#4CC 2018

[yuzu-all-the-way]

Mixed photos from Number Bushun (125)

[sunskate]

Kaitlin Hawayek & Jean-Luc Baker Gala Exhibition 2018

[rabidline]

Japanese Skaters' Favorite Shoma Uno Programs and Their Reasons

This was in the Figure Skating Team Japan Fan Book for the 2024-2025 season, which had Shoma on its cover along with both a pretty substantial Shoma interview and Stephane interview about Shoma.

For Shoma's retirement, the magazine made a special column to include the active Japanese skaters (and Satoko) messages to Shoma, as well as their favorite Shoma programs. A friend helped in sharing and translating just the favorite Shoma programs part:

Sota Yamamoto: I love so many programs. Loco is the best for me because it’s unique and cool. Turandot 2.0 (2017-2018), when I had a difficult season because of my injury, this program encouraged me. Stairway To Heaven... brushing his hair upward is so cool. Great Spirit and Dancing On My Own (2019 Nationals) He graduated from Grand Prix Tokai and struggled but he could be National champion. I was so moved and almost cried. I love Bolero. Gravity and Air On The G String, he could perform not only powerful but loss of strength and I could learn from him.

Yuma Kagiyama: I love so many programs. Loco is the best. I love Great Spirit so I chose Believer last season (2022-2024 SP). I watched and watched Great Spirit on YouTube and I can skate its step sequence.

Shun Sato: Of course I love Ladies in Lavender. And Great Spirit.

Kazuki Tomono: I love Legends (2015-2016) so much because it’s first SP as a senior skater. His image as a skater changed a lot and it was impressive.

Koshiro Shimada: I love Loco at Helsinki Worlds (2017) the best. And Everything Everywhere All At Once and Bolero. At first Shoma mentioned about Bolero, “It’s so difficult and I can’t.” Finally he could do great performance and win at Worlds (2022) and it was what Stephane wanted to see I think. I was so moved and I almost got goosebumps.

Kao Miura: I love Loco the best because the balance of powerful and sensitive movements is good. I love Bolero because he seems to reach his limits. Not only jumps but each movement were so great and the last he seems to collapse because he skates so hard. I love it so much.

Nozomu Yoshioka: I love 2019-2020 season Great Spirit and Dancing On My Own. Nobody skates for such a number like Great Spirit and it’s so exciting. I like a stop before step sequence and before 3A and it’s so cool program. He struggled first half of the season so I was so moved to see Dancing On My Own at (2019) Nationals.

Tatsuya Tsuboi: I love Turandot 1.0 the best. When I was novice skater I saw his senior debut GPF (2015) and he got a bronze medal. It was so impressive and I was so moved.

Kaori Sakamoto: I love Moonlight. This season he won 4CC title. Second year 4th place, third year 3rd place, fourth year 2nd place, and finally he got gold medal. He seemed very happy on the podium and both program and costume were great. Everything was perfect.

Mone Chiba: I love the last season’s SP, Everything Everywhere All At Once, because I love the atmosphere. His step sequence expresses powerfulness and gracefulness. It’s great program so I feel it too short.

Rinka Watanabe: I love Moonlight because I’d like to express like that. His skating is like a clear (not hazy) night and it’s great.

Rion Sumiyoshi: I love many programs. I love Air On The G String because I sometimes skate it for skating lessons. It’s a very simple music but he can tell a story and he can bring a joy to audience. His technique is great.

Mai Mihara: I love many programs and each has a charm. If I choose one program, I’ll choose Turandot 2.0. Especially cantilever is really great and I was so moved and I almost got goosebumps. Both skating and expression were great.

Hana Yoshida: I have two programs in my mind. If I choose one program, I’ll choose Bolero. I forget the name… small pattern…Great Spirit? I love the step sequence and I’d like to rewatch it.

Yuna Aoki: Turandot 2.0 is so impressive because I love princely costume and I feel his powerfulness from this program. I love it so much.

Wakaba Higuchi: I love Bolero and Turandot so much. I could see Bolero at ice shows many times and it’s impressive.

Satoko Miyahara: I love Bolero the best. Turandot 2.0 is impressive. I also love gala program Padam Padam and I always think it great.

Rino Matsuike: I love Bolero. I used to skate Moonlight, so It’s so special for me. When Mihoko-sensei choreographed this program, she said “When the music started, audience was so focused on his performance from the first moment. (He could bring audience to his world.) When I am training, I think “I’d like to perform like him.”

[jennibeultimate]

Women Podium @ GPF 2023 FS

Congratulations to all medalist! 🥳🥳🥳

Congrats on Kaori for completing a grand slam! 2018 4CC champion, 2022 and 2023 World Champion, 2024 GPF champion! 🥇🥇🥇🥇

[myjunkisyuzuruhanyu]

I am sorry that Yuzu's divorce annoucement fires up discussions about Fanyus again and that the MEDIA harassment that caused the divorce to happen is pushed aside over it BUT I am still kind of perplex about the level of delusion from some Fanyus about their own fanbase and the impact the fandom has on Yuzu's life in general...

This is MY opinion, feel free to disagree...

The MEDIA caused Yuzu trouble - this time maybe even beyond repair 😢 and I am still not over this - BUT it's not like Fanyus don't have any fans among them with disrespectful behavior that caused Yuzu discomfort. Who I personally question and want to adress with this post are those who see "no wrong" in the Fanyu fandom and aren't able to acknowledge bad behavior that did cause Yuzu personally trouble. And even things done in good faith can cause discomfort. This is not to put some Fanyus questionable behavior and media harassment on the same scale, which is not, BUT there were a lot of "unsafe" moments created for Yuzu by his own fans, some that have impacted Yuzu's personal life or invaded privacy as well.

