2017 GP Skate America Ladies FS

[Jaana]

Wagner´s WD was a wise decision, since she would not have made the GPF anyway, not with this technical panel... She would have needed at least the second place in this competition to qualify. Now she has time to heal properly before the US Nationals.

 

[anonymoose_au]

Disney Channel original movie idea: Two young rivals and training mates - one is better than the other, but they've always been close. Then the better one is surpassed by her training mate, and as they grow up, suddenly her training mate shoots up to the top of the field, wins the World Championships, and becomes unbeatable. The now-struggling one finds a new coach, continues to struggle, ends up basically written off by everyone around her. Then, she's taken under the wing of a former superstar, a rookie coach, and has to claw her way back up to the top, bit by bit, as the competition just keeps getting more and more difficult. Then one day she finally beats her old rival. They hug, and then everyone cries.

Not gonna lie I'd watch the heck outta this!

I've only watched Serafima's skate because I ran out of internet bandwidth so now I only have dial-up speed now. It wasn't as amazing as her short, but I liked her jumps. Although the ending was weird, she seemed to berating herself a bit as she headed for the Kiss and Cry, like she forgot to do something? Or maybe just skated too fast

Coachshenko warms my heart though! Hope he has a looooong coaching career!

 

[Anni234]

I went to watch the victory ceremony of the ladies, but somehow I only typed in Victor and ended up watching a few Victor Nikiforov clips, before I remembered what I was supposed to watch.

 

[Jaana]

The only thing that I said or implied here was that he has a great deal of experience with what may influence skating politics regarding individual skaters based on his experiences as one of the first openly-gay athletes in figure skating, and certainly the first so "flamboyantly" so, which has been identified by many an expert throughout the years as a major influence in the events of his career. Please do not try to paint my comments as though I was being unfair or attempting to ignore some aspect of his history in order to paint him in a better light.

I think it is so easy to pull up the gay card and blame everything because of that, LOL. If he had succeeded well in competitions and especially in 2009-10 had had good programs I have no doubts the federation would have forwarded him, too. The fact though is that Lysacek did beat Weir every time they competed in international competitions since Olympics 2006.

 

[WestVirginia130]

I think it is so easy to pull up the gay card and blame everything because of that, LOL. If he had succeeded well in competitions and especially in 2009-10 had had good programs I have no doubts the federation would have forwarded him, too. The fact though is that Lysacek did beat Weir every time they competed in international competitions since Olympics 2006.

Y'all, I'll say it again: I'm not "blaming everything" on the gay card. I don't think that Weir was ever the best in the field at any point in time, I don't think it directly cost him any opportunities at international placements or individual events, I don't think that it single-handedly ruined his career and forced him into a life of destitution. I do think, however, that it informed a lot his interactions with the media and, by extension, his federation and the international skating community at large, giving him a bit of insight into the mechanisms and nuance of how more personal factors can influence what happens on the ice.

I think a lot of things are factors into the overall "package" of a skater and influence how they are received on the ice, and in the instance of Johnny Weir, I think a major influence and in some cases detrimental aspect of his packaging was his identity as a gay athlete. That's it though.

Anyways my original point was that Tara and Johnny are not great commentators so :confused2:

 

[charlotte14]

- The tech panel was lenient throughout, which at least is consistent. Only those jumps that looked obviously UR were called

The fact that Satoko got no reviews in any of her jumps was wrong already.

 

[Globetrotter]

The fact that Satoko got no reviews in any of her jumps was wrong already.

Lets just say that the tech panel had the discretion to do so. Just on first watching, none of Satoko's jumps looked hooked and the only reason why we all suspect they were UR were a combo of reputation and smallish jumps. If it was up to me, I would replay the 3Lz-3T especially on the 3T and the 3F which is usually the one she gets most problem with. However, I don't think it is right to just keep harping on her small jumps and simply assume that she must get everything replayed / reviewed just due to reputation and small jumps and just because we can. Otherwise, we may as well get all judges to review and recalibrate PCS by rewatching.

 

[charlotte14]

Lets just say that the tech panel had the discretion to do so. Just on first watching, none of Satoko's jumps looked hooked and the only reason why we all suspect they were UR were a combo of reputation and smallish jumps. If it was up to me, I would replay the 3Lz-3T especially on the 3T and the 3F which is usually the one she gets most problem with. However, I don't think it is right to just keep harping on her small jumps and simply assume that she must get everything replayed / reviewed just due to reputation and small jumps and just because we can. Otherwise, we may as well get all judges to review and recalibrate PCS by rewatching.

