi-Gypsy-dance

I don't Know This Year though. :scratch2:
Click to expand...

ugh i can't with this dress! so much more beautiful up close. i was so heartbroken she switched to the black one (not that it was bad or anything, the blue just had my heart)

https://cargocollective.com/stmito/Wakaba-Higuchi-007
 
I honestly thought both costumes were great for her last season, especially the two bond ones and the orange short program one. I wonder if she'll do any costume changes this season, not that I hate her current ones (they're not my favorite), but she usually does at least one costume change throughout the season :laugh:
 
Not surprised, Wakaba has withdrawn from Rostelecom Cup. here's to a speedy recovery!
 
Not surprising, but what a pity. And it also means that the condition is quite serious 🙁. I fear that she won't be able to make it to the Japanese Nationals. Hopefully I am wrong 🙏. Wishing her a speedy and thorough recovery!
 
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