Here are some examples for unsafe moments throughout his amateur career: For example Yuzu being to afraid to go on his own to the rink in CANADA bc ppl kept following him (you think these were all "journalists"?) and FANS put a huge poster - a paid aid even - on the bus stop he used to get off to the rink in Canada to congratulate him a couple of times(a cute thing per se but it shows how fans tracked his habits to know he'd see it). At ACI 2019 fans ran after the car they saw him getting into and almost even caused an accident (there was a huge uproar among Fanyus how some acted disrespectful). In Helsinki 2018 the crowd waited outside the VIP door in hundreds and ppl expected him to walk through a pushing crowd, security didn't walk him through this instead he went through a backdoor and even there were fans showing the camera into his face though he didn't want it. (I saw this myself from afar bc I was leaving the building at the same time to catch my flight). Yuzu almost hiding behind Brian Orser at 4CC 2020 at the airport, yes media was present too, but fans waited there for him. At Beijing 2022 fans released a photo of Yuzu AND HIS MOTHER at the airport and shared it among fans. (I am even sadly complicit in this bc I also shared the pic without realizing that it was his mother and not an authorized pic. I took it down immediately,but damage is still done) Yuzu has dozens of bodyguards around him at airports as seen in for example in Pyeongchang 2018 or 4CC 2020 and that's not only because of the media. Yuzu stopped meeting fans at events a long time ago because of the fans behavior. I think the last ppl who got a pic with Yuzu was some lil time after Sochi 2014. These are just a few examples. I don't say all these things are done with malicious intention, maybe even just meant as showing support but the "love" goes way beyond for some for what is respectful. Yes maybe these examples were not stalking his home but Sendai isn't really that huge of a city and ice rink Sendai doesn't say for no reason that they don't accept gifts for Yuzu and that ppl should act respectful. That's not targeted at the media but at ordinary ppl and fans trying to catch glimpses of Yuzu.

Yes most Fanyus condemn the Tabloid papers, but still even raging about wrong articles and retweeting and reblogging with comments to take the articles down give the articles attention. To say only non-Fanyus read those articles is delusional as to know what's wrong about an article you unfortunately have to read it yourself.

It is a known fact that Yuzu has a huge hater base, especially in Japan, but I think Fanyus have a much higher number and are a much securer target audience for media than the haters. So haters may buy tabloid articles but the ones buying everything with Yuzu's name on it or for example track what Yuzu is wearing are fans. "Hanyuconomy" is something Fanyus are really proud of, don't you think some fans still end up buying those tabloid papers for Yuzu's pic in it? And non-Japanese speaking Fanyus may not even realize that an article or magazine is tabloid stuff and problematic?

And if you think Fanyus are all sweet and unproblematic than ask the multiple fans of other skaters who got bullied by Fanyus online just for their opinions. Fanyus even bullied their own fans of sns for example they bullied two Fanyu translators off Twitter bc they didn't liked the wording or bc god forbid they made a mistake or bc translations have been misinterepreted. I have experienced my share of hatred from Fanyus online as well. I personally don't even like to call myself a Fanyu bc of how rabid Fanyus treat other fans though this whole blog once was just started bc of my fan love for Yuzu. Fanyus even made me enjoy Yuzu content less! There is a reason for other skaters fandom's calling Fanyus toxic. A huge number of Fanyus come from KPop and act according to the KPop fandom and we all know that fandom isn't unproblematic. I swear the view on Fanyus worsened over the years. It's sad because the majority of Fanyus is kind and respectful, but the ones who cause trouble fall back on the fandom as a whole.

Just the reaction by some Fanyus about both the marriage annoucement, you can definetly tell that not all Fanyus think the same way.

Fanyus is not an entity with one brain. These are multiple fans with different behavior and I strongly believe the majority is like me sad and shocked about Yuzu's divorce news and the media treatment, but you or me we cannot speak for ALL Fanyus. There are different opinions and nuances within the Fanyu fandom and that's ok. Everyone is entitled to their own feelings and opinions and their way to support Yuzu. The bigger the crowd though, the more bad apples. We can ofc discuss if those bad apples can even be called "fans" but they'd call themselves Fanyus anyway and that falls back on Fanyu fandom, fair or not.

Fanyus made Yuzu bigger than the sport, more than just an athlete by bringing his fandom to new heights. It is not a bad thing per se, but with this kind of attention unfortunately the interest in this person grew beyond results and skating. He cannot be just an athlete, he didn't ask for being a celebrity but he is one and he wouldn't be one if not for the huge fandom. To say that the fandom has no impact at all on his personal situation is naive.

I am not blaming the Fanyus for Yuzu's divorce BUT imo Fanyus cannot deny their own impact and problematic behavior among them and I think it's important to have a conversation about Fanyus behavior and how to be a better fandom. But sure saying "Yuzu said it was media so we do everything alright" is so much easier than acknowledging problems among ourseleves. (Yes I am including myself there too because if I like it or not I am also part of this Fanyu fandom and atm I can't say I like it and I still feel so incredibly sorry for Yuzu)

Sorry this got out of hand again...well I said what I said...

