2018 Rostelecom Cup: Thoughts, Analysis & Reviews | Golden Skate

2018 Rostelecom Cup: Thoughts, Analysis & Reviews

gsk8

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Country
United-States
What are your thoughts on the competition? Reviews? Ponderings?

Feel free to share word, a sentence, a paragraph. If your feeling wordy, give us an entire review for a chance to win a season pass!
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evasorange

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 22, 2015
I feel Alina is becoming a Emperors new clothes type of situation. We are told she deserves to break the world record, that she is the best, the pinnacle of ladies figure skating, but if you take 5 seconds to really pay attention to her actual skating I don't know how her being able to score an 80 is able to be justified at all. There are skaters with better spins(Mariah Bell), skaters with faster speed around the rink(Satoko) and skaters with higher crisper jumps(Elizaveta). Alina is not a bad skater, but she is far from being a world record breaking type of skater. I know it's two different disciplines, but look at Yuzu sp in this very same event. You would be hard pressed to make any argument as to how that was not a world record breaking skate. It was divine-jumps with amazing height and crispness, absolute high quality spins, intricate footwork and step sequences that actually makes sense with the music that is being skated to, great speed and flow across the ice. Now I'm supposed to believe the sp Alina put out it is the ladies equivalent to that?? No way. Its sooo frustrating and really really detrimental to ladies figure skating.
 

Moxiejan

Medalist
Joined
Jan 11, 2014
Country
United-States
I will obsessively watch & rewatch Hanyu’s magnificent SP. And I will try to erase the rest of this GP from my memory.
 

lavoix

Match Penalty
Joined
Sep 5, 2015
This was the worst GP competition this season, and probably the worst I've seen in a long time. Very corrupt. Simple as that.

People know my thoughts on Gracie, it was embarrassing for her, her coaches, her federation and the federation that invited her.

Mako, a shame, but oh well.

Eunsoo, keep getting better girl, you're a star in the making, I hope this medal gives her more motivation.

Alina, so overrated at the moment, the judges gave her level 4 on everything simply because she's Alina and she's Russian.

Daria/Dennis in pairs were nice to watch.

Dance was boring, though Stepanova/Bukin are killing it this season. Their programs really are great.

Hurtado/Khaliavin are overrated too, I don't think they deserve those scores. I much prefer Smart/Diaz.

Carreira/Ponomarenko were nice and are really growing in their programs, I hope they keep it up! They deserved silver here.
 

sooziedorn

Spectator
Joined
Feb 13, 2018
I feel Alina is becoming a Emperors new clothes type of situation. We are told she deserves to break the world record, that she is the best, the pinnacle of ladies figure skating, but if you take 5 seconds to really pay attention to her actual skating I don't know how her being able to score an 80 is able to be justified at all. There are skaters with better spins(Mariah Bell), skaters with faster speed around the rink(Satoko) and skaters with higher crisper jumps(Elizaveta). Alina is not a bad skater, but she is far from being a world record breaking type of skater. I know it's two different disciplines, but look at Yuzu sp in this very same event. You would be hard pressed to make any argument as to how that was not a world record breaking skate. It was divine-jumps with amazing height and crispness, absolute high quality spins, intricate footwork and step sequences that actually makes sense with the music that is being skated to, great speed and flow across the ice. Now I'm supposed to believe the sp Alina put out it is the ladies equivalent to that?? No way. Its sooo frustrating and really really detrimental to ladies figure skating.

Couldn't agree more with this!
 

silverfoxes

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 16, 2014
Yuzuru's SP made up for probably the weakest men's field of all the GPs. RusFed really tried to make things easy for their golden goose to medal and still failed, lol. That said, Moris and Kazuki were both great surprises - I liked them both before, but definitely didn't expect them both to deliver 2 very good programs. And you can tell how much they sincerely enjoy skating and performing - truly a breath of fresh air. I loved Kazuki's gala program too. Well, we know what happened to Yuzuru before the LP, but he still fought and I found it better from an artistic standpoint from his previous competitions. I feel terrible for him and also for all his fans at CoR.

Kolyada has looked miserable for the past 2 1/2 seasons, this isn't anything new. Mistakes aside, he doesn't project to the audience, looks down all the time, there is no fire and no fight inside him at all. Some people just aren't cut out for high level competition. I don't care if he can do everything in practice, it's obvious he cannot handle any pressure, and that is really what separates the men from the boys at this level. How long can this go on?

Ladies - well, Polina is obviously going through a rough period as well, but the difference in her case is that I can still see her trying and fighting. And she's just 17. I wouldn't like to see her give up, but I truly hope she can find a new coach asap. Congrats to Alina, but I will never be a fan of her parlor-trick programs. They just leave me cold. Sofia, great job considering how under the radar she's been compared to most of the other Russian girls.

