2018-19 U.S. Ladies' figure skating

[drivingmissdaisy]

I'm not saying we should. But identifying, and getting better training for, talented skaters at a younger age needs to happen. Kids go to summer camp away from their parents at a fairly young age. Why can't a summer program be created for talented young skaters? And I think if talented skaters of "average income" in the past have succeeded, others can, too. But there also needs to be some targeted funding of young skaters with potential.

I think the biggest problem is that young American women just aren't as interested in figure skating as they were when the US was dominating. There are so many more distractions now (social media, cable television, etc.) that it's probably hard to give one hobby as much attention as it needs to get to the top of the sport. There's also the problem of a large subset of the population not being able to afford figure skating, but I don't think even well-off girls are passionate about the sport anymore.

 

[Amei]

I think people are too harsh about Starr. Sure she wad a mess at this GP, but she has skated well in the past. I think she can do it still.... i was actually surprised how weak she skated here.

On the NBC broadcast it was either Tara or Johnny that made the comment about the international girls coming onto the GP series being ready to compete to win and a lot of them are a lot younger than her when they are debuting on the GP series. Everyone talks about 'raising the minimum age' and 17/18 are the numbers thrown out...Well here was a 17 year old making her debut and she finished dead last.

 

[jenaj]

Many training centers, and other rinks, hold summer programs with ice time available for kids to skate more hours per day than they can during the school year and with access to top coaches for those who can go away for the summer but not relocate from a less elite-focused home base year round.

I think this was even more true (with lower total numbers) in my day and earlier, when there were fewer rinks nationwide and even fewer that were open at all during the summers.



Yes, if the talent and the desire are there, sometimes the financial difficulties can be solved.



Where would the money come from? And how would it be targeted?

Who decides which skaters are talented enough to receive this funding? What would be the criteria -- does it start in earlier childhood/early skill levels? or around juvenile level? or after it's clear who has at least the potential to learn and retain triple jumps?

The answers to the latter questions would probably depend on how much money is available.

Maybe the USFSA could use the money it spends on its ineffective commercials on funding for talent.

 

[Ice Dance]

On the NBC broadcast it was either Tara or Johnny that made the comment about the international girls coming onto the GP series being ready to compete to win and a lot of them are a lot younger than her when they are debuting on the GP series. Everyone talks about 'raising the minimum age' and 17/18 are the numbers thrown out...Well here was a 17 year old making her debut and she finished dead last.

And she finished 7th at 4CCs earlier this year ahead of 16 other senior ladies. Starr was a very tiny 15. Adolescence has struck. I don't know why people are not comprehending this. It changes your sense of balance, your consistency, your confidence in competition. Give her time. This has nothing to do with USFSA's policies.

 

[tosca]

The point was why did she even attempt a single loop. She shouldnt have.

Once she knew she had a bad landing for the lutz. She should have not done it and waited for the Flip.

She popped. It happens to all skaters. She went into the jump with the intent of doing a triple but something happened (maybe she felt off acid, etc.) to cause her to exit rotation and *pop* her jump.

 

[el henry]

She popped. It happens to all skaters. She went into the jump with the intent of doing a triple but something happened (maybe she felt off acid, etc.) to cause her to exit rotation and *pop* her jump.

I know this is autocorrect for axis, and I am not trying to be sarcastic, but I did let out a loud snort of laughter.

Bradie should have stayed on that LSD

(and I agree with your point. Everybody pops.)

 

[chopinskate]

Who's to say Bradie knows how to do a 3F+3Lo? I don't even know if she knows how to do a 3F+3T to "wait" for it.

 

[Dr. Jenn]

And she finished 7th at 4CCs earlier this year ahead of 16 other senior ladies. Starr was a very tiny 15. Adolescence has struck. I don't know why people are not comprehending this. It changes your sense of balance, your consistency, your confidence in competition. Give her time. This has nothing to do with USFSA's policies.

While this is true, I feel that Starr has very weak basic skating skills and not ideal jumping technique. She has a great look/presence on the ice, but she really looked very junior, jumps aside, relative to the rest of the field at Skate America, even the others who struggled.

 

[skatenewbie]

Who's to say Bradie knows how to do a 3F+3Lo? I don't even know if she knows how to do a 3F+3T to "wait" for it.

well even if she do 3F+2T its worth more than 3Lz+1Lo* and -5 GOE. And its in bonus time so 7 points with + GOE grab up to 8.5 points and almost worth like 3T-3T

 

[chopinskate]

well even if she do 3F+2T its worth more than 3Lz+1Lo* and -5 GOE. And its in bonus time so 7 points with + GOE grab up to 8.5 points and almost worth like 3T-3T

Sure, but she could have been gunning for a 3Lz+2Lo instead, and popped.

 

[macy]

The point was why did she even attempt a single loop. She shouldnt have.

