Official Figure Skating Thread

[fallingslowly]

Alena won and Jun medalled but Yelim came in last 

 

Same but also Rika winning and Satoko coming in last. And Kaori being pushed off the podium. ;-;

[Riserise]

There's something so joyful about Rika Kihira and the way she skates. She really upped the ante (I wish there was a 'cheer' smiley. We don't have enough smileys like that).

 

ALENA !!!!! Finally got the gold she deserved. I think Ted summed it up the best, I don't see her as a junior but as a senior. She has so much poise and grace for someone her age.

Yes, when I heard Ted say that, I knew lots of people were nodding their heads all over the world

 

And just putting this here:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhJaYiqCbCQ

[Riserise]

 Rika once again came through as a Skate of the Week candidate!

 

Done ;)

 

I made one for Juniors and Seniors as this was a special week.

Any suggestions for Gala of the Week are welcome

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BrJqLtXhEiQ/

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BrJTLtdHdOl/

Edited December 9, 2018 by Riserise

[fallingslowly]

James/Cipres ended me. That was nearly Savchenko/Massot at Worlds levels. What a magical performance.

 

I'm reminded of Liza saying the only way she was winning gold at GPF was if she robbed a jewelry store in Vancouver.  As much as I would have loved seeing Kaori sneak into third, I'm happy she's at least going home with something. She and Sofia had the right attitude coming into things — GPF was an experience, not a podium must. I'm glad they're leaving satisfied.

 

Not really a Gala person tbh, but I may just watch this one. The lineup is stacked.

[Riserise]

James/Cipres ended me. That was nearly Savchenko/Massot at Worlds levels. What a magical performance.

 

I'm reminded of Liza saying the only way she was winning gold at GPF was if she robbed a jewelry store in Vancouver.  As much as I would have loved seeing Kaori sneak into third, I'm happy she's at least going home with something. She and Sofia had the right attitude coming into things — GPF was an experience, not a podium must. I'm glad they're leaving satisfied.

 

Not really a Gala person tbh, but I may just watch this one. The lineup is stacked.

Lol, I didn't know she said that. She's had such an interesting career; peaking the season after Olympic Games each time. A former World Champion, but no longer seen as much of a challenger in the last few seasons, and now back on the GPF podium

 

As for the gala, Austin Powers is on at this very moment

The schedule

Edited December 9, 2018 by Riserise

[fallingslowly]

Okay, I think James/Cipres won for me, lol. That was so much fun.

[jennaayy]

James/Cipres made me cry lol

[Riserise]

James/Cipres are Gala of the Week ;)

 

I love how joyful they were during the entire competition.

[SeoMania]

The ISU really wants figure skating to die with all the videos and channels they're taking down. I've had to edit my Mariah Bell post like 6 times now because the video kept getting removed. Now the Rika video got taken down and that one had nearly 600,000 views. Get with the program you old farts, this is how people share stuff now, no one watches TV for figure skating.

[Riserise]

The ISU really wants figure skating to die with all the videos and channels they're taking down. I've had to edit my Mariah Bell post like 6 times now because the video kept getting removed. Now the Rika video got taken down and that one had nearly 600,000 views. Get with the program you old farts, this is how people share stuff now, no one watches TV for figure skating.

Yes, the Sailor Evgenia video that went viral (already had 3 million views) was also taken down last year.

Though I'm not sure if that was the ISU.

 

I'm sorry that happened to your Mariah Bell post.

 

It's dumb because it's the one medium through which lots of people can watch figure skating and become enthusiastic about it.

 

EDIT: the James/Cipres Gala of the Week in the OP has also been removed

Edited December 17, 2018 by Riserise

[fallingslowly]

The ISU really wants figure skating to die with all the videos and channels they're taking down. I've had to edit my Mariah Bell post like 6 times now because the video kept getting removed. Now the Rika video got taken down and that one had nearly 600,000 views. Get with the program you old farts, this is how people share stuff now, no one watches TV for figure skating.

