2018 GP Helsinki: Thoughts, Analysis & Reviews

[Kittosuni]

Pavliuchenko surviving all the jumps especially the SBS is the story for the pairs

Stepanova fully utilizing her knees to skate and finally doing something modern to complement their youthful and sexy look is the story for the ID.

Ladies was a mess and Yuzuru is still God.

 

[MiraiFan]

Really? Watch again, it was all there. Probably just disguised by the tutus. And also none of her moves, and honestly none of her moves, is ever finished. I don’t really watch or care that much about ladies figure skating because of the hopeless state it is in, but her PCS and the margin she has over the other skaters these days is simply a disgrace to figure skating and I honestly don’t know why not more skaters/coaches/fans are mad about this kind of judging. It’s unfair and unethical.

I must agree with this. I found the hunched over posture distracting and basic skating skills lacking. The FS felt as slow as molasses to me. No way she should have been first after a popped combo in the short. PCS was ridiculous and the OGM deserves way better programs than the ones she's got.

 

[Fluture]

I think people should cut Alina some slack. I have noticed her posturr too this year, even as a fan I can clearly see it. It‘s pretty visible right now, I agree on that but honestly, we shouldn‘t forget that Alina grew 7 centimeters since the Olympics. Growing is normal for a 16 year old of course but we all know what it can do to a figure skater. So she is still in the middle of getting used to her new body. And the only thing she has troubles with is a not so perfect posture. That‘s actually pretty amazing. Her jumps are still all there. Helsinki was an unfortunate event for her, she was visibly nervous and her jumps tight and underrotated. In the competition at least! Every jump in practice was landed perfectly. She landed all her jumps at JO and Nebelhorn too. She hasn‘t lost them at all, it was just a bit difficult competition for her. She can and will easily work on her posture once she has figured out her new body. (Ik it‘s just 7 centimeters or so but for a figure skater it can be a lot) I don‘t deny she‘s overscored sometimes as she still gets high GOE and PCS even when she struggles but that‘s happening all the times in ladies. The judges know what she‘s capable of, she is the reigning Olympic Gold Medallist. One mediocre competition doesn‘t make a bad skater or a bad competitor. It‘s how you deal with it. Alina is a fighter and she has shown it more than once. She will work on her issues and sort them out later in the season, I‘m sure of that.

 

[champs]

I'm happy Konstantinova was relatively clean at this competition as I'm liking the way she moves (both footwork-wise and choreographically) on the ice more and more. She was really humble and contained herself after her great freeskate, in a stark contrast to Sakamoto's reaction after her own redemptive freeskate, both were kind of cute to me.

A highlight for me was Brezina's SP. Great to see a perfect skate by a skater who's been a headcase for so continuously long.

I wanted to say something about Zagitova's Rippon 3F in the SP, but decided not to sound negative here.

 

[Charlotte 71]

He usually starts slow. He never won any 1st GP assignment before this one. So he actually did better here in Helsinki. But it's still far from his best form.

Plus, per Yuzu, "Replying to ur issue of 4Lo, Yuzu stated he experienced the ice of arena not suitable for edge jumps when he did the first practice. As he has already done 4Lo very well in CC, so he felt a bit of shock about it and didn't adjust to this condition well." "Until the day at open practice before FS, he finally found a solution that if he slowed speed a little bit, he might do the edge jumps. So he did it cautiously in competition although it made his stsq less stunning and cost him ur at 4Lo."

https://twitter.com/echotpe/status/1059400501488377856

The ice did look soft - you could see watery patches everywhere. I think it was warm in the arena - you could see more sweat than usual on the men's faces after they skated. I think it speaks volumes to Yuzu's champion heart that he skated so well and attempted (and more or less saved) the 4r in those conditions.

Thinking on Georgia's question, if you want to see an absolute specimen of Yuzu's perfection, see his 2017 Worlds FS. Beyond perfection.

