2017 World Ladies SP

[largeman]

After catching up on 15 pages of posts since last night...

1. I agree with everyone who saw improvements in Zhenya's elements, and I think the 3T Rippon looks great too. Yet I also still think some of her jumps look labored and are not aesthetically ideal.

2. I still don't think Karen's 3T should have been called <, based on how she took off and where she landed. However, her 3T technique is not ideal, as Daniel1998 and others pointed out. I hope she will recognize that and try to fix it.

3. Perhaps wrong thread, but, "No season of FS is complete without..." a heated debate between BoP and drivingmissdaisy on something or the other.

 

[OS]

BTW, this information is incorrect. Lakernik left the FFKR VP seat in favor of the ISU VP seat. The assumption that he still favors Russia is an allegation without any real proof. We simply do not know his intentions.

Hey, I give everyone benefit of the doubt, but after the inflation for young Russians post-Sochi that break all ISU scoring precedences, and upon observing the same principles are not equally applied to others historically and now, and many actually end up deflating. The selective tweaking of the scoring/rules/advantages leads me to this conclusion.

As for those who say COP 10s works like the age of 6.0, they are simply wrong. The whole purpose of the system CODE of Points (created to avoid Salt Lake type of scandal) is to ensure EVERYONE including judges should abide by the same code standards equally, not selectively. You can't have skaters improve their PCS and succeed but don't get recognised because of the judging. When that happens, it need to be recognised not turning a blind eye.

To quote Wiki

This new system was created in response to the 2002 Winter Olympics figure skating scandal, in an attempt to make the scoring system more objective and less vulnerable to abuse.

What does objective, and abuse mean to you? Why have ISU judges been encouraged to mark within a narrow corridor? Why are they encouraged to study past performances? There is a standard, which judges are supposed to follow, but the gap between 10 (Perfection) to whatever inflated PCS skaters get these days compare to past means those who are capable and deserving better will never get the reward they truly deserve IN THE FUTURE. Inflation is wrong, plain and simple - as there is INDEED a ceiling of 10 for PCS categories, unlike TES. By marking everyone in the final flight in 9+ it minimises quality, Patrick's superior SS compares to others is not even worth +1GOE equivalent on a 3T (0.7 gap), it is quite wrong. I'd also argue SS transition Katelyn deserve to be much higher than Evengia, but this is hardly remarked in the PCS score sheet because judging standard had become complacent over the years that ends up abuse the code for what ever purpose with one eye closed.

An older Kostner deserves to have a higher PCS than a younger Kostner when she delivers, in the maturity, improving ss, performance etc. If she is given such high scores, what is the point of improving? Encourage others to improve? What if there are others deserve to exceed her, how will they be marked? by virtually + 0.1 or 0.2 like Patrick get? Hardly seems fair to me.

 

[rugbyfan]

Now had a chance to catch up on some videos. Medvedeva is amazing, but she makes me realise why warhorse music is just that - it draws the audience in. This music does nothing for me at all and it makes it hard for me to appreciate the program as much as I should, and the audience seems to have a similar reaction. The elements, the transitions are great but I don't emotionally engage. Osmond on the other hand drew me in. I loved it. This was a wonderful night for her. Daleman is so fast, and that 3T-3T! Anna - really like the step sequence and she sells the program. It was interesting to see how much more she caught the audience than Medvedeva though you can see why Medveva is in the lead. Karen's program is beautiful. I hadn't really seen it before since ladies is my least favourite discipline, but that was magical

 

[Johns]

Medvedeva -excellent as usual. A different league!
Osmond- good execution, over scored. Fits in a long line of skaters from a jumping brick category!
Daleman -boring, poor skills and just not pleasant to watch!
Pogo- shaky, jumping brick category with some potential! Beauty!
Chen - interesting, lots of work ahead!
Wagner - cheap show girl image is not working anymore!
Sotskova - boring, needs innovating style to go along with her unique looks!
Caro - respect, but her time is gone!