[merionettes]

rubicon program references

due to the slow death of twitter i'm collecting my program links here. (almost) none of the rubicon skates are meant to be identical to real life programs, but some of the inspiration is pretty one-to-one… and some is a little less direct.

if you find yourself region blocked, try a free vpn - i recommend the veepn browser extension (firefox | chrome) or proton. 

if you only have so much time, i've starred the most important ones. if you want more… i have so many more.

chapter one

**tessa virtue/scott moir - mahler no. 5 (olympics 2010)

chapter two

tessa virtue/scott moir - carmen (worlds 2013)

kaitlyn weaver/andrew poje - the way you make me feel (canadian nationals 2017) | bonus worlds finish

chapter three

nadia bashynska/peter beaumont - romeo & juliet (gp espoo 2023)

maia shibutani/alex shibutani - smile (4cc 2011)

**michelle kwan - tosca (us nationals 2004) | music

chapter four

**meryl davis/charlie white - scheherazade (olympics 2014)

shizuka arakawa - turandot (olympics 2006)

**alexei yagudin - winter (olympics 2002)

chapter five

daisuke takahashi - blues for klook (worlds 2013)

mirai nagasu - pirates of the caribbean (olympics 2010)

chapter six

miki ando - the mission (4cc 2011)

meryl davis/charlie white - my fair lady (olympics 2014)

chapter seven

katarina witt - where have all the flowers gone (olympics 1994)

chapter eight

mao asada - bells of moscow (olympics 2010)

shoma uno - dancing on my own (internationaux de france 2019)

chapter nine & ten

mao asada - rachmaninov no. 2 (olympics 2014)

kazuki tomono - one more time (rostelecom cup 2018 gala)

tessa virtue/scott moir - what's love got to do with it (niagara ice show 2016)

yuna kim - les misérables (all that skate 2013)

ensemble - uptown funk (ice fantasia 2019)

chapter eleven

madison chock/evan bates - touch/contact (olympics 2022 team event)

chapter twelve

yuzuru hanyu - romeo and juliet (worlds 2012)

chapter thirteen

tatsuki machida - east of eden (worlds 2014)

johnny weir - the swan (olympics 2006)

kaitlin hawayek/jean-luc baker - feeling good (us nationals 2017)

tessa virtue/scott moir - prince medley (worlds 2017)

chapter fourteen

**jeremy abbott - lilies of the valley (olympics 2014)

nathan chen - le corsaire (us nationals 2017)

chapter fifteen

yuzuru hanyu - heaven and earth (olympics 2022)

denis ten - the artist (worlds 2013)

chapter sixteen & seventeen

ashley wagner - moulin rouge (us nationals 2015)

chapter eighteen

kaori sakamoto - elastic heart (worlds 2023)

shoma uno - dancing on my own (japan nationals 2019)

**adam rippon - arrival of the birds (olympics 2018)

chapter nineteen

michelle kwan - fields of gold (olympics 2002)

**tessa virtue/scott moir - moulin rouge (olympics 2018)

epilogue

tessa virtue/scott moir - long time running (olympics 2018 gala)

bonus 

the rippon lutz (quad edition)

stationary lift BASE?

f/f ice dance feat. madison hubbell and gabrielle papadakis

best of kpop in figure skating

fs dynamics 101

[seafood-33]

The bromance between two athletes which moved and encouraged me for several years. I made a list by time for them. (not finished yet)

