#also amber landing her 3A……

[f-ferrari-forever]

Skate America Ladies SP Thoughts

I may have stayed up until 3 a.m. after watching the F1 qualis just to see how Sasha vs Daria played out...oops.

1. Sasha improved artistically, the program actually felt fiery this time around, BUT, and I say this with all the love in the world, that component score was inflated. The program was nice, it was better than we’ve seen her do before, but it wasn’t that good.

2. Daria should have been first after the SP, I stress again that I adore Sasha, but without the 3A to up the technical score, Daria’s interpretation, spins and skating skills are better.

3. I feel like they (Team Tutberidze) are afraid of another Budapest Throphy maybe possibly happening, and with the rumored/confirmed injury to Sasha, it might happen if she doesn’t land the quads she will attempt well. However, if she goes just for the simpler quads (Toe, Sal, and maybe repeats one of them) and drops the Flip and the Lutzes, she could still easily win.

4. The Team T. dresses were slightly better than what we’ve seen so far, I think. Sasha’s is definitely my favorite, but it still doesn’t scream Frida Kahlo.

5. Starr Andrews had the most beautiful spins in the entire competition in the second half of the program, and nothing can change my mind about that. Also I love the dress.

6. I really liked Amber’s music.

7. Yelim Kim stole the show for me and I feel like she should have placed higher.

8. Kaori my baby, I’m rooting for her triple-triple combination like no other.

9. I’m not sure I agree with Kseniia placing third. I feel like it should have been one of the Koreans, not even Kaori, even though I love her, but Yelim man, she was something else.

10. Props to Young for attempting that 3A.

11. Loved the dresses for Yelim and Young.

12. Satoko is beautiful on the ice, she has such ease.

[tripleaxeldiaz]

So out of Alysa and Bradie, who will successfully petition onto the Olympic team? Are Mariah and Karen the other two spots? Does Gracie Gold have a shot at all? It's super intriguing! I think the men's is pretty sewn up with Nathan, Vincent and Jason. Pairs is a big ??? with only two spots available. And who gets the 3rd ice dance spot between Hawayek/Baker and Green/Parsons? So many questions!

ANON I AM SO GLAD YOU ASKED because i have some THOUGHTS

predictions for the us olympic team:

men: nathan, vincent, jason

easy peasy, barring absolute DISASTER. i don’t even know who the alternates would be because these 3 are It for us. yarisov?? maybe camden?? idk but this is indeed locked up

ladies: mariah, karen, alysa

bradie’s been dealing with a foot injury all season so i don’t even think she’s planning to petition for a spot. but if anyone can petition successfully for the first time since like 2006, it’ll be alysa. she’s been our international golden girl since she landed her first 3A, and i don’t think usfsa is gonna let her go. and mariah and karen have both worked so hard this olympic quad and FLOURISHED, so they’re in as well. alternates will probably be amber glenn and lindsey thorngren — as much as i would LOVE a Gracie Gold Olympic Comeback™️, she doesn’t have the international minimums to qualify for a spot 😓😓 i am fully prepared to cry watching her fs tho

pairs: cain-gribble/leduc, calalang/johnson

this might be Unpopular, but i don’t think knierem/frazier’s petition will be accepted. they’ve only been a team for 2 seasons, and while some teams are looking to compete at the games with even less time together (cough cough james/radford in canada cough cough), i don’t think they’ve proven enough consistency together to be a shoe in. yes alexa has already been to an olympics, but it’s different with a different partner. CGL have been solid for the past couple seasons, and CJ just keep rising. alternate will probably be lu/mitrofanov

dance: hubbel/donahue, chock/bates, hawayek/baker

i’d say this is pretty zipped up too, and again, it’s about consistency. HB has been the us #3 team for the whole quad, usfsa won’t drop them unless they need to. plus we do tend to favor experience, and green/parsons have at least another quad ahead of them, maybe 2. they’ll probably be alternates, along with carreira/ponomorenko if christina has her citizenship sorted out?? also side note: i am SO glad this is HD’s last season, can’t wait to never look at zach’s face ever again (sorry maddie)

WHATEVER HAPPENS, it’ll be Wild and i’m excited to embrace the chaos

[fs-rambling]

Reactions to SkAm 2020 - ladies short program

This isn’t really a formal analysis, just some thoughts and opinions upon watching the ladies’ short programs at Skate America this year.

