World Championships 2012 - Pre-competition thread

how many hours do we still have to wait before the start of the ladies sp? thanks..

maowataiyo thanks for the translation.. heheh.. sorry, my japanese is not as good as it was ten years ago when i was still studying it.. )

I think the competition starts in about 3 hours
http://www.isuresults.com/results/wc2012/

No problem ashcroft. And you weren't wrong about the contents of the clip so there's no need for you to apologize because I think you're Japanese is great if you can comprehended all the things you wrote

It's Fuji that does lots of misleads with narration and caption stuff

I really thought she was talking about her mom because of all the dramatic scoring done by Fuji tv. I guess I really need to brush up on my japanese then. Thanks again maowataiyo, I can't wait for the sp.. All the waiting makes me catatonic and unproductive at work..

Same thing happens with me. Everything turns into a standstill during competition time

I'm going to sleep a few hours to save my energy for Mao I don't think I'm gonna be up for the earlier skaters since Mao is skating in the middle. See you guys later!

This person is tweeting from the ladies practice:

https://twitter.com/#!/Eleonorad

According to what that person posted on FSU, Mao is still struggling with the 3A and popped all her attempts.

Thanks ~*AAA*~ for the news link.

In this article Mao also says she thought she's in good condition at her first practice in Nice but since yesterday her body doesn't move as she wants.

Sato-sensei told her to practice 2A at the end of official practice (on the 28th). Mao says she will attempt 3A in SP and 2A is not her option.

It seems she's so determined. I do hope she has changed her mind by now or Mr. and Mrs. Sato will talk her into choosing 2A in SP, not letting her decide it for herself.

Are we going to have a World Championships competition thread or are we just going to change the title of this thread? Just wondering. I don't want to miss anything regarding the competition. It will start in one hour, right?

bellarina wrote:

This person is tweeting from the ladies practice:

https://twitter.com/#!/Eleonorad

According to what that person posted on FSU, Mao is still struggling with the 3A and popped all her attempts.

I hope the Satos can talk her out of that 3A if she still can't land a clean one during warmup. I'm getting really worried. On the other hand, I love that person's tweet: "Mao's skating quality is stunning live" Lucky her! When will I ever see Mao skate live?

I don't think I can watch a stream live even if there's one available. My connection isn't fast enough.

if any of you guys find any live streams please post them!

Has anyone noticed the new banner for the forum? It's beautiful!

I can't find any live streams, though I sincerely hope I can catch the SP later in eurosport.. Mao is making me nervous; but I like to think that she's not trying to win by other's expectations. I hope Mao ends this year's worlds with a performance she is satisfied with.

I'm a bit worried concerning Mao's 3A.
From what I read, the ice condition isn't very good and the ice is too soft in some parts. And I think it really showed during the short dance - you could really see the "shaved" ice flying in clouds.
It's more difficult to spot on YT videos due to poor quality, but look here at any time W/P are getting close to the rinkside (for example 2:42) - the blue line makes it easy to spot the flying ice. I haven't seen so much snow flying in an official competition in a long time.
This could explain the freak accidents in pairs. Too soft ice is tricky to skate on, because it's easy to lose the edge or trip over the rut made by previous skaters (or your own).

What concerns me, too soft ice can also make it more difficult to jump upper-tier edge jumps. Because the skater puts a lot of pressure on the blade during the take-off they might either sink too much into the ice and lose some speed (and underrotate the jump) or lose the edge and skid/fall, like Mao at Worlds 2008 or Nobunari at 4CC 2006.

I suspect that Mao might be hindered by the ice a bit, but doesn't want to give up on her 3A because it's not in her style to give up because of external circumstances.

Personally I just hope they'll sort out the problems with the ice before the next events.

Abdiel wrote:

Has anyone noticed the new banner for the forum? It's beautiful!

Thanks! I wanted to make one with the new costumes (from 4CC), but I couldn't find any decent photos (the ones I could find were too pixelated/blurred to use). I hope there will be some good photos available after Worlds.

I LOVE the new banner!

As for Mao and 3A, I understand why she doesn't want to give it up, but if she hasn't landed a single 3A, then yes she should go for 2A instead. Sometimes it's really frustrating to be her fan I can't imagine how Mr. Sato must feel.
And landing one or two 3A a day back at home, it's not something I'd called good condition (imo).
And lets not forget who the tech controller is.

Hi everyone


I´m so exited, at the begining when i heard Mao was confident i was really happy, but knowing that the 3A is not going well during the practice... i feel so worried, PLUS the Amano factor... i´m on my nerves.


I really wisht the best for Mao, on my TV it apears on eurosport airing it at 16:00 h Spain time, i think maybe it is not live isn´t it?

Okami wrote:

I suspect that Mao might be hindered by the ice a bit, but doesn't want to give up on her 3A because it's not in her style to give up because of external circumstances.

Personally I just hope they'll sort out the problems with the ice before the next events.