 

[treeloving]

I think Medvedeva rippon 3-3 is really cool.

 

[Triplecomb]

The point is that when you start to give high points in pcs and goe more and more, it becomes difficult to go back and then that becomes praxis.

 

[medvedevasocks]

I have such mixed feelings what I want to happen in the womens LP. On one hand I dont believe 2 Canadian women have ever medaled together in history, so in a sense I would love to see Osmond and Daleman hang on for silver and bronze. On the other hand I really like Anna, and have a soft spot for her always battling on despite never being the Russian fed and always in the shadow of others there. And I think she HAS to medal to make the Russian Olympic team next year, if she medals a 2nd straight year they will put her on the team at Nationals next year, if she doesnt I think the Olympic team will be Medvedeva, Zagitova, and someone like Polina or Maria. So in a sense I am conflicted what I want to happen since I would love to see 2 Canadian medals, but I also think Anna's making the Olympics for Russia next year is almost entirely dependent on whether she medals or not.

Medvedeva to win gold easily as all expected pre worlds of course. She was wonderful today as always.

 

[MaiKatze]

This competition made me realize that I'm a bit bored by the Ladies. Idk if Olympic spots=Worlds spots for next year, but I'm sure if Marin and Alina or more new girls are in the mix, Satoko returns and maybe we'll even see Mao with old strength this will all be much more exciting. And I so want Rika to rest. She looked so sad and uncomfortable in that last group. Poor her. I just want something fresh, and somehow this year it fell short.

 

[medvedevasocks]

This competition made me realize that I'm a bit bored by the Ladies. Idk if Olympic spots=Worlds spots for next year, but I'm sure if Marin and Alina or more new girls are in the mix, Satoko returns and maybe we'll even see Mao with old strength this will all be much more exciting. And I so want Rika to rest. She looked so sad and uncomfortable in that last group. Poor her. I just want something fresh, and somehow this year it fell short.

Dont hold out hope for Mao to return to form at this point. It is wishful thinking sadly. I guess nothing is impossible, but it is extremely unlikely at this point. Same would go for Gold returning to form (although I never found her interesting to begin with).

Satoko back and Honda and Zagitova senior alone makes things more interesting though. As a Canadian I would like to see our girls capatilize this year when the field is a bit weaker.

 

[Alex D]

Ladies as it happened

Our Ladies were the first on ice and I felt they all did wonderful! Yes, sure, we had our unlucky kitten Michaela Hanzlikova who just couldn´t show her full potential today just like Emmi, the local hero, who missed the Free Skate as well after popping the loop, but overall it was a high class competition with huge scores and a couple of surprises.

Back at Boston, a total of 49.86 was more than enough to book your ticket into day II, this year however, Nicole Schott needed 54.83! We are talking of about five more points than last year, which is a huge development among our Ladies and everyone has contributed to that great achievement!

Of course, there is always that one special moment to look forward to and this year it was once again a Russian skater who delivered exactly this to me.
While I have lost my heart a few times today, Maria Sotskova was the one who took it with her off ice! Coming sixth with 69.76, she did absolutely wonderful, her skating is so special and touching, I can´t get enough of it and she has such beautiful eyes, doesn´t she?!
Something btw. that a so called media "FS expert" quoted as "boring", which made me wonder if the refreshments of this guy, were actually served as Vodka instead of water!

Anyways, Masha skates with so much heart and soul, it is so calm, very subtle and therefore incredible charming. She always paints her music on ice, not like a maniac with the chainsaw, but a young kitten with it´s paws. For me, she touched me just a bit more than everyone else today. :luv17:

Another, but much smaller athlete from Japan, also enchanted me today. Wakaba Higuchi, who skated to music by Ennio Morricone, - showing great involvement with her program, it was soft and yet powerful, she found a great balance between grace and athleticism, my favorite lady from Japan in the short and the crowd was out of their socks too! The crowd in general, was very supportive, similar to those in Russia or Canada, where everyone get´s a round of applause and some fans brought a huge arsenal of flags, while one lady almost fell down the stairs when she tried to throw her flowers on ice.