 

[Charlotte 71]

Alina has grown, and I guess that alters her balance and aerodynamics. [EDIT] SNAP!

GP Finland felt very like GP Russia. Excellent camerawork compared to the North American Swing, and atrocious audience clapping on every beat.

It seemed like Japan must be empty - the entire population travelled to Helsinki to support Yuzuru. I wish I owned the licence to manufacture and sell Pooh paraphernalia.

Did you catch the Pooh "furries" in the audience in full Pooh costume for Hanyu? I saw two of them. That's dedication... and kind of creepy, but hilarious nonetheless.

 

[DaNiCG]

I think people should cut Alina some slack. I have noticed her posturr too this year, even as a fan I can clearly see it. It‘s pretty visible right now, I agree on that but honestly, we shouldn‘t forget that Alina grew 7 centimeters since the Olympics. Growing is normal for a 16 year old of course but we all know what it can do to a figure skater. So she is still in the middle of getting used to her new body. And the only thing she has troubles with is a not so perfect posture. That‘s actually pretty amazing. Her jumps are still all there. Helsinki was an unfortunate event for her, she was visibly nervous and her jumps tight and underrotated. In the competition at least! Every jump in practice was landed perfectly. She landed all her jumps at JO and Nebelhorn too. She hasn‘t lost them at all, it was just a bit difficult competition for her. She can and will easily work on her posture once she has figured out her new body. (Ik it‘s just 7 centimeters or so but for a figure skater it can be a lot) I don‘t deny she‘s overscored sometimes as she still gets high GOE and PCS even when she struggles but that‘s happening all the times in ladies. The judges know what she‘s capable of, she is the reigning Olympic Gold Medallist. One mediocre competition doesn‘t make a bad skater or a bad competitor. It‘s how you deal with it. Alina is a fighter and she has shown it more than once. She will work on her issues and sort them out later in the season, I‘m sure of that.

ok but this is hesinki, and if as you said the program was not perfect she shouldn't have almost perfect scores, this is what people are commenting. Is not about Alina, but about the scores she got in this competition.


//

the highlight was the men field for me, I really like the podium. The rest...well, Im glad with the men field so far.

 

[Globetrotter]

I think people should cut Alina some slack. I have noticed her posturr too this year, even as a fan I can clearly see it. It‘s pretty visible right now, I agree on that but honestly, we shouldn‘t forget that Alina grew 7 centimeters since the Olympics. Growing is normal for a 16 year old of course but we all know what it can do to a figure skater. So she is still in the middle of getting used to her new body. And the only thing she has troubles with is a not so perfect posture. That‘s actually pretty amazing. Her jumps are still all there. Helsinki was an unfortunate event for her, she was visibly nervous and her jumps tight and underrotated. In the competition at least! Every jump in practice was landed perfectly. She landed all her jumps at JO and Nebelhorn too. She hasn‘t lost them at all, it was just a bit difficult competition for her. She can and will easily work on her posture once she has figured out her new body. (Ik it‘s just 7 centimeters or so but for a figure skater it can be a lot) I don‘t deny she‘s overscored sometimes as she still gets high GOE and PCS even when she struggles but that‘s happening all the times in ladies. The judges know what she‘s capable of, she is the reigning Olympic Gold Medallist. One mediocre competition doesn‘t make a bad skater or a bad competitor. It‘s how you deal with it. Alina is a fighter and she has shown it more than once. She will work on her issues and sort them out later in the season, I‘m sure of that.

I don’t think people are picking on Alina but rather the awful stage of judging for PCS. Zagi typically will deserve good GOEs but she wasn’t showing her usual oomph and yet still got high GOEs. Her performance was visibly nervous and shakier yet the PCS was sky high. Surely such judging lend little faith to credibility? Particularly, I most certainly don’t even think Zagi’s basic SS is at a 9s level. She’s not even a Kaori level SS here and it is really tough seeing that she literally outscored everyone in PE with a nervous FS including a clean Kaori and Yuna.

