2018-19 Japanese Ladies' figure skating

It is possible for Rika K to get two spots, its just that JSF has to push for her to get a spot, then a second one after that. For the other skaters, it is a lot easier for feds to offer a second spot to a skater who already has one. Besides, feds also look out for their own skaters, and would rather protect their own skater chances of making the grand prix by having weaker competition. That will definitely be something to look out for at SA/SC/ROS.

But I think the biggest thing is if JSF can make deals with another fed, and they do have two big bargaining chips on the men side to use. That said, I think the chances of Rika getting a second spot increased since she is in the top group (special athletes).

In Practice, all the skaters who manage to be either in the Top 24 SB or WS lists always get 2 events despite being guaranteed only 1. After that, it becomes tricky and is a combination of the following:

who the fed pushes for the other feds to consider invitations + who the other feds see as the lesser threat + who has big enough name/reputation.

livetoskate said:

If anyone is able to watch this program, please let us know what is said. Is Rika Hongo going to continue competing, and are some of the other girls going to college? Thanks!

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I'm in Japan till next week, so I can watch this!!! Will let you know what they say.

I put it for everyone to see

WakaHFans put a link to see excerpts from the prince ice world show

we can see Marin, Wakaba

https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASL4X3PM9L4XUTQP00L.html

Sad that we have to wait to see WakaJackson.

livetoskate said:

If anyone is able to watch this program, please let us know what is said. Is Rika Hongo going to continue competing, and are some of the other girls going to college? Thanks!

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The show was aired last night, featuring Wakaba, Satoko, Kaori, Marin, Mai Mihara, Rika Hongo, and Yuna Shiraiwa. It was a bit of a fluff piece and very respectful of the girls' privacy - it was mostly about their skating, very little about their private lives other than footage of Mai graduating from high school. To answer your questions, Rika Hongo plans to aim for Beijing, but nothing was mentioned about her career after graduating from university. No mention of university for Mai, but I assume she will be going -　according to a fan site, she's going to Konan University　http://www.konan-u.ac.jp/english/　- but this info is not confirmed.

The programme was interesting in that it showed the process of struggling with failure to make the Olympics and slowly moving on while taking part in the Challenger series. There was lots of footage of Marin crying. Wakaba was equally disappointed, I think, but she was more stoic in the way she expressed herself. It sounds like all the girls want to aim for Beijing, although Satoko was a bit more cautious and said that she would like to if her body holds up. The reporter has been interviewing Satoko since her junior days and a rare photo of her aged 14 came up on screen. The programme focused on her long struggle with injury and URs, and reaffirmed what a fighter she is.

Satoko, Kaori, and Wakaba (and Marin towards the end) all talked about not giving up and fighting.

An interesting snipped about Rika H - she said that the quirky programmes this season were "designed to be a challenge" and that she would like to perform programmes that she really liked next season.

I didn't know that Kaori's EX was a tango too! Mai talked about her struggle with her tango SP and commented that it had been so hard she thought she could perform anything after what she had gone through. She stressed that she wanted to be a versatile, all-round performer while remaining true to herself. Good on her. Her coach said she felt Mai had really grown from the experience.

Wakaba keeps a notebook that serves as training notes and a diary. In addition to all the technical skating stuff, she said she scrawled "I did it!!!!" after winning silver at Worlds.

The programme was a bit unusual in that it covered athletes like Yuna Shiraiwa and Rika Hongo who don't normally get a lot of hype.

Sorry it's a bit rambling, but think I covered most of the important points (I took notes LOL).

Thank you for your summary! They all work so hard. It's nice to get more information about these athletes.

Sai Bon said:

No mention of university for Mai, but I assume she will be going -　according to a fan site, she's going to Konan University　http://www.konan-u.ac.jp/english/　- but this info is not confirmed.

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It's confirmed.
https://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2018/04/02/kiji/20180402s00079000274000c.html

Just to add a bit to Sai Bon's excellent summary: regarding Mai's SP, she said in this program that she did ponder on ditching the Tango SP at one point, but her conclusion was to keep it, with the reason Sai Bon explained in her/his summary (i.e. becoming a versatile performer is part of what she thinks is important for her.)

The program didn't dig into any specifics on the technical side, with the exception of Satoko's UR issue and Yuna's second 3Lo combo.
At the very end of the program there was a reference to Trusova and Kihira as the juniors with quads and 3As, followed by what the current plans/hopes are for each of the featured skaters for the next quadrennial to conclude the program, but to my disappointment none of the seven skaters mentioned anything specific to be competitive against the juniors with big guns, as I was really hoping to hear at least Kaori and Yuna (and to a lesser extent, Wakaba) talk about their prospect of upping their jump contents.