The issue is, I have not read this thread yet. I see no one complain Satoko has small jumps hence it's bad. The issue is Satoko has bad reputation of UR and she does not get any calls, no reviews here.

Her combo and solo 3lo in the SP were dubious and one of them at least should have been called, hence giving Kaori the lead in SP.
At least 5 jump passes in the FS should have been reviewed and 3 of them should have been called UR.
Even if Kaori get call for her flutz, what she lost is still much less than what Satoko might have lost if tech panel did their job.

Kaori was robbed of the gold IMO.

 

[Tolstoj]

Lets just say that the tech panel had the discretion to do so. Just on first watching, none of Satoko's jumps looked hooked and the only reason why we all suspect they were UR were a combo of reputation and smallish jumps. If it was up to me, I would replay the 3Lz-3T especially on the 3T and the 3F which is usually the one she gets most problem with. However, I don't think it is right to just keep harping on her small jumps and simply assume that she must get everything replayed / reviewed just due to reputation and small jumps and just because we can. Otherwise, we may as well get all judges to review and recalibrate PCS by rewatching.

In real time the 3lo and the 3f looked UR to me and even B.ESP and Jackie Wong noticed it, and also in the SP the 3lo was suspicious.

In the combo usually her Lutz is always suspicious, it's soo flat that it looks like a double.

On top of that the GOE, why the +1 or +2?

The point is that some of these calls are so well-known, but judges have aways given her the benefit of the doubt, sometimes only for her (2016 GPF where Sotskova, Radionova and Pogorilaya got all the calls on the URs or the edge issues, but nothing for Satoko), and probably because if you start to call her URs she has no longer the scores of a top competitor.

I could have understood this in the past (actually no because this is supposed to be a sport but whatever) since she was Japan's only credible contender in ladies, but now that they have Wakaba, Mai, Kaori,...

 

[Nika09]

Oooh my...Kaori! I knew she could do it. And Amelie is so amazing program! Just take a look at those PCS. She has everything loved by judges: backloading, tanos and a little pantomime

Mai Mihara should start miming in her programs, I guess

Congrats Satoko with her comeback and first gold too.

 

[chloepoco]

The issue is, I have not read this thread yet. I see no one complain Satoko has small jumps hence it's bad. The issue is Satoko has bad reputation of UR and she does not get any calls, no reviews here.

Her combo and solo 3lo in the SP were dubious and one of them at least should have been called, hence giving Kaori the lead in SP.
At least 5 jump passes in the FS should have been reviewed and 3 of them should have been called UR.
Even if Kaori get call for her flutz, what she lost is still much less than what Satoko might have lost if tech panel did their job.

Kaori was robbed of the gold IMO

Yeah, we get it. You only mentioned that about 30 times in various threads.

 

[klutzy]

Totally agree that Bradie had a fantastic competition. But is she Olympic ready? Is that Disney princess LP have any chance to land in the top 10 internationally ? I hope the US team doesn't repeat the Polina Edmunds mistake.

There was no mistake. Polina Edmunds was in second place at Nationals and finished in the top ten at the Olympics. Are you really suggesting that she should have been bumped?

 

[Ares]

I thoroughly enjoyed the ladies competition, so many good skates. Congrats to Satoko for her gold medal win, nice to see her back.
Great skating by Kaori and Bradie! Sad about Ashley's WD. Wishing her a speedy recovery.

Not even one fall / deduction in Free Skate here, lots of high-quality skates out there (from the most actually, the only let-down was Daleman but I sadly expected it). What a great debut for Bradie as well. But only 10 skaters finished LP just like in Men (Da-bin withdrew before the event even started, and Ashley withdrew midway her progrm).

 

[MaiKatze]

I think it's been a long time since we saw such unadulterated joy in the KnC as we've seen from Kaori here. It's the reaction shot everyone should watch when they feel especially angry at any result.

 

[quadrupleaxel15]

Shades of Rachel Flatt. I hope Ashley gets fined for knowing she was injured, but not withdrawing before the competition and giving someone else a chance to skate in her place.

Telling the media that this competition was not a priority for her [yet she took the spot] is beyond the pale selfish. If it wasn't a priority, she should have begged off weeks ago to focus on whatever was her priority.