2010

2010-12-08 First time in same match

2011

2011-09-23 Second time in same match

2011-11-26 First podium of yuzuvier

2011-11-28 Side by side group photo

2011-12-10 Javier's solid 4T and 4S

2012

2012-03-27 Skate together in sunny rink

2012-04-25 Yuzuru change coach

2012-05-07 Yuzuru went to TCC

2012-07-28 Yuzuru want steal jump

2012-08-07 Javier help with smile

2012-08-20 Black-top costume of PW

2012-10-01 How to steal jump

2012-10-05 Epic Finlandia trophy

2012-10-06 Members brochure of TCC

2012-11-22 Yuzuru want to see Javier

2012-11-25 Javier clap for Yuzuru

2012-11-30 Watching each other

2012-12-06 Japanese team pants

2013

2013-01-26 Yuzuru is strong & beautiful

2013-01-27 Same color medal of 4CC

2013-02-10 Javier support Yuzuru's 4S

2013-03-17 Small medal thief

2013-05-23 Yuzuru is part of my life

2013-07-06 Don't leave Javier in Canada

2013-07-27 Yuzuru limit, Javier allowed

2013-11-16 Notre Dame de Paris

2014

2014-02-07 Yuzuru seeking Javier

2014-03-24 Yuzuru ducking for Javier

2014-03-28 Skating after Yuzuru

2014-04-06 Pooh is gone, best pic

2014-06-13 Javier's sight

2014-06-22 Yuzuru's 4Lo celebration

2014-07-05 Sore loser or stubborn

2014-11-27 Good luck, I'll support you

2014-12-07 Happy birthday to Yuzuru

2014-12-12 Yuzuru speak in Spainish

2014-12-14 Three words describe Javi

2015

2015-03-19 Yuzuru missed us

2015-03-24 We are everything

2015-03-27 Photos in Worlds 2015

2015-03-28 Always my champion

2015-03-28 Good and bad points

2015-03-28 He was happy for me

2015-03-29 Javier like a big brother

2015-04-02 Javier fly over to help

2015-04-19 Compare upper arm

2015-05-28 Yuzuru reach Javier's hand

2015-06-01 Javier comfort me

2015-10-21 Watching Javier help me

2015-11-28 Yuzuru copy goat noise

2015-12-10 You can do it

2016

2016-03-30 Tracy comment

2016-04-01 My winner

2016-04-02 Gesture about to kiss

2016-04-07 Brian comment

2016-04-11 When look up at

2016-04-27 Yuzuru sniff pooh

2016-05-14 As a rival even more

2016-06-29 Support, motivate, learn

2016-12-07 Javier sing Happy Bday

2016-12-11 Gala

2017

2017-02-17 I owe what I won, to him

2017-04-01 I told you last year

2017-04-02 Gala, Vamos and meme

2017-04-23 Japanese team table

2017-05-25 Cats' eyes choreography

2017-09-28 Yuzuru waiting for Javier

2018

2018-02-17 OG 2018 green room

2018-02-17 I can't do it without you

2018-02-18 Some coincide of Seimei

2018-02-18 Friends when leave the rink

2018-02-20 There are some conflicts

2018-02-28 Finally Spanish media

2018-03-01 I think it's admirable

2018-03-03 Yuzuru cried the most

2018-03-30 Wonderful experience

2018-04-15 During CiONTU

2018-04-17 Some tough moment

2018-05-28 Yuzuru find Javier

2018-06-18 Prohibition order

2018-07-25 He wanted to be the first

2018-09-05 Yuzuru is from comic

2018-09-06 The back 3-turn into 4S

2018-12-12 I just miss Javier

2018-12-13 150th between Japan&Spain

2019

2019-01-06 Reunited in TCC

2019-01-22 Thanks for your allow

2019-01-27 That teach you a lot

2019-01-23 Can I take a day off too

2019-01-24 When they fall to bottom

2019-01-29 Another story

2019-02-01 Skating like breathing air

2019-03-24 Reunited in banquet

2019-05-26 I wish go on forever

2019-06-15 Sit in one chair

2019-06-18 Yuzuru's eye power

2019-09-12 Reunite and hug, smiling

2019-10-31 Spain-Japan fundation

2019-11-28 I will put him in the show

2019-12-07 I wish with Javi, but

2019-12-12 Last hug before COVID

2020

2020-02-09 Finally do it

2020-04-04 Shibsibs photo

2020-05-14 Sudden tickling happening

2020-10-16 Looking forward to see you

2020-10-23 Friendship overcome rivalry

2020-10-29 Share training with rival

2020-12-26 Something super special

2021

2021-01-29 Warrior and absolute hero

2021-03-26 Yuzu has no rival this time

2021-03-28 Mind of fighter and winner

2021-11-30 Javier like Yuzuru's new CM

2022

2022-02-01 Olympics channel

2022-02-03 Bond stronger than family

2022-02-11 Give you a hug first

2022-05-27 Yuzuru: I always miss you

2022-06-02 Dialogue in pamphlets

2022-06-11 Piggyback

2022-06-18 FaOI 2022 closed rehearsal

2022-06-26 I don't want to leave Javi

2022-07-21 Yuzuru from another world

2022-07-23 Never a rival so kind

2022-12-01 Javier skate music of origin

--

2023-02-27 I always practice alone

...

[tutuandscoot]

I finally watched and the waltz goes on for the first time I’ve been putting it off so long. And it was gorgeous! Not my top favorites or anything but god they know how to waltz. Such grace. What are your thoughts on it? I watched a few different versions and yeah they did struggle here and there. I thought the commentary for the worlds version was a tad bit harsh? But idk I for sure don’t have the best technical eye.

Yeah I really like that program. I think it’s so sweet. They changed it quite a bit between the GP series and the second half of the season. I really liked the qwerky touches of the first version with the fixed feet and playful moments between them- it was still a very traditional kind of dance but those little choreographic/story touches made it interesting.

They’ve aluded to this being quite a rough season with small injuries not to mention M + I splitting up so now both TS and DW had to share Marina as their main coach. I’m not to assume what specific difficulties all that brought them in their actual performances but yes it was clear this wasn’t their most ‘effortless’ season.

Like you I have hardly any technical knowledge but I do feel they were judged extremely harshly in general that season and were not rewarded for their creativity, innovation, along with the running theme of their career their superior chemistry not being accounted for in the performance score. As for the twizzles at worlds I’ve seen MUCH WORSE twizzle mishaps judged kinder (ie pc SD in 2018 SOMEHOW got lvl 4 which I mean if that’s not an indication of it being fixed idk what is!) I mean TS’s wasn’t even a mishap they only opened slightly off time to each other so not that I understand the scoring and requirements for various levels (and I haven’t looked at the protocols) but I would only say should be a small quality deduction.

My favourite overall performance of Waltz was 4CC it was by far the most effortless, joyous, they were so happy at the end. It was such a shame with what happened in the FD bc they were leading after the SD and I felt up until the mishap Carmen was going so well they should’ve won. I also really like the nationals skate and although I’m often bothered by Tracey Wilson’s commentary, when she starts saying ‘look what they’re doing..(I don’t remember what she says exactly) but what she’s getting at is like when I say that TS are just so much better than everyone else and a lot of it is these teeny tiny things like unison and connection and being true dancers that most people just don’t appreciate enough when the rest of us say that they are the best ever.

I actually started watching the SD from Worlds 2013 (it’s on YT with Czech commentary) and in regards to the Polka portion TS have so much more bounce, body movement, their edges are superior, elongation- syncopation and finishing their lines then speeding up on the quicker steps (while being perfectly in the music). The other teams I’ve watched so far are very bland, everything is on one level both physically and musically. TS always manage to make the compulsory portions highlights in their programs and make them memorable moments rather than boring steps everyone has to do.