 

It's such a contrast to gymnastics because you can watch whole competitions from like, 1982 on Youtube, lmao. Accessibility is such a huge part of getting into niche sports, especially during non-Olympic years. The ISU remains moronic, what else is new.

[Riserise]

It's such a contrast to gymnastics because you can watch whole competitions from like, 1982 on Youtube, lmao. Accessibility is such a huge part of getting into niche sports, especially during non-Olympic years. The ISU remains moronic, what else is new.

And in that spirit I replaced the Gala with a 1982 Throwback of the Week ;)

[Riserise]

Just a heads up: Evgenia has changed her SP.  The new one is choreographed by none other than Misha Ge

[SeoMania]

Yuzuru's 3 million+ FS at 2017 Worlds has been deleted. The ISU is so shit, they can't even judge properly and now they're doing this. Most ISU members are like 50-60 year-olds, they're completely out of touch with how people consume things nowadays. People hardly even watch live TV anymore now that streaming exists, who's gonna fork out extra money for premium channels to watch one sport? I'm so tired of their incompetence.

[fallingslowly]

Just a heads up: Evgenia has changed her SP.  The new one is choreographed by none other than Misha Ge

 

I really like it, actually! It suits her. I hope she doesn't get thrown off of SPs like OCS in the future, but maybe it's better that she's gone with something more familiar. And I love a program choreographed by Misha, duh.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IO-pZcMiHDg

 

Other news: Voronov injured himself yesterday, so he's unfortunately out of Russian Nationals. Liza is out with pnuemonia. Mikhail has a severe sinus infection and has since the beginning of the season, but his coach has said that he will skate.

 

The ladies already had their SP draw; Medvedeva will skate last.

 

The list for US Nationals is out; no Ashley, no Mirai, but Karen and Gracie are listed. Emmy Ma will also be skating even though she didn't place at sectionals. I think they gave Ting and Megan byes, so she was bumped up.

 

Kevin Reynolds of Canada announced his retirement. Kinda wish he had gone out last season. This year was a bit of a disaster for him.

 

Here's a fun skate: Kevin Aymoz's SP at French Nats!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYswK-73heg

Edited December 20, 2018 by fallingslowly

[Riserise]

I really like it, actually! It suits her. I hope she doesn't get thrown off of SPs like OCS in the future, but maybe it's better that she's gone with something more familiar. And I love a program choreographed by Misha, duh.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IO-pZcMiHDg

 

Other news: Voronov injured himself yesterday, so he's unfortunately out of Russian Nationals. Liza is out with pnuemonia. Mikhail has a severe sinus infection and has since the beginning of the season, but his coach has said that he will skate.

 

The ladies already had their SP draw; Medvedeva will skate last.

 

The list for US Nationals is out; no Ashley, no Mirai, but Karen and Gracie are listed. Emmy Ma will also be skating even though she didn't place at sectionals. I think they gave Ting and Megan byes, so she was bumped up.

 

Kevin Reynolds of Canada announced his retirement. Kinda wish he had gone out last season. This year was a bit of a disaster for him.

 

Here's a fun skate: Kevin Aymoz's SP at French Nats!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYswK-73heg

I'm glad Zhenya has a new SP. Not because I didn't like the old one, but because it was probably too much to change styles like that on top of everything else. Perhaps it would have worked better for her if she had tried it as an ex and then grown into it without pressure.

 

I hoped that Mikhail would withdraw. If it was anyone else, I would trust more that it would be okay, but with him there's always nervewrecking when he skates and I really don't want him to have a bad skate. Still, he is second at the moment, so hopefully I was wrong and his FP will be good.

 

Sad that Liza couldn't be there. I still think they'll send her to the big comps if she is healed. A bronze at GPF says a lot about her possibilities there and she's still upping her tech. Zhenya needs to do really well to be in. I wonder what they will do if let's say, Sofia is second and Zhenya fourth. Zhenya has the higher scoring potential, but Sofia has been more consistent.

