2017 GP Rostelecom Cup Ladies SP

[mrrice]

Yulia really has an impact on the fandom, hasn't she? If she will comment regularly now, people will start learning russian just to understand what she says.

Yulia Lipnitskaya was commentating? Or is it a different Yulia...

 

[Shayuki]

Some only like really special skates (they wouldn't sit through a whole competition...yet).

But they do get more interested in the sport. I have several relatives and friends now who are planning to watch the Olympics because of my spamming them, heheh.

The programs that resonated most are:
Yuzuru's world record at 2017
Evgenia's WTT FP (they are surprised at them having campy fun at the end instead of being boring and unsmiling, as seems to be the prejudice about the sport).
Ashley's Hip Hip, Chin Chin, or anything where she's being her sassy self
Elizaveta's 2015 Worlds SP
Jason Brown's Riverdance
Julia (no need to mention which program I think )

And Spiderman Boyang and Laurine's Grease (for the costume change) were received positively as well.

Once they know those names, they get interested and now often want to know if Yuzuru has another world record etc
Not saying that all of them will turn into FS fans, but at least there's some interest now.

PS
I think I will introduce Kaetlyn next. They seem to like big jumpers. Wish me luck

That's a very solid list but there's a severe lack of Shcherbakova. Well, I guess it depends on what they would resonate with. Some do like the "Look at how good she is despite being so young" aspect that also makes certain talent competitions so popular but for others it makes them feel uncomfortable.

 

[Tulipstar]

That's a very solid list but there's a severe lack of Shcherbakova. Well, I guess it depends on what they would resonate with. Some do like the "Look at how good she is despite being so young" aspect that also makes certain talent competitions so popular but for others it makes them feel uncomfortable.

Have to start slowly

But if Shcherbakova has skated in the JGP, she would have likely been in the list.

 

[TerpsichoreFS]

I was little disappointed by Evgenia's program... after I read the score and the comments I expected something truly amazing. Then the the first 30-35 seconds are great, and then she does an ill-fitting step sequence and the program never rises up to the beginning level after that. Fantastic costume.

I couldn't finish watching mirai, it was painful.

I hate wakaba's program, the music, the choreography and the costume, but if she's happy with it and most people like it, then very well.

Mikhailova is one to watch, so dynamic and full of potential.

I wasn't absolutely wowed by Koster but then I realized it was probably the program I paid the most attention too. She's such a good performer.

Kaori Sakamoto was hands down my favorite tonight. Even after you guys pointed out the prerotation, I found her musical, charismatic and with a good sensibility. I really like the program.

 

[Tulipstar]

Yulia Lipnitskaya was commentating? Or is it a different Yulia...

It was 'the' Yulia.
If you'd like to read more about it, people talked about it in her fanfest before.

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

Yulia Lipnitskaya was commentating? Or is it a different Yulia...

The one and only

I think she called Ksenia a goddess today

 

[Shayuki]

I have no idea why her fans would try to convince me of something that I clearly do not see, and I've been watching figure skating for several decades. I have praised her strong qualities, but I'm an analytic person and I'm not going to be persuaded of something that's not there. I'll praise Michelle Kwan to the high heavens but I would never try to argue that she was a Midori Ito type jumper. Stay in your lane. Medvedeva is no Carolina when it comes to interpretation. Let's leave it at that.

Maybe she's no Karolina but being the second-best interpretor in the world is still an extremely strong one.

I have no idea what you watching figure skating for x amount of time has to do with anything. People who have watched figure skating for even longer than that and have actual expertise in the sport have said the opposite, anyway. It's not like I'm the one trying to prove an unpopular position or anything. I guuuess you could see her group's dance videos and concentrate on the different skaters one at a time. Medvedeva does stand out in every dance video I've seen and even is quite impressive. Example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQiXTnfXNTk

 

[Baron Vladimir]

Why does this weak, straw man argument keep getting raised? I have never questioned Medvedeva's wins, consistency, competitiveness, etc. I was specifically talking about some of her scores in PCS categories. There is a category for interpretation and composition--I think it is perfectly within reason to critique the judges scores there. There are things she may never improve on because there is not incentive to when she's getting high 9s and 10s.

Interpretation and composition have totaly different meaning in FS than they have in Art. Judges shouldn't supposed to judge who looks more beautiful on the ice, but who skates more... Who is more appealing to the eays just has nothing to do with who skated better in the moment of the competition.