Gracie Gold:  Aww, Gracie... I feel like she’s lost a bit of confidence, and it’s affecting her skating, but I think that the music she chose is personal to her and with time and practice she’ll be able to sell it really well.  The double Axel was excellent, but the triples didn’t work out today - I could feel some hesitation going into the jumps and I think it was mostly her holding herself back a little that caused her to double them.  I hope the free will go better for her.

Finley Hawk:  It was a pretty nice program, and I like her layback spin.  I noticed she doesn’t hold spiral positions long, so longer spirals is a thing I'd like to see from her.  I also think she needs a little work on performance and interpretation; I couldn’t feel that much emotional involvement, but she’s young and I’m sure she’ll develop more as an artist as time goes on.  Her Lutz edge looked a little questionable to me, though the flip and the Axel were both really strong.

Audrey Shin:  Absolutely lovely.  I could tell right away that her mind and feelings are really focused on the music and performance - I love how expressive she is, and the passion and commitment with which she skates is magnificent.  Her jumps all looked well done, and her spins were good but not outstanding.  Plus, she has a really pretty costume and it matches the program well.  I like her a lot and I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for her in the future!

Paige Rydberg:  Very nice overall.  I think she needs to tone up the intensity a bit in some places, and I didn't feel enough from her movement, but I do like her confidence in her ability. Her jumps looked good, and her spins were nice as well, so she did very nicely and the program does have a consistent, tangible vibe to it.

Pooja Kalyan:  I liked her program a lot!  She has a lot of energy, so I really enjoyed watching her.  I kinda wish she held that layback Ina Bauer a bit longer; it was a really important moment and it could have had more impact.  Concerning jumps, a few mistakes, and I think her air position could be a little tighter, especially in the first rotation, but they were alright, and overall her program was a pleasure to watch.

Sierra Venetta:  She’s a very nice skater.  I like her transitions; they’re numerous and very interesting, and her spins aren’t bad either.  A fair amount of commitment to the choreography, so that was good, but perhaps in between elements a little more attention to her hand movements would go a long way.  Her jumps were all fairly decent, besides the doubled toe in the combo, and again, she has a lot of transitions so I can’t exactly fault her too much.

Shan Lin:  Right off the bat, I can already tell that I like her costume - the soft variation and blend of colors looks awesome, and the design is pretty as well.  The darkening gradient on the gloves really calls attention to her hands at the right moments.  Also, I really, really love this program.  The way she uses the music and reflects its character with her skating makes it so nice to watch, although I’d like to see her emphasize some more choreo in the beginning.  The long, drawn out Ina Bauer, into the Besti squat, into the spiral?  I loved that.  Plus, her spins are good - very fast, with controlled, flexible positions.  Her double Axel was incredible too - so much height and distance, and so much flow throughout the jump.  There were some mistakes in the combo and the solo jump, so that’s unfortunate, and her air position could be better in the flip and the Lutz. Still though, it was a magnificent program.

Karen Chen:  Oh, how I love Karen.  And this program.  Holy cow.  Every one of her movements pulls in attention, and the choreography is exquisite.  Her commitment is indomitable.  Her emotions are so clearly in it.  Also, her spiral!!!  So amazing; I’ve been waiting so long to see her incredible long spirals again.  And as always, her layback was incredible.  The combo wasn’t quite perfect, but I loved the transitions into the loop, and the double Axel was so powerful.  I’m definitely going to be rewatching this program again and again and again.

