2018-19 U.S. Ladies' figure skating

bubblecherry · Nov 21, 2018

bennorii said:
If Ting is able to get her senior TES mins at Tallinn Trophy (which she has already been assigned to), then she will be eligible to go to senior Worlds. I think the fact that USFS is sending her to a Senior B demonstrates that they will give it to her if she performs well.

If she places 2nd at Nats (or 3rd if Alysa 3As her way to the top), given that Bradie will be 1st, the fed will highly consider sending Ting to Worlds given her high scoring potential that is probably equal to Mariah's. Even though Ting is competing on the JGP, she can post high scores (as evidenced by her 70+ SP score that some other American ladies have yet to achieve this season). Her recent performances at Eastern Sectionals (181 total score) is very respectable. Judges love her elements, giving her high GOEs, as well as high PCS.

There is a precedent to this. At 2014 Nats, Polina Edmunds had been competing on the JGP and had never competed at a senior international competition up until then. Her first senior international competition was the Olympics. Thus, it wouldn't seem odd to send Ting if others don't perform as well.

Thank you for the informative answer!

I personally believe Bradie and Mariah will go to Worlds unless Ting or Karen have the skate of their lives at nationals.. even so, Bradie seems to be at least relatively reliable and Mariah has had a decent season with respectable scores.

What do the two US ladies that are sent to Worlds need to do to get 3 spots back. At best the 3 Russian and Japanese ladies will be 1-6. At worst they'd all probably still be in the top 10. Is there any realistic way for the US to get 3 spots back?

mrrice · Nov 21, 2018

Have Ting and Alysa skated against each other yet? If so, who came out on top? Can't we send them both to Junior Worlds? I really think it would be good for them to be at the top of their field rather then to be "Middle Of The Pack" as Seniors. This is kind of like 2008 when Mirai won in 2008. There's no true standout for the US Ladies right now. We'll see how things look after this weekend.

bennorii · Nov 21, 2018

mrrice said:
Have Ting and Alysa skated against each other yet? If so, who came out on top? Can't we send them both to Junior Worlds? I really think it would be good for them to be at the top of their field rather then to be "Middle Of The Pack" as Seniors.

Alysa isn't junior-eligible until the 2019-20 season. They competed at Glacier Falls this past summer and Alysa came out on top with Ting in 2nd. But things can change...

bennorii · Nov 21, 2018

bubblecherry said:
Thank you for the informative answer!

I personally believe Bradie and Mariah will go to Worlds unless Ting or Karen have the skate of their lives at nationals.. even so, Bradie seems to be at least relatively reliable and Mariah has had a decent season with respectable scores.

What do the two US ladies that are sent to Worlds need to do to get 3 spots back. At best the 3 Russian and Japanese ladies will be 1-6. At worst they'd all probably still be in the top 10. Is there any realistic way for the US to get 3 spots back?

The worst that the ladies can do to get 3 spots is place 6th and 7th, which may be hard... Ice is slippery though...

moonvine · Nov 21, 2018

narcissa said:
You clearly don't know anything about skating, then.

I want to see him or her go out and do a better performance than Gracie. And they need to video it so we can all see.

frida80 · Nov 21, 2018

bubblecherry said:
Thank you for the informative answer!

I personally believe Bradie and Mariah will go to Worlds unless Ting or Karen have the skate of their lives at nationals.. even so, Bradie seems to be at least relatively reliable and Mariah has had a decent season with respectable scores.

What do the two US ladies that are sent to Worlds need to do to get 3 spots back. At best the 3 Russian and Japanese ladies will be 1-6. At worst they'd all probably still be in the top 10. Is there any realistic way for the US to get 3 spots back?

I'll have a better answer after TdF. Right now it looks like Bradie may be on or with the Japanese aside from Satoko, Rika and Kaori. I strongly suspect her scoring potential is around Kaori's, but I won't know until she really nails her programs.

Mariah is just under the Japanese and because both Eunsoo and Loena are inconsistent she can potentially beat them both. So I think a 5th and 8th is doable.

moonvine · Nov 21, 2018

Globetrotter said:
I guess someone like Kwan with the sophisticatied footwork and edge control and competitive spirit is simply exceptional.

Aren't the powers that be still searching for the "next Michelle Kwan?" And poor Gracie with that last name...I'd change mine.

moonvine · Nov 21, 2018

VenusHalley said:
Seriously, the hardest part will be to train to get into competitive shape without being too hard on her body, resorting to overtraining/starving. And to train enough, but not let it get away her treatment.

