2018-19 U.S. Ladies' figure skating

[Mathman]

Youtube of Alysa on Jimmy Fallon:
https://youtu.be/njDeb2I7SiA

Jimmy's got a pretty good landing position.

 

[frida80]

Russia’s juniors are holding up really well tho.

I agree with Alexia. I think a big reason for her improvement is that she’s gotten a lot of competition experience, which I’m not sure if she’s would have received staying as a us skater.

Stephan is on a completely different level. He came into the JGPF as an alternate and won it. Russia cannot get another team gold with a solid men's skater.

I agree. Her improvement comes from experience without the pressure. I'm sure Swiss Fed could care less that she's lost bronze at Europeans, when it's the closest they've gotten in ages. She can skate on her own terms.

 

[natsulian]

4CC is in a few days and I wanted to wish all the U.S. figure skaters good luck as they compete against a STACKED field.

Some questions 4CC can hopefully answer:
- How will Ting perform? Will she finally be able to execute TWO clean programs?
- Will Bradie come back stronger than ever after two critical mistakes during her Long Program at Nationals?
- Will Mariah have TWO clean programs after an under-rotation call on the 3Lz-3T in the Short and a fall on the 3Lz in the Long?

This will really set us up for how the U.S. ladies might perform at Worlds. Hopefully they all peak at Worlds.

 

[andromache]

4CCs rarely seems indicative of how skaters will do at Worlds, especially in singles. It's difficult to skaters to peak at 4CCs, IMO. Though I do think Asian skaters tend to do better, which I tend to assume has to do with 1. having more time between their Nationals and 4CCs and 2. 4CCs being on their continent. Will be interesting to see how a North American 4CCs goes.

 

[natsulian]

At the Baravian Open, Audrey Ignacio and Lindsay Thorngren will represent us in the Advanced Novice event whilst Emilia Murdock will compete as a Junior. Good luck to all three girls (and the others) at the Baravian Open.

https://www.bev-eissport.de/download/EntriesBavarianOpen2019.pdf

 

[chuckm]

At Bavarian Open we also have:

Jonsoo Kim in Junior Men
Chelsea Liu / Ian Meyh and Grace Knoop / Blake Eisenach in Junior Pairs
Ella Ales / Daniel Tsarik in Junior Ice Dance
William Annis in Advanced Novice Men
Elliana Peal / Ethan Peal in Advance Novice Ice Dance

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

Figure skating in the US may not be what it used to be but Alysa's earnings potential is still much higher by remaining American. I'm fairly certain she's already been signed by IMG and will be appearing in SOI shows this year.

I hope these extracurricular activities are managed effectively, because things start to go downhill for a lot of individual sport athletes when they have to balance competing with media/sponsorship duties. Alysa will have to train hard in the next few years simply to maintain her current jumps, and she has a lot of work to do on her skating to catch up with the best seniors in the world. I'd hate to see her pushed as the savior of American skating before all of those elements have come together for her.

 

[MarinHondas]

At the Baravian Open, Audrey Ignacio and Lindsay Thorngren will represent us in the Advanced Novice event whilst Emilia Murdock will compete as a Junior. Good luck to all three girls (and the others) at the Baravian Open.

https://www.bev-eissport.de/download/EntriesBavarianOpen2019.pdf

That's great but I do wonder why Calista Choi wasn't chosen as Aubrey was second to her at novice nationals. Good for the girls who get to go and good luck...hope Calista is not injured or something.

 

[hippomoomin]

Alysa's friend: "Your crying sounds so wired."
Alysa" "I know. I know. Please don't show me that ever again."

Jimmy's got a pretty good landing position.

 

[lyrichord]

But China did take our novice champion from last year, and before we knew who there was chatter that it was Alysa. But the fact that her father is gay actually could be a factor to keep her in the US.

