2016 NHK Trophy Ladies SP

[chuckm]

I have a sinking feeling we are going to see a repeat of the ladies CoC FS with carrots everywhere. It seems Gilberto Viadana is styling himself after Shin Amano and wants a similar reputation.

 

[MidnightSkater]

I just love watching Satoko & even though today was tough I still really enjoyed her program. Hoping she can have an amazing FS tomorrow & move up. I loved her FS in Canada.
I'm really hoping her coaches address the issues with her technique because if they do she could be a real force.

 

[skatespin]

Anna: Very happy for her. After last years heartbreaking NHK SP her comeback was a highlight of the competition. I'm surprised that they called her combo UR.
Maria: She is a strong technical skater no doubt, but she skates kind of slow and awkward. She also reminds me of dozens of other young Russian skaters that i've seen in the past few years.
Satoko: How in the world is she in 3rd place? Oh right... it's Japan. 3 Lutz should be >>, video playback was clear.
Mirai: Happy for her comeback, glad she switched to Edeas, I think they will be better for her in the long run, and her old boots gave her problems for at least 2 major competitions. I think she is still getting used to them and will only improve. I agree her combo was UR, but her spins are lovely. I'd argue her and Satoko have the best spins in this competition. Why were all her spins level 3!?
Wakaba: Love her SP. Her presentation is so much better this year in this specific program. Doing combo in 2nd half is risky, and perhaps not worth it for most. Not everyone is Evgenia.
Yura: I like her program, she is a pleasant skater. I always admire a combo with a 3 Loop as second jump. I think she will be scored higher here than anywhere else and I fear she may be a skater that always has an UR problem.
Karen: Love her program! So much power and beautiful spins. Her combo is improving in consistency even if its not perfect yet. Sometimes her combo is called UR and I would some of those times disagree. I think it is getting there. I am more worried for her single jumps like loop and flip. They seem to be reoccurring disasters for her and she knows it. Now it leads to popping into singles. I'm not sure why she has jump consistency problems because she is a good jumper.
Alaine: I like her and her program, but it just wasn't her day. I feel bad for her though because I feel like she knows she will likely not be on world's team.
Elizabet: Love her program as always. Again just not her day, she's got it all but she needs that Russian grit to do all her jumps.
Da Bin: I feel like the judges were harsher to her than the others. This SP is not the best for her, but it is better than last season. She needs more energy and she has to work on the UR, b/c she can rotate her jumps and get a good tech score. But she needs to get over that quickly, because she has major presentation issues.

Can someone tell me why all of Mirai's spins got level 3? Did she plan it this way or was it an error?

I'd love to see her do well tomorrow and maybe that would also put Ashley into the final, but I feel like Japan is setting it up to put their skaters into final. I think she'd have to be near perfect tomorrow and Wakaba and/or Satoko would have to make mistakes.

 

[ancientpeas]

Mai Mihara won two silver medals in the JGP and made the JGPF before she started having health problems. She has juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. So she didn't really come out of nowhere.

Forgive my ignorance but is juvenile arthritis like juvenile diabetes in that it's about age of onset or do people who had juvenile arthritis get better when they are no longer children?

 

[Jan elle]

Maria was pretty fab, wasn't she? Well done! I have a feeling she could beat Anna on a very good day.
Although I adore Satoko's glorious skating I am shocked that she is so much higher up than lovely Karen Chen.

 

[ioanna]

Forgive my ignorance but is juvenile arthritis like juvenile diabetes in that it's about age of onset or do people who had juvenile arthritis get better when they are no longer children?

Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is incurable but with early and aggressive treatment it can go into remission and the inflammation and pain can be relieved.

 

[mrrice]

I've only seen Mirai so far but, I was happily surprised by her performance and I'm thinking if she had given a bit more life to the character, she would have been 3rd. However, She really needs to get the back half of her combo all the way around. When I'm wearing my headphones, I can totally hear her toe hit the ice before the rest of blade and she clearly UR'd her combo. Spins were good and she still has her flexibility, especially her final combo spin. She also looks to be in very good shape. I look forward to the Free.

Anna Pogo: Spectauclar.....I love to watch this young woman perform. She is the definition of the word diva. The kind of skater who simply draws you into her performance. I find my self watching her face more than her blades and that's a great quality in any skater. Bravo!

 

[MaiKatze]

Anna Pogo: Spectauclar.....I love to watch this young woman perform. She is the definition of the word diva. The kind of skater who simply draws you into her performance. I find my self watching her face more than her blades and that's a great quality in any skater. Bravo!

What Anna did this year is actually quite clever. Even the commentators of British Eurosport (She's found her niche, can't believe she's only 18) and German Eurosport (Calling her adult and ladylike in comparison to the rest) are commenting on it. She chose to set herself apart by going the mature road. She had it in her before, but 'The Scent of a Woman'? Anna is going all woman, not little girl with these two Misha Ge programs. It's the total opposite to Evgenia who channels the little girl more than ever. *_* Seems almost too neat to be an accident.

By the way which jump was underrotated? I want to watch that again.

 

[lbamda]

Mistakes TechPanel:
Satoko MIYAHARA: it has to be noted 3Lz<< .
Wakaba HIGUCHI: it has to be noted 3Lz<(!) not clear edge, 3F(e) wrong edge.
Anna POGORILAYA: There is no UR on a combo 3Lz-3T (within norm).
Etc.....
Very loyal refereeing for Japanese and excessively rigid for the others (Mirai NAGASU as example).

