2019-20 U.S. Ladies Figure Skating

[Mishaminion]

The person who wrote that is just parroting what Dave Lease said in his TSL video about Gracie's performance at Regionals.

Shameless Lease has been pushing that sexist narrative about Gracie for some time--that she's too naive/fragile/ignorant to recognize when someone is "using" her for their own nefarious purposes.

And Lease continues to push it despite the fact that Gracie is a 24 year old experienced veteran figure skater who has made a point of stating in recent interviews that she is not emotionally fragile and that she has carefully considered her coaching situation.

I don't understand why Lease thinks he's some kind of authority on Gracie's situation.
After all she's been through, I think she is incredibly strong as it takes great strength to get help and try to get back on track as she's doing, I highly doubt she would stay with Vincent if she didn't feel comfortable with the situation.

 

[bytheriver]

Can we please stop circling back to Dave Lease and focus on news/updates about US ladies? Starr and Megan are competing today at Finlandia. Starr did well in the short until she popped her solo jump. Hopefully she has improved her endurance to get through the LP. She seemed really winded at Lombardia and lost her SP advantage last time.

 

[Bluediamonds09]

Starr and Megan....... well, they both have beautiful dresses. Both have potential to be scoring in the 190s overall. But whether or not they will remains to be seen. Both their programs today were disappointing imo. Starr, for lack of choreography, and Megan, for being such a talent but always always struggling. They are very lucky to be skating for the US right now in such a weak field because they’ll still receive multiple International assignments. I really wish that they could both be consistent though.

 

[Mrs. P]

I didn't see Megan's program, but I'm gonna defend Starr here. Yes, the program wasn't perfect and she has work to do, but compared to last season when she would have several pops and URs and couldn't break 100, both her free skates this season for her Challenger assignments have been an improvement.

Yes, I get that we want our ladies to be in medal contention and what not, but I think it's clear that Starr has taken feedback to heart and has really worked on several things in the off season -- especially her SS. I think she should feel good about the progress she made during her Challengers and continue to keep working as she prepares for her GP and the rest of the season.

 

[readernick]

I didn't see Megan's program, but I'm gonna defend Starr here. Yes, the program wasn't perfect and she has work to do, but compared to last season when she would have several pops and URs and couldn't break 100, both her free skates this season for her Challenger assignments have been an improvement.

Yes, I get that we want our ladies to be in medal contention and what not, but I think it's clear that Starr has taken feedback to heart and has really worked on several things over the season -- especially her SS. I think she should feel good about the progress she made during her Challengers and continue to keep working as she prepares for her GP and the rest of the season.

Indeed. Starr's basic skating, posture, and cleanliness of her jumps has. improved a lot. She popped a lot in this competition. But, the basics are better.

 

[sheetz]

I agree that Starr has noticeably improved her basics. She just needs more consistency. Megan appears to have regressed, unfortunately. I don't know if she's suffering from any injuries but from what I can tell still hasn't earned the Nats TES minimum. Is she supposed to be competing at Eastern Sectionals?

 

[natsulian]

Starr simply needs to work out the kinks and she will be set. I think she’s in a very good position heading into her Grand Prix assignment. I hope she can skate two clean programs come her Grand Prix event. As for Megan, I don’t know what’s happening with her because she seems to have regressed a lot in terms of jumps. Best of luck to both ladies.

 

[katymay]

I didn't see Megan's program, but I'm gonna defend Starr here. Yes, the program wasn't perfect and she has work to do, but compared to last season when she would have several pops and URs and couldn't break 100, both her free skates this season for her Challenger assignments have been an improvement.

Yes, I get that we want our ladies to be in medal contention and what not, but I think it's clear that Starr has taken feedback to heart and has really worked on several things in the off season -- especially her SS. I think she should feel good about the progress she made during her Challengers and continue to keep working as she prepares for her GP and the rest of the season.

I think each time she competes she is looking better and better. (Starr, I mean, although Megan was better today than she was her last competition)

 

[SimplyAFan]

I was encouraged to see Starr's improvements. I'm wondering if her jumps just aren't super consistent right now because she's been likely been spending more time on her skating skills and pcs.

Moving ahead to this week, Bradie, Amber, and Karen compete at Skate America. Good luck to all 3!! And 2 regionals happening this week...Southwestern and Southwest Pacific. Does anyone know any notable skaters competing at either of these?

 

[frida80]

I think what happened with the FS was Starr was determined to not get an edge call on her 3Lz and all that focus lead to a pop. She was doing well until then. Big improvement from the last outing when she couldn’t tack on a +3T to her first combo and had some unsteady looking jumps.

After she popped she made a few more errors before recovering the rest of her program. I thought her FS looked more steady here than her first CS.

As for her SP, that such a typical problem for so many skaters. Your program is going so well, you start to relax and suddenly “boom”. It just happened to Nathan on his 3A last week, and he’s has greatly improve with his 3A consistency. It happened to Alysa too in Poland. It’s annoying when that happens, but I’m glad it did now. It will keep her from getting complacent and keep her more focused during the GP.