I think this program was a great example of it not necessarily being their most memorable program or the one you think of when you say ‘VirtueMoir’ but at the same time it is perfectly them because of the way they dance- waltz can be considered quite boring but they really truly dance it- I love, I think it’s someone from BESP says it’s like a mini FD because you forget about the elements and just enjoy them dancing. It was a great character piece for them- not as obvious characters as say Carmen or MR but they really took you to that village setting- like the first act of Coppelia or Giselle. It also was another reason to highlight their versatility in their body of work, obviously they had no choice they had to do a waltz/polka but when you line all their programs up it’s not like they had done a very similar dance before of after it.

[gogogogolev]

Skate Ontario's protocol for Stephen's SP. We have a weird new system with no PDFs and it's terrible but anyways.

Stephen debuted his new SP yesterday in Waterloo. An angsty program set to Disturbed's cover of the Simon & Garfunkel song The Sound of Silence. Lee was with him again, thank goodness.

The last Canadian man to use Sound of Silence memorably was Elladj Balde. He had a beautiful moment with this at 2018 Nationals. Hopefully Stephen can give us more memorable moments.

Technically it looks like he is still attempting two quads. He really managed to save that 4T. He seems to be in a better place than when we last saw him in Japan. At least this score, which is actually very realistic (PCS are on point with what he got at 4CC for comparison) is higher than the SP scores he has been getting as of late. His height appears to still be hindering the flow he gets out of his quads but he might be making progress on the mental side of things.

After his skate Stephen cheered on Bruce. Then, after changing, he had a lengthy chat with Skate Canada high performance director Mike Slipchuk. He is expected to skate 3rd in the FS today.

It's late so let's sort more things out later.

[dreamsburntdown]

After very silent months in the summer of 2016, we got news that Yuzuru was back in training, and a bit later, that he would skate to two new programs in the upcoming 2016/17 season. Yuzu chose 'Let's Go Crazy' by Prince for his new short program, which was again choreographed by Jeff Buttle. For his new free program he chose Japanese contemporary classical music, View of Silence and Asian Dream Song by Joe Hisaishi and he named his program 'Hope and Legacy'. It was chorographed by Shae-Lynn Bourne.

Yuzu started the season at the Autumn Classic International in Canada where he became the first man who landed the quadruple Loop at a competition when he landed it in his short program. We could see his quad Loops at galas before, but it was finally time to introduce it at competitions, too. It was Yuzu's own decision (as opposed to Brian Orser's), and later it turned out that it was a very smart decision from him.

His new SP was fun, intricate, with extremely difficult step sequence, or spins. Even if the 4Lo was a new jump for Yuzu, he put it in both the SP and FS. He also changed to 4T-3T combination to 4S-3T in the SP. His new free program was beautiful, elegant, and very complex from start to finish with great choreography, transitions in and out of the elements and great spins as well. Yuzu increased the difficulty of his jumps, he not just added 4Lo, but he had 4 quads and 2 triple Axels overall, from which there were two quad Salchows, the second one in a combination in the second half of the program. The triple Axels were also in the second half.

In the Grand Prix Series, Yuzu won the NHK Trophy. It was this competition where he changed his white costume in the SP to a purple one, which was even more form fitting than the white costume. The NHK Trophy short programs were in the morning on Friday in Europe so it meant that I had to watch it at my workplace - in secrectly, of course! I still remember vividly when I saw in the warm-up that he had purple pants on, and seconds later he took off the jacket and the top of his costume was also purple. I smiled so much but I had to contain myself there. The program was very rock starish but in a different way than Parisienne Walkways, when Yuzu was still a teenager. The SP was great choice and the costume looked great on him. Not many could wear a costume like that, but Yuzu could do it!

So, at the Grand Prix Final Yuzu became the first (and so far only) male skater who won four consecutive gold medals. His SP was the best there in the season even if the landing from the 4Lo wasn't completely perfect.

Yuzu decided to compete at the Four Continents too, which was held in PyeongChang, in the arena which would host the Olympics in 2018. The last time Yuzu was at 4CC was in 2013. He again collected a silver medal, albeit he would have deserved to win this time. The sudden rise of points, especially the components of the young American Chen raised eyebrows.

I was a bit sad that I couldn't watch Yuzu in person in 2015/16 especially because GPF was held in Barcelona then. So I decided not to miss the opportunity and I traveled to Helsinki for the World Championships to watch Yuzu and cheer for him. It was a really important competition, firstly because it was the qualifying Worlds for the 2018 Olympics and also because Yuzu didn't win in 2015 or 2016 either. The pressure on him was so much.

Helsinki Worlds was the most exciting competition of my life and I won't forget what I saw there. The rollercoster of emotions was overwhelming.

In the SP, Yuzuru kneeled down from the landing after his 4S, so he couldn't add a Triple Toe-loop on it (the 2T he added got invalidated as well), and he was only 5th after the SP. Oh no.

I felt sorry, really sorry for him. I even cried a bit later, because I didn't find it fair after what Yuzu went through in the past months, years. Javier skated a good short program and he got 109 points for it, so the difference was 11 points. Then I remembered that the situation was a bit similar a year before and anything could happen.

