2018 Skate America Ladies Short Program

[NoNameFace]

I only watched from Marin on (overslept the alarm... ) - Marin herself is not really my cup of tea in this program to be honest, it all feels too cheesy and pageant sweet for my taste, she do has a lovely flow though. Shame about Bradie and that pop, kudos for her to carrying on like nothing happened, such uncharacteristic thing for her to pop... I really love this program for her, yes - costume feels a bit dated, but I focus more on her skating, the way program built, the attack. Loena - just all around, after Nebelhorn I hoped for even stronger push here, but it was not meant to be...

Japanese duo leading kind of outclassed rest of the field today in terms of quality and detail in execution: both just flew on ice with confidence. Both gorgeously dressed, too - Kaori in more vivid, exuberant style (love how the skirt moved!), Satoko with such elegance and refinement about her. Kaori's speed, musicality, this genuine feel about her presentation, her presence itself are refreshing to see in combination with strong attack on elements. Satoko proves once again that her body can sing like an instrument, very moving, mature skate, full of little details in simple design of it, the focus is totally on a skater, the movement and flow of it. Jumps ARE looking improved somehow, it is the height, more 'fullness' added to it maybe... But the style, elegance musicality, polish are the same if not better: more mature, refined, profound in a program like this.

 

[vesperalvioletta]

Really surprised by the downgrade on Laurine's second 3T. It looked a little tight to me, and ever so slightly two-footed, but what do I know :confused2:

 

[mikeko666]

So, Satoko and Kaori received almost same GOE on their combos. Nice.

 

[bennorii]

Megan really impressed me tonight, especially her speed at that giant 3T-3T. She really proved that she deserved that TBD spot.

 

[cohen-esque]

Tsurskaya WAS ROBBED! Her 3Lz+3T was perfectly clean while in protocols it marked as UR.
What a disgusting technical panel. Before it Zhou, now this.. If that continues - I am afraid FS will turn in circus on ice where all would depend on a whim of tech callers. Maybe strict judging is good - bot definitely not to that degree.

I don’t understand. It was clearly UR. Vincent’s were clearly UR.

I think UR punishments are too harsh in the current system, granted, but the tech panel handed them out left and right in both events to everyone fairly in all three events so far.

 

[Harriet]

Really surprised by the downgrade on Laurine's second 3T. It looked a little tight to me, and ever so slightly two-footed, but what do I know :confused2:

No, on the close-up replay of her feet you can see that the downgrade was the right call.

 

[vesperalvioletta]

No, on the close-up replay of her feet you can see that the downgrade was the right call.

I was flipping back and forth between other pages, so missed the slo-mo replay. At speed it didn't look as bad as all that to me, but the close-up of Tsurskaya's feet really proved her underrotation, so I'm sure you're right.

EDIT: Just went back and watched the replay on YouTube. The error is much clearer there.

 

[rachno2]

I will never not complain/be confused about the lack of 9s in Satoko's PCS. She came in 4th at the Olympics and is the reigning world bronze medalist. The reputation judging should be on her side, even if the judges can't see her superior components.

 

[Scrufflet]

One good thing: the positive mania for bent arm tanos does seem to have abated. I know some people like them -- and good for you if you do (hey--I'm all for strong opinions). But I think jumps simply look better without the bent arm. Straight arm tanos on the other hand, really do look impressive, because they elongate the line. Just a personal opinion (and you know how I feel about those! :luv17.

Totally agree! I like the straight arm ones but detest the bent ones. Often they look like soggy fish or pit-sniffers (my husband came up with that). Even slightly curved can look nice. I wonder what Brian Boitano thinks!

 

[bennorii]

Sofia skated very well! I think she will stay afloat in Russia with her consistency. Her jumps looks a little labored, and her tano arm is OK, but she can feel the music without going overboard.

 

[Colonel Green]

I would still give Bradie a good shot at the bronze.

Nothing's over until it's over. Satoko didn't get any URs today, but she could just as easily have her TES slaughtered tomorrow. Bradie could win gold, bronze, or nothing.

 

[TripleAxelQueens3]

you know what I find funny?

Marin and Bradie have equal SS scores.

 

[kimganos]

I will never not complain/be confused about the lack of 9s in Satoko's PCS. She came in 4th at the Olympics and is the reigning world bronze medalist. The reputation judging should be on her side, even if the judges can't see her superior components.

I think she deserves 10's!!!

 

[sk8ath]

you know what I find funny?
Marin and Bradie have equal SS scores.

You know there is some (host country) bonus here...

 

[rikaquegira]

Tsurskaya WAS ROBBED! Her 3Lz+3T was perfectly clean while in protocols it marked as UR.
What a disgusting technical panel. Before it Zhou, now this.. If that continues - I am afraid FS will turn in circus on ice where all would depend on a whim of tech callers. Maybe strict judging is good - but not to that degree. It was two great mistakes in ISU congress:
1) limiting bonus jumps only to 1 in sp/3 in fp (which destroyed all variety in programs as we can see already)
2) making more harsh UR calls (which turns competitions in judging farce)

It was clearly UR, I could see the hook in real time. In the slowmo replay you can really see it was UR(under the new rules anyway).
And that is so unfortunate because her 3Lz is so freaking beautiful and huge!!!!

I can’t speak of the Men’s event because I haven’t watched it yet but in the Ladies event I think the result is ok so far. No wuzrobbed feelings for me yet. [emoji23]

 

[kevinVchicago]

Holy guacamole, Tsurskaya's 3Lz3T

 

[Danny T]

I've been trying not to care about ladies' scoring anymore but watching the whole event without commentary in one sitting, it should be very obvious that the three Japanese ladies' skating skills outclass the entire field by a mile and more. Speed, flow, edge, effortlessness, it was truly a joy to watch them skate after one another (sorry that Bradie had to skate in between to be honest, her skating was a bit painful to sit through in comparison). I love Satoko's short now, sorry tiny queen for ever doubting you. I'm not that much a fan of both Marin and Kaori's SPs actually, but like Patrick sometimes, watching their skates was more than enough.

Re: tech calls, I'd be the first to say Satoko got away with her jumps there. That lutz was borderline an outright (e) and rotations could have gone either way, especially considering TP really went after Polina sad4. Still, whatever points she would lose I'd give them right back in PCS - as always is the story with Satoko Marin and Kaori could've been much higher though, giving former the same PCS as Bradie (who couldn't even jump cleanly today) and 7s in SS ... yeah, miss me with that

 

[rikaquegira]

I will never not complain/be confused about the lack of 9s in Satoko's PCS. She came in 4th at the Olympics and is the reigning world bronze medalist. The reputation judging should be on her side, even if the judges can't see her superior components.

Right???? I don’t get it!
Fine, she has the tiniest jumps in the business, just give her 0s for GOE, give her UR calls, downgrades, edge calls, whatever whatever. But excuse me, the rest of her skating is just perfection!!
And I don’t even like her SP this season but I would give her 9s forever!
I hope her FS gets some love from the judges because, why not???

 

[Noxchild]

Hoping for a Japanese podium tomorrow

 

[Colonel Green]

1) limiting bonus jumps only to 1 in sp/3 in fp (which destroyed all variety in programs as we can see already)

No, it didn't. And the point of the points bonus wasn't to encourage variety, it was to discourage frontloading.