 

[elektra blue]

I can’t believe no one has mentioned the FEET yet! By mid-competition, I was cracking up every time the skater(s) whizzed past that ad on the boards and the FEET made their appearance!

As if the bizarre music cuts (even by figure skating standards!), Halloween-y costumes, ghostly appearance of the wrong free dance music, etc., etc., weren’t enough...

husssssh i'm trying to forget


about the competition, i won't say anything about hanyu because, ladies and gentleman, it's pretty obvious he is the actual highlight of every competition he walks in, he is the boy wonder and every word has been already said. i'll say a couple of (silly) words about uncle brezina though he was so surprising all this season, being consisent (so far) and snaching medals and making it to the finals. good luck uncle! and dont' f@@k it up

 

[readernick]

I don’t think people are picking on Alina but rather the awful stage of judging for PCS. Zagi typically will deserve good GOEs but she wasn’t showing her usual oomph and yet still got high GOEs. Her performance was visibly nervous and shakier yet the PCS was sky high. Surely such judging lend little faith to credibility? Particularly, I most certainly don’t even think Zagi’s basic SS is at a 9s level. She’s not even a Kaori level SS here and it is really tough seeing that she literally outscored everyone in PE with a nervous FS including a clean Kaori and Yuna.

Yes, this is what people object to. The biased scoring. Alina is the rightful winner of this event but she received high GOE’s on jumps that were shaky. Lower tiered skaters would have received negative GOE. Not to mention, the judges ignored several UR on her part. She still could have won this event with fair scoring it just would have been by a lower margin.

The judges also ignored Konstantinovas UR which is highly unfair because they called the other girls who UR.( Sidenote I really enjoy Konstantinovas skating —she is lovely despite the jumps) A panel can be strict or lenient but they need to be consistent.

This isn’t just excusively a problem with ladies skating. The judging panel gave Yuzuru high GOE on his rather messy combo in the short. Unlike Alina, Yuzuru earned his PCS, and they called all of his UR but his GOEs were also too high on some elements. Olympic champion inflation is real.

 

[Ziotic]

I don’t think people are picking on Alina but rather the awful stage of judging for PCS. Zagi typically will deserve good GOEs but she wasn’t showing her usual oomph and yet still got high GOEs. Her performance was visibly nervous and shakier yet the PCS was sky high. Surely such judging lend little faith to credibility? Particularly, I most certainly don’t even think Zagi’s basic SS is at a 9s level. She’s not even a Kaori level SS here and it is really tough seeing that she literally outscored everyone in PE with a nervous FS including a clean Kaori and Yuna.

Unfortunately this will continue to be the truth with Russia is at the helm of the ISU. When that changes other things will as well.

 

[FanFan3256]

@ Fluture, Alina’s posture was bad when she won the Olympics, it’s not because she growing, she’s been growing since she was born, it’s the training or maybe it’s her...all I know is, she needs to change her skating technique/style. She still skates like a little girl and she has a young woman’s body now...her programs need to be polish IMO

 

[narcissa]

This isn’t just excusively a problem with ladies skating. The judging panel gave Yuzuru high GOE on his rather messy combo in the short. Unlike Alina, Yuzuru earned his PCS, and they called all of his UR but his GOEs were also too high on some elements. Olympic champion inflation is real.

https://twitter.com/rockerskating/status/1058699712717578241?s=19

 

[narcissa]

Unfortunately this will continue to be the truth with Russia is at the helm of the ISU. When that changes other things will as well.

It's really sad that they seemed to decide not to call any of Konstantinova's jumps BECAUSE they knew it'd be a close call for silver #cynical

 

[vorravorra]

It looks to me that Alina has had a growth spurt recently, which may account for a certain awkwardness in her overall presentation here.

She couldn't have grown by that much, she is still around the same height as Kaori (158 cm) and much shorter than Konstantinova (167 cm). Alina does have long legs though, I think they were the same length as Stanislava's.