Some people were very nasty about her on internet, calling her obese, etc.

I don't want to speculate and I wish her the best. It may just be very hard for her if you wants to compete (at the same time, she may have great regrets if her career ends like this and not on her own note).

That makes me so angry. It would about any skater honestly. She is not "obese" nor even close to it. In order for her to be in the "obese" category she would need to be at least 174 lbs at 5'5". Does anyone actually think she weighs 174 lbs?

moonvine · Nov 21, 2018

drivingmissdaisy said:
This. Gracie is a 23 year old woman. She is an adult and she probably wants to have a life outside her treatment plan. Sometimes you have to put yourself in uncomfortable situations and suffer a setback to move forward. She recognized that her comeback will be more challenging that she expected after the SP, so I think she can better evaluate whether she wants to put in the work to become a top tier athlete or move on to other endeavors.

I've been thinking this may be the best thing that could have happened. I know, I'm eternally optimistic. But she went out there, skated a really bad short on a pretty big stage, and no one died. The world did not stop spinning off its axis. It's only figure skating.

moonvine · Nov 21, 2018

drivingmissdaisy said:
It's going to be hard because there isn't anyone to inspire the next generation. Yuna Kim sort of came out of nowhere in South Korea, but in the US, Japan, and Russia, there were athletes to look back on in recent years. We're also starting to see that the training which produces successful skaters doesn't necessarily produce healthy women, and I'm not sure that the affluent parents who can afford skating in the US want to subject their children to that. I'm not saying it won't happen, but right now it's hard to imagine given how far ahead the Russian and Japanese women are.

I don't know about the parents thing, all kinds of parents have their daughters in gymnastics and that's no more prone to produce healthy women than is figure skating. I think it comes down first to money and secondly to available ice. For instance last I checked Pensacola had the only ice on the gulf coast and they didn't even have it all year (it's been a couple of years so this may not be correct any longer) So a person would have to learn to skate, then if they seemed extremely talented the parents would have to be willing to move somewhere with more ice. When I was growing up there was no ice at all where I lived, so who knows, I may have been the first Michelle Kwan, but I never learned to skate so we'll never know.

mrrice · Nov 21, 2018

moonvine said:
I've been thinking this may be the best thing that could have happened. I know, I'm eternally optimistic. But she went out there, skated a really bad short on a pretty big stage, and no one died. The world did not stop spinning off its axis. It's only figure skating.

I also love the fact that she is still out there. I think she learned a valuable lesson. It's her next event that will be the most telling. The judges have told her where she stands and now it's up to her to dig deep and make her comeback a success. She'll never lose her status as a 2 time Champion, World Team Member, and Olympian.

mrrice · Nov 21, 2018

moonvine said:
Aren't the powers that be still searching for the "next Michelle Kwan?" And poor Gracie with that last name...I'd change mine.

At this point, Bradie is our best hope but, I don't see any of our current Seniors getting anywhere near the 5 World Titles like Michelle did. Maybe some of our young skaters but, I hate to put that kind of pressure on a young skater. Michelle had a lot pressure from the Russians but, Irina and Maria were the only skaters to really challenge her. Bradie is up against probably the deepest Russian Team in history. Not to mention the Japanese ladies.

concorde · Nov 21, 2018

I assume that Gracie will not skate at Nationals.

If that is the case, exactly when is her next her competition? It won't be at a GP event next year since she has used her "comeback" option. And it won't be at at Nationals unless she makes it through both the Regionals and Sectionals qualifiers. So that means it would be at a summer competition. I assume Philly since it is held at Ice Works and that is her home rink. Other thoughts?

What I would love to see Gracie do is switch to theatre on ice. Those groups are always looking for good single skaters to take the lead. And I think young "cast" members could benefit from her experience. That would allow Grace to be a role model with only limited performance pressure.

moonvine · Nov 21, 2018

concorde said:
I assume that Gracie will not skate at Nationals.

If that is the case, exactly when is her next her competition? It won't be at a GP event next year since she has used her "comeback" option. And it won't be at at Nationals unless she makes it through both the Regionals and Sectionals qualifiers. So that means it would be at a summer competition. I assume Philly since it is held at Ice Works and that is her home rink. Other thoughts?

