2021 U.S. Nationals: Senior Ladies - Short Program

[alexocfp]

No doubt we have our problems. Do you believe the answer is to add other problems to our bucket in hopes of getting a shiny shiny medal?

American girls aren’t medaling consistently not because they aren’t working hard, but because there are other countries that have more talented skaters and are doing something way better at the moment.

Funding also has a lot to do with it. When you are sponsored by Gazprom and Nissan, you know money will be no object and they will allow for the best training, best coaches, best facilities, best nutrition, etc.

 

[Dogo]

Just when I thought she couldn't be "invoked" like a ghost from a ouija board game, she comes back from the depths of Moria... (ok, I'm just kidding people).

Can we, maybe for the love of the American green gecko, not drag Eteri into this US Nationals conversation? I'm sure she is needed in other threads.

 

[rollerblade]

 

[Dogo]

My highlight of the night was Alysa and Bradie! Wishing them the best tomorrow. My heart is biased and I want my bright girl Alysa to demonstrate to all the trolls that they shouldn't have written her off and win this whole thing (including Dave Lease who was making unnecessary emotional remarks on her retirement bc puberty, like...wtf Dave), but I'll be a good sport and congratulate Bradie if she does . If Bradie skates well, she will definitely deserve the title.

Karen, Amber, and Mariah looking great/great-good/good in that order.

Shame about Gracie, Starr and Audrey but they are fighters and hopefully will come back stronger tomorrow.

 

[alexocfp]

My highlight of the night was Alysa and Bradie! Wishing them the best tomorrow. My heart is biased and I want my bright girl Alysa to demonstrate to all the trolls that they shouldn't have written her off and win this whole thing (including Dave Lease who was making unnecessary emotional remarks on her retirement bc puberty, like...wtf Dave), but I'll be a good sport and congratulate Bradie if she does . If Bradie skates well, she will definitely deserve the title.

Karen, Amber, and Mariah looking great/great-good/good in that order.

Shame about Gracie, Starr and Audrey but they are fighters and hopefully will come back stronger tomorrow.

No reason Alysa can’t win. 3 points is not an insurmountable lead.

Alysa, I believe, was the salesperson of the day; she was able to extract every last hundredth of a point out of that SP.

 

[draqq]

More than a few uncalled under-rotated jumps. Lots of under-rotations (at minimum q's) that were left on the board by the judges. I actually agree with Johnny that the sport need to invest on more camera angles on jumps. You can't have a system that asks for absolute precision between q, <, and << without having the technology to back that up.

But regardless, good for Bradie and Alysa on their performances today, and good on Amber for going for that 3A. I'm hoping that they skate well in the free and that Audrey and Mariah can make a comeback tomorrow.

 

[Icey]

is there a vid of Gracie's short? I can't seem to find one.

 

[BabySloth]

is there a vid of Gracie's short? I can't seem to find one.

- YouTube

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This screen recorded version is the best I could find. But at least the audio isn't muted. (it's blocked now unfortunately)
Here's another version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsgkXReciW4

 

[jenaj]

My highlight of the night was Alysa and Bradie! Wishing them the best tomorrow. My heart is biased and I want my bright girl Alysa to demonstrate to all the trolls that they shouldn't have written her off and win this whole thing (including Dave Lease who was making unnecessary emotional remarks on her retirement bc puberty, like...wtf Dave), but I'll be a good sport and congratulate Bradie if she does .

I agree! Those who I will not name claimed that Alysa had bad technique that was inevitably going to fail her, poor skating skills and threw shade on her for her growth spurt. Alysa had the only clean skate of the night if you count Bradie's uncalled under-rotation. She can win this thing if she skates a clean long. She has two 3-3s that previously she did in the second half of her program. Her high TES wasn't only about the 3A and quad.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

But you still put yourselves through it, don’t you?

And if you don‘t someone else will.

Call it unhealthy, unethical, or whatever. But the fact remains that in order to be the best, you have to make a lot of sacrifices. And let’s face it, as spectators we benefit because of that mentality.

I can’t, and won’t, condemn any athlete that has a take no prisoners approach. I love Eteri‘s school and the skating it produces. People willingly go there.

And I love that they want to be even better.