Amber Glenn:  She’s incredible.  I like the costume, it fits the program well, and the design and movement of the skirt definitely helps.  Her performance was good, and the program is really well-crafted.  Also, her Biellmann spin was so nice to see - I’m pretty picky when it comes to Biellmanns and Amber’s isn’t perfect, but it is lovely.  The mistakes on the combo were unfortunate, and I really think the toe loop wasn’t too bad, but the double Axel looked light as a feather (can’t wait for her 3A!!!!) and the loop looked good as well.  Overall it was super good.

Starr Andrews:  A very enjoyable program.  I love her interpretation, and each of her movements is controlled and deliberate, which makes the choreography really stand out.  I also like Starr’s spins - especially her donut spin, and the layback spin was pretty nice as well besides that tiny bit of traveling.  The twizzles and that bit of choreo out of the double Axel were so nice.  Plus, I also liked that spiral she did, matched the music nicely.  Her costume is also super cool.  The popped loop killed her score, but the program as a whole was excellent and with more time I think it could be absolutely brilliant.

Mariah Bell:  Overall, it was a pretty nice program.  I do like Mariah’s spins - very nice layback, lovely catch-foot camel, and she does a Y-spin (my favorite!!!).  I loved her energy in the step sequence, though I feel that some parts of the program could have been better connected.  The double Axel looked effortless, but the combo was a little shaky and I’m not sure I liked her landing posture on all her jumps.  The score was a bit higher than I’d expect.  However, she did fairly well and I’m happy for her.

Bradie Tennell:  I really like this program!  I enjoyed Bradie’s interpretation, and her spins were very nice - good speed, and that I-spin at the end looked really flexible.  I would like to see Bradie really throw herself into her choreo though, because I couldn’t feel that she was really in it.  I did love that triple flip, plus the transitions out of it, and the double Axel was fine, but she didn’t get enough height on the toe to fully rotate.  Nice program though, so it will do nicely for her.

[kittyprincessofcats]

RIKA LIVED!!!

Okay, so a few thoughts:

- Karen Chen was amazing.

- Amber Glenn is such a good performer! Shame about the Axel.

- Interesting that even the commentator remarked that the judges gave Hongyi Chen an UR call while not giving Amber one. If even commentators are picking up on how selective the calls can be, maybe there’s a bit of hope for change? It was pretty obvious here that the Americans were being scored generously.

- Yelim was really good! I was worried after she fell twice in the warm-up, but I’m glad she managed to put out a good performance. The first combination looked a bit shaky, but she did get negative GOE on it, so that’s fair.

- I don’t get Bradie’s scores. I admit that she was good today and I found her more enjoyable to watch than usual, but still... only 0.02 behind Rika in PCS? Lots of +5 and +4 in GOEs despite those stiff knees? I can’t really say I agree there.

- Young did great and I’d say her score by itself was fair. She still has a lot of room to grow in the PCS department, but she’s so promising.

- RIKA MY CHILD!! You’re doing amazing, sweetie!!! I’ve got to say my favourite moment in this entire Ladies SP was when she landed that Lutz after months of not being able to include it and the audience just broke into spontaneous applause in the middle of her program. THAT’S THE SUPPORT SHE DESERVES. WELCOME BACK, RIKA’S TEXTBOOK LUTZ, WE MISSED YOU!!!

- I’m so glad she did well and is leading, but Rika’s score also took my excitement away a bit. Not that I really want to complain about an 80+ score, but... that should have been higher. She got 81.35 at SCI where she did a Loop instead of a Lutz, and now she added the Lutz back in, skated clean, and got a slightly lower score than at SCI? How?? I’m looking at her scoresheet right now and there’s exactly one +5 among all of those GOEs. One. From J4 for the StSq. That’s it. No other +5s at all. And the only +4s are for the spins and step sequence, never for the jumps. They capped her jump GOE at +3 and I’m just... angry. At this point I don’t get what else they want her to do to get a +5 or +4 on them.