What I would love to see Gracie do is switch to theatre on ice. Those groups are always looking for good single skaters to take the lead. And I think young "cast" members could benefit from her experience. That would allow Grace to be a role model with only limited performance pressure.

Why would you assume that she will not be skating at Nationals when she has stated she is going to skate at Nationals? Do you think she is lying?

mrrice · Nov 21, 2018

concorde said:
I assume that Gracie will not skate at Nationals.

If that is the case, exactly when is her next her competition? It won't be at a GP event next year since she has used her "comeback" option. And it won't be at at Nationals unless she makes it through both the Regionals and Sectionals qualifiers. So that means it would be at a summer competition. I assume Philly since it is held at Ice Works and that is her home rink. Other thoughts?

What I would love to see Gracie do is switch to theatre on ice. Those groups are always looking for good single skaters to take the lead. And I think young "cast" members could benefit from her experience. That would allow Grace to be a role model with only limited performance pressure.

I often wonder how satisfying this is for competitive skaters. I know that Elvis skated at Busch Gardens and he either loved it, or faked it really well because he looked great. The biggest jump he did was a double axel and he still brought the house down. I've said before, I just want Gracie to be happy.

concorde · Nov 21, 2018

moonvine said:
Why would you assume that she will not be skating at Nationals when she has stated she is going to skate at Nationals? Do you think she is lying?

Why would I assume she would withdraw from Nationals?
Well uh ... she withdrew after the short from her GP event and it did not appear she was injured.

She would have to finish in the top 5 at Nationals this year to get a bye to Nationals next year.

concorde · Nov 21, 2018

mrrice said:
I often wonder how satisfying this for competitive skaters. I know that Elvis skated at Busch Gardens and he either loved it, or faked it really well because he look great. The biggest jump he did was a double axel and he still brought the house down. I've said before, I just want Gracie to be happy.

I would think about anything would be more satisfying than having a horrible skate. Regardless of what level a skater is, a horrible skate is awful. As my daughter commented after a really really bad skate -I just wanted the ice to swallow me.

moonvine · Nov 21, 2018

concorde said:
Why would I assume she would withdraw from Nationals?
Well uh ... she withdrew after the short from her GP event and it did not appear she was injured.

She would have to finish in the top 5 at Nationals this year to get a bye to Nationals next year.

She states she is skating, so until she states differently I'm going to believe her.

This is what she posted on Twitter:

I’m heartbroken to withdraw from tonight’s free skate. It was a difficult decision to make, but ultimately I need to put my mental health first and focus on the big picture. Looking forward, I need to keep improving both my physical and mental condition...(part 1)
I thought checking into treatment last fall was the most difficult thing I’ve ever done, but skating my short program last night might have topped it. I do not want to undo the tremendous progress I’ve made in these last few months (part 2)
and I feel that competing the free skate would be damaging to both my confidence and mental health going into Nationals. I thank you all for your support, and I am so sorry if I have let you guys down. This is just the start for me, and I know that greater things are yet to come

I don't see anything in there that would indicate she is planning to not skate at Nationals.

moonvine · Nov 21, 2018

concorde said:
I would think about anything would be more satisfying than having a horrible skate. Regardless of what level a skater is, a horrible skate is awful. As my daughter commented after a really really bad skate -I just wanted the ice to swallow me.

I'm a horrible swimmer. I compete at the Senior Olympic (old fart) level. I have yet to not come in last at any event. Well, I typically win butterfly, but that's because not many other old farts swim it and I'm usually the only one in my age group. So I guess technically every swim for me is a bad swim. So I can't compare it to someone who's actually competitive.

concorde · Nov 21, 2018

I also assumed Gracie would withdraw before her GP.
So clearly I don't know.

While swimming is also an individual event, swimmers share the pool with other swimmers during their event. In skating, all eyes are on you.
Lots of bad skates are remembered because they are so horrible and I think about all cringe when they are mentioned.

2018-19 U.S. Ladies' figure skating

bubblecherry

mrrice

bennorii

bennorii

moonvine

All Hail Queen Gracie

frida80

moonvine

All Hail Queen Gracie

moonvine

All Hail Queen Gracie

moonvine

All Hail Queen Gracie

moonvine

All Hail Queen Gracie

mrrice

mrrice

concorde

moonvine

All Hail Queen Gracie

mrrice

concorde

concorde

moonvine

All Hail Queen Gracie

moonvine

All Hail Queen Gracie

concorde

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