Junior Worlds 2013

zarinaballerina wrote:

l-spiralmao wrote:

roma wrote:

The second to the last group should have started already but the ISU results page is still not updating. Has something happened again? What kind of Junior Worlds is this?

The absolute worst organized one in recent history

what happened? Europsort wasn't broadcasting so I didn't watch.

Honestly, after hearing what kind of organization the Italians have at their nationals, I'm not surprised that things are going so wrong here. And speedy was there yesterday when they had to stop the competition for 20 min to solve the "music" problem, I wonder what he was thinking.

I am sure he was laughing, just like when he laughed and joked in the audience when Dai had problem with his boot and had to stop skating.

ddmm wrote:

I am sure he was laughing, just like when he laughed and joked in the audience when Dai had problem with his boot and had to stop skating.

Yeah, I remember that one, very classy.

Congrats to Elena for world title, and to the Russian ladies team for the podium sweep!!!! Though IMO, Elena was underscored.

Can someone tell me why judges don't seem to like Satoko Miyahara? Yes she has an UR problem (she's so tiny that her skates look almost bigger than her ) but she has a nice presentation and her step sequence was gorgeous. Yet they put her BEHIND Hicks.

the same goes for So-youn Park. She was again underscored in PCS. She's such a lovely skater, I can't wait to see what the future has in store for her.

Is it just me or is this the weirdest competition ever, judging wise. Seriously there were times that I felt like the judges were all newbies and this was a practise for them to see what judging at the real competition looks like. some of the scores were really weird.

Congrats to all the Russian girls! Their FPs were all a treat to watch.

As much as Satoko is soft and flexible...whatever...I kind of imagined she wouldn't be so highly scored internationally (yet). She's tiny and cute on the ice, has good techs but...well, I simply can't feel much happiness coming out of her when she's skating. Courtney may be more sloppy and rough, but you can feel she's enjoying what she's doing and I think that counts for something. Satoko simply needs to smile a bit more!...and do something about her jumps of course, not to mention she needs more energy, too.

When you compare how Mao was skating when she was in juniors to how Satoko is doing now, the gap is obviously huge; even if you leave out the 3A. Mao had energy in everything she did, and she did them happily. That was her charm aside her skills. So when I look at Satoko, I can't help wondering if she really likes to skate or compete. She hardly ever smiles even in K&C. Is she under some tremendous pressure? At her age? She should just go out there and enjoy herself at this point, cause she won't be able to do so when she's older. Well, that's the honest impression I get from her however much she skates well.

Rika Hongo was too tense this time as well; she admitted she was in an interview afterwards. Maybe JSF had been pressuring both Satoko and Rika? There's always alot of talk on who should've been sent to Jr Worlds according to the results in Jpn. I remember several years ago one girl (forgot her name) was sent to Jr Worlds based only on how well she did in Nats, melted down and ended up getting only 1 spot for next season and was bashed on the net. That was terrible. Hope nothing like that ever happens again.

Yep! Russian sweep!! Just as I wanted it to happen! Lena is too adorable, I love everything she's doing on the ice. She's so sincere, it's unmatched! And what I like most of all is her PCS being higher then Yulia's

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnlHq18c0Fk Lena FS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Ox2yALLp0Fg Yulia FS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FKyvg-QvGuk Anya FS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MmWjic85sUs Samantha FS

Well, well, well... congrats to USA and Russia! Podium sweep in junior men and junior ladies. wow! So happy Elena won.

But like most of you, this Worlds is sooo... What kind of judging is this? So many "e" and "<" in the protocols even the Russian wonder babies were hit. All the Japanese girls got hit with "e" on the Lutz while all the Russians got hit with "e" on the flip. I think Satoko got it the worst -- did a 7-triple program but 6 of it were UR.

I hope senior worlds will be better.

OTOH, I'm glad our skaters did well. Martinez jumped from 15th place last season to 5th place now while Perticheto jumped to 16th place from qualifying last. When I think of how Melissa Bulanhagui did at 4CC, I think it would have been better if they sent someone else. I honestly expected more from her seeing as she used to compete well for team USA. Perticheto's scores here even if still very low were definitely higher than what Melissa got at 4CC.