On the day of the free skate, snow was falling in the cold streets of Helsinki. I headed to the arena with a newly found optimism, while I was walking I was listening to the epic music of Yuzu's Romeo and Juliet 1 program and I remembered his roaring he made during the program at Worlds 2012. I thought: 'Fight, Yuzu, fight, you can do it!'.

Yuzu skated first in the last group. And what he did on that day will never be forgotten. He was completely in the zone and he laid down the most gorgeous performance ever. Everything was perfection from start to finish, the 4Lo, the spins, the the quad Salchows, the step sequences (the StSq as well as his spins all got level 4), everything he did was in the highest possible quality. The complexity of his program, the elegance of his performance can be barely described with words. It was magnificient and magical. The spectators were in tears, there was standing ovation for Yuzu. He got a new world record for his performance (223.20) which was - despite being the highest score - still a bit underscored compared to what he showed on the ice there. With this fantastic performance, Yuzu finished from 5th to 1st, and he became a two-time World Champion. It was so well deserved for Yuzu! He could bring out his best at such an important competition.

I was so happy and grateful that I could witness this and that I could cheer for Yuzu at this competition.

On the last day, Sunday, I met some photographers from my country who had media accreditation for the competition. One of them was an elderly man, who proudly showed to me that he got a signature from Yuzuru before the gala rehearsal. We had the same flight back home so he gave me Yuzu's signature for the duration of the flight. I was really cautious not to make it dirty etc. (the batter of my camera was empty but I could take some pictures of the signature with my not so good phone). What an end was it for my trip! I was really happy.

After Worlds, Yuzu also competed at World Team Trophy where he won the gold medal for Japan.

This was a very successful season for him. Firstly I was happy that Yuzu came back after his very bad injury and he did so well. The first man who landed the 4Lo, the 4th GPF title, the second Worlds title, two fantastic programs, etc.

I was very looking forward to the Olympic season and I hoped everything would be okay for Yuzu.

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] - to be continued soon.

[austerlitzborodinoleipzig]

Not to be back on my bullshit but Yelim NHK Champion! I remember back in the 2018/2019 season she was the only non Russian girl to qualify for JGPF, so I was rooting for her, and when she made her senior debut the following season she was overshadowed by both Young and Eunsoo, and Haein was having a great junior season and fans were predicting that she'd be the next big thing...

And then quietly but surely she kept improving becoming the most consistent Korean lady at nationals qualifying everytime for Worlds/4CC/the Olympics

And now she's in the spotlight and it's finally her time to shine.

[yuzu-all-the-way]

Do you think we'll ever know why Yuzu was consistently underscored in the last few years of competing? Like, I can't fathom why they would do that - he's so well loved, so surely scoring him accurately would just draw more people toward the sport to see him? Honestly I believe that if he hadn't attempted the 4A at the Olympics that he could have won if he was scored fairly. Having a 3x Olympic Gold medalist would have made such a buzz in the news which would be good publicity, no? So... idk. I'm confused by the whole thing and my heart goes out to Yuzu for putting up with so much for so long.

Hi, anon! Oh, this is such a long story. I'll try to keep it as short as possible and make it comprehensible.

Officially, there most likely will never be an explanation given, it's just not how the sports' world works. There is no accountability since the "behind the scenes" is mostly a power play between several figure skating federations (USA, Russia, JSF - but that's a whole other story), lots of politicking going on.

However, the fans and those who know figure skating have become aware of Yuzu being underscored over the years. There were a hell lot of discussions about that too, but they literally led nowhere - there were a lot of fights and Fanyus accused of being irrational and delusional.

The narrative goes something like this:

Yuzu came into the senior competitions as a very successful junior and he actively improved his technical as well as his presentation components - he was constantly on the rise winning a world medal in his 2nd year as senior, winning everything there was to win in the 2013-2014 season - GPF, Worlds, OLYMPIC GOLD, except 4CC (I don't think he participated in 2014), achieving incredible scores at 2015 NHK Trophy and 2015 Barcelona, winning a second world title in 2017, winning a second OLYMPIC GOLD in 2018... and finally winning 4CC in 2020.

There is a huge discrepancy in scores that occurred after 2015 GPF. Yuzu was constantly improving, yet his scores don't reflect that at all - they look like he remained through his entire amateur career at the same level as he was in 2015 or that he became worse - which is a blatant lie.

Frankly, when he broke consecutive records in 2015, ISU and the feds became aware that he was untouchable. There were skaters younger than Yuzu who were bringing quads to the game, skaters like Jin Boyang, Shoma Uno and Nathan Chen. But their skating skills could NEVER get close to Yuzu's, and Yuzu was also bringing new jumps into his arsenal - 4Lo, 4Lz. USA having lots of power, started pushing Chen as the quad king and Chen was supposed to be Yuzu's rival, narrative woven like this until Yuzu turned pro.

Anyway, Chen's scores were rising although there was barely any visible improving seen in his skating, while Yuzu, obviously constantly improving, if he had the smallest mistake he was penalized. The penalizations became greater when the scoring system changed from +/-3 GOE to +/-5 GOE because there could be greater manipulation of scores.

If Yuzu was getting +3 GOE for a 3A prior to 2018/2019, he was supposed to get +5 GOE for the same jump starting with 2018/2019, but that barely happened. The average GOE for Yuzu's 3A on the international stage stayed around +3. So, on paper, Yuzu seemed to be getting worse. Not to mention the PCS... which Yuzu openly talked about after turning pro, he was no longer awarded almost perfect PCS although he kept improving.

