If you’re wondering why there will be no prediction or recap/highlights for the Cup of Russia, refer to this post. I admit, a lot of my vitriol comes from the fact that such a huge event – the only one the general public cares about – was so gravely misjudged but I still have a bad taste in my mouth and until it goes away, I’ll go on vacation (on post writing, that is) while competitions are held in Russia.
I think I will indulge in a few of my favourite programs from three skaters from the last cycle who I have nicknamed “The Holy Trinity” while I relax this weekend.
Frozen has been out for a while already but “Let It Go” is still a popular song. Yuna Kim has worshippers in Korea and around the world. Combined, they might have enough power to break the internets. Yuna sings with a children’s choir in her own rendition of the hit Disney song, “Let It Go.” The initial voices are of children but afterwards, it’s Yuna singing.
Enjoy!
~The Rinkside Cafe
P.S. There’s one particular figure skating who looks like Elsa from “Frozen.” Check out this post to find out who!
One of biggest problems with the Olympics is that videos get removed from youtube faster than you can say, “Olympics” because of copyright issues. However, the IOC seems to have established their own youtube channel and have uploaded the Olympic performances. After re-watching Sotnikova’s programs, I continue to stand by my opinion that her PCS were inflated.
Firstly, here is a link to an overview of the PCS and its criteria. When we think of the scores, let’s keep in mind the definitions of each number when we say that the PCS is marked from 0 to 10:
9-10 – Outstanding
8 – Very good
7 – Good
6 – Above average
5- Average
4 – Fair
3 – Weak
2 – Poor
1 – Very poor
<1 – Extremely poor
Adelina received scores mostly in the 8s in her SP and 9s in her LP. Yes, the scores themselves are subjective but each PCS has its own criteria to limit how we define “average.” The following are the criteria of the PCS and my take on it. More
You know, I can accept that Russia won the team event. As someone who prefers Tessa and Scott, I can also accept and celebrate Meryl & Charlie’s win at the Olympics. Adelina Sotnikova’s Olympic gold, however, is the one accolade I refuse to accept and this ridiculousness in judging is an insult to anyone who holds the title of “Olympic Champion.” I am so disgusted with this result that I refuse to cover or watch any more competitions in Russia until this bullshit judging has stopped because if this is how things are going to be judged in Russia, then may no figure skating competition be ever held there ever again. So, if you’re wondering why I haven’t made predictions for the Cup of Russia for the next few seasons, here’s why.
I think all commentators were shocked when Sotnikova won. Kurt Browning said that she was not a complete skater, as did Dick Button. Katarina Witt, former Olympic Champion, has also told the media that she thought Yuna Kim should’ve won and she is joined by a whole host of knowledgeable people in the figure skating world.To also put this whole debacle into perspective, consider this: Sotnikova’s season’s best score before the Olympics was 20 points below her Olympic score. Of course, somehow we have the media trying to rationalize what happened by saying that Adelina had a higher Technical Elements Scores (TES) and while that is true, we have to consider that the TES is only half of the story. In fact, what didn’t make sense in Sotnikova’s scores were her Program Components Scores (PCS). So for those who are still scratching their heads at the result, here are my two cents as well as a general recap of the ladies event in Sochi. More
Hello everyone! This is just a short post since I plan on relaxing today to wish everyone a prosperous and happy lunar new year! This year is the year of the horse!
A popular expression in Chinese for the New Year is long ma jing sheng or may you have the energy and vitality of the horse and the dragon! Since this is a skating blog, here are two skaters who have given their discipline a great vitality through their rivalry. And they were born in the year of the horse!
Let’s hope they both skate well and give us a heck of a competition in Sochi!
If you were wondering about your fortunes for the year of the horse…
(This is just for fun, so don’t take these too seriously!)
In skating commentary, we often hear the commentators naming the jumps. On other occasions, there’s usually some mention of how the axel is the most difficult jump. Of course, the bits of commentary are nice and all but wouldn’t it be nice to have all that information about jumps, their difficulty and how to tell them apart in one place? Well, you’re in luck.