To be perfectly honest, Melissa never really did well when competing for the US... I was hoping that when she moved to compete for the Philippines, she'd get more support from the federation so that her skating would improve. That hasn't happened yet.

PochinkoPotanko wrote:

Congrats to all the Russian girls! Their FPs were all a treat to watch.

As much as Satoko is soft and flexible...whatever...I kind of imagined she wouldn't be so highly scored internationally (yet). She's tiny and cute on the ice, has good techs but...well, I simply can't feel much happiness coming out of her when she's skating. Courtney may be more sloppy and rough, but you can feel she's enjoying what she's doing and I think that counts for something. Satoko simply needs to smile a bit more!...and do something about her jumps of course, not to mention she needs more energy, too.

When you compare how Mao was skating when she was in juniors to how Satoko is doing now, the gap is obviously huge; even if you leave out the 3A. Mao had energy in everything she did, and she did them happily. That was her charm aside her skills. So when I look at Satoko, I can't help wondering if she really likes to skate or compete. She hardly ever smiles even in K&C. Is she under some tremendous pressure? At her age? She should just go out there and enjoy herself at this point, cause she won't be able to do so when she's older. Well, that's the honest impression I get from her however much she skates well.

Yes, Satoko's facial expression is "dead", but IMO, she expresses the music with her whole body. I love it. But I completely agree that she needs to do something about the nonexisting height of her jumps ASAP.

I don't thnk it's fair to compare her or anyone else to Mao. Mao is such an exceptional talent. I mean look at Yuna when she was in juniors, she was "dead" in her facial expression as well. Yes her technique was fantastic but IMO, she looked like a robot out there, and look at her now, she's selling her programs like no other. Maybe Satoko will follow her example in artistry department.

I wouldn't be surprised if she's under a lot of pressure. JSF probably wants a new Mao, a future star that will carry on the figure skating popularity in Japan. I also feel sorry for Korean skaters, koreans probably want another Yuna as well.

roma wrote:

But like most of you, this Worlds is sooo... What kind of judging is this? So many "e" and "<" in the protocols even the Russian wonder babies were hit. All the Japanese girls got hit with "e" on the Lutz while all the Russians got hit with "e" on the flip. I think Satoko got it the worst -- did a 7-triple program but 6 of it were UR.

I hope senior worlds will be better.

This whole championship was weird. There were technical problems almost every day, the scoring was ridiculous most of the time, the technical pannel was spoting UR's where there weren't any, the judges not understing what the PCS score stands for... RIDICULOUS, IMO.

polosatik wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnlHq18c0Fk Lena FS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Ox2yALLp0Fg Yulia FS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FKyvg-QvGuk Anya FS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MmWjic85sUs Samantha FS

Thanx for posting these! I got to watch Lena again, I was so nervous yesterday I wasn't paying much atention to anything other than jumps. She was so amazing, I agree with Nicky, her score should've been much higher. I feel like the judges were trying to leave the door open for Yulia (I can't imagine that anyone would thought for a moment that Samantha had a chance at gold).

Speaking of Samantha, I know I already said this, but it was so weird seeing her among all this "babies". She looked like a granny.

Thank you for posting polosatik I think Russian juniors are so strong. I think Lena and Anna will grow to be on the taller side for skating so it is going to be interesting to watch how they develop.

Congratulations to Russian girls for podium sweep!!

zarinaballerina wrote:

Is it just me or is this the weirdest competition ever, judging wise. Seriously there were times that I felt like the judges were all newbies and this was a practise for them to see what judging at the real competition looks like. some of the scores were really weird.

I felt the same way when I was watching Eurosports live for SP. I also felt the time before they show the scores for each skaters was way too long.

I haven't yet watched all FS though, I liked So Youn PARK's soft and gentle skating. It's pity she didn't pull herself together in FS.

About Satoko's lack of facial expression when she performs, I think people can notice she's a shy girl from her tiny voice when she speaks. I also think her braces may have something to do with her not showing smiles so much.