 

[Dreamer57]

I am going to title this review Tears for Mikhail, rejoice for Carmen.

Ladies:
I wanted Yuna to podium!! Her enthusiasm seems so natural and I wish she had the scores to match her cheerful expression on the ice. Praying that she gets two GP spots next year! I do like Loena's powerful skating, her step sequences and she also has a nice layback spin. Following on from the messy SP, Kaori showed her mental strength by acing her free skate - demonstrating why her star is on the rise especially in Japan. I'm positive Stanislava had URs that weren't called, also Alina's SP score was generous considering the combo error she made. Looking back I can't really remember much about either of their programs, other than the music edit to Carmen.

Men:
Yuzuru still amazing, and even with room to IMPROVE. No wonder we are all struck with awe! On to the other skaters: I like Alexei Krasnozhon's choice of SP music. I really enjoyed Junhwan's steps in Cinderella. He did so well to podium in back-to-back debut GP events. Michal had two great skates and I'm pleased for him. Now is as good a time as any to bring out his best ever skating! Boyang is now officially a rock star, reborn over the summer. The progress in his emotions and movement of the upper body has immensely gone up now. His multiple falls let him down, but no doubt he is going to work hard throughout the rest of the season. Finally, the Battle of the Carmens? I prefer Mikhail's, music and costume included, even with the fallen quads. Now just skate clean, and my heart will be content for the rest of the season!

Other comments:
I wasn't able to watch the pairs, ice dance or gala. But I thought that Helsinki hosted a great GP with surprises, falls and expected Yuzu-greatness!

 

[leoleo]

The judging in the ladies event was a disgrace but nothing new there. Selective judging panel choosing who to ding and who to give a pass to is nothing new but it is more noticeable this season as they seem to have decided to become harsher with edge and UR calls. I was surprised by them calling Alina's & Yuzu's URs tho cause i doubt that would have happened last season. Alina did not get a ur calls on her -3lo combo last season if i remember well and she already had ur issues with it. I guess Konstantinova is the only one more powerful than both OGM winners. Alina is the new #1 so i would not be surprised to see her PCS scores to keep going up throughout the season as long as she stays semi-consistent.
Kaori was the highlight of the event for me (and for many people in this thread i noticed). That comeback was just everything. I would have given her silver. If she does not make it to the GPF i'll be so disappointed.

I was very pleased to see Brezina shine and steal the well deserved silver at his age, what a great free skate he delivered. Very proud of Cha Junhwan for making it on the podium again just a week after his first assignment too. I mean nothing more to say about Hanyu, he is Hanyu. He literally set the crowd on fire.

 

[KKonas]

As a former skating researcher, height info is not always updated in the bio the beginning of the season.

 

[Danibellerika]

The judging in the ladies event was a disgrace but nothing new there. Selective judging panel choosing who to ding and who to give a pass to is nothing new but it is more noticeable this season as they seem to have decided to become harsher with edge and UR calls. I was surprised by them calling Alina's & Yuzu's URs tho cause i doubt that would have happened last season. Alina did not get a ur calls on her -3lo combo last season if i remember well and she already had ur issues with it. I guess Konstantinova is the only one more powerful than both OGM winners. Alina is the new #1 so i would not be surprised to see her PCS scores to keep going up throughout the season as long as she stays semi-consistent.
Kaori was the highlight of the event for me (and for many people in this thread i noticed). That comeback was just everything. I would have given her silver. If she does not make it to the GPF i'll be so disappointed.

I was very pleased to see Brezina shine and steal the well deserved silver at his age, what a great free skate he delivered. Very proud of Cha Junhwan for making it on the podium again just a week after his first assignment too. I mean nothing more to say about Hanyu, he is Hanyu. He literally set the crowd on fire.

Yuzu got a UR at CoR last season.

 

[gsk8]

It looks to me that Alina has had a growth spurt recently, which may account for a certain awkwardness in her overall presentation here.

In our recent interview, she said 1 1'2 inches.