Through it? So training our behinds off, and so on, healthy eating for most of us (there needs to be more education to make it all of us). There are many ways and many of us who have made healthy and positive sacrifices for the top of the sport. But overall, the point is, no one should be starving themselves and it doesn't make them a "better athlete."
It just makes them sick and weak and in need of intense counseling, etc and no one needs to be that way and it should not be encouraged. There is a reason why Eteri's camp has many skaters who retire at 17, and it's not a good one.
Supporting a negative training environment that potentially hurts the skaters more than it helps them is just out of line thinking.

I support skaters like Gracie and others who have faced their skating driven eating disorders and other mental health issues and fight back against it by getting the help they need and continuing on a path of positivity. And if someone doesn't then they need to check themselves and their mental maturity level.

Now enough of this, and let's get back to the US Ladies competing in Vegas.

 

[moonvine]

I don't think the lack of medals is due to some higher standard of morality.

I don’t think it is a morality issue. I said I did not think it was mentally heathy.

where are you even getting that Eteri tells her skaters they are “losers” if they don’t come in first place or that the Russian ladies are unhealthy? If you are referring to their size, maybe they are just naturally small.
I feel like none of this stuff has ever been proven and people throw it out there just to hate on them.

Just when I thought she couldn't be "invoked" like a ghost from a ouija board game, she comes back from the depths of Moria... (ok, I'm just kidding people).

Can we, maybe for the love of the American green gecko, not drag Eteri into this US Nationals conversation? I'm sure she is needed in other threads.

It is my fault. I do not ever look at Russian skating threads and did not know. A person suggested we send skaters to development camps in various other countries because that person believes these unnamed other countries practice training techniques illegal in the US. I believe doing so would be unwise. HTH.

 

[moonvine]

More than a few uncalled under-rotated jumps. Lots of under-rotations (at minimum q's) that were left on the board by the judges. I actually agree with Johnny that the sport need to invest on more camera angles on jumps. You can't have a system that asks for absolute precision between q, <, and << without having the technology to back that up.

But regardless, good for Bradie and Alysa on their performances today, and good on Amber for going for that 3A. I'm hoping that they skate well in the free and that Audrey and Mariah can make a comeback tomorrow.

I agree with the more camera angles as well. I hear this often in NCAA gymnastics. “That handstand was under rotated but we don’t know if the judges can see it.” Of course the football team has plenty cameras

 

[moonvine]

I agree! Those who I will not name claimed that Alysa had bad technique that was inevitably going to fail her, poor skating skills and threw shade on her for her growth spurt. Alysa had the only clean skate of the night if you count Bradie's uncalled under-rotation. She can win this thing if she skates a clean long. She has two 3-3s that previously she did in the second half of her program. Her high TES wasn't only about the 3A and quad.

Alysa’s skating is not my cup of tea. That being said it is out of order to criticize someone over a growth spurt that is entirely out of order. And US Fed needs to stop putting so much pressure on these young athletes. Remember the “next Michelle Kwan” Caroline Zhang? I believe there are 3, possibly even 4 ladies who could win. Alysa is certainly one. If Bradie skates an equivalent long program to the short program she laid down I believe she will win.

 

[alexocfp]

Through it? So training our behinds off, and so on, healthy eating for most of us (there needs to be more education to make it all of us). There are many ways and many of us who have made healthy and positive sacrifices for the top of the sport. But overall, the point is, no one should be starving themselves and it doesn't make them a "better athlete."
It just makes them sick and weak and in need of intense counseling, etc and no one needs to be that way and it should not be encouraged. There is a reason why Eteri's camp has many skaters who retire at 17, and it's not a good one.
Supporting a negative training environment that potentially hurts the skaters more than it helps them is just out of line thinking.

I support skaters like Gracie and others who have faced their skating driven eating disorders and other mental health issues and fight back against it by getting the help they need and continuing on a path of positivity. And if someone doesn't then they need to check themselves and their mental maturity level.

Now enough of this, and let's get back to the US Ladies competing in Vegas.

It’s also the reason why they are heads and shoulders above the rest of the world.

“Negative training environment” is an opinion. There are an overflow of skaters that are willingly going through it. The will to win, the mental toughness, those hours and hours of hard practice are all positive traits.