After watching Lena FS again, I wanted to share some thoughts with you guys. I loved the music Lena used in her Free program. And guess who is the choreographer? Yes, Ilia Averbukh. To me he's better then anyone else brand choreographer. I like how he works, and that he uses "russian style"-then one move repeats 2 or 3 times. Just look at Ksusha's FS and the beginning of Lena FS. The movements he create leaves fresh and original feeling, I'm personally really fond of them,cause all Lori,Camerlengo,David,TAT are repeating themselves last time.
I want Ilia to work with someone from top skaters,of course I want Mao to be one of them. When she will feel she want to try something new, I hope she will choose Ilia.
Read what Lena's coach told about programms stories.


Q: Who chooses her music?


Inna: I choose the music, but it is not like that I insist on something. We always decide together. I can make a suggestion, but we decide together. This year, Ilia Averbukh helped. We have been working for many years with Elena Maslennikova and she helped us as well and gave advice. Well, and this time Ilia suggested the music for the free program. I didn't agree right away and we looked a other choices, but finally we went for the contrast between the short and long program, in order to show Lena from different sides. She can the one and the other.


Q: And this is not childrens' music.


Inna: It is not childrens' music, right, but we have our own story in the free program, about a bird and the rain. At the beginning the bird is afraid of a thunderstorm, but then the rain is over and the birds finds life is great and dreams to fly to a wonderful country where justice and wealth reign, there is a piece of the soundtrack „Country of the Deaf“ that basically has the same theme. She has made it her own and the outcome is what you saw.


Q: The short program „The Fifth Element“, is completely different, it is a very modern music.


Inna: Yes, there she tries to embody an alien being. We combined the music a bit, because we couldn't use only the soundtrack as it is in Opera style and relies on vocals. If it is just the soundtrack it is a little too dark and we didn't want that but something more optimistic. We took it from the movie, I think it is interesting for her age and also for the spectators, the footwork at the end for example. She understands this music and feels how she has to skate to it, therefore we took it. Obviously, we tried it on the floor first and when we saw that she can do it, we used it.
Here is the whole interview http://figureskating-online.com/elena-radionova.html (where is Lena saying she wants to talk with Mao!)

Thanx polosatik for posting this! I love this girl. I hope so much she'll survive puberty and become an awesome senior skater.

I feel like I need to learn more about judging and protocols after watching this year's Junior Worlds. I don't get Satoko's FP score and like Nicky Slater said, it was such an unbelievable drama. Love his frank expression after seeing Samantha and Satoko's scores. I always like her but I feel that her style won't get her high scores internationally. I often follow her news and she seems to be a shy girl from the way she speaks and poses for photographs.

Anyway, thanks Polosatik for introducing Elena last year. I almost cried watching her performances. To me, she's the complete package. She just needs to survive puberty and she'll become a major contender. I find many junior girls robotic and expressionless but she seems to really enjoy what she's doing. The other girl who gives me the same feeling is Mao 05-06. She's also lucky to work with such a great team. She deserved higher presentation score. It sucks to see how reputation can skew scoring. Julia is already famous, so probably the judges were under pressure to leave the door open for her.

pearlyriver wrote:

I feel like I need to learn more about judging and protocols after watching this year's Junior Worlds. I don't get Satoko's FP score and like Nicky Slater said, it was such an unbelievable drama. Love his frank expression after seeing Samantha and Satoko's scores. I always like her but I feel that her style won't get her high scores internationally. I often follow her news and she seems to be a shy girl from the way she speaks and poses for photographs.

To be honest, no studying of the rules will help you understand the judging in Milan. This was truly the weirdest judging ever.

IMO what also hurts Satoko big time are her tiny, tiny jumps and as someone said her "dead face". Judges seem to prefer the over the top facial expressions. I love Satoko's style, she has such an expresive body.

Just watched Satoko's exhibition. She fell twice and hit the stall, and she looked tired and lacking energy. Mambo is supposed to be an exciting and energetic program, but she doesn't look like she enjoyed being there. Why does this year's Junior Worlds seem to get so little attention? From the half-full audience stall to the ridiculous judging? They are the future of figure skating.