 

As for the US Nationals, is Starr Andrews in? I think Ashley is done skating competitively. It wouldn't surprise me if Mirai comes back next year for some reason. She could still be a US Champ, especially if her triple axel holds up.

 

I agree with you about Kevin Reynolds.

 

And Aymoz can skate over me and I will say thank you.

Edited December 20, 2018 by Riserise

[jennaayy]

Really excited for Evgenia's new SP and can't wait to see how she does at nationals. 

[fallingslowly]

I'm glad Zhenya has a new SP. Not because I didn't like the old one, but because it was probably too much to change styles like that on top of everything else. Perhaps it would have worked better for her if she had tried it as an ex and then grown into it without pressure.

 

I hoped that Mikhail would withdraw. If it was anyone else, I would trust more that it would be okay, but with him there's always nervewrecking when he skates and I really don't want him to have a bad skate. Still, he is second at the moment, so hopefully I was wrong and his FP will be good.

 

Sad that Liza couldn't be there. I still think they'll send her to the big comps if she is healed. A bronze at GPF says a lot about her possibilities there and she's still upping her tech. Zhenya needs to do really well to be in. I wonder what they will do if let's say, Sofia is second and Zhenya fourth. Zhenya has the higher scoring potential, but Sofia has been more consistent.

 

As for the US Nationals, is Starr Andrews in? I think Ashley is done skating competitively. It wouldn't surprise me if Mirai comes back next year for some reason. She could still be a US Champ, especially if her triple axel holds up.

 

I think TCC wanted to give her a bit of a bigger push than she was ready for. But they're fairly flexible, enlisted Misha, and Brian seemed quite happy with her progress; I hope things will improve from here.

 

I don't think Misha has a choice if he wants to go to Euros or Worlds, unfortunately. He hasn't had a good competition all season and the fed seems keen on pushing Maxim now. But, of all the men, he was the only one to stay on his feet in the SP. So I hope this is the beginning of a turnaround.

 

I'm confident Liza's spot on the Euros/Worlds team isn't in question regardless of nationals. It's that third spot that's open, and yeah, it's either Sofia/Zhenya. I think they'll give it to Sofia unless Zhenya wins at least silver. Bronze, it could go either way. Sofia is just steel in all of these high pressure situations while Zhenya has shown cracks in the facade. Russia almost lost its third women's spot at Worlds last year, so they'll be looking for someone who can give them a solid placing even if they don't medal, I would think.

 

Starr is in, yes! No one has gotten injured since the GP, thankfully. I don't know why people were surprised Ashley wasn't listed, because I'm sure she's essentially retired as well. Mirai...I love her, but I don't see her doing anything for us internationally if she does come back.

 

Just so everyone knows: The ladies' SP at Japanese nationals is starting in a little over an hour! Check /r/figureskating for streaming links. The ladies' SP at Russian nationals is in about four and a half hours; the men's FS will be in about seven and a half.

Edited December 21, 2018 by fallingslowly

[fallingslowly]

Standings for Japanese Nationals:

1. Satoko Miyahara å®®åŽŸçŸ¥å­ - 76.76 (40.54, 36.22)

2. Kaori Sakamoto å‚本花織 - 75.65 (41.08, 34.57)

3. Mai Mihara ä¸‰åŽŸèˆžä¾ - 72.88 (39.48, 33.40)

4. Wakaba Higuchi 樋å£æ–°è‘‰ - 72.63 (38.79, 33.84)

5. Rika Kihira 紀平梨花 - 68.75 (36.54, 33.21, -1.00)

6. Yuhana Yokoi 横井ゆã¯èœ - 66.27 (38.30, 27.97)

Rika is having boot troubles at present but had no time to break new ones in. They're clearly not stiff enough; it's a miracle she only fell on the 3A. I worry she'll have real trouble with her FS.