(Let’s be real - if Rika was Russian or American, this exact same performance would have scored 85+. Let’s not even pretend that’s not the case. The message they’re sending her here is ‘You have no chance at Worlds; we won’t score you fairly no matter what’ - and that’s sad. I want to focus on being happy for her right now, but it’s still sad. No wonder she seemed disappointed. Imagine working for months on getting that Lutz back and then it doesn’t even give you any advantage because they’ll just lowball you in all other aspects.)

- Eunsoo is so lovely to watch and I really like this program for her. I hope she can give it her all in the free and end the season on a high note.

- Wakaba was so good! I’m so glad she got a new SB here, but I’d have scored her higher as well. She’s also apparently planning to include the 3A in the free. I’m not entirely sure if that’s a good idea at this point (not sure how high her success rate for it has been), but she seemed very determined about wanting to try it, so good luck! I really hope it works out for her.

- Kaori!! Out of all the jumps she could have messed up on, I didn’t expect it to be the Loop... that’s usually her forte. But otherwise this was a really nice performance to watch. I love how fast Kaori is on the ice and how huge and powerful her jumps are. Would have scored her higher as well. All of the Japanese ladies are underscored imo, but what else is new.

[nirvana-era]

“Traitor.”

The voice was rough and filled with hatred. The clouds hung low in the sky, giving the surrounding area a disturbing aura. The sky above was dark, only a few specks of Silverpelt could be seen. A new moon. Something was wrong and it wasn’t the fact that Splotchedsky had just walked into Fallingsky’s group or that he was surrounded immediately by other cats, including his own clanmates. It wasn’t the fact that his own apprentice, Sweetpaw, was in the mix either. His pale blue eyes landed on the cat which had spoken. Oatburr. He should have known. Had the large warrior brought his apprenticed daughter along just to corrupt her kind and energetic spirit? The tom’s claws seeped into the grassy ground as he watched the scene unravel in front of him. “Stop-” Splotchedsky tried to speak but felt claws scratch across his face. The tom let out a hiss and flinched back, ears pressed flat against his head. The warrior closed his eyes as the scratch sent a burning sensation through his body and blood began to slowly appear from the fresh gash. What was going on? Why were cats of all the clans here?

“This doesn’t concern you, suck up.” The voice came from another cat he also knew fairly well. Splotchedsky growled and opened his eyes to slits, to be nose to nose to ShadowClan’s medicine cat. “Well, if it isn’t Wrenstar’s new second in command. The only tom in the clan who’s too soft to even be a warrior.” His voice dripped with venom, each word making the gray tabby cower. “What’s this? Scared, Splotchedsky?” A smirk appeared on the medicine cat’s face, his eyes giving no other emotion except excitement. For what exactly? That he had just caught a new victim?

“Scared,” Splotchedsky repeated, getting back to his paws. His legs wobbled beneath them as if he was just a tiny kit learning to use his paws for the first time without being guided by his mother. “No, I’m not scared. I’m disgusted in what you’ve done.” The tom snarled and unsheathed his claws to keep himself steady. No, not to fight. He’d be outnumbered in a heartbeat. Instead he turned his attention back to the cat which was also cornered. Silverdawn, deputy of WindClan. Was she mouse-brained enough to listen to what the medicine cat of an entirely different clan had to say? “Let her go. She’s the scared one here.”

“No,” Fallingsky meowed with a grin. His sharp teeth glistened in the faint starlight as he turned his attention back towards Silverdawn and unsheathed his claws, but instead of instantly attacking the she-cat, he stopped and glanced at Sweetpaw and then towards her father. “Oatburr, why don’t we have that daughter of yours prove herself tonight?”

“No-”

“Silence!” Fallingsky ordered towards Splotchedsky and slashed him again across the face. “You’re an unwelcome guest. You don’t get a chance to speak.” His flaming amber eyes narrowed in disgust and hate. “Isn’t it a shame, Sweetpaw? That your own mentor would rather live his life cooped up in a nest in care for kits than to protect his own family, friends, and clanmates? Don’t you feel shame for him? Maybe you should… prove to us that you’re better than this dung.”