When I first started getting interested in figure skating, I found this video which has proven to be invaluable. It lists the jumps in ascending order of difficulty, their abbreviations, the base points your receive for each jump (if performed with 3 rotations) and demonstrates how you can tell them apart. One amendment I might make is that the flip is not always entered from the 3-turn* but as long as it’s not entered in the long backwards outside edge position, it’s a lutz but that’s just a small detail. The extremely well-made video features Yuna Kim probably because she has so many dedicated fans and also because Yuna’s known to have “textbook” jumps.
When you have finished this video, try doing this little quiz (you can put your answer in the comments!): What two jumps is Mao doing in the picture above?
*Examples of not entering the flip in a 3-turn – Myrianne Samson enters the F from a slow twizzle starting from 1:23 and Daisuke Takahashi actually steps into the 3F of the 3F-3T combination at 0:41.
As for a few other things not covered in the video…
Basic Jump-Related Terms:
Combination Jump – Jumps done simultaneously one after the other. In order to be considered a combination, skaters must take off from the landing edge of the previous jump, with no steps, turns, or change of edge in between jumps. Since all jumps are landed on the right back outside edge, skaters often use the toeloop or loop as the second part of a combination since those jumps use those particular edges for takeoff. I believe at one point in the jump video, you were shown one of Yuna’s famous 3F-3T combinations.
Jump Sequence – Jumps linked by hops or non-listed jumps. The base value of the jumps is 80% of what the base value of the jumps in combination.
Zayak Rule – A rule that stipulates that skaters must perform each type of triple jump only once, or twice if one of them is incorporated into a combination or sequence. For frequent readers of my blog, you know that I had a hissy fit over Oda Nobunari’s LP at Skate Canada in which he violated this rule within the first minute. (It’s not the first time he’s done that. Or the second. Or the third…) In that first minute, Oda did 2 clean 3T. The second 3T was considered a sequence and which lowered the base value of the jump. In order for Oda to not violate the zayak rule, he could have, at the very least, tacked on a 1T at the end of one of his triple toeloops. I was rather furious at Oda partly because he’s done this so many times and partly because he could’ve won silver. I admit that I prefer Yuzuru who won silver at the competition but to me, it felt like a bit of an empty victory for him. It was just such a stupid thing for Oda to do.
Toe – A shorter name for the toeloop jump.
Throw Jump – Done only in the pairs competition, throw jumps are done the same way as jumps in singles skating except for the fact that the man assists the lady in getting off the ice by throwing her.
Common Jump Mistakes:
Popped jump – A jump in which the skater prematurely ends the rotation. Usually, skaters only achieve one rotation before landing. Popping jumps is one of the worst things you can do under the Code of Points system (yes, worse than falling), as skaters are only credited with the base value of a single jump.
Flutz – A common edge mistake where the skater takes off on the inside edge rather than the outside edge of a lutz. It wasn’t quite penalized as much or as harshly in the 6.0 system of judging but flutzes usually garner a -3 grade of execution from the judges. The camera was at a perfect angle to capture Tara Lipinski’s triple flutz at 1:35. If you stop the video there, you can very clearly see she was on the inside edge when she picked into the ice for takeoff.
Lip – A less common edge mistake opposite to the flutz where a skater takes off on an outside edge on the flip. Someone made an entire video about a flip vs. a lip here.
Underrotation – Where a skater does not fully rotate the jump by 1/4 of a rotation or more. If the jump 1/2 a rotation or more is not completed, the jump is downgraded 1 rotation. (i.e. If a skater did two and a half rotations for a 3F, the technical panel will consider it as a 2F.) Here, we have a clip of Tracy Wilson looking at two underrotated jumps by Caroline Zhang. With the slow-motion replay, we can see how most of the last rotation on her jumps were done on the ice.
Overrotation – When a skater does more than 1/4 of a rotation on their jump. It may not seem like a bad thing but overrotation is a sign of bad technique and lack of control and are usually hard to land properly. When they are landed properly, the mistake is hard to spot unless you do a slow-motion replay. If you look at the angle of the blade at which Sasha takes off and lands, you can see that she overrotated a little bit on her 3F at 1:24. You also see a lot of overrotations when men attempt to do quadruple jumps but can’t quite get a fourth rotation so they try to land after 3 rotations.
Two-footed landing – When a jump is landed with 2 feet instead of one. Usually the skater does not get enough height or cannot bend low enough in the knee to finish the jump on one foot in the usual landing position. Mao Asada’s most common mistake on her triple axel this season has been a two-foot landing like at 1:17.