 

[GGFan]

Interpretation and composition have totaly different meaning in FS than they have in Art. Judges shouldn't supposed to judge who looks more beautiful on the ice, but who skates more... Who is more appealing to the eays just has nothing to do with who skated better in the moment of the competition.

Let's not pretend that my comments are without context. I'm not just some artsy person holding figure skaters to elitist standards. The sport has a long history. We know what good edges are, what good extension is, commitment to movement, etc. That is what I am judging Medvedeva by. And by those standards she has a lot she could work on. There's nothing wrong with saying that. This is not a fan fest. I am analyzing what I see before my eyes.

 

[mrrice]

The one and only

I think she called Ksenia a goddess today

I loved that!!!!!!

 

[SXTN]

I was little disappointed by Evgenia's program... after I read the score and the comments I expected something truly amazing. Then the the first 30-35 seconds are great, and then she does an ill-fitting step sequence and the program never rises up to the beginning level after that. Fantastic costume.

Evgenia's team never manages to create a program as a whole. Each second of her program consists of individual and separate elements to gain the maximum amount of points. The beginning and the ending part to push the perfomance grade, the turns and leg raises to gain transition points, the frantic jump exits to gain GOE and so on...

 

[chuckm]

God, they butchered Mirai with that score.

The Olympic Channel showed all the jumps in slomo. Mirai completed the rotation of the 3a on the ice, not in the air, so 3a<. She fell before barely starting the rotation of the 3t after the 3f, thus 3f+3t<<↓, and she collapsed on the lutz: 3z<↓.

When a skater URs all 3 jumps and falls on two, that drastically lowers the TES.

 

[icetug]

Leena Laaksonen, the best commentator in Finnish TV. And the most strict panelist - Remember.

The Russian commentators weren't sure about this UR at first moment, Tarasova and Trankov saw it in slow motion, and the third one didn't saw it even at that time. So I must agree - Ms Laaksonen is strict to remember

 

[GGFan]

Maybe she's no Karolina but being the second-best interpretor in the world is still an extremely strong one.

I have no idea what you watching figure skating for x amount of time has to do with anything. People who have watched figure skating for even longer than that and have actual expertise in the sport have said the opposite, anyway. It's not like I'm the one trying to prove an unpopular position or anything. I guuuess you could see her group's dance videos and concentrate on the different skaters one at a time. Medvedeva does stand out in every dance video I've seen and even is quite impressive. Example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQiXTnfXNTk

I was referring to knowing the history of the sport and being able to tell the difference between sophisticated interpretation worthy of a 10 and good interpretation worthy of an 8. When I think about superior interpreters that I would give high 9s and 10s to I'm talking Lambiel, Buttle, Takahashi, Mao, Kostner, etc. No amount of youtube videos of Medvedeva is going to make me put her in that category. Let's stop trying to make fetch happen. I would already say that she's a superior competitor to those skaters and her fans should be thrilled about that. Katarina Witt was also a superb competitor but I'm not claiming she was an artist.

 

[Sabrina]

I love Julia, but without any knowledge of any Slavic language, it's useless to listen to her comments. Learning Russian is the only option.

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

I promise I'll quit harping on about Yulia's commentary but did she say anything about Mirai's 3a? It was so borderline and I'd just love to hear from someone with such an intimate and recent experience weigh in with an opinion?

That KnC was uncomfortable to watch

Tough panel!

 

[EdgeCall]

I love Julia, but without any knowledge of any Slavic language, it's useless to listen to her comments. Learning Russian is the only option.

We have enough Russian speakers here. If there are enough people interested in learning, maybe we should organize online classes.

 

[mrrice]

We have enough Russian speakers here. If there are enough people interested in learning, maybe we should organize online classes.

I would totally be interested. The little that I learned back in the 90's has worn off since I never use it my life in California.

 

[Shayuki]

I learned some in high school and it's certainly been useful if only for the ability to read cyrillic letters and navigate the Russian skating sites(and to recognize skater names written in cyrillic).

 

[EdgeCall]

I would totally be interested. The little that I learned back in the 90's has worn off since I never use it my life in California.

I know the feeling. In the early 2000's I learned a little from a Russian working colleague, but when you stop using it regularly it gets quickly lost.