There was some since deleted chatter on Chinese skating boards that Alysa’s father would not be granted a visa to visit China for the Beijing Olympics if she makes the team because he was a political dissident (with vague allusions to Tianenmen square), so if that’s the case China would not consider approaching her for citizenship regardless of merits. Anyway, obviously USFS would never let her go.

 

[andromache]

I think skating in shows could potentially be good for Alysa’s performance and skating abilities. Whether it would be good for her in other aspects of her skating or life is another matter. Touring with a bunch of adults sounds pretty miserable or potentially dangerous for a 13 year old.

 

[SnowWhite]

I doubt it. While we figure skater fans are elated by Lexi’s progress, as far as USFS is concerned, the US have even more talented skaters to make up for it.

I’m pretty sure Russia is more angry about Stephan than Alex.

I don't think Stephen ever represented Russia internationally though, so it's a bit different. He started skating in Russia, but he's been at the Cricket Club since he was 9 and competing in the Canadian system.

I think skating in shows could potentially be good for Alysa’s performance and skating abilities. Whether it would be good for her in other aspects of her skating or life is another matter. Touring with a bunch of adults sounds pretty miserable or potentially dangerous for a 13 year old.

She could do a few of the shows instead of the whole tour. Isn't that what Vincent did last year or the year before?

 

[oatmella]

I think skating in shows could potentially be good for Alysa’s performance and skating abilities. Whether it would be good for her in other aspects of her skating or life is another matter. Touring with a bunch of adults sounds pretty miserable or potentially dangerous for a 13 year old.

Perhaps she will be only skating in a limited number of shows. Like Vincent only performed in a few west coast shows last year (I think 3 shows?).

Also her father said he travels with her.

 

[frida80]

I don't think Stephen ever represented Russia internationally though, so it's a bit different. He started skating in Russia, but he's been at the Cricket Club since he was 9 and competing in the Canadian system.



She could do a few of the shows instead of the whole tour. Isn't that what Vincent did last year or the year before?

Russian fans constantly write that Stephan is Russian on his videos. When it comes to his level of talent and the fact that his parents are Russians, I’m sure their irritated by their bad luck. Canadians, on the other hand, are enjoying it.

This is interesting. In Russia, Canada, and Japan all three podiums contained super talented kids that weren’t elible to go to worlds this year. Last year, Rika was on the podium in Japan. Interesting how that worked out.

 

[SnowWhite]

Russian fans constantly write that Stephan is Russian on his videos. When it comes to his level of talent and the fact that his parents are Russians, I’m sure their irritated by their bad luck. Canadians, on the other hand, are enjoying it.

This is interesting. In Russia, Canada, and Japan all three podiums contained super talented kids that weren’t elible to go to worlds this year. Last year, Rika was on the podium in Japan. Interesting how that worked out.

His name is Stephen, by the way. Not Stephan. Yeah, I know they do. But they tend to forget that he was born in Canada, then his parents moved back to Russia, and then returned to Canada a few years later.

But yeah, all the big feds have had young stars recently like you pointed out. I guess that's relevant to all the discussions about raising the age limit. And there was Alena Kostornaya getting bronze last season as well, when she was Stephen's age.

 

[frida80]

His name is Stephen, by the way. Not Stephan. Yeah, I know they do. But they tend to forget that he was born in Canada, then his parents moved back to Russia, and then returned to Canada a few years later.

But yeah, all the big feds have had young stars recently like you pointed out. I guess that's relevant to all the discussions about raising the age limit. And there was Alena Kostornaya getting bronze last season as well, when she was Stephen's age.

I don’t think they forget that at all. Even when told that he was born in Ontario, they still insist because his parents are Russian he’s Russian too. I gave up on explaining.

I wonder what does it mean when all these younger stars are starting to emerge like this? Is it something we should be concerned about? I’m not sure if I like this trend.

 

[Koatterce]

I don’t think they forget that at all. Even when told that he was born in Ontario, they still insist because his parents are Russian he’s Russian too. I gave up on explaining.

