Grand Prix Final 2013

linglang wrote:

roma, are you gone? i sent you pm. Hope you notice it.

omg. linglang, so sorry. i just noticed your message. i went to bed early last night coz of a very bad headache.

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I liked seeing Mao's happy, smiling, beaming face in the gala. yep. That's the Mao we all love.

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sweetdream, we won't mind the spamming... the more detailed it is, the better. It will feel as if we were there also.

sweetdream wrote:

Would love to share my experience but i guess it would take too much time and won't really like to spam you guys right now but oh boy! I'm a happy kid (: (if only i could go for all 4 days sighpie but it's okay heh!)

Please, please, share it.
OMG, I got another star and I have 3loop    

Chapis, congratulation  
Sweetdream, please don't hesitate your experience. Reading reports from people who attended the event live is much better than reading lousily researched articles.

I was thinking that regardless Sochi results surely Yuna won´t go to Worlds, so Mao has highs probabilities to get another gold world medal

Hi guys.  I came back from GPF Fukuoka and here is my report.   I would like to share my thoughts about Mao with you first and later when I have some more time I would like to write about other things/disciplines.

SP:
It was really fortunate for me to be able to see this Nocturne SP live.  She looked calm and confident when I saw her face in the big screen before the music started. So, I felt she'd make it for sure.  It was such a mesmerizing, dreamy, ethereal performance, as if she took us in the audience to a different world.  She floated across the ice, projecting softness, elegance, gracefulness with subtle nuance.  My eyes were full of tears.

I was puzzled when I saw the score. Then, I came to know her 3A got a UR call.  Obviously, it was an unjust call.  I was also disappointed at her PCS.  In terms of Scores of Panel, there is no 9s in her PCS.  What I saw and felt in the arena doesn’t deserve even a 9s in PCS at all?  I became so sad especially when I saw a boost in Yuzu’s PCS after FS.  Yuzu gave a great performance and gained a huge increase in PCS in a few weeks.  I know it’s silly to compare the results between Men and Ladies and SP and FS.  But, I cannot understand why Mao’s SP at this GPF remains still similar to her previous two showings.  

Her SP was full of transitions.  She didn’t float across the ice by doing many crossovers between elements, but using many turns and footwork between elements, and I think those transitions suitably accentuate and enhance the ethereal quality of this program.  I came to think this way after watching many other performances including Jr. and Sr. Ice Dance.  I don’t mean to say doing many crossovers is bad or poor.  I mean that floating across the ice with that speed (Mao is NOT slow at all) generated by turns and footwork should get due recognition in SS and T/L.  And also, interpretation!  How come judges cannot appreciate it!?  She became that music!!

Official Practice on the 6th, Friday:
She nailed first 3A but popped the second one in run-through. I started worrying because I thought it would not give good expectation/impression to the technical panel who were watching the practice about her new layout.  She left the rink about 20min (IIRC) before the session is over after attempting 2nd 3A a few more times ending up in pop or abort. But, she looked relaxed.  She even smiled back to a cheer from the audience.

Official Practice on the 7th, Sat:
She landed a 3A in the usual corner, but I couldn't see the landing foot because of the boards.  She then attempted it in the second corner, but popped.  She landed other jumps no problem.
In run-through, she fell in her first 3A. (From my seat I was able to see Mao and Amano who was staring at her takeoff).  I thought she nailed it but she disappeared behind the boards. It took a little while before she stood up, so I was worried if she got injured.  (Later I asked a friend of mine who was watching it from a different block and found out it’s nothing wrong at all.)  She continued her run-through, but didn't attempt the second one, just checked a point for takeoff.  She nailed a 3A before the practice is over but couldn't land the second 3As at all, all the attempts resulted in pop, two foot, or abort.

I felt that she was not used to with the second 3A.  It seemed she is still trying to find a best point for takeoff.  She may have succeeded with two 3A run-throughs at her rink, but she’s not used to with the layout in this competition rink.

She left the rink last. While she was talking with Mr. Sato or she was skating around the rink after struggling with her second 3As, Mr. Amano was talking with the female tech controller, pointing out the corner where she did her second 3A.  I wonder what they were discussing ...

So, she didn't succeed the second 3As in those two official practices which were open to the public.  I’m not sure if she had another practice or not.  Obviously, she’s not happy and looked tense with no smiles at all.

FS:
I don’t think I need to repeat what you saw already.  So please let me give you my two cents on her new layout.

According to this news (http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/winter/news/20131206-OHT1T00086.htm), Mr. Sato said “she succeeded at practice(s) (before GPF).  It’s going to be ‘home run’ or ‘strike out.’ She should take it easy.”  