 

Wakaba seems well rested! In fact, no one in the top 6 fell besides Rika. It was nice to see.

 

Russian ladies SP is currently underway with one group left to go.

 

At the moment:

1. Alina Zagitova - 80.62
2. Alexandra Trusova - 74.96
3. Alena Kostornaia - 74.40
4. Anna Scherbakova - 74.09
5. Sofia Samodurova - 71.82
6. Alena Leonova - 70.79

Alena K. had a bizarre fall on her StSq, what a pity! She would have surpassed Sasha otherwise. But it was a beautiful SP, as always.

[Riserise]

I think TCC wanted to give her a bit of a bigger push than she was ready for. But they're fairly flexible, enlisted Misha, and Brian seemed quite happy with her progress; I hope things will improve from here.

 

I don't think Misha has a choice if he wants to go to Euros or Worlds, unfortunately. He hasn't had a good competition all season and the fed seems keen on pushing Maxim now. But, of all the men, he was the only one to stay on his feet in the SP. So I hope this is the beginning of a turnaround.

 

I'm confident Liza's spot on the Euros/Worlds team isn't in question regardless of nationals. It's that third spot that's open, and yeah, it's either Sofia/Zhenya. I think they'll give it to Sofia unless Zhenya wins at least silver. Bronze, it could go either way. Sofia is just steel in all of these high pressure situations while Zhenya has shown cracks in the facade. Russia almost lost its third women's spot at Worlds last year, so they'll be looking for someone who can give them a solid placing even if they don't medal, I would think.

 

Starr is in, yes! No one has gotten injured since the GP, thankfully. I don't know why people were surprised Ashley wasn't listed, because I'm sure she's essentially retired as well. Mirai...I love her, but I don't see her doing anything for us internationally if she does come back.

 

Just so everyone knows: The ladies' SP at Japanese nationals is starting in a little over an hour! Check /r/figureskating for streaming links. The ladies' SP at Russian nationals is in about four and a half hours; the men's FS will be in about seven and a half.

Thanks for the updates on the schedule. I couldn't make it for the Japanese ladies, but half jumped in with the Russian ladies. I so hope Zhenya does well, and all the others too. Though Zhenya is my fave, I don't begrudge anyone else the spot, especially Sofia, who made it to GPF. It would be weird is Maria suddenly starts skating like last year and becomes a contender again. That would really make things hard, though I don't think it will happen. I don't know the scores of now, but it seems about half of them have skated. There are lots of Japanese fans in the Russian Ladies Youtube chat

 

Happy with Starr being there. I hope she stays a skater for a long time.

Not surprised about Ashley either. I haven't heard anything about her competing since last year's nationals. And even last season she didn't seem consistently motivated to skate to me (she did at some parts, but not all the time).

 

 

Really excited for Evgenia's new SP and can't wait to see how she does at nationals. 

Me too!

[Riserise]

Standings for Japanese Nationals:

1. Satoko Miyahara å®®åŽŸçŸ¥å­ - 76.76 (40.54, 36.22)

2. Kaori Sakamoto å‚本花織 - 75.65 (41.08, 34.57)

3. Mai Mihara ä¸‰åŽŸèˆžä¾ - 72.88 (39.48, 33.40)

4. Wakaba Higuchi 樋å£æ–°è‘‰ - 72.63 (38.79, 33.84)

5. Rika Kihira 紀平梨花 - 68.75 (36.54, 33.21, -1.00)

6. Yuhana Yokoi 横井ゆã¯èœ - 66.27 (38.30, 27.97)

Rika is having boot troubles at present but had no time to break new ones in. They're clearly not stiff enough; it's a miracle she only fell on the 3A. I worry she'll have real trouble with her FS.

 

Wakaba seems well rested! In fact, no one in the top 6 fell besides Rika. It was nice to see.

