Is Rika an exciting skater? | Page 5 | Golden Skate

Is Rika an exciting skater?

McBibus

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 7, 2019
Jumps check
Spins check
Steps check
Technique check
Interpretation check

She's a complete skater, her choreographies are original she's quick and fresh to see
So YES: she's an exciting skater and like to see her perform.
Her Japan GP was very good.
Not a good week end in Torino.
 

Joekaz

On the Ice
Joined
Feb 13, 2018
She's 17. How much more growing is there for a 17 year old?
Maybe not height, but weight and how its distributed is normally still changing. Higuchi and Sakamoto have both been struggling with weight issues and they are only 1 and 2 years older, respectively.
 

Greengemmonster

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 22, 2019
An exchange with a friend this weekend made me think of this thread and how Rika is a very special munchkin for me.

Basically I sent her all the Rika clips over the weekend and demanded she watch them. My friend commented "Wow, seems like you've found your chosen child."

I've loved a few skaters in the past and it was another skater who brought me into fully following figure skating but there is just something about Rika that has tipped me over the edge into full blown smitten!

She's just so endearing! I yell when she pops the axel, coo and cheer when she cleverly readjusts, get indignant when she's underscored and basically fret all the time when she's competing. I feel like I've fully immersed myself into skating now because of her.
 

Pantsu

On the Ice
Joined
Sep 12, 2019
No connection to music, no emotions. Whatever she does ranges from good to very good, but nothing is great.
Mariah Bell is exciting and many other Americans including Alysa Liu, Kaori Sakamoto is exciting, Tuktik is exciting, Rika ? - No
 

lzxnl

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 8, 2018
No connection to music, no emotions. Whatever she does ranges from good to very good, but nothing is great.
Mariah Bell is exciting and many other Americans including Alysa Liu, Kaori Sakamoto is exciting, Tuktik is exciting, Rika ? - No

Everyone has different taste as to who they find exciting. Personally, I think Rika's connection to the music is great. She does a very good job of making the otherwise ridiculously high pitched squealing in her short program music bearable. She hits the accents and she fits the wacky mood.

As for her free, she does a decent job at expressing all of the multiple different songs in the medley. The choreo sequence at the end is lovely. And I haven't gotten on to her jumps yet.
 

NadezhdaNadya

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 22, 2017
Everyone has different taste as to who they find exciting. Personally, I think Rika's connection to the music is great. She does a very good job of making the otherwise ridiculously high pitched squealing in her short program music bearable. She hits the accents and she fits the wacky mood.

As for her free, she does a decent job at expressing all of the multiple different songs in the medley. The choreo sequence at the end is lovely. And I haven't gotten on to her jumps yet.
Both of Rika's programs are very artistic. :)
But the high pitching thing somehow reminds me of Yoko Ono :D , since Yoko is Japanese like Rika and there is high pitching going on with her as well.
Maybe next year Rika should skate to Beatles, John Lennon, Yoko Ono or Sean Lennon.
Hahaha. :D
 

kenboy123

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 20, 2017
Rika is much more interesting than any Russian woman...i hope she beats all the Russian women somehow, she's the only one that has a chance...
 

jenaj

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 17, 2003
Country
United-States
Both of Rika's programs are very artistic. :)
But the high pitching thing somehow reminds me of Yoko Ono :D , since Yoko is Japanese like Rika and there is high pitching going on with her as well.
Maybe next year Rika should skate to Beatles, John Lennon, Yoko Ono or Sean Lennon.
Hahaha. :D

The singer in Rika's short program music is Korean. And please, Rika, stay away from the avant garde stuff next year!
 

jenaj

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 17, 2003
Country
United-States
Rika is much more interesting than any Russian woman...i hope she beats all the Russian women somehow, she's the only one that has a chance...