Sai Bon said:

The programme was a bit unusual in that it covered athletes like Yuna Shiraiwa and Rika Hongo who don't normally get a lot of hype.

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Thanks for your summary.

Rika H. and Yuna S. were covered surely because at the start of the season all these girls were in conversation for olympic spots and were receiving equal hype (aside from Marin). After challengers Wakaba, Mai and Marin were the most covered and after GPs it was Satoko, Wakaba, Kaori, Mai and Marin.

Sai Bon said:

The programme was a bit unusual in that it covered athletes like Yuna Shiraiwa and Rika Hongo who don't normally get a lot of hype.

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It wasn't surprising at all to me as Fuji TV has been covering this sport quite fairly in the recent years (after Sochi). The last night program looked like a spin-off of their monthly program Figure Skate TV, in which even pairs and ice dance get certain air time. If they covered Marin, there was no reason to skip Rika H., who was place above Marin on both Nats and Challenge Cup.

Thanks so much for your notes, Sai Bon!

It's heartening to hear everyone is looking ahead to Beijing but also what's best for them. I hope we see Satoko there if she's feeling up to it. She fights so hard.

I've always liked Rika H a lot so it's nice to hear from her. I like her quirky programs, but it'll be interesting to see what she really feels she falls into in the coming seasons. I love how she attacks her elements, she's really strong.

Oooh, I hope someone took a screencap of that pic of baby Satoko and that it comes onto one of my internet feeds somehow!

Thank you for the report, Sai Bon! And I'm happy to hear Rika H plans to continue for 4 more years. She's always stood out the most for me, out of all the Japanese ladies. Go Rika! arty:

So many questions for this upcoming season!! I KNOW the Japanese federation wants to be #1! In ladies, sometimes they’re trailing behind a little. Just a little.


1) Will Wakaba finally get the PCS she deserves?
2) Can Satoko’s PCS get higher?
3) Will Marin learn to control the nerves and become the breakout star? Or does that belong to Rika Kihira?
4) Will the little super spinner from last season receive 2 spots and be a threat on the jgp?
5) Will Japan send more than 1 girl to the JGPF?
6) How does Amelie girl deal with her success?

thanks for the translations of TV show Sai bon

I'm glad that Mai did not give up her SP even if it was hard at the beginning of the season she managed well at the end of the season by winning a challenger with 215 points, she is a great fighter what made me change your mind about it.

It's true that we do not see very much Rika H and Yuna Shiraiwa in the media, but she too can be combative and bring something new to Japanese skating, so I hope to see them more in the future.

Now I think they are ready for his 4 years it will be hard to see new disappointments, but I think they will also be interesting to see them evolve.

Regarding the fact that Kaori, Wakaba, Satoko Mai did not talk about their intentions to include Quads and 3As in their programs in order to beat the juniors who are coming, maybe the show was filming before they really thought about including them, because now they often talk about them.

And there is also the fact that some focus on their weaknesses like finding their own style, avoiding URs and edge problems ect

Bluediamonds09 said:

I KNOW the Japanese federation wants to be #1! In ladies

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So she need to have better politicking.

Who has the best chance at making the JGPF this year?
Nana Araki, I'd say, but she doesn't seem to get high scores even when clean and that score bracket will be necessary for the JGPF this year I think.

Spirals for Miles said:

Who has the best chance at making the JGPF this year?
Nana Araki, I'd say, but she doesn't seem to get high scores even when clean and that score bracket will be necessary for the JGPF this year I think.

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yes, Nana have highest chance if Mako and Rika move to senior. But she lacks a lot in PCS department and her spins/step didnt get high GOE and level 4 consistently so sometimes her TES is not maximum even when clean. I hope she improved much this summer and show more expression!

yume said:

So she need to have better politicking.

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Huh? That’s not a problem, I don’t think.

I really really hope at least 2 Japanese girls get to the jgpf. There’s so much talent!

Uh, where’s yuka nagi?

Bluediamonds09 said:

Huh? That’s not a problem, I don’t think.

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Really? JSF has a good politicking then? That's surely why Japanese girls are never underscored.

I think part of the reason JSF has bad politicking is their laissez-faire approach to Ladies. Let all the ladies battle it out to get the best ladies for world/olympic team. It's a lot easier when you have a clear #1 lady (or #2) to stand behind and push for pcs/higher goe.

Satoko was the number 1 lady but she is prone to under-rotation calls, which means any of Mai, Kaori (4CC), or Wakaba (Worlds) can beat her. I also think nobody wants a podium sweep by the same country if they can help it, (excluding some 4CC - when US/Canada did not send a top lady and Japanese sent all theirs). I don't think this problem will be fixed anytime soon, unless there is a completely new overhaul of the organization.