Furthermore, by announcing to all and sundry that Skate America was a low priority in the scheme of things is disrespectful to the other competitors as well as all those who would like to have been there, and for all of whom this is a very important event.

I think we have to remember that Grand Prix events are different in nature than Nationals or the Olympics. Skaters are chosen by world standings and popularity is a crucial part of it. Hosts do a lot of thinking on how to promote these events, how to get the best skaters with less expenses etc. So it's hardly about justice and equal opportunity. Ashley Wagner is probably the reason half of that crowd gathered that day on that arena. Everybody was expecting her to do well (all the talk about home cooking), she has commercial agreements and sponsorships. On top of it she was the only American who could've made it to the Final. Do you really think withdrawing from such an event without even trying is an easy decision for a skater in such a position?

And no other replacement could have done better at this point in the GP, it was going to be either Ashley, Polina or Wakaba for the Final. It makes more sense for her to at least try than to have someone skating only for the fun of it. You cannot blame her for being the most successful American in the Grand Prix circuit this season, she had the spot and tried to make the best of it instead of giving up weeks before.

 

[jenaj]

So this and this and this were fully rotated jumps... :sarcasm:

Jumps don't have to be fully rotated to receive full credit. They have to be within a quarter of a full turn. Her jumps seem
fine to me.

 

[mikeko666]

Jumps don't have to be fully rotated to receive full credit. They have to be within a quarter of a full turn. Her jumps seem
fine to me.

3Lz-3T doesn't look bad, but obviously 3Lz<+2T+2Lo. And 3Lo<.

 

[jenaj]

There was no mistake. Polina Edmunds was in second place at Nationals and finished in the top ten at the Olympics. Are you really suggesting that she should have been bumped?

I think she should have been, if not Ashley. She had no record to speak of. I hope the USFSA makes Ashley earn it this time. If she is 4th again, she should not be on the team.

 

[Ender]

I think we have to remember that Grand Prix events are different in nature than Nationals or the Olympics. Skaters are chosen by world standings and popularity is a crucial part of it. Hosts do a lot of thinking on how to promote these events, how to get the best skaters with less expenses etc. So it's hardly about justice and equal opportunity. Ashley Wagner is probably the reason half of that crowd gathered that day on that arena. Everybody was expecting her to do well (all the talk about home cooking), she has commercial agreements and sponsorships. On top of it she was the only American who could've made it to the Final. Do you really think withdrawing from such an event without even trying is an easy decision for a skater in such a position?

And no other replacement could have done better at this point in the GP, it was going to be either Ashley, Polina or Wakaba for the Final. It makes more sense for her to at least try than to have someone skating only for the fun of it. You cannot blame her for being the most successful American in the Grand Prix circuit this season, she had the spot and tried to make the best of it instead of giving up weeks before.

I agree. I don’t see WD here brings Wagner any benefit. She has deals with sponsors and now she might have to send out sorry to them. She must have felt heartbreaking to do this.

 

[jenm]

finally caught up with the ladies...

Ashley - she looks so beautiful! I love this new dress . I think it was very very smart on her to not continue and aggravate her injury. Nationals and Olympics are more important. Get well soon, Ashley!

Kaori - Wow! Her jumps are amazing. Her 3T in the opening combo was so high, higher than the 3F! And sells the program well. Maybe on a stricter panel, should've beaten Satoko a little bit.

Bradie - she reminds me of a young Gracie. I love the beading of her dress, just a little bit more sequins on the mesh and she would look more princess-y. She skated so well but the program isn't memorable enough for me. It looks a bit generic.

Polina - my favorite jumper among all the Russian ladies. her packaging here tho is a bit underwhelming.

Serafima - I love comebacks. I feel proud of her after hearing she wanted to quit but kept going and now she's here again. Great job!

Gabby - monster 3T+3T as always. If what Tara said is true, I'm looking forward to her 4T! I'm not digging her long program tho. Her skating is powerful but the music she used kind of diminishes it. A piano piece for a gladiator program is just not a good match.

Satoko - I'M SO HAPPY FOR SATOKO! She did that! After an injury! Tiny queen! Her skating is so beautiful and I would say even better than Carolina now. Her movements are so seamless. Her spins are gorgeous especially her layback spin Finally, a 71+ PCS. I do feel she should've gotten a few UR calls that might've caused her the gold to Kaori. But all in all, the best of the night for me. Go Satton!!!!