The young she-cat shivered as she looked up at Splotchedsky. Her eyes filled with fear and regret, turning away to keep herself from making direct eye-contact with her mentor. Sweetpaw felt her father’s intense gaze on her pelt, her fur burning with embarrassment now. The calico feline turned her head to face the deputy of WindClan. She had to battle a deputy?

Splotchedsky felt his chest tighten with anxiety. His apprentice could never win this fight. Run. That’s all she had to do. Run back to ShadowClan and get help. Tell Wrenstar what was going on and go from there. Instead, he watched as the she-cat unsheathed her small claws and faced the much larger but just as scared deputy. A scared cat always fights harder than a cat who thinks they’ll win. “Sweetpaw, don’t do this.” Splotchedsky’s voice croaked with sadness and anger. “You know better.”

The molly didn’t answer the tom. She merely narrowed her eyes and inched forward. Her stance was almost perfect. Splotchedsky watched as the fight between life and death ensued. Screeching and yowls between the two she-cats echoed around him and rang in his ears. The scent of blood entered his nose. “Stop it!” He screeched, pushing past the other cats and getting in the middle of the two. Splotchedsky watched in what seemed like slow-motion as Silverdawn’s claws moved closer and closer towards Sweetpaw’s throat. Without thinking, the large tom lashed out an unsheathed paw, feeling his claws sink into flesh.

A gasp escaped the deputy’s mouth before dropping onto the ground. She desperately tried breathing as the blood from her neck wound flowed onto the green grass, staining it a sickly red. Sweetpaw stood behind him, her eyes wide in panic. Silverdawn’s eyes filled with pain and sadness.

“Well…” Fallingsky’s voice broke the stunned silence. “Look at what you’ve done. A murderer now. Poor Wrenstar. It would be such a shame if she ever found out about this, don’t you think? You’ll be banished from ShadowClan and never step into StarClan’s territory ever. Don’t you feel… anything?” The medicine cat’s voice seemed oddly calm and proud.

“Sweetpaw,” Splotchedsky softly hissed, “go get Wrenstar. Now.” He turned towards his apprentice and noticed her hesitate. “Sweetpaw, go.” Splotchedsky growled and looked at the other cats. “Unless you want to have the same fate as Silverdawn, I suggest you all leave. This meeting or whatever is going on is over!”

Suddenly, Splotchedsky’s blue eyes opened with a startle. Birds chirped outside and he was laying in a nest, his fur pressed against another. The tom groaned quietly as he glanced around and felt his heart pound as ginger fur filled his vision. “Wrenstar?” The tom spoke softly, his nerves still on edge.

“Hm?” Her voice sent a wave of relief through his body as the she-cat looked up and glanced at the male beside her. She yawned and tilted her head a bit before pressing her face against his. “Is everything okay?”

Splotchedsky instantly calmed down and closed his eyes once more, his breathing returning to normal. “Everything is now. Just a terrible nightmare.”

“Is it about…?” Wrenstar’s soft yellow eyes stared at Splotchedsky with concern for the tom, wondering why his fur was stuck up and why he seemed like he had just seen a badger.

“Yes, but everything’s fine now. Go back to sleep.”

————————————-

Hey guys! You can find my WA profile here: http://aminoapps.com/p/uyqnzo

Make sure to like and follow for more!

[sashas4t]

Cup of China: Ladies

Wow, were URs and edge calls called here... again? WOOOOOW! Anyways, I actually couldn’t watch this event live so I don’t have impressions of all the skaters... sorry!

1. Anna Shcherbakova - RUS

Anya’s quad lutzes this competition were so effortless! They really looked like triples - perhaps that's because the first one was UR. Her steps and spins kinda seemed off today, and her dress change was a little rushed too but the charisma and effortlessness was still there. I really like her SP actually, she wonderfully portrays a mysterious girl (for those saying her SP has nothing to do with the movie, thank god, that movie is kinda horrifying). I really like how the musical accents are brought out with actual poses. In comparison, there are so many musical accents in her FS, and yet, only like two out of ten are used. Daniil! Why? Anna has such innate musicality and interpretation and honestly I kind of feel like her FS doesn’t match how good she is. But I do like her SP a lot! Those jump transitions though! I love her costume too! The details and the roses? Yes. 