 

Russian ladies SP is currently underway with one group left to go.

 

At the moment:

1. Alina Zagitova - 80.62
2. Alexandra Trusova - 74.96
3. Alena Kostornaia - 74.40
4. Anna Scherbakova - 74.09
5. Sofia Samodurova - 71.82
6. Alena Leonova - 70.79

Alena K. had a bizarre fall on her StSq, what a pity! She would have surpassed Sasha otherwise. But it was a beautiful SP, as always.

Hahah, you already provided the answer to what I was just posting about.

 

Rika....noooooo! I hope they can do something to make the situation a bit better. And whatever happens here, I am sure they will still send the GPF winner to Worlds. Satoko still steady and reliable as always. Apart from the usual suspects at the top, I'm also glad to see a good showing by Yuhana Yokoi.

 

Good for Alexandra, Alena and Anna doing so well! Anastasia is second to last to skate, right? I hope she makes a good impression too. And Sofia also didn't make a mistake it seems. Can't wait to see the replay later. (wish I had been able to watch before).

 

Alena falling on her step sequence in this situation is one of those times where it's good to make that mistake now and not next year at Europeans or something.

 

Zhenya looks tough and ready to go for it!

Edited December 21, 2018 by Riserise

[fallingslowly]

Thanks for the updates on the schedule. I couldn't make it for the Japanese ladies, but half jumped in with the Russian ladies. I so hope Zhenya does well, and all the others too. Though Zhenya is my fave, I don't begrudge anyone else the spot, especially Sofia, who made it to GPF. It would be weird is Maria suddenly starts skating like last year and becomes a contender again. That would really make things hard, though I don't think it will happen. I don't know the scores of now, but it seems about half of them have skated. There are lots of Japanese fans in the Russian Ladies Youtube chat

 

Happy with Starr being there. I hope she stays a skater for a long time.

Not surprised about Ashley either. I haven't heard anything about her competing since last year's nationals. And even last season she didn't seem consistently motivated to skate to me (she did at some parts, but not all the time).

 

 

Me too!

 

Maria is in 9th right now (she popped a jump), so it's really coming down to Zhenya or Sofia. I don't think Maria had a realistic shot regardless, but it was a shame to see her mess up.

 

Ashley was asked recently and she wasn't firm about retiring, but said she'd have to think long and hard about it because she wasn't sure if she'd be able to maintain a certain standard for technical content with all of these young skaters upping the ante. I highly doubt she's coming back, given that answer.

 

Hahah, you already provided the answer to what I was just posting about.

 

Rika....noooooo! I hope they can do something to make the situation a bit better. And whatever happens here, I am sure they will still send the GPF winner to Worlds. Satoko still steady and reliable as always. Apart from the usual suspects at the top, I'm also glad to see a good showing by Yuhana Yokoi.

 

Good for Alexandra, Alena and Anna doing so well! Anastasia is second to last to skate, right? I hope she makes a good impression too. And Sofia also didn't make a mistake it seems. Can't wait to see the replay later. (wish I had been able to watch before).

 

Alena falling on her step sequence in this situation is one of those times where it's good to make that mistake now and not next year at Europeans or something.

 

Zhenya looks tough and ready to go for it!

 

The boots look really loose. I worry about her safety, honestly. :( Yuhana and Tomoe were both quite good!

 

Anastasia is second to last, yeah. Sofia was on point, as always! No one in the top six fell but Alena.

 

It was one of those falls where you're like, okay, she's skating...and now she's down. Those bizarre flukes. Even Eteri had to laugh.

 

Yikes @ Zhenya failing a spin during the warmup. Brian looks tense. But the person who played Under Pressure as they lined up for warmups was a whole mood.

[Riserise]

Maria is in 9th right now (she popped a jump), so it's really coming down to Zhenya or Sofia. I don't think Maria had a realistic shot regardless, but it was a shame to see her mess up.