I wonder what does it mean when all these younger stars are starting to emerge like this? Is it something we should be concerned about? I’m not sure if I like this trend.

I think it's too early to say if it's something to be concerned about. It's something to look out for, but it depends on how sustainable it is overall. Can these skaters maintain/regain their level of performance after puberty? if the answer for most skaters is yes, then it's not much different than now. But if the answer for most skaters is no, then that's a red flag. And are these technically advanced skaters just blips, or are they the start of a new trend? Only time can tell.

That's not to take away from anything they're doing now - it's still impressive. There's nothing wrong with being a blip (like all the women that have done 3A, or the men that did quads before it became commonplace). But there are different implications for the sport depending on how this all turns out.

For now, I say there's no need to be concerned, though caution should be taken. Time will tell whether there need to be rule changes. Appreciate the present and be aware of the future, but find a balance - don't discount present achievements in fear of the future, but don't get caught up in what is possible in the present and ignore the potential future implications either. Overfocusing on the future dismisses present achievements, but overfocusing on the present can lead to overhyping or avoidable future issues.

 

[Casual]

I don’t think they forget that at all. Even when told that he was born in Ontario, they still insist because his parents are Russian he’s Russian too. I gave up on explaining.

Of course, Stephen is Russian. Doesn't matter where he was born, or how he self-identifies.

Remember the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding? How the father insisted that everything, every word etc., came from Greece? It's the same phenomenon.

For example, newspapers routinely publish lists of actors they consider Russian:

Harrison Ford (because a grandparent emigrated from Minsk to the US in 1907)
Leonardo di Caprio (because his young grandmother fled the revolution)
Helen Mirren ("her name should be Elena Vasilyevna Mironova, if only she continued to bear the father's name!" - because her grandfather emigrated in 1917)
Silvester Stallone (because of his grandmother from Ukraine)
Mila Kunis (her family emigrated from Ukraine when she was a baby)
Mila Jojovich (because she was born in Ukraine to a Serbian father)
David Duchovny (because his father's parents emigrated from somewhere from the Czarist Russian empire)
Wynona Ryder (also because of her father's family, who emigrated from Russia and Romania),

and even Robert Downy Jr ("among his ancestors are both Jewish and Slav relatives, and while the connection to that lineage is not very strong, it doesn't negate the fact of the Russian origin of the actor!" - insist newspaper articles)

 

[frida80]

Of course, Stephen is Russian. Doesn't matter where he was born, or how he self-identifies.

Remember the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding? How the father insisted that everything, every word etc., came from Greece? It's the same phenomenon.

For example, newspapers routinely publish lists of actors they consider Russian:

Harrison Ford (because a grandparent emigrated from Minsk to the US in 1907)
Leonardo di Caprio (because his young grandmother fled the revolution)
Helen Mirren ("her name should be Elena Vasilyevna Mironova, if only she continued to bear the father's name!" - because her grandfather emigrated in 1917)
Silvester Stallone (because of his grandmother from Ukraine)
Mila Kunis (her family emigrated from Ukraine when she was a baby)
Mila Jojovich (because she was born in Ukraine to a Serbian father)
David Duchovny (because his father's parents emigrated from somewhere from the Czarist Russian empire)
Wynona Ryder (also because of her father's family, who emigrated from Russia and Romania),

and even Robert Downy Jr ("among his ancestors are both Jewish and Slav relatives, and while the connection to that lineage is not very strong, it doesn't negate the fact of the Russian origin of the actor!" - insist newspaper articles)

Wow. I had no idea there so many. Sylvester is considered the definition of an Italian American hero, I wasn't aware he was also Ukrainian. Fascinating.

Stephen is definitely Russian by heritage. Thrilled that he has devoted fans globally. He's such a cutie!

 

[Casual]

"Toula, there are two kinds of people: Greeks, and everybody else who wish they was Greek."