Step-out – When a skater does not have enough balance to maintain the landing position. A relatively minor mistake in terms of jumping mistakes but the step-out by Anton Sikharulidze at 1:33 is the one flaw that sparked the controversy in Salt Lake City in 2002.
Hand down – When a skater puts a hand down on the ice after he or she completes a jump. From here on, the technical panel must decide whether or not the skater would have fallen without that hand to determine the deduction that he or she will incur. At 1:05, we see Shawn Sawyer drop his shoulder just slightly upon landing, which caused him to put his hand down.
Leg wrap – When the free leg (the leg not used for takeoff) is held at a right angle instead of being together and perpendicular on the ice when the skater is in the air during her jump. I love this girl but Midori Ito is a frequent offender. The most glaring example in this program is during her triple flip at 1:08. Now compare that with how Yuna’s legs are tight and straight in the air in the jump guide video. Huge difference.
Mule-kick – When a skater kicks too high to pick into the ice on a toe-jump (i.e. the toeloop, the flip or lutz). I think Caroline Zhang’s mule kick is one of the most dramatic and infamous in the skating world. You can see it here at 0:38.
Telegraphing – When a skater takes too long to set up a jump. I find that this mistake is most perceptible in the Loop jump where a skater has their legs crossed to set up the jump but looks as if they hesitate for a second or so before taking off. You can also very easily see this mistake in the Lutz where the skater holds that back outside edge for a long time before picking into the ice and taking off. Just compare Tara Lipinski’s 3Lz at 3:35 and Yuna Kim’s 3Lz at 1:00 and watch how long they stay gliding on their left foot backwards before they pick into the ice with their right foot and take off.
Fall – Well, I think we know what this means. But just in case we forget… 1:19. A fall is penalized with a 1 point deduction and negative grades of execution.
Wow, that is a lot of things that can go wrong. I didn’t realize how long this list was until I wrote it. But let’s not end this post on a bad note. Here are some flourishes that skaters add to jumps to increase their difficulty and dazzle us all. Doing these things increase the difficulty of the jump and when performed well, the judges should award skaters with a high grade of execution (GOE).
Fancypants Jumping
Difficult entries – In the jump guide video, you can see Yuna coming out of a ina bauer into a double axel. Another common but difficult entry into the axel jump is the spread eagle into the axel. You can see Ilia Kulik start his spread eagle at 0:40 which then transitions into the 3A. Takahiko Kozuka also does a lovely arabesque at 2:51, which slows him down but despite that, is able to do a beautiful 3F. Difficult entries often involve doing movements that slow down the skater before their jump so they go into it with less energy and force or a skater enters a jump from a difficult position that requires extreme edge control and power to make sure that the jump’s edges and takeoff are correct despite its unorthodox entry.
Tano/Double-tano arms – Involves extending one or two arms respectively above a skater’s head while they jump. Invented by Brian Boitano, the tano arms increases the difficulty of the jump. Elizaveta Tuktamysheva’s tano 2A back in the day was one of my favourite jumps. She just made that move so edgy. You can see it at 1:46. Adam Rippon has a signature double-tano triple lutz which has recently been named the Rippon Lutz. It is a thing of beauty.
Triple jump-loop-triple salchow combination – A rare and difficult combination that usually involves a lutz or flip at the beginning, followed by a half loop that counts as a single loop followed by a triple salchow. It’s very difficult to get the timing of this combination right and difficult to execute since you go into the last part of the combination (the salchow) with no preparation and no extra speed or power from the last jump. At 4:08, you see Yuzuru Hanyu doing a 3Lz-1Lp-3S combination. What’s lovely about this jump combination is the element of surprise. It almost looks as if a skater has two-footed a jump but then a 3S comes out of nowhere. Magical.
This post has become way longer than I expected it to. If I’ve left anything out, please let me know in the comments!
Not only was it a world record but Yuzu’s got a 12-point lead??? What on earth happened???
Well, first this happened:
Chan did a clean quad toe-triple toe (slightly awkward landing on the former), a severely two-footed triple axel with a hand down and a… double lutz with a shaky landing? He hasn’t skated like this so far this season. This competition should’ve been a piece of cake for him seeing the crazy high scores he’s been getting this season but I guess he cracked a bit in the SP.