2. Satoko Miyahara - JPN

Oh my god! Tiny queen slays! Her SS are honestly so good and her movements flow so easily. She has such speed and control over the ice and once she steps out you know you’re watching an artistic master. I actually kind of like her SP, its so difference from her usual style and yet she pulls it off nicely. There could be more sass but the step sequence really show how wonderful her SS are. There’s so much speed and ice coverage, especially for such a tiny person. Her jumps though, yeah there were definitely some URs there. But honestly, who cares about jumps when you’ve got good SS, good spins, and good artistry? If Satoko

3. Elizaveta Tuktamysheva - RUS

I have no idea why Liza fell on a 3A. It’s honestly more consistent that her 3F and her 3Lz. Speaking of which, I can’t believe Liza fixed her flip edge so quickly. Respect. Also, what’s up with Liza’s 3Lz, its so textbook and beautiful, but she can’t seem to land it super consistently. Nevermind the jumps, I’m kind of glad Liza brought back her old FS. It was energetic, fun and Liza performed it extremely well. Bummed that her chance at the GPF is gone now. If she had just landed the 3A!

4. Young You - KOR

Again! The 3A! But honestly, I wasn’t expecting Young to land both of them, or honestly even one of them. Her 3A isn’t a very consistent jump. But I can’t believe she fell on her 3F! I like her SP a lot, even though its a basic R&J program I feel like the music cuts work well and the music climaxes with the jumping passes. Young, being a new senior, isn’t the best at artistry, but her ina Bauer is a gift from the heavens! I really reminds me of the Yuna Kim and Mirai Nagasu ina bauers. Its on such a dramatic musical climax too! I love her costumes too! They’re so classy and elegant!

5. Sofia Samodurova - RUS

Um yes! Consistency queen is back at it! Of course we’ve got some URs here and there, but that's not important at all! She was struggling so much at test skates and her first CS event, and I’m so glad that she’s finally gotten her jumps in order. While her programs are rather empty, I still love them because Sonya brings so much energy to her performance. Her Moulin Rouge is actually very well done, full of passion and facials. I can’t wait to see her interpretation grow even stronger throughout the season.

7. Marin Honda

Oh my Marin. You are soooooo good. And yet, those jumps. They just... don’t work. As somebody on Tumblr said “when will Marin’s jumps return from war, they pop in now and then for a visit, but never return consistency.” Her IN has grown so much and both her programs are oozing charisma and joy. Truly a star in terms of PE. I really hope Marin will get her jumps in order because she’s one of my favorite skaters of all time and her programs are incredible. She is incredible. 

Also got to say - BOYANGGGGGGGGGG! That 4Lz was godly!

I’ve yet to watch Amber Glenn but I’m kind of excited, people have pointed out similarities between her and Masha Sotskova and I LOVE MASHA. 

[jennibeultimate]

Personal recap CoC 2019 - Ladies FS

Well actually there wasn't much that impressed me at this competition...but...

Congratulations to all medalists! 🎉🎉🎉

Anna Shcherbakova - It wasn't a question that she would win, just the points were a question...or maybe not because scores don't mean much atm I feel...for me she still does not feel much emotion during her program and for me it's still juniorish, but she did well and deserved this win. So congrats to the 2nd win and welcome to the GPF!