Nothing much to say about pairs, except that Evgenia is incredibly strong, both mentally and physically. Now there's a real fighter! I have mixed feelings about T/M in general, but it's impossible not to root for her, at least.
 

Interspectator

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 25, 2012
Just the guys, and I'll try to keep it short, otherwise, I'll start ranting about cruel fate and Yuzuru's rotten luck with injuries while still being brilliant enough to win everything so far this Season. :sad21:

Keegan- I know he under-performed and he was hoping to get a spot in the Final, but even his mistakes make me grin a bit. As many have said here and elsewhere, there should be a special +GOE for a fall as pretty and quick as Keegan's. His EX fall was yet another stellar example. You go Keegan! -But don't fall, it's actually not good.

Morisi- Another Surprise Silver Medalist who totally deserved it. His SP and LP assessed as Chaotic-Good by Dungeons and Dragons standards. :cool:

Kazuki- YES! YES! YEEEEES! This is more like it. Loved the LP steps, I finally could feel the river dancing and rainbows and leprechauns almost made an appearance. Kazuki also wins Best EX and Best Banquet performance. Just look at this guy go! https://twitter.com/twizzlesetc/status/1064237452594884608
https://twitter.com/tegomass/status/1064241398612983809

Artur- I feel a disturbance in the force, and it was a 4A attempt. I know the judges were like NOPE! But good on you for putting out there. It was...scary to look at, as all 4A's are meant to be.

Michal- I can't find words. Sorry. :sad21:

Majorov- SP was great, another bouncy Uncle who won't let age stop him.

Alexei - The whole time I was watching him I was thinking, "This guy is so Emo, I love it!" He's got feelings he wants to express in his skating. He's going to lip-sync this sappy love song the whole way through. I support this. :biggrin: But also, rotate your jumps please.

THE Yuzu - The SP was the most beautiful I've seen so far. The step sequence was stunning and full of emotion and musicality. I even forgot that the shirt is too short and the blue of the costume should be darker, I just enjoyed the skating!
It was too good to last.
The FP, after seeing the practice fall on the live stream was remarkable. Best performance of Origin so far. I'll wait for how ever long it takes to get to see it all perfect. We know it's going to happen, we just don't know when. Get well soon Yuzu!
 
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Joined
May 7, 2018
(I will only speak about singles)

This was the worst GP so far.

Sorry to Alina but her programs are meh, (judging only SS and jumps aka objective elements, miss me with your "is not your style" excuse with her). ISU never pick the best russian skater to hype. that score for that SP? yeah no. It doesnt matter if she is the Olympic gold medal, if she doesnt skate like one, she cant have the scores of one.

Sad for Gracie, she was looking strong at the beginning

Sofia did fine.

Yuzuru SP was brilliant, and his FS has a lot of potential, truly programs from an Olympic gold Medal, no one can deny the scores are correct. Hope he can recover

I really like Moris and Kazuki both have potential.

Is Kolyada injured or something? he is making a lot of mistakes...since last season.

Again (As always) the men field was more interesting/worth-watching than the ladies.
 

chz

On the Ice
Joined
Jun 8, 2014
i second this. i guess she's the new Evgenia. Frustrated as i really loved her when she just debuted in junior. Now she hunches and every movement seems forceful. Too much transitions that you cannot appreciate the programme itself anymore.

Note: Only now, i can appreciate Evgenia's skating when she's scored more fairly.
 

Kitt

Final Flight
Joined
Feb 1, 2007
Country
United-States
Yes, too many transitions for Alina. The overall impression for me is just too choppy. Give me a skater with a rink-filling strong edge and flow like Kaori Sakamoto. That's impressive to me.

The only time Alina does this is in her back Charlotte spiral. Still doesn't last long enough in the program for me.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Well, I will go on record to say that Alina was a real highlight for me :)

I agree with that assessment. Alina was not at her best, but still was way ahead of the competition. For me, Sofia Samodurova could have been scored higher on presentation with her delightful skate, but Zagitova was easily ahead on the other four components.

Maybe everybody was scored too high as the judges get used to the changes in the scoring system. But I had no quarrel with the placements here.
 
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Baron Vladimir

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 18, 2014
Don't get me wrong - I love Alina! (just want her to flow more)

That is an impression which closeup camera shot is giving because she is doing a lot of movements on the ice. If you are watching her from a different perspective (in the arena) you will see the flow ;)
 

moriel

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 18, 2015
If we could turn back time and make Rostelecom not happen, i think we would all agree it would be better without it.
 

Kitt

Final Flight
Joined
Feb 1, 2007
Country
United-States
That is an impression which closeup camera shot is giving because she is doing a lot of movements on the ice. If you are watching her from a different perspective (in the arena) you will see the flow ;)

I saw her live in Helsinki and I still feel the same.
 

moriel

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 18, 2015
- Valieva's spins at the gala
- Keegan's ex
- Hanyu SP
- Hanyu FS (crycry)
- Eunsoo FS
 
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