2017-18 State of U.S. Ladies Skating

[R.D.]

That's the generic response from every skater! It's so boring. Like you have to give a blanket statement rather than say how you feel. Ugh...

Wow I feel like I've been saying this for decades. Going all the way back to the Kwan Years.

I will say that today's skaters seem to be, in general, a bit more candid than skaters of the past...this may be due in large part to the increased exposure of social media, backstage coverage and fan interviews (TSL, etc.). Gotta come up with a bit more than "I need to skate my best" to fill the time.

Wagner stood out for a while (up to Sochi) as one who took the candor to the next level and was as close as you could get publicly to being "raw" so to speak. Of course, she was taken to task for that approach (ahead of her time perhaps?)...Nagasu has historically been a good interview IIRC, if a bit guarded, but lately it seems she is somewhat less afraid to let that guard down in public - which leads to moments like what we saw in that video.

 

[largeman]

I'm getting serious deja vu here...

BoP and Moxiejan, can we just refer back to this and not rehash the same debate.

 

[Moxiejan]

I'm getting serious deja vu here...

BoP and Moxiejan, can we just refer back to this and not rehash the same debate.

Sure, if you want to just let misinformation about what is stated in the ISU rulebook be posted without any attempt to correct it. But, yes, I've now done that. I won't bore you further.

 

[largeman]

Sure, if you want to just let misinformation about what is stated in the ISU rulebook be posted without any attempt to correct it. But, yes, I've now done that. I won't bore you further.

Please don't take my comment the wrong way.. I just feel that both of you, as well as other members who chimed in, made the exact same points and shared the same perspectives in the old thread I linked to. Towards the end of the discussion, gkelly made some comments that made a lot of sense and sort of bridged the differences. That's why I think revisiting what was discussed then may be more productive than restarting the whole debate.

 

[Blades of Passion]

So after all that you're going to continue to ignore what is in front of you? You attempted to point to the ISU rules as some kind of iron-clad defense, when those rules provide nothing to support the argument you tried to make. The ISU's own rule would mean every Loop and Salchow jump in competition should be getting called underrotated. That's obviously not what is happening.

I'm getting serious deja vu here...

BoP and Moxiejan, can we just refer back to this and not rehash the same debate.

I wish it would get easier and less repetitive. I've been having this discussion so many times for an entire decade now that it just all fades together. Doesn't matter if it's in person or on a message board/email, people are just super confused about the topic and usually need many examples to gain clarity.

Sadly, until the ISU finally improves the rules and institutes better training, it's a discussion that is going to get repeated ad nasuem. Rotation calls are such a big part of the scoring and continue to be evaluated poorly and kept in the dark by the ISU. Boring, yeah.

 

[Seren]

Mirai's LP reaction video is even better than the first one. She's hilarious and clearly playing it up. It's not like this is an official television or media interview.

I like seeing this funny, less than serious side of her. We've watched her struggle over the years and I love seeing her have fun.

 

[ice coverage]

Congratulations to Mirai :dance2:.
Thrilled for her.

---

Looking ahead to next week's USOC media summit in Park City:

On Mon Sep 25, a press conference with some of the skaters will be live streamed .
The skaters are Mariah Bell, Jason Brown, Karen Chen, Nathan Chen, Mirai Nagasu, Adam Rippon, Alex Shibutani, Maia Shibutani, and Ashley Wagner.
Scheduled for 3:45-5:15 pm local time (Mountain time zone).

The media guide has some fun quirky stuff as well as more conventional bios and notes.
(e.g., from Vincent Zhou: "I have a habit of saving my favorite things to eat for last ...")​

 

[skylark]

Something quirky from Chris Knierim's conventional bio: He majored in Diesel Mechanics (!) at Pikes Peak Community College.

Something quirky from Ashley: "I can be very extroverted on the spot, but in reality I'm very much an introvert."

 

[sheetz]

---

Looking ahead to next week's USOC media summit in Park City:

On Mon Sep 25, a press conference with some of the skaters will be live streamed .
The skaters are Mariah Bell, Jason Brown, Karen Chen, Nathan Chen, Mirai Nagasu, Adam Rippon, Alex Shibutani, Maia Shibutani, and Ashley Wagner.
Scheduled for 3:45-5:15 pm local time (Mountain time zone).

The media guide has some fun quirky stuff as well as more conventional bios and notes.
(e.g., from Vincent Zhou: "I have a habit of saving my favorite things to eat for last ...")​

This probably belongs in the mens thread but it seems very wrong for the current US mens silver medalist and world junior champion to not be at the press conference along with the other singles skaters.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

This probably belongs in the mens thread but it seems very wrong for the current US mens silver medalist and world junior champion to not be at the press conference along with the other singles skaters.

He hasn't (yet) proven himself in senior international competition. The others all have won medals at GP events or had high finishes at Worlds.

 

[ice coverage]

This probably belongs in the mens thread but it seems very wrong for the current US mens silver medalist and world junior champion to not be at the press conference along with the other singles skaters.