About Beijing 2022, Yuzu was never meant to win the gold as set by the ISU. Had he went clean, his Rondo probably would've been around the same as his last WR (lower than 112 points) because of literal judging corruption, and Chen would've still had impossible inflation and set a WR.

I won't go deeper into Beijing, it was Yuzu's choice to continue skating while remaining true to himself, it was his choice to challenge the 4A, it was his choice to do everything as it went. And I respect that because there's nothing more worthy of admiration than a person who remains true to himself while undergoing abuse (because, in the end, that's what it was). He came out on the other side stronger and better than any other skater and his pro career already shows it.

ISU seems to not care that figure skating is dying, they are not doing anything to improve the circumstances in which this sport is "developing". They lowered the PC components from 5 to 3, they want to let Russia back in the game, they push quads in juniors, they continue white-washing the whole sport (look at the countries of the skaters who were given the ISU awards).

In a nutshell, Yuzu's competitive career was hell, he had numerous injuries that threated his skating life, he continued, he was getting underscored, he continued. He did try to play ISU's "jumping competition" game for a while - Aoi Honoo III reveals that - with Origin. He didn't like that and his scores didn't improve even while playing by ISU's rules. He went back to the programs that won him 2015 NHK, 2015 GPF and 2018 Olympics gold... he was awarded just a tiny bit more than his previous SP world record. So, he continued skating in the hopes of landing that 4A. He challenged it until the end of his amateur career. He showed the best he could at Beijing... but it's over and done with now. Now he continues challenging that jump, but for himself, because it's his DREAM.

Now, we focus on Yuzu's pro career - he continues changing what figure skating means. If Prologue wasn't enough to show that he is so much BETTER than when he competed, GIFT and NS will definitely cement that in. Yuzu continues pursuing his ideal figure skating, hard tech content, beautiful skating skills, all possible because of hard work and training.

FORGOT TO SAY:

ISU did use Yuzu, they used him until July 19th 2022. While we were anxiously waiting for the 2022-2023 GP assignments, ISU put the tickets on sale for all the GP stages minus GPF. There were people who went in blindly to buy tickets because Yuzu's photo was on several ticket sites (for example, the Finland GP had Yuzu on their site). People were going to buy GPF tickets, too without any concrete assignments.

Yuzu announced him turning pro in July, the Yuzu fans who had bought tickets to see Yuzu found a way to sell them or ended up not going to the GPs. ISU knew Yuzu brought in the crowds, they knew he was the favourite. They did not promote his skating, they promoted him PARTICIPATING in competitions.

[sunskate]

going season by season in H/B's story, there were signs that things were off in their training camp situation in 2017-18 - turned the page to find that H/B left for Gadbois in April 2018. so, ok 😅 as soon as 2018 Worlds was over, they looked for the exit. i'm so glad 😭

unfortunately, though, Jean-Luc sustained a concussion during training in August 2018, so the start to their season was delayed til NHK Trophy which they still won after training only 3 weeks. it was tango RD season:

this is the season where they really start to look like the mature team we know now - the move was good for them - there's an assurance to their performances and a totally new look, especially in the FD, to In This Shirt. it's the more contemporary style that's familiar from subsequent seasons. they have such beautiful glide, it suits them. the energy in the kiss & cry is more positive immediately. their 4CC FD below scored their season's high and is their peak for emotion and flow that year - i find them so moving

they were 5th at 4CC behind C/B, Weapo, G/P, and H/D. considering how good H/B were, i was surprised they were only 5th in the FD but that was C/B's snake FD and Vincent for G/P. i'd totally forgotten about Hubbell/Donohue's Romeo & Juliet FD (they went through some strange choices, didn't they?)

Kaitlin and Jean-Luc were 9th at Worlds, and Kaitlin shows her disappointment in the FD score on her face, but this performance wasn't quite as cohesive as 4CC. but they were 4th at their 2nd GP and made the Grand Prix Final for the first time. and won bronze, their first medal, at US Nationals. most of all, though, they look happier with their team and look so beautiful on the ice

[anewbeginningagain]

So I was watching some old Canadian nationals and world championships videos from 2015-2018 quad during the holidays and it was the first time I noticed how weaver poje became really successful in 2014/15 but then after VM came back they were dropped like stones so fast that I can only imagine how much they resented VM for it. How was it back then? Was there resentment from w/p and their fans toward VM?

LOL feels like everyone is feeling nostalgic post holidays.

Basically, it was all pretty wild. WeaPo had a surprising success in 2014/15 winning both their GPs and GPF over P/C, then winning 4CC and looking so strong for worlds only to drop to 3rd. P/C's questionable rise aside, WeaPo did what WeaPo always do and lost a lot of points over levels and while looking at the protocols shows they had no chance of beating P/C (their win was all but predetermined at that point), they still lost to C/B over levels. Then during 2015/16 they once again won both their GPs and GPF (in the absence of P/C who were out because of a concussion) but then completely fucked up at 4CC again over lost levels and bad twizzles (which will become a recurrent habit for them all through the quad) getting level 1 lift, level 2 twizzles and level 2 spin, it was a miracle they even got 3rd tbh. Coincidently or not, 4CC dance event finished on 2/19/2016 which is exactly one day before Tessa and Scott announced their comeback which WeaPo knew was going to happen. Then at 2016 Worlds they dropped hard finishing 5th again due to lost levels and bad twizzles.