It sounds he’s changed.  He was against 3A obsession before but he’s for it now.  Is it because he believes in her potential?  I don’t know.

Re. choreographic emptiness with two 3As: I believe the success of two 3As at the beginning of FS will dispel the emptiness.  Instead, I think the roar of audience after two 3As will enhance the excitement and momentum for the rest of the program which is designed to build up towards the end.  But, that is to happen she MUST nail gorgeous, clean 3A (like she did at SP) and 3A-2T.
 
If she’s going to keep a two 3A layout, she must land them also at official practices like a piece of cake (which is I know way difficult.)  Hit or miss approach will not work at all.  If she struggles at official practices, she should change the strategy even on the day of competition.  

But how?  It’s not easy to replace 3A-2t with 3z, so replace it with 2A? In the case of 3A, 2A, 3F-3L, 2A-3T, 3S, 3F-2l-2l, 3L, the base value is 50.36.  But, she will need to keep practicing 3F-3L combo while working on 3A & 3A-2T.  (with 3F only, the base value if 45.26)  It looks inefficient.  On top of that, it doesn’t look healthy for her body.  I want to support her decision no matter what and I don’t think Mr. Sato believe in Mao just because she’s his student but he sees potential.  But, I just want them not try to stretch out too much and overload her body.

(About base value calculation, please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.)

Sorry for a long post.  I should stop here.  I will post another report, hopefully soon. Thanks for reading.

sweetdream, happy to read your report and looking forward to more!  

roma, don't worry. Stay warm and sleep tight to get rid of headache.  

chapis, congratulations!!   

ilovethai wrote:

BowbowDaijin wrote:

ilovethai wrote:

Btw, I was just wondering, who was the lady Mao shook hands with in her gala performance? I think she's a Japanese celebrity cause the camera actually rolled to a shot of her in between Mao's performance.

Just look for a glance. Is she Nogiwa Yoko who is a big actress and former NHK announcer?

I think it was her.. yea. They have the same hairstyle.

pearlyriver wrote:

 It seems like every time Mao does an exhibition, she shakes hand with a celebrity. At NHK Trophy, she shook hands with a legendary ballerina.       How many Yoko Nogiwa are there? The actress I gold is supposed to be 77 years old now.

It's Ryoko Yonekura.   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryoko_Yonekura https://www.youtube.com/channel/HCPPm-CP52MzA/videos

Yoko Nogiwa is in her 70s while Ryoko Yonekura is in her late 30s.

Thank you for the report linglang, I agree about score in sp, especially pcs, she was wonderful  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2IFgITbO8M   LP of Spanish tv, very good quality and again the commenter praise to Mao, she says Mao has matured with the passing of the years, and the ony girl doing 3a, saying she is really strong technically and very brave, after fall she was still very impressed by the beauty of her skating, she loved her step seq and spiral, she emphasized it a lot. At the end she said impeccable, she had two mistakes in 3a but she was impeccable

chapis wrote:

Thank you for the report linglang, I agree about score in sp, especially pcs, she was wonderful  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2IFgITbO8M   LP of Spanish tv, very good quality and again the commenter praise to Mao, she says Mao has matured with the passing of the years, and the ony girl doing 3a, saying she is really strong technically and very brave, after falls she was still very impressed by the beauty of her skating, she loved her step seq and spiral, she emphasized it a lot. At the end she said impeccable, she had two mistakes in 3a but she was impeccable

She loves Mao! I always enjoy watching figure skating on TDP/TVE, especially when Mao is skating. I also love how she usually mentions Mai too (she said something about her in the gala when Mao was skating although she called her Mae  ) and how popular Mao is in Japan. When Mao shook hands with the audience she said "This woman won't wash her hands again. Shaking hands with Mao Asada is such an honour!"

linglang wrote:

...............

According to this news (http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/winter/news/20131206-OHT1T00086.htm), Mr. Sato said “she succeeded at practice(s) (before GPF).  It’s going to be ‘home run’ or ‘strike out.’ She should take it easy.”  

..........................

Re. choreographic emptiness with two 3As: I believe the success of two 3As at the beginning of FS will dispel the emptiness.  Instead, I think the roar of audience after two 3As will enhance the excitement and momentum for the rest of the program which is designed to build up towards the end.  But, that is to happen she MUST nail gorgeous, clean 3A (like she did at SP) and 3A-2T.

....................... 

Sorry to cut your post, Linglang, and thank you very much for the report.  If Mao finally decides to put 2 3As in the LP, I will prepare myself for a 'home run' or a 'strike out' and therefore a OGM or a OM.  But a 3-3 after a 3A is also a equally powerful statement as two 3As to me.  So I hope Mao and Mr.  Sato should make their decisions on the success rate in practices.