 

[ioanna]

Mistakes TechPanel:
Satoko MIYAHARA: it has to be noted 3Lz<<, 3F(e) wrong edge.

Did you see any 3F in her program?

 

[AsadaFanBoy]

When I look at the replay of Anna's jump combination, I don't think she underrotated that 3T. It's puzzling.

But what is visible on replay is that Anna cheated the Lutz takeoff (uses more than half the blade rather than the toepick). That doesn't mean she URed the 3T though.

And wow. Masha was BAE. Looked pretty clean on jump replays. Can't wait to see her at GPF (hopefully), Worlds, and who knows what she'll do next season? Excellent.

 

[lbamda]

Did you see any 3F in her program?

Opps. Has corrected a post - Lutz's repetition has once again looked at it)

 

[MaiKatze]

The way things are going right now she'll not go to Worlds. Maybe if she wins the GPF or gets silver...but she's not quite there yet. Evgenia is a guarantee and Lenok and Anna are still going strong. The fight for these spots will be a blood bath.

 

[RemyRose]

The way things are going right now she'll not go to Worlds. Maybe if she wins the GPF or gets silver...but she's not quite there yet. Evgenia is a guarantee and Lenok and Anna are still going strong. The fight for these spots will be a blood bath.

Maybe, maybe not. Lena has the PCS advantage but Maria seems to have the TES advantage and her PCS are going up. Lets wait until GPF (if Maria makes it, don't want to jinx) when they are both at the same competition. It looks like Elena, Maria, and Liza (she seems to be gaining form) will fight for the 3rd position.

This year may truly be the start of the Russian Hunger Games now that there are more than 2 age eligible skaters having a good to great season.

 

[[email protected]]

I hope Wakababy gets a medal here because she's turning into the real deal. Strong jumps....

I am for justice. Wakaba does not have good technique in edge jumps. This time it was very visible that she has the wrong edge in both lutz and flip. Well, tell me which jump is flip and which is lutz judging by her takeoffs. Sorry, I told this many times already but people keep praising her jumps while she has wrong edges and nothing has changed since 2 years ago.

http://radikal.ru/lfp/s014.radikal.ru/i329/1611/a7/1d4121635123.jpg/htm
http://s014.radikal.ru/i329/1611/d7/3b8eb14445dd.jpgi

 

[skatespin]

I think at nationals Lena, Maria, Julia, and Liza will be fighting for the 3rd spot. I think Lena or Maria are most likely to get it. I think Lena will probably grit it out like she always does, she's got edge in performance and is likely more favored by federation. But if she messes up Maria is very sturdy and will be there. I'd love for it to be Julia, but I won't get my hopes up. Every LP for her is a disaster. Liza is technically superior in jumping ability but she has yet to add the triple axel and all she uses for a combo is the easier triple toe-triple toe. Since her spins and presentation are not impressive in comparison to many others, I feel like she has a ceiling. Maybe if she has a very good day and the others have very bad days.

 

[moriel]

I think at nationals Lena, Maria, Julia, and Liza will be fighting for the 3rd spot. I think Lena or Maria are most likely to get it. I think Lena will probably grit it out like she always does, she's got edge in performance and is likely more favored by federation. But if she messes up Maria is very sturdy and will be there. I'd love for it to be Julia, but I won't get my hopes up. Every LP for her is a disaster. Liza is technically superior in jumping ability but she has yet to add the triple axel and all she uses for a combo is the easier triple toe-triple toe. Since her spins and presentation are not impressive in comparison to many others, I feel like she has a ceiling. Maybe if she has a very good day and the others have very bad days.

I think Julia is likely out of the competition this year due to health issues and so on, as the nationals will be a real bloodbath.
Liza needs to up her game somehow, either 3A or backloading or at least perfectly clean skate - and honestly, while getting her stuff together, she doesnt look like she will have a stable 3A (enough to convince the fed) by nationals.
Imho those 2 are in disadvantage as they still need to show what they can do, while other girls have already proven themselves this season.

Then, Maria has the disadvantage of being a newbie - and, imho, she lacks the star factor that Anna and Lena have.
So probably, it will be Evgenia, Anna and Lena in any order, and if any of them bombs, Masha is in.

 

[Lipea]

The way things are going right now she'll not go to Worlds. Maybe if she wins the GPF or gets silver...but she's not quite there yet. Evgenia is a guarantee and Lenok and Anna are still going strong. The fight for these spots will be a blood bath.

Masha is clearly stronger than Elena at this point.

 

[Rissa]

How is that that the first time I actually enjoy Satoko's princessy style, she falls?

But anyway, I still liked her skate. She was fast, smooth and the spins were fantastic. Perhaps I'm starting to get her.

 

[Heleng]

Very pleased and relieved for Mirai, now that's more like it! I was so nervous for her before she skated, even though I wasn't watching live, LOL. I really hope this boosts her confidence and calms her nerves for the FS. Also happy for Anna! I was quite nervous for her too. The strides she's made this season in her skating and consistency are really admirable. And despite the mistakes, I also enjoyed Karen's sp. I think her overall skating is lovely, she has such balletic posture, lines, and extension, along with powerful springy jumps that belie her petite stature. Wishing them all a great FS!