The ice in general, seemed in better shape today, than back at Taiwan, where we had a little crash and go during competitions and my third big skate of the day, came from Laurine Lecavelier, who actually started with a fall on her lutz – toe combination, finishing on 22th.
Said error did not hurt her too much though, as she was once again a true lady on ice. I so love her commitment, she always has a message for you and it all looks so easy and graceful! Did you see the "silence" on her dress and those beautiful eyes fully involved with her performance? It´s those small details that she has, it´s fantastic and defines a true lady on ice, for me.

Said lady feeling is what I am very addicted to, don´t get me wrong, it is nice to have the kids on ice, but once in a while the guy in me, loves to "check out" our beautiful ladies too. One of those is without a doubt Kaety Osmond, who in my opinion has one of the best SP´s this year, a worthy follow up to Alaine, who sadly can´t be here!
In absence of Canadians number three, Gabby and Kaetlyn offered two amazing performances, it was right there on the money. Osmond always grabs me, with how she sells her programs, having all those difficult transitions, a very busy program and yet always a positive look on her face, with huge jumps!
Huge was also her outfit and again, I am not an expert but she absolutely nailed it this season with her SP dress. I love the piece of fabric around her neck, does this already classify as a scarf, I wonder?
Anyways, it was breathtaking what these two ladies did today and it makes me very happy and I hope they can keep it up and that the pressure from the Canadian press and the fans, will stay where it belongs, inside the garbage can!

Not at all garbage, but super entertaining was a lady who did not even skate today! Brian Orser, called her "funny mom" and I so agree with that. Said lady, was celebrating the 10th spot of her daughter, more than the young Kazakhstani herself and Elizabet had to calm her mom down a few times, as she wanted to hug the whole world, out of sheer happiness!
Said world, witnessed a brilliant competition and was once again impressed by our Russian leader Evgenia Medvedeva, who did skate lights out and is without a doubt the well deserved leader and right now, it seems very hard to kick her from the throne!
I believe, there has never been a king on the throne of America, but lot´s of skaters who won medals and became a queen, like Ms Wagner last season. This year, however, our American Ladies have not yet checked in, something that they will try to change in two days time, with Karen currently on five and Ashley on 7th, ,which Wagner commentated as "it´s so close!" and it surely is only a small margin and in theory, everyone of the top 10, can still win a medal, with just seven points between three and ten!

I am sure we can all expect a big fight from team USA and our former Bronze medalist Anna, who currently resides on 4, with less than one point on Gabby, is definitely a hot favorite as well, even for gold, as she always delivers when it counts and if I am allowed to say that, she was absolutely stunning, how did that beauty not land on the podium, oh boy luckily I am not a judge!

Another beauty and we are now slowly coming to an end, is Mariah Bell and she has two very good arguments to like her and no I am not talking of "those" two! Yes her dresses are super hot, but whats inside is even hotter, as she brings so much joy with her. The choreographies have great depth, she attacks her elements and always with a positive attitude, a true American sunshine! :thumbsup:

From a personal aspect, I was a very big fan of Helery Hälvin with her "you raise me up" performance, as this is exactly what figure skating does for me since about 18 months. Where would I be without these amazing skaters, I don´t know...

Anyways, my last few words go to Anastasia Galustyan and Dasa Grm, two of the early birds today. The Slovenian Lady, sadly missed the final, but she showed us her naughty side today, while still remembering that there is one German guy, who loves this lady and her grace, so she offered lot´s of that as well.
More success with her placement did Nastia have, as she came 23th and I bet she would be in the top 20 if it wasn´t for the early starting position. What I always like about her is the gracefulness and how she appreciates the support by the crowds, similar to our Latvian lady, Angelina who also qualified and made her coach Jekaterina cry in the process.