I’m sure she’s popping made about her careless mistakes after training so hard, so imagine she’ll be cleaner next time. I agree that her SS, posture, jumps and stamina have improved. Clearly keeping a simple layout to improve her consistency is working. Last year she score 159 for both her CS. This year she’s scored 181 and 169. Her PCS score is higher. I think it’s a step in the right direction.

 

[Bluediamonds09]

Megan Wessenberg now has a GP assignment.

Has anyone heard from Courtney Hicks lately? Does she have to go through regionals and sectionals to get to nationals this season?

Is Hanna Harrell fully recovered?

 

[frida80]

Megan Wessenberg now has a GP assignment.

Has anyone heard from Courtney Hicks lately? Does she have to go through regionals and sectionals to get to nationals this season?

Is Hanna Harrell fully recovered?

Hanna was supposed to be out of her boot a few weeks ago. She’s assigned to Asian Open with Gabriella. No word if Courtney will be at regionals. She’s been training again and has her 3F+3Lo back.

 

[princessalica]

I like what I've seen of Courtney on Instagram. There was always something rough about her jumps, but there have been some that are more elegant and have a better flow. (I may be describing it weirdly, but there was always something a little wonky about her jumps and most of her skating in general, but I do see an improvement.)

 

[Skater Boy]

I like Starr and I think she has some great power and attitude but she seems "lost" in finding her "look" or who she is on the ice. Then a few errors and it is a bit awkward but I think she has huge potential. Megan is also very good - but nothing stands out as wow - like huge jumps, beautiful spins, or amazing style or personality. Bradie looks to be moving in the right direction. Low key; not a lot of pressure. Consistent, growing arsenal of tech elements, getting better style. She could surprise everyone come worlds. Karen and Mariah are look competition ready too. Watch out world the US ladies are geting fierce.. Add in Hanna, Courtney and hopefully a healthy Ting not to mention the future has Liu - wow. Come Beijing US could be back on top (and puberty hitting Russia).

 

[frida80]

I like Starr and I think she has some great power and attitude but she seems "lost" in finding her "look" or who she is on the ice. Then a few errors and it is a bit awkward but I think she has huge potential. Megan is also very good - but nothing stands out as wow - like huge jumps, beautiful spins, or amazing style or personality. Bradie looks to be moving in the right direction. Low key; not a lot of pressure. Consistent, growing arsenal of tech elements, getting better style. She could surprise everyone come worlds. Karen and Mariah are look competition ready too. Watch out world the US ladies are geting fierce.. Add in Hanna, Courtney and hopefully a healthy Ting not to mention the future has Liu - wow. Come Beijing US could be back on top (and puberty hitting Russia).

Looking at the 3A, I’d say their not going to lose their jumps. Especially not Aloyna, with her SS. If we want to get back on the podium, we need triple axels, quads, and consistency.

 

[skatergurl7]

Looking at the 3A, I’d say their not going to lose their jumps. Especially not Aloyna, with her SS. If we want to get back on the podium, we need triple axels, quads, and consistency.

Yea of all of those girls listed, to compete with the Russians I think only Alysa at the moment has the potential. Unless Karen fixes her URs which going to college full time won’t help, or Mariah ups the tech content (she finally has 1 3-3 combo in the free). Karen and Mariah are stunning to watch but they can rarely get it together. The rest don’t have anything that particularly stands out. How many teams get 3 spots for the Olympics? If it’s 2 teams likely will go to Japan and Russia, and if so I hope our team consists of Alysa and Mariah.

 

[NanaPat]

How many teams get 3 spots for the Olympics? If it’s 2 teams likely will go to Japan and Russia, and if so I hope our team consists of Alysa and Mariah.

I don't think there's a fixed number of teams that get 3 spots for the Olympics. It's the same as worlds - two best finishing with a combined total placements of 13 or less at the previous worlds. Number getting that depends on distribution of skaters. In theory it can be 6: 1+12, 2+11, 3+10, 4+9, 5+8, 6+7. In fact, it never works out that way. There are always countries with only one skater (or three) in the top 12. Or you get 2nd with 12th instead of 11th, a no-go.

 

[skatergurl7]

I don't think there's a fixed number of teams that get 3 spots for the Olympics. It's the same as worlds - two best finishing with a combined total placements of 13 or less at the previous worlds. Number getting that depends on distribution of skaters. In theory it can be 6: 1+12, 2+11, 3+10, 4+9, 5+8, 6+7. In fact, it never works out that way. There are always countries with only one skater (or three) in the top 12. Or you get 2nd with 12th instead of 11th, a no-go.

Ah gotcha, so next year’s worlds will determine our number of spots for the Olympics? Time flies

 

[macy]

Ah gotcha, so next year’s worlds will determine our number of spots for the Olympics? Time flies

yes, 2021 worlds.

 

[natsulian]

I would’ve loved to see Amber Glenn get a second Grand Prix considering she’s scored higher than Megan and Starr thus far. I hope she gets a second CS.