Satoko Miyahara managed to get 2nd place! ☺️ Very happy she received the highest PCS, UR calls seemed ok...I would be so happy if she can grab a spot at the GPF to have a non-Russian skater there. I am not a real fan of the program, but it hasn't something to do with the cultural appropriation stuff, more that for me the music does not set real highlights. I think the cultural appropriation discussion was really more of a hate against Satoko than anything else, because neither is she the first nor the only skater to use Schindler's list that is not of Jewish origin and not even the first to use this version. There is Roman Sadowsky who is using the music, there was others like Peter Liebers in the past and also there are much more disturbing music cuts like the one from the 15 year old Bulgarian girl who has machine shots sounds in her program. If people would talk as much about those skaters I would consider the discussion more appropriate, but if it's only against Satoko it feels more like an excuse to hate on her. Don't get me wrong I think discussing the topic is fine, but the behavior doing so most of the time was simply bashing and nothing else. If one skater can bring the emotion of this music to live it is her.

Edit: I am not dismissing the fact that some Jews expressed their problems with Satoko having a David star on her back on one of her first dresses (which she changed immediately I guess because of the complaints), neither that some didn't like the reason she voiced for skating this program. As I said before any discussion is fine about it, but still I felt like this was a minority of people really trying to make aware the problems Jewish people may have with it, instead a lot of haters (who were haters long ago) kept using this as an excuse to hate her more. It's never about the discussion that tries to spread awareness in the fandom, it's the way people discuss that makes me question some motives of a discussion in the first place. If I hurted someone's feelings with what I wrote I am very sorry.

Liza Tuktamysheva back to her old program. I like this program much better, so I am glad with this. It's very entertaining to watch and a crowd pleaser, also she has a nice charisma on the ice. And 3As were awesome! Still she loses a bit because of her layout and lack of GOEs and PCS. She still does not receive much more TES than those without 3As...of course her lack in all the departments are also because she is not a Russian favorit...

First of all I was really happy that Young You got a 2nd GP after her good showing at SC 2019. Sadly she couldn't perform her 3As. Her SP was really bad and so she didn't got much of a chance in the FS. I also am not really a fan of this Evita program, it's really a bit much cuts in this and also not a fan of this particular musical in general. And Young didn't seem so much into the music, her technical side is good and also the ina bauer looked awesome, she just could work a bit more with the music. I like her SP much better.

Marin Honda - poor Marin back to old habits 😢 I love this program and she has such star potential, but she loses it with her lack of confidence in her jumps. I hope one day she can shine like she should! Love you Marin! ❤️ Good luck for next time!

Sofia Samodurova found back her consistency. She will never receive the highest GOEs nor PCS, but she is entertaining to watch. And consistency speaks for her. (I also feel she is from the wrong coaches to make her career rise, she is just not in favor in Russia, is she really this much worse than other Russians?)

I really love to watch Amber Glenn skate. She skates with so much emotion.

One thing that really disturbed me is the camera work. Really awful. Sometimes a camera in the picture. Filming the face during a jump and not showing the landing...what is this? 😣

[kittyprincessofcats]

4CC - Ladies FS

HOLY SHIT THAT WAS NOT GOOD FOR MY HEART. I couldn’t watch live, but I watched the Ladies FS without looking up the results first (I even asked my sister to click on the video for me so the ISU’s Youtube channel wouldn’t spoil the top 3 for me). So here’s some thoughts.

- Yelim Kim was absolutely amazing. That was the first skate of the event that seriously impressed me and made me emotional. Very well done! I loved seeing the support for her from the home crowd and her reaction to the score was amazing. Super happy for her!

- Shame about Amber’s mistakes, but I’m glad she still managed to get a personal best score that she seemed very happy with.

- Ngl, watching Karen Chen’s performance made me tear up a bit. What a comeback! It’s so nice to see her skating so well again. I really hope her experience at this competition gives her a confidence boost.

- Eunsoo was absolutely lovely and I hope she can come back stronger next season. I really like this program for her.

- Wakaba was really great to watch. I really love her and even though I don’t think she’s quite on the same level as she was in 2017/18 (yet), I’m glad to see her getting better and better and working on getting back there. That said, I’m not sure if risking the 3A was a good idea at this point. I hope she lands it in competition one day, but for now it didn’t really have a high success rate in practice and I really wasn’t surprised to see her fall on it. I think for now she should focus on skating clean, landing all her other jumps, and making her choreographies a bit more complex. I loved the step sequence, by the way.