Just wondering it is possible for her to do this layout?

3A - 2T
3F - 3T
3Lz
2A - 3T
3S
3F - 2lo - 2lo
3lo

Or it is not possible to do 2 3T's. From what we've seen her 3T's are ratified, so I was wondering if she could try it with a 3F too

rachmaninoffangel wrote:

Just wondering it is possible for her to do this layout?

3A - 2T
3F - 3T
3Lz
2A - 3T
3S
3F - 2lo - 2lo
3lo

Or it is not possible to do 2 3T's. From what we've seen her 3T's are ratified, so I was wondering if she could try it with a 3F too

No she can't do 4 combinations only 3  

polosatik wrote:

rachmaninoffangel wrote:

Just wondering it is possible for her to do this layout?

3A - 2T
3F - 3T
3Lz
2A - 3T
3S
3F - 2lo - 2lo
3lo

Or it is not possible to do 2 3T's. From what we've seen her 3T's are ratified, so I was wondering if she could try it with a 3F too

No she can't do 4 combinations only 3  

Ahhh! Could she replace the 3F 3lo to a 3F 3T instead? Even though if I remember correctly, she isn't comfortable with 3T. But her 3T now are divine!

rachmaninoffangel wrote:

polosatik wrote:

rachmaninoffangel wrote:

Just wondering it is possible for her to do this layout?

3A - 2T
3F - 3T
3Lz
2A - 3T
3S
3F - 2lo - 2lo
3lo

Or it is not possible to do 2 3T's. From what we've seen her 3T's are ratified, so I was wondering if she could try it with a 3F too

No she can't do 4 combinations only 3  

Ahhh! Could she replace the 3F 3lo to a 3F 3T instead? Even though if I remember correctly, she isn't comfortable with 3T. But her 3T now are divine!

We have been talking about 3f-3t since stone century,sorry   In theory yes she can, and her toeloop is much better now. But I have some doubts, not only Mao but Sato also doesn't take this combo as even replace of 3f-3lo...Maybe there is a problem with this combo. Who knows.

I would like Mao to go for the 3F-3T. But it's very unlikely because she hasn't tried it since 2008. Based on the articles, I was right in thinking that she is deciding between the old layout and the new layout. She will use Nationals as an indicator for which one she will use for Sochi. I think Mao personally wants to go with the 2 3A layout. She has an emotional attachment with the 3A. Also, to her the 3F-3Lo was never that essential. Plus the fact, it is rarely ratified and she has gotten 3A-2T ratified more times in recent years. Based on this reasoning, I think Mao believes that she has a greater chance to get all of her jumps ratified with the new layout, thus achieving her goal of a perfect skate. However, she is also aware of the risks so if her new layout doesn't work out as well as she hoped it to be before Sochi, then I think she could choose to go back to the old one. Of course, this is all just speculation on my part but this is what I think based on her interviews so far.

aoi88 wrote:

I would like Mao to go for the 3F-3T. But it's very unlikely because she hasn't tried it since 2008. Based on the articles, I was right in thinking that she is deciding between the old layout and the new layout. She will use Nationals as an indicator for which one she will use for Sochi. I think Mao personally wants to go with the 2 3A layout. She has an emotional attachment with the 3A. Also, to her the 3F-3Lo was never that essential. Plus the fact, it is rarely ratified and she has gotten 3A-2T ratified more times in recent years. Based on this reasoning, I think Mao believes that she has a greater chance to get all of her jumps ratified with the new layout, thus achieving her goal of a perfect skate. However, she is also aware of the risks so if her new layout doesn't work out as well as she hoped it to be before Sochi, then I think she could choose to go back to the old one. Of course, this is all just speculation on my part but this is what I think based on her interviews so far.

I agree with you. Also I guees since Mao jumps overall got better and her triple axel is more consistent now, she decided to try her new layout. Because her lutz will get e for sure and it's very unlikely that her 3f-3lo will get credit, so she will loose points there for sure. Of course it's a huge risks but we still has to remember how consistent Mao axels were at the begining of 2010. After reading linglang post I think there is a problem with entrance to second triple axel and I have an idea why. Anna who fell on axel in GPF said in her past interview that her coach fixed her entrance to her axel right after her SP and it worked. In the past Mao had a really long entrance to her 3a now she has different entrance but it working only in the begining of the program so my thought is that Mao and Sato will be working on fixing that thing. She can jump them separately but not one after another.

Thanks to all the reports from people who have attended the live competition! Looking forward to more reports!