Anyways, enough about Chan, here’s the real star of the night:
Flawless except for a slight bobble on his final jump but Yuzuru skated that program with ATTACK. Maybe that sense of attack added to the edginess of the program or maybe he decided that he’s just going to go for it and try to beat Chan but wow. I’m not sure what prompted this decision but it paid off. I don’t expect him to skate that well in the long given Yuzuru’s record of tiring easily in the second half of his long program but I wish him the best and I hope he proves me wrong. I have never regretted my decision to peg him as the future of figure skating at the beginning of this Olympic cycle. Ganbare, Yuzuru-kun!
In other news, the Korean media seems to have recorded Yuna skating run-throughs of her SP and LP for the Golden Spin of Zagreb:
As anyone can see, Yuna still has great jumps. The only thing I feel somewhat iffy about is what I feel to be the lack of growth. Sure, Yuna is great and all but no skater is perfect just as no artist will ever achieve perfection. Before I start receiving a torrent of hatred for saying this, let me iterate that perfection is an endpoint you steer towards but never reach because if you ever reach perfection, you stop because there’s no goal anymore. I think anyone who does any art for fun or for job-related matters can understand.
In any case, it’s been an entire Olympic cycle and yet, I still feel as if I’m watching Yuna circa 2010. She still doesn’t turn out her feet and her posture and lines still need polish. You can say they’re small things but they add up and really make a program shine so much more. I mean, remember Michelle Kwan when her hands reached out to you when she did her iconic arabesque spiral? I still tear up occasionally. Or when Midori Ito did those huge jumps with a giant smile on her face? I smiled with her? Or those absolutely gorgeous spirals and layback spins in the most exquisite position from Sasha Cohen? Shivers.
At her ability now, Yuna’s good enough to win the Olympics but she’s already won that. I think she needs to think along the lines of the top two ice dance teams of the moment: to push the sport to a level where it’s never been before. Try doing something interesting with the choreography, push yourself to express a song/theme/story that you’ve never skated before. Yuna’s done a tango before as well as a program to flowing music and as a figure skating fan, I want more.
Anyways, I’m off! I may put up a comments post after the GPF is over and I’m thinking about the Skating 101 series for fans that have recently joined us for the Olympic season.
It seems as if Yuna is withdrawing from both of her GP events this season, according to this article. This means that she probably won’t be competing against Mao or Carolina until the Olympics, which is kind of an exciting thought, even though I’m sad about the injury.
To make up for the lack of Yuna though, I’m posting a picture of something I saw at P.A.T. Mart, a supermarket in Koreatown in Toronto…
See any figure skating related ads near your hometown? Post them in the comments! I’d love to see them!
So, the Olympic season is upon us and of note this season, two Olympic champions are coming back. Sort of. And the “sort of”s mean different things in the two situations.
Yuna Kim is the first Olympic champion is coming back to compete for a full season. Well, actually, a slightly less truncated season. It was announced recently that Yuna will be off the ice for 6 weeks due to a foot injury and as a result, will miss Skate Canada International. (Article here.) Sad, but with her result at Worlds this year, Yuna has shown us that she can come back and win it all without a shadow of a doubt. If Yuna can show the judges that she can skate two clean programs after her foot injury, I think she’ll have a good shot for gold. And yes, she will have to skate clean at the Olympics. Her jumps are fantastic, as always, but her extension still needs work and she really needs to push herself a little more in expressing the music. Her rivals will bring their all (or at least I hope they will) and I’m sure Yuna will want nothing but perfection in all her performances anyways.
I expect Carolina Kostner to be nipping at Yuna’s heels with her improved consistency, lovely flow and wonderful expressiveness – those who aren’t totally blinded by their fandom will have to admit, it was hard to keep your eyes off of Carolina last season. (Especially during her Bolero LP.) As for Mao, well… she’s been brave and she’s been trying and I hope to see her in tip-top shape. I’d love to have a season that harks back to the golden days of the Yuna/Mao rivalry (without the nasty racist comments) just for the sake of being able to watch purely beautiful skating. Rivalries are wonderful when they push two competitors to be at their best all the time.
Windmill GuySeizures on ice Evan Lysacek
Evan Lysacek is supposed to be coming back this season but all in all, I highly doubt that Evan will either 1) be able to compete seriously and 2) be able to defend his title if he somehow makes it to the Olympics.