Those results basically halted any momentum they had and really set them back. Add to that Tessa and Scott's comeback and WeaPo choosing bad material and changing at least one program 3 years straight and also switching the (according to rumors) the only coach willing to take them - and they really had no chance to rise after that.

As for how they took it - not great, they gave an interview that sounded really bitter and unkind at first claiming they were blindsided which was a joke considering basically everyone and their mothers suspected TS are coming back since like at least November 2015, and TS also mentioning that they told them before it was announced. Then they also gave some kind of how the comeback is not related to them and they will always be Kaitlyn and Andrew or something of that sort which even made the reporter be kind of mean to them tbh... They seemed friendly during the second year of TS comeback but it was always clear there was resentment there at least to some degree.

As for how their fans took it - not great either LOL. They were frustrated and kept saying TS had their time and now it's WeaPo's turn and they are ruining it for them. It was all very much the opposite of what sport is about. One anecdote that really stayed with me is a TS fan who was on tumblr and really loved them and also became a WeaPo fan and for a while even after TS announced their comeback she was ok with it all, but then she decided it will be great to lie that she saw TS kiss during Boston Worlds (not a single soul bought that) and then when WeaPo had a really bad season in 2016/17 (and after in 2017/18 too) she decided that it was TS fault and completely turned on them. Fun times LOL. Long story short, most WeaPo fans resented TS too and were mostly bitter about their success in the comeback.

[wntw-virtuemoir-edition]

Aside from the ICONIC blue practice dress and the ain’t no mountain high sparkly one, did tessa have any (good) blue costumes? I feel like this is a gap in her costume repertoire and a missed opportunity

ur right. blue was slim pickings for my blue dress post from a few years ago.

2013 4cc sd was a decent (for that era and program) blue dress (and vm fake smooches for extra points🙄).

there was also the 2018 blue soy dress but does that count?

she looks great in a medium-dark tone blue, too bad we didnt get more tbh.

[myjunkisyuzuruhanyu]

The "humbleness is a psychological obstacle" anon reminds me of old fandom talk in the 2018-2019 about Shoma not having a winning mentality and/or mental strength to win, therefore, he's not winning the gold medals (this goes hand in hand with the "he doesn't want to improve" talk). I guess Shoma's personality is consistent enough that the assumptions about his drive tends to revolve around the same thing. But at the end of the day, Shoma eventually got his accolades in a manner that befits him, so all those assumptions (that I think was a bit uncalled for) are for naught. I think what we need to consider is that... Shoma has been in this sport for a long time and has a lot more mileage than the current active skaters, because he competed so much and at the highest levels. It makes sense that Shoma's perspective is influenced by that experience. It's exhausting both physically and mentally to be at the top for so long without any real break, not even a long injury break. And let's be real, Ilia is going to be the technical benchmark for the men now provided he's not injured. Even Yuma after 4CC SP was already thinking his really high score is still lower than Ilia's. And I think Shoma respects his competitors to know that this technical benchmark won't be just for one or two competitions, it's going to be for years and seasons (he had experience going against Nathan). And so I think Shoma, knowing what his body has went through, wanting to skate in a way that allows him a future, know where his limits are. I remember at NHK this season, when Stephane asked him to do a 4S in the official practice, Shoma managed to land it but he admitted he was thinking "I hope I don't get injured" when he did it, because 4S was the jump that injured him the last time. So I think... maybe it's because I have been a fan of Shoma since 2018 but at this point I don't think his personality is an obstacle. He will get the results that is the best for him because he is facing skating in a manner that is true to himself. It's always been this way for his career.

💯 % agreed.

I think fans who haven't been around long enough can't know that Shoma's mentality was brought up a lot through his career. Ppl even badmouthed his mentality into him being "too lazy" and "uncaring for the sport", which could not have been more wrong. The "winning mentality" doesn't work for Shoma, he tried it, it didn't suit him and he grew past that "simple" approach. Shoma was and is much aware about what is in his capabilities and what not. He doesn't underestimate his competition, he's realistic.

And actually I think Shoma's growth in mentality over the years of his career brought him to where he is now, to those two world titles. He worked hard for his achievements. If it would have been only about winning he would have quit last season with a winning streak or he would not even come until this point now after the disasters of the 2019 GP series.

Shoma said it often enough, in this sport it's mostly about winning against yourself. And that's what Shoma did throughout his career even when he did not win every competition.

There are couple skaters who won every title possible and retired and that's ok if that's what was important to the person, but that never seemed to have been Shoma's goal. That's also why I think the prospect of an Olympic Gold is not what will keep him in competitions.

I am actually a bit annoyed that there is always talk about the missing Olympic Gold as if that's the only title that would make him a worthy champion, as if he hadn't proofed time and time again that he is a worthy champion just simply by staying among the top competitors for 9 consecutive years, even 10 years if you count 4CC2015! His worst place at Worlds was 7th and that was his debut. You can count at one hand how many times Shoma was off podium in his entire senior career. Shoma currently is the most decorated skater competing among all disciplines! He's a legend with or without Olympic Gold.

Shoma has a heart of a champion. What Shoma brings to this sport cannot be measured in titles and we can be very happy that he has such a long lasting career without any big injury breaks. I am just happy he still skates. I dunno maybe because I followed Shoma his entire senior career I am more than happy for what he achieved in his career and it's much more that seemed possible a few years ago. I remember very well the ppl who said Shoma won't last with his flawed jumping technique and look who got through his career without serious injury breaks and who is still here!!!

I may sound like a broken record, but everything that Shoma achieves now is a bonus. 😊