And I’m happy Gold is doing great, but she wasn’t complaining when she was winning.

I’m just sick of this narrative that all these skaters are manipulated people, that can’t think for themselves, and are driven to starve themselves and are mentally broken.

I see more that go on to have great lives. Skaters are as well rounded athletes that you will find. They as a whole are of above average intelligence.

To tie it into yesterday, there was nothing we saw yesterday from US nationals that showed that the top ladies can be competitive with the best of the rest of the world.

 

[sworddance21]

I just watched the replay of Gracie's skate. (Will watch the rest shortly). Just wanted to take a minute to say that - while I know it wasn't the skate she wanted - she looks fit and wonderful. And THAT DRESS!!

 

[norwegianfairytale]

I just watched the replay of Gracie's skate. (Will watch the rest shortly). Just wanted to take a minute to say that - while I know it wasn't the skate she wanted - she looks fit and wonderful. And THAT DRESS!!

I totally agree with you! I havn´t been able to watch all the ladies yet, but the first thing I tried to find, was a replay of Gracies skating. I know it wasn´t perfect and she wasn´t satisfied, but the difference from this SP and Skate America is big. She didn´t pop the jumps, and she looked in much better shape. It was the first thing I noticed, she looked so good. The dress and the hair was perfect. I have a feeling her FS will be much better. Rooting for her

 

[norwegianfairytale]

is there a vid of Gracie's short? I can't seem to find one.

- YouTube

Auf YouTube findest du die angesagtesten Videos und Tracks. Außerdem kannst du eigene Inhalte hochladen und mit Freunden oder gleich der ganzen Welt teilen.

www.youtube.com

This screen recorded version is the best I could find. But at least the audio isn't muted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsgkXReciW4 Here is one in better quality If I only could find one of Bradie with music... but as I understand it was muted everywhere because of copyright issue?

 

[auser]

Through it? So training our behinds off, and so on, healthy eating for most of us (there needs to be more education to make it all of us). There are many ways and many of us who have made healthy and positive sacrifices for the top of the sport. But overall, the point is, no one should be starving themselves and it doesn't make them a "better athlete."
It just makes them sick and weak and in need of intense counseling, etc and no one needs to be that way and it should not be encouraged. There is a reason why Eteri's camp has many skaters who retire at 17, and it's not a good one.
Supporting a negative training environment that potentially hurts the skaters more than it helps them is just out of line thinking.

I support skaters like Gracie and others who have faced their skating driven eating disorders and other mental health issues and fight back against it by getting the help they need and continuing on a path of positivity. And if someone doesn't then they need to check themselves and their mental maturity level.

Now enough of this, and let's get back to the US Ladies competing in Vegas.

Great post Ic3Rabbit.

 

[moonvine]

It’s also the reason why they are heads and shoulders above the rest of the world.

“Negative training environment” is an opinion. There are an overflow of skaters that are willingly going through it. The will to win, the mental toughness, those hours and hours of hard practice are all positive traits.

And I’m happy Gold is doing great, but she wasn’t complaining when she was winning.

I’m just sick of this narrative that all these skaters are manipulated people, that can’t think for themselves, and are driven to starve themselves and are mentally broken.

I see more that go on to have great lives. Skaters are as well rounded athletes that you will find. They as a whole are of above average intelligence.

To tie it into yesterday, there was nothing we saw yesterday from US nationals that showed that the top ladies can be competitive with the best of the rest of the world.

And Ic3rabbit is a former elite skater who has no possible reason I can think of to “create a narrative.”

 

[moonvine]

I totally agree with you! I havn´t been able to watch all the ladies yet, but the first thing I tried to find, was a replay of Gracies skating. I know it wasn´t perfect and she wasn´t satisfied, but the difference from this SP and Skate America is big. She didn´t pop the jumps, and she looked in much better shape. It was the first thing I noticed, she looked so good. The dress and the hair was perfect. I have a feeling her FS will be much better. Rooting for her

She is in GREAT shape. I watched the NBCSN commentary and Johnny mentioned her practice jumps looked like the Gracie of old. Best of all she has a new sponsor, so hopefully she will have enough money to concentrate on skating and not scrambling for money (I hope).