Watching the CBC and NBC commentators, everyone was very supportive of Mao  
Kurt seems to really be a true fan of Mao, and found great things to say about her. Perhaps a CBC vid will be posted soon.

I'm really enjoying Tara and Johnny for NBC this year, SO much better than Scott Hamilton. Tara said, after watching the Goldenspin competition, that Mao is completely a different skater now, she's comparatively more of the artist and selling her program.
Johnny said that Mao is in a completely different class than the rest of the field. He said that the only competition that Mao has is with herself  

From Baidu:





Is this Adelina?

Yep!This is Adelina! 

Thanks everyone for the reports, videos, and pictures. What a competition! Whatever Mao decides to do with her layout in the future, I just hope at the end of the day she can be satisfied with her performances.

I just wanted to share something Johnny said on the NBC broadcast, after Mao's LP:

I think it's so inspiring to see how happy she is on the ice.  She sometimes shakes her head, sometimes she falls down, but in general she feels like she's where she's supposed to be: center ice, you know, appreciating the applause she's getting.  That's what a true queen of figure skating should feel.  



Johnny and Tara were very complimentary toward her in general.  Here are highlights of their commentary (I see sapphiresky beat me to the post! ):

-They didn't show the full SP on the NBC broadcast, but Tara said it was fantastic and mentioned that even though Mao's 3A was deemed UR in the SP, in her opinion she didn't see that (i.e. didn't agree with that call).  She said that Mao said afterward that it was her best 3A all season.

-They talked about how hard the 3As are, and that she didn't have enough attack or knee bend to succeed this time.

-The inevitable comparison with Yuna came up in the middle of the program, when the other male commentator mentioned that Mao had won 2010 Worlds over her, after Vancouver.  Then Tara and Johnny talked a little about the fact that Yuna was skating this weekend as well.  Tara didn't sound very enthusiastic about Yuna's performances, TBH—she said she skated "pretty well" and the LP was "so-so" and then this: "I was comparing it in my mind to how Mao is skating...I don't know, I think that it's gonna be a tight competition—Mao is a different skater than she was four years ago, she's really turned into this artist." (IMO she was an artist before that as well, but I agree that she has improved since last Olympics, and I'm glad more people are appreciating her as time goes by! )

-Johnny:  "And just in terms of the competition that Mao's actually competing in at the moment, not her, you know, ongoing battle with Yuna Kim, she is just on a completely different level than the rest of the skaters.  Yes, she had the fall on the 3A, but the fact that she tried two 3As is something no other woman is doing, and just the level of her carriage, her polish, it puts her completely in a position of outclassing the other skaters."

-During the step sequence, Johnny said this:  "This is a fabulous step sequence, going to every beat of the music.  Every detail is thought of."

-Then Tara:  "She said that it's been hard over the years to show expression and emotion in her skating, and this year, last year, it's just, it's really all coming together, and I think, after watching Yuna, that's a difference as well.  Mao is really selling her program."

-Finally, when the scores came up, Johnny:  "Really, she's setting herself up that the only person to compete with is herself..." Tara: "Right."  Johnny: "...and maybe Yuna Kim."  Tara:  "Exactly."  

 I like these two as commentators (much better than a certain pair who will no doubt be at the Olympics ).

About other skaters, they think that Ashley has improved her connection with the music in the LP, but still needs to do more to connect with the audience.  Johnny said Adelina should change her costume because it's too much like lingerie ( sorry, I shouldn't laugh, but I know some of us here agree).  They both liked Julia.

Thanks soo much the translation illani, and to all translation we have had in general. it has been really interesting to read what soo many commentators from different countries said about Mao. My favourite cites from this broadcast were these:

"I think it's so inspiring to see how happy she is on the ice. She sometimes shakes her head, sometimes she falls down, but in general she feels like she's where she's supposed to be: center ice, you know, appreciating the applause she's getting. That's what a true queen of figure skating should feel."

"Mao is a different skater than she was four years ago, she's really turned into this artist." (IMO she was an artist before that as well, but I agree that she has improved since last Olympics, and I'm glad more people are appreciating her as time goes by!"

"she is just on a completely different level than the rest of the skaters"

Thanks to all who are giving us fans positive news on Mao.

News 12/9

Mao will most likely skip 4CC to prepare for the Team event at Sochi

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20131209-00000031-spnannex-spo

This follows the news that Japan is confirmed to attend the team event.

COHK wrote:

News 12/9

Mao will most likely skip 4CC to prepare for the Team event at Sochi

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20131209-00000031-spnannex-spo

This follows the news that Japan is confirmed to attend the team event.

When is the team event?

This is the CBC commentary, with some analysis of the other competitors as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m45gSv_eUOI