As for Anastasia she did almost cry as well, but in my opinion, she had no reason to. Mistakes just happen and she has the ability to skate for everyone in the stands, even if you sit directly under the roof and only see a small dot on the ice. It´s an ability that matters a lot and while she was disappointed about the loss of her planned triple Lutz – triple Toe combination, she is someone for the future, just like Masha and did you see Lani, wow she made Australia proud and don´t even get me started on Ivett Toth, oh boy what a gifted skater and great artist on ice, the leader of a whole Armada from huge talents of Hungarian Figure Skating.

Well,

that´s it for now about our wonderful Ladies, thanks for an amazing time and take a day off tomorrow and come visit the "Aleksi", you like shopping don´t ya?!

 

[Eclair]

OT question: Why are so many Russians called Zhenya? People call plushenko zhenya, they call Medvedeva zhenya and they call tarasova zhenya too! Is zhenya some kind of universal nickname or what? It's pretty confusing to be honest ...

 

[ioanna]

OT question: Why are so many Russians called Zhenya? People call plushenko zhenya, they call Medvedeva zhenya and they call tarasova zhenya too! Is zhenya some kind of universal nickname or what? It's pretty confusing to be honest ...

It's a nickname for Evgenia / Evgeni, I believe.

 

[Eclair]

It's a nickname for Evgenia / Evgeni, I believe.

so what's tarasova name? Evgenia too?

 

[zounger]

It's a nickname for Evgenia / Evgeni, I believe.

"Russian diminutives are formed using many different suffixes. These include -sha (Masha for Mariya, Misha for Mikhail, Natasha for Nataliya, and Sasha for Aleksandr or Aleksandra) and -ya (Anya for Anna, Kolya for Nikolai, Petya for Pyotr, and Zhenya for Yevgeniya), as well as -ik, -nka and -shka."

 

[indicatoto101]

Watched the top 3 plus a few others in the top 7. Medvedeva was overscored. How did she score 2 points higher in PCS than Osmond?

 

[syl20c]

Medvedeva -excellent as usual. A different league!
Osmond- good execution, over scored. Fits in a long line of skaters from a jumping brick category!
Daleman -boring, poor skills and just not pleasant to watch!
Pogo- shaky, jumping brick category with some potential! Beauty!
Chen - interesting, lots of work ahead!
Wagner - cheap show girl image is not working anymore!
Sotskova - boring, needs innovating style to go along with her unique looks!
Caro - respect, but her time is gone!

LOL, just LOL.

 

[skylark]

Why are Evgenia's jumps rated labored by quite a few people here? Yet, I can only hear compliments .... from most commentators, despite their nationality, who are much more professional than you guys, imo.

You could be talking about Ashley as well. She gets far more praise and respect from the professionals than she gets here.

 

[Mathman]

so what's tarasova name? Evgenia too?

Yes. The name means something like "Noble born" Eu = good, genia = genes.

My fave is the derivation of Sasha from Alexander or Alexandria. Alexander -> Xander or Sander -> add diminutive or familiar suffice, Sasha.

 

[randomfan]

Daleman -boring, poor skills and just not pleasant to watch!

Gabby being boring is your opinion so I can't say anything about it, but may I ask how exactly she has poor skills?

Her speed and SS are excellent, she has good transitions (especially entering the layback spin), and her jumps are spectacular. Her spins and some of presentation may be lacking in comparison to the other aspects above, but they are not poor at all.

 

[GoddessMinerva]

Yes. The name means something like "Noble born" Eu = good, genia = genes.

My fave is the derivation of Sasha from Alexander or Alexandria. Alexander -> Xander or Sander -> add diminutive or familiar suffice, Sasha.

I always wanted a Siberian cat so I could call her Dasha(diminutive of Daria or Darya). I'm not sure if there is a male equivalent name where Dasha can be used.