 

Ashley was asked recently and she wasn't firm about retiring, but said she'd have to think long and hard about it because she wasn't sure if she'd be able to maintain a certain standard for technical content with all of these young skaters upping the ante. I highly doubt she's coming back, given that answer.

 

I don't know why I always forget about Stanislava. They sent her to senior and junior worlds last year, so if she does well and Sofia/Zhenya do not, they might send her again.

 

I hope Ashley finds another way to be close to the sport. She's good at performing and I'm sure she'd be welcomed at Japanese summer shows. Maybe she can be a coach or otherwise involved.

 

The boots look really loose. I worry about her safety, honestly. :( Yuhana and Tomoe were both quite good!

 

Anastasia is second to last, yeah. Sofia was on point, as always! No one in the top six fell but Alena.

 

It was one of those falls where you're like, okay, she's skating...and now she's down. Those bizarre flukes. Even Eteri had to laugh.

 

Yikes @ Zhenya failing a spin during the warmup. Brian looks tense. But the person who played Under Pressure as they lined up for warmups was a whole mood.

I wish Rika's boot thing had happened in the summer, not middle of the season. I don't want her to start making mistakes when she's on such a roll.

 

As for Anastasia being second to last, it's true, but I forgot there are other Anastasias as well. That's the name that comes up most in figure skating it seems, so I have to be more specific. Anastasia Gubanova did well, good.

 

I really really hope Zhenya will do well. She doesn't need to break records, as long as she does all the elements right and stays on her feet. Failing here would devestate her. So, yeah, that song fit well

[fallingslowly]

I don't know why I always forget about Stanislava. They sent her to senior and junior worlds last year, so if she does well and Sofia/Zhenya do not, they might send her again.

 

I hope Ashley finds another way to be close to the sport. She's good at performing and I'm sure she'd be welcomed at Japanese summer shows. Maybe she can be a coach or otherwise involved.

 

I wish Rika's boot thing had happened in the summer, not middle of the season. I don't want her to start making mistakes when she's on such a roll.

 

As for Anastasia being second to last, it's true, but I forgot there are other Anastasias as well. That's the name that comes up most in figure skating it seems, so I have to be more specific. Anastasia Gubanova did well, good.

 

I really really hope Zhenya will do well. She doesn't need to break records, as long as she does all the elements right and stays on her feet. Failing here would devestate her. So, yeah, that song fit well

 

She definitely won't surpass a clean Sofia but I guess she's an option. It was nice to see her skate her SP well since it's such a better fit for her.

 

She's already coaching! She relocated to Boston and joined a skating club there.

 

It's unfortunate, but I guess that's the price you pay when you compete back-to-back on a constant basis. :/

 

I assumed you meant the one who skated in the JGPF, lol, so, process of elimination. Gubanova's music is tragic but she did well!

 

I don't know if she tweaked her back or something, but her spins are looking pretty bad. I've also never seen her (or Brian) this nervous.

[Riserise]

She definitely won't surpass a clean Sofia but I guess she's an option. It was nice to see her skate her SP well since it's such a better fit for her.

 

She's already coaching! She relocated to Boston and joined a skating club there.

 

It's unfortunate, but I guess that's the price you pay when you compete back-to-back on a constant basis. :/

 

I assumed you meant the one who skated in the JGPF, lol, so, process of elimination. Gubanova's music is tragic but she did well!

 

I don't know if she tweaked her back or something, but her spins are looking pretty bad. I've also never seen her (or Brian) this nervous.

Oh, good to know. Go Ashley!

 

Yes, that's the one I meant and then I went off on some talk about Anastasias....sorry for making things even more confusing. You understood correctly  that I was talking about Anastasia Tarakanova

 

Am sad now by what happened to the last two, especially Zhenya. I think she needs a long off season, so she can be confident and ready for next year. Am happy with the support she got from the crowd.