FWIW: As another event at the media summit, Vincent Zhou + Evan Bates, Madison Chock, Zach Donohue, Madison Hubbell, Chris Knierim, Alexa Scimeca Knierim are scheduled for a figure skating roundtable on Tue Sep 26.

My understanding is:

- that the Tue roundtable will not be livestreamed.

- that each athlete gets a full day of activities at the media summit.

Mirai, Mariah, Karen, Ashley, Nathan, Adam, Jason, and the Shibs are assigned to Mon Sep 25.
Vincent, C/B, H/D, and the Knierims are assigned to Tue Sep 26.​

I am neither defending nor criticizing the schedule.
Just fleshing out my understanding of the schedule.

The 2013 edition of the USOC media summit also had figure skating demos on Monday from Max Aaron, Gracie Gold, and the Shibs.
I imagine that one man and one lady once again will give demos in 2017. Prob. the Shibs again too, if I had to guess.

[Note: The Shibs gave a demo in 2013, even though D/W also took part in the media summit. Maybe other dancers (i.e., not the Shibs) will give a demo this time around. My comment above is nothing more than a wild guess.]

 

[sheetz]

He hasn't (yet) proven himself in senior international competition. The others all have won medals at GP events or had high finishes at Worlds.

I don't buy that. If he were a ladies competitor he would be there.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

I don't buy that. If he were a ladies competitor he would be there.

To be fair, the American public cares more about women's figure skating. It is the marquee event of the Winter Olympics.

 

[sheetz]

FWIW: As another event at the media summit, Vincent Zhou + Evan Bates, Madison Chock, Zach Donohue, Madison Hubbell, Chris Knierim, Alexa Scimeca Knierim are scheduled for a figure skating roundtable on Tue Sep 26.

Yes, I was aware of the roundtable discussion, but the press conference is clearly the more desirable event for the skaters to attend. The mainstream media don't know much about skating so they will simply assume the skaters present at the press conference are the ones that should be receiving the most attention. Besides, what difference does one extra person make? Why single Vincent out by putting him with the ice dancers?

 

[ice coverage]

Yes, I was aware of the roundtable discussion, but the press conference is clearly the more desirable event for the skaters to attend. The mainstream media don't know much about skating so they will simply assume the skaters present at the press conference are the ones that should be receiving the most attention. Besides, what difference does one extra person make? Why single Vincent out by putting him with the ice dancers?

Again, just FWIW:

In 2013, Davis/White were not included in the Monday press conference. (The Mon presser was for Max, Jeremy, Evan, Agnes, Gracie, Ashley.)

A Tue roundtable included D/W, the Shibs, Casteilli/Shnapir, Denney/Coughlin -- mixed with some freestyle skiers.​

And I think it was very obvious in Sep 2013 that D/W had by far the strongest track record of any U.S. skaters and had by far the greatest chance not only of making the Olympic podium, but also of winning the gold in Sochi.

 

[sheetz]

Again, just FWIW:

In 2013, Davis/White were not included in the Monday press conference. (The Mon presser was for Max, Jeremy, Evan, Agnes, Gracie, Ashley.)

A Tue roundtable included D/W, the Shibs, Casteilli/Shnapir, Denney/Coughlin -- mixed with some freestyle skiers.​

And I think it was very obvious in Sep 2013 that D/W had by far the strongest track record of any U.S. skaters and had by far the greatest chance not only of making the Olympic podium, but also of winning the gold in Sochi.

That sounds right, though. As little as Americans care about mens skating, they really, really don't care about ice dancing.

 

[ice coverage]

That sounds right, though. As little as Americans care about mens skating, they really, really don't care about ice dancing.

And some might say it "sounds right" for Vincent to be treated (in terms of the media summit) no better and no worse than Davis/White.

(Lest anyone wonder: I am a fan of Vincent.

This post will be my last in this off-topic discussion. The schedule is what it is.)

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

After watching some of the US Classic performances, I really am not optimistic about the women's Olympic medal chances. Mirai had a great 3A in the LP so I thought that was a huge step forward, but she continues to lose focus on the rest of her jumping passes. Maybe it's easier for her to attack the 3A because she has to, whereas some of the easier jumps might require a bit more restraint. Karen needs much better LP choreography to compete. Even if she had all the jumps, the program would still seem empty to me. I think that it's still early in the season so we may see improvements, but this music brings the inevitable comparisons to past Carmens so she has a lot of work to do to stand out. The top Russians appear to be in such good form already that it's hard to know which US women could catch them.

 

[sheetz]

And some might say it "sounds right" for Vincent to be treated (in terms of the media summit) no better and no worse than Davis/White.

(Lest anyone wonder: I am a fan of Vincent.

I would disagree because Davis/White were placed with the other ice dancers, while Vincent is being placed separate from the other singles skaters.

And lest anyone wonder, I'm not a particularly big Vincent fan. So I won't lose any sleep over it.

 

[Ginask8s]

Does anybody know if Ashley is using a different cut to her Moulin Rouge program? I love that program but why would you repeat something you did your best at?