If Rika was scored fairly, she could win gold. Her elements are almost exactly the same as Kostornaia's. And to me, her skating skills, performance, interpretation more than measure up. And if we want to talk about a bad program, Kostronaia's should be high on the list. Three unrelated music cuts, and the last one is totally unworthy of a talented skater like Kostornaia.
 

lzxnl

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 8, 2018
If Rika was scored fairly, she could win gold. Her elements are almost exactly the same as Kostornaia's. And to me, her skating skills, performance, interpretation more than measure up. And if we want to talk about a bad program, Kostronaia's should be high on the list. Three unrelated music cuts, and the last one is totally unworthy of a talented skater like Kostornaia.

Kostornaia really does skate to the same thing over and over again. Her short and most of her free are quite similar. Rika, on the other hand, skates to something completely different every single season and between programs, there really isn't anything remotely similar between them.

If Rika lands the quad salchow, skates cleanly and is marked somewhat fairly, she should beat any other skater except a five quad Trusova landing everything (no one has the numbers to challenge that, with or without a triple axel).
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Rika is much more interesting than any Russian woman...i hope she beats all the Russian women somehow, she's the only one that has a chance...

Based on the results this season I would still bet on an all-Russian podium this year.

If Rika can master a solid quad Salchow, that changes everything. But as for now she has similar content to Kostornaia, and Kostornaia has the momentum on the world scene. For both, the key is to take a lead in the SP with a quality triple Axel, then hold off the quadsters by hitting two more in the free.

But Shcherbakova has no weaknesses in her skating, and Trusova will win the whole thing if she delivers her entire planned content.(Not a sure thing, of course.)
 
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jenm

The Last One Degree
Medalist
Joined
Jan 28, 2014
Based on the results this season I would still bet on an all-Russian podium this year.

If Rika can master a solid quad Salchow, that changes everything. But as for now she has similar content to Kostornaia, and Kostornaia has the momentum on the world scene. For both, the key is to take a lead in the SP with a quality triple Axel, then hold off the quadsters by hitting two more in the free.

But Shcherbakova has no weaknesses in her skating, and Trusova will win the whole thing if she delivers her entire planned content.(Not a sure thing, of course.)

If Rika’s on like NHK 2019 Fs, then she should be able to challenge Alyona for gold. But I fear, right now she hasn’t really been in full performance mode in both her programs during the GP and Alena has the momentum and has no visible weakness. To me tho, Rika’s 3A are just as good as Alyona’s and her technique is more correct especially the Lutz. I hope Worlds’ tech panel will be strict.
 

jenaj

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 17, 2003
Country
United-States
Based on the results this season I would still bet on an all-Russian podium this year.

If Rika can master a solid quad Salchow, that changes everything. But as for now she has similar content to Kostornaia, and Kostornaia has the momentum on the world scene. For both, the key is to take a lead in the SP with a quality triple Axel, then hold off the quadsters by hitting two more in the free.

But Shcherbakova has no weaknesses in her skating, and Trusova will win the whole thing if she delivers her entire planned content.(Not a sure thing, of course.)

I think Rika can challenge for the podium, if not gold, even without a quad. The Russians didn't look so unbeatable at Euros. It's a long season and the pressure will be greatest at Worlds. Unless Rika is landing her quad consistently, I would prefer that she leave it out. She doesn't need it if she skates clean. She also has the advantage that she is older (17--ha!) and still has all of her skills. Barring injury, she will live to skate another day even if she doesn't win.
 

theharleyquinn

Medalist
Joined
Feb 25, 2014
I think Rika can challenge for the podium, if not gold, even without a quad. The Russians didn't look so unbeatable at Euros. It's a long season and the pressure will be greatest at Worlds. Unless Rika is landing her quad consistently, I would prefer that she leave it out. She doesn't need it if she skates clean. She also has the advantage that she is older (17--ha!) and still has all of her skills. Barring injury, she will live to skate another day even if she doesn't win.

Making it to Worlds will be a test of endurance for the Russian ladies and for Rika. It was clear to me at Euros that Aliona, Sasha, and Anna were still getting back into training after taking a long break for the holiday season. We can expect them to ramp up for Worlds, but this is their first time dealing with this senior schedule. We'll have to see how they handle it.

On the other hand, I'm a little curious about Rika going to Challenge Cup again before Worlds. I could see it hurting or helping her momentum, but the main goal there will be to land the 4S and rightfully so.
 
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