Exhibit A: Evan is only assigned to one Grand Prix event.
Grand Prix events are a season starter and a way to establish yourself in the game. Grand Prix wins may not lead to medals at Four Continents/Euros or Worlds but it helps the judges and fans figure out who the A and B and under-list skaters are. Many of those who come out on top during the GP series will be frontrunners at Worlds or in other events in future seasons. However, coming back and doing two GP events show that 1) you are serious about your comeback and 2) you think you can win with or without the home ice advantage that skaters like Lysacek get. Lysacek is assigned to Skate America and the roster is often compiled to give the home favourites an easy win so I’m guessing he may get on the podium at the very least at Skate America just to prove he still “has it” OR he’ll conveniently get an injury and not compete at all
Exhibit B: Lysacek won without the quad in Vancouver
Sorry, Windmill dude, but the quad is securely back in the men’s arsenal. As much as I resent Chan’s inflated scores and performances, I will give him credit for helping to put the quad back on the map in men’s programs. You can’t beat Chan without a quad nowadays and Chan is the one to beat. I will also admit the Chan is definitely the lesser of two evils between him and Lysacek because Chan can skate… without looking like a windmill. (For more information, check out Morozombie’s awesome post.) In any case, Lysacek faces tougher competition this season in Sochi than in Vancouver and he can’t sweep the rest of the competition away like Yuna can.
Wildcard: Lysacek’s legendary work ethic
Unlike some of Frank Carroll’s students, Lysacek does not suffer from a poor work ethic. Commendable, yes, but why Frank hasn’t made him work on not looking like a windmill skating to overused music is confusing to me. In any case, Lysacek can prove me totally wrong. Usually, I’d encourage skaters to do it but my dislike of his skating style makes me think that I may have to drink myself into oblivion if he wins another Olympic gold. And I don’t even drink. Often, that is.
The 2012/2013 season is officially over with the close of the World Team Trophy. When the new season starts in October, the world will be watching. And people might actually care about figure skating in anticipation for the Sochi Olympics. So judges, you might actually need to give Chan marks he deserves next season. In any case, I thought it would be fun to do a state of the union/pre-season predictions post and see how totally slippery the ice is and how my predictions will be.
So barring major injury or meltdown, I think the Olympic champions next year will be…
Men
Patrick Chan may get unusually high marks but the unfortunate fact is that when he skates clean, he does deserve those high scores. Whether he makes you feel anything other than patriotism (if you’re Canadian) is another matter. With Javier still establishing himself, Yuzuru still struggling with his LP and with Daisuke struggling in general, there aren’t very many people who can come between Chan and the gold at Sochi right now. Chan’s GP scores will show whether the judges are bringing him back down to the ground during the Olympic season or if they’ll continue with Chanflation. We’ll be keeping an eye out for that.
Ladies
A few factors come into play in this prediction. If Yuna Kim decides to actually participate this season (and I really think she should compete the entire season this time), her decisive victory at Worlds this year proves that she’s still easily a head above the pack. If Yuna doesn’t manage to skate two clean programs or if she doesn’t compete, Carolina Kostner seems to be next in line for the crown. Mao is not at her best these days and despite the JFSA’s insistence to put her above the rest, Akiko Suzuki has shown that she is capable of outskating Mao. Sadly, I’ll just have to cling onto the tiny impossible glimmer of hope that Akiko could win a medal of any colour. As for Mao, I’ve got a feeling she’ll have to feel the bitter bile of disappointment again.
Pairs
I think without a doubt, Tatiana Volosozhar & Maxim Trankov will come out on top. They have the skills (although not necessarily the best choreography) and the right nationality. Mother Russia will get her pairs gold medal back. Or there will be blood.
Ice Dance
Meryl Davis & Charlie White are still embroiled in a bitter rivalry with Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir, however this season, they’ve proven that they have the upper edge. While Tessa and Scott have been having issues with speed and power, Meryl and Charlie have soared ahead. Knowing Tessa and Scott, they will work hard in the off season to get back up to par and beat their rivals but for now, Davis & White are slightly ahead in the race for the gold in Sochi.
Who do you think will be the Olympic champions next year?
The Rinkside Cafe 