Our poor Mao now has two big hindrances: 1] Amano 2] the ice. Seems like the latter will be an even bigger threat as it affects her jumps the most and Amano can be his DG/UR happy self. I really, really hope Mao and her team will be able to overcome this. I want her to finally deliver clean Worlds performances.

OTOH, the banner is really beautiful, Okami!

Okami wrote:

Abdiel wrote:

Has anyone noticed the new banner for the forum? It's beautiful!

Thanks! I wanted to make one with the new costumes (from 4CC), but I couldn't find any decent photos (the ones I could find were too pixelated/blurred to use). I hope there will be some good photos available after Worlds.

The new banner is so pretty! Thanks Okami for creating it and updating the look of the forum

I am also worried and nervous about mao, but I guess she will do whatever she and the Satos want and feel like. I can oonly support her with all my heart. GOOOO MAO!

And I have found a working stream! It's showing ladies SP live right now! And it's working for me great so far *knocks on wood*
http://svtplay.se/v/2741037/vm_i_konstakning

kaarolcia wrote:

Okami wrote:

Abdiel wrote:

Has anyone noticed the new banner for the forum? It's beautiful!

Thanks! I wanted to make one with the new costumes (from 4CC), but I couldn't find any decent photos (the ones I could find were too pixelated/blurred to use). I hope there will be some good photos available after Worlds.

The new banner is so pretty! Thanks Okami for creating it and updating the look of the forum

I am also worried and nervous about mao, but I guess she will do whatever she and the Satos want and feel like. I can oonly support her with all my heart. GOOOO MAO!

And I have found a working stream! It's showing ladies SP live right now! And it's working for me great so far *knocks on wood*
http://svtplay.se/v/2741037/vm_i_konstakning

OMG i love you really, thanks so so so much.
in which place is Mao skating?

Love Love Love the new banner
Thanks Okami!

My thought is exactly the same as most of you guys.

If her 3a is not stable now, there is no point of doing it. Contrary to what Mao says, I don't think that being able to jump 3a a couple of times at home means 'stable' and I never think that a 3a can be better in a matter of one or two days.
I am just sad to see the old Mao coming back, I mean her old way of thinking where she puts too much emphasize on 3a. She did even said before this season that she must now also remember that results are important.
I am sure M. Sato doesn't want her to try 3a. But it must not be easy to convince Mao.
Looking at other skaters' condition, if Mao does for her 3a in both LP and SP, I am not sure if she'll on he podium.

jkblues wrote:

kaarolcia wrote:

And I have found a working stream! It's showing ladies SP live right now! And it's working for me great so far *knocks on wood*
http://svtplay.se/v/2741037/vm_i_konstakning

OMG i love you really, thanks so so so much.
in which place is Mao skating?

Mao is in the second to last group, skating first, just after her warm up. It should be around 15:12 Nice time, according to the official time schedule.

Thank you so much kaarolcia! You're a sweetheart

Beautiful job, Okami! Thanks for always making such beautiful layouts. You could tell how much thought and love was put into them- just like your avatar I loved the old banner because Mao reminded me of a Phoenix and what that symbolized, but this banner is equally exquisite and it captures Mao's elegance perfectly.

I am a bit worried about the ice conditions as well from reading everybody's comments about the way the competition has gone for pairs. I have zero knowledge of ice texture and such, but it also made me worry that the ladies got only to practice on the competition ice the first evening and the rest were on the sub-rink. I wish the skaters had more chances to skate on the actual competition rink so they could get more accustomed because I'm sure there's even small differences there. I remember a couple of years back, Daisuke once said it's really important to get the feel of the ice and each rink is different no matter what even if you try to replicate the exact same conditions like temperature settings and water used. And gathering from what Okami was explaining, there are probably striking differences for skaters of how they toe pick and time their jumps as well too because when Dai was talking about ice conditions, I remember him saying that the rink at that particular competition had ice was much harder than he was used to so it ate alot up of his stamina since he had to work that much more to increase his speed into the jumps.

kaarolcia wrote:

jkblues wrote:

kaarolcia wrote:

And I have found a working stream! It's showing ladies SP live right now! And it's working for me great so far *knocks on wood*
http://svtplay.se/v/2741037/vm_i_konstakning

OMG i love you really, thanks so so so much.
in which place is Mao skating?

Mao is in the second to last group, skating first, just after her warm up. It should be around 15:12 Nice time, according to the official time schedule.

thank you twice.

live stream please!! i will not miss this for the world! #GOMAO

Here's another livestream link posted by Noriko @ the FB page: http://tvsport24.info/tv_social_online.php?channel=54

I can't watch. My connection is pretty bad of all days... will just have to read the outcome later. Wishing Mao, Akiko and Kanako all the best!I hope Mao skates clean. Go Mao!!!

Thank you roma! You're a sweetheart too! I was being geoblocked, but I didn't want to be ungrateful You guys are awesome!

Found on twitter: http://t.co/2j9vyTAF
From today's official practice

Patknowsbest, I'm watching this stream: http://svtplay.se/v/2741037/vm_i_konstakning