- Kaori, Kaori... what do I even say here. I’m sorry, but going for the 4T here was absolutely stupid and I’m not sure why she did it. The jump so clearly isn’t ready. I get risking it at a small local competition where the stakes aren’t high, but at 4CC? That I really don’t get. Did she think that she had nothing to lose anyway? But even then, what’s the point when you can’t land it and it’ll get downgraded? At least Wakaba managed to rotate the 3A before falling on it. Has Kaori not watched Alexandra Trusova this season and learned that “full risk” isn’t a good strategy? It was an especially stupid decision since Kaori hasn’t really had a good season so far and should have really focused on getting the rest of her program back in order instead of risking quads. And just to be clear: I’m not saying this to hate on her. I love Kaori and she’s one of my favourite skaters ever. Which is precisely why I don’t want her or her team to be so careless and risk stuff before it’s ready. Phew. Now that I got that off my chest - Kaori is still a joy to watch. I adore this Matrix program, how she interprets it and how fast she can get on the ice. But that opening 4T-attempt really kept me from fully enjoying it because I just internally screamed “Kaori, what are you doing???” the whole time.

- Bradie... okay look, I think her medal here was deserved, but her score was not. 147? For real? And higher PCS that Rika (barely higher, but still)? Sorry not sorry, but if Bradie gets 70 PCS and Young gets 69, then Rika should be getting 75. Anything else is unfair. I also really want her to learn not to get in people’s way in practice. And if she somehow can’t, they should let her practice by herself. I don’t ever want to see Rika flinch and look scared like that again.

- Young was absolutely amazing. I’m so glad she managed to land the 3A this time! I really enjoyed watching her here. That said, I do think her score was generous, especially the PCS. I really like Young and I think she’s incredibly talented, but right now she pretty much has the same expression on her face throughout the entire program. She’s not performing or interpreting the music well. And it’s understandable, she’s very young and most skaters aren’t amazing performers at that age, but the scores should reflect it. Her getting high 8s and 9s in PE and IN is not justified right now. She should not be getting higher scores there than someone like Wakaba or even Yelim Kim this time. I am happy for her though, congrats on a well-deserved Silver!

- And finally... let’s talk about Rika. God, watching this was really not good for my heart or my nerves. When she popped that first Axel I thought I was going to have a breakdown. I haven’t seen her pop an Axel since Saitama. So glad she managed to pull herself together and not let it get to her! And she even spontaneously added the 2T to the second 3A in the middle of the program. I’ve said it before - that girl has nerves of steel. I’m so happy for her! She’s now the first single skater (male or female) in history to defend a 4CC title. Congratulations on making history bby, you deserve it so much!!

- Also, I’m so glad Rika’s being careful and not giving into this whole sensationalist quad hype. Yes, she’s training a 4S, but she didn’t need it here and wisely decided not to risk it. Because there’s more important things than just adding a quad at any cost and I’m so glad she and her team understand that.

- Also just because I can’t hold back from making some calculations: Rika scored 151.16 here despite popping one of her two planned 3As. A 3A is worth 8.00 points. If she’d landed it with good GOE (let’s say +2), she’d have gotten around 10 points for it. For the 1A that she did instead, she ended up getting 1.10 - so that’s roughly 8.90 points that she left on the table here.

151.16 + 8.90 = 160.06 So basically, correct me if I’m wrong, but Rika would have scored 160 if she’d skated clean? And that’s without a 4S? Holy shit. It’s what she deserves, but I don’t want to get my hopes up for Worlds - I doubt they’ll be as fair to her there. (Or if they will, they’ll just start giving the Eteri girls 170 to make up for it.)

[Edit: I realize now that it’s not quite that simple since she also spontaneously added another -3T to still have the max number of triples... I keep being amazed by how she’s able to improvise, though!]