Once she knew she had a bad landing for the lutz. She should have not done it and waited for the Flip.

she popped the loop, it wasn't an intentional single. when you pop a jump your body reacts before your mind does, so she had already done a single before she could do anything about it.

 

[mrrice]

The point was why did she even attempt a single loop. She shouldnt have.

Once she knew she had a bad landing for the lutz. She should have not done it and waited for the Flip.

I agree. As the National Champion she should know better. I think once you get programmed to do a combo that that's where your brain and muscle memory goes. Once she set up for the Lutz, I think her body was ready for a combo. It's literally less than a second to make a decision. I just hope she skates well at her next event.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

I agree. As the National Champion she should know better. I think once you get programmed to do a combo that that's where your brain and muscle memory goes. Once she set up for the Lutz, I think her body was ready for a combo. It's literally less than a second to make a decision. I just hope she skates well at her next event.

It reminds me of Alina at the Olympics, when she realized her first attempt at the 3-3 wasn't going to happen so she did her best to salvage a nice landing on the lutz and then did the combination later. Bradie probably isn't as comfortable with the combination yet and might not have had as many opportunities to prepare for different situations like that.

 

[MarinHondas]

As others have pointed out, you have to make the decision of whether or not to do the combo in less than second. I think she may have questioned whether to do it which is where the hesitation came in and the eventual single. She has probably done loops off of not the best ever lutz so it wasn't her immediate reaction to not even try it but by the time she thought of whether or not she should do it, it was too late.

 

[theharleyquinn]

I think the US ladies are in a tough place because at this point, it's hard to find a priority. There's a lot of pressure now to get an ace jump in and becoming more expressive isn't the easiest thing to do if it's not innate. Bradie's team has obviously decided to go with the lucrative combo of the 3Lz3Lo but after last season I would've thought they'd also focus on the fundamentals, including her skating skills and posture, and becoming more literate about her programs as a whole. It's worrisome to be pinning your hopes of moving up the ranks on one combo, especially when you're not prepared to make contingency plans in case the jump doesn't work out.

I get the same frustration with Starr. Why is her team even talking about a 3A when she doesn't have a reliable lutz? Mirai lost a lot of the best features of her skating by honing in on the 3A at the expense of everything else. If there are older seniors right now with huge 2A that are foregoing the triple to hone other skills, it doesn't make sense to be spending time in practice on it when there are so many other pressing deficiencies that have not been resolved.

 

[andromache]

I think the US ladies are in a tough place because at this point, it's hard to find a priority. There's a lot of pressure now to get an ace jump in and becoming more expressive isn't the easiest thing to do if it's not innate. Bradie's team has obviously decided to go with the lucrative combo of the 3Lz3Lo but after last season I would've thought they'd also focus on the fundamentals, including her skating skills and posture, and becoming more literate about her programs as a whole. It's worrisome to be pinning your hopes of moving up the ranks on one combo, especially when you're not prepared to make contingency plans in case the jump doesn't work out.

She's clearly improved since last season in that regard. She's obviously not naturally musical or elegant, but she's getting better from where she was.

(I tend to complain about a lot of skaters' posture, but Bradie's isn't especially offensive to me relative to her competitors.)

Why is her [Starr's] team even talking about a 3A when she doesn't have a reliable lutz?

100% agree. I hope the talk is just politicking. Her 2A is nothing special - which makes me think she's never done a decent 3A in practice ever.

Bradie's 3Lz-3Lo is at least semi-reliable, which, considering how new it is, gives me hope that it will become more consistent the more she competes with it.

 

[LiamForeman]

It's so annoying when someone like Starr who wouldn't even be competitive on the junior circuit has TWO senior GPs. She placed dead last at Skate America, and I'm not anticipating much better this weekend, though the Canadian ladies could be in the fight for last place too.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

It's so annoying when someone like Starr who wouldn't even be competitive on the junior circuit has TWO senior GPs.

This actually isn't saying much because the top junior women score almost as high, if not as high, as the top seniors.

 

[frida80]

It's so annoying when someone like Starr who wouldn't even be competitive on the junior circuit has TWO senior GPs. She placed dead last at Skate America, and I'm not anticipating much better this weekend, though the Canadian ladies could be in the fight for last place too.

Starr’s hs two GP because of the lack of depth in the field right now. Japan and Russia have maxed out their spots, so they have to chose lower from the list. She got SA because of how well s she did are nationals. She got SC because of her high score in 4CC.

Whats annoying to me is people complaining about Starr and other skaters getting spots without understanding how spots are even given in the first place.

 

[Skater Boy]

It's so annoying when someone like Starr who wouldn't even be competitive on the junior circuit has TWO senior GPs. She placed dead last at Skate America, and I'm not anticipating much better this weekend, though the Canadian ladies could be in the fight for last place too.

Thank goodness for the Canadian ladies - can you imagine if all three come last, second last and third to last. It could happen. And to think just less than two years ago they had two world medallists. Starr won't be last at least.