Four Continents Championships 2009

Posts : 88 Join date : 2008-10-30

Official Site:
http://www.fourcontinents2009.com/

Entries/Results:
http://www.isufs.org/events/fsevent00011005

Today's news clip:
http://www.fnn-news.com/news/headlines/articles/CONN00148639.html

Go Mao! Cheering

Subject: Re: Four Continents Championships 2009 Mon Feb 02, 2009 2:42 am

Thanks for starting the thread Nanae! Just 2 days until the event starts kicking in full gear.

I'm looking quite forward to this - its really a Mini-Worlds across the disciplines, so in that regards the ISU got their wish in continuing to develop 4CC as a more renowned competition.

Best wishes to all the competitors, especially Mao. Cheering

Dedicated Mao Fan Posts : 1298 Join date : 2007-10-29

Four Continents Figure Skating Championships
February 2 to 8, 2009
Vancouver
British Columbia, Canada

Homepage: http://www.fourcontinents2009.com/
Schedule: http://www.fourcontinents2009.com/program/schedule/tabid/229/language/en-CA/Default.aspx
Results page: http://www.isuresults.com/results/fc2009/

Good luck!

Posts : 88 Join date : 2008-10-30

Another news clip: flower

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5deOyoA3Eg

Subject: Re: Four Continents Championships 2009 Mon Feb 02, 2009 5:42 am

Thanks Nanae for the links! flower

But now I'm confused - I thought Mao was supposed to be training in Russia and then go straight from Russia to Vancouver? But she's leaving from the local airport in Japan...hmm...

Subject: Re: Four Continents Championships 2009 Mon Feb 02, 2009 6:23 am

Batsuchan wrote:: Thanks Nanae for the links!

But now I'm confused - I thought Mao was supposed to be training in Russia and then go straight from Russia to Vancouver? But she's leaving from the local airport in Japan...hmm...

Same here

Is TAT going to be with Mao at 4CC?

Subject: Re: Four Continents Championships 2009 Mon Feb 02, 2009 5:39 pm

polosatik wrote:: Same here Is TAT going to be with Mao at 4CC?

I assume she'll be there! But I'm still confused...if Mao was in Japan, why didn't Zhanna leave from the airport with her? Unless Mao decided to make a brief stop in Japan before she went to Vancouver..? I don't know...

Anyway - here's an article I found; I couldn't find a link to this exact article, but here's the text.

Wire: Agence France Presse - Sports (AFS) Date: 2009-02-02 12:15:27
Figure skating: World champ Asada ready for Four Continents defence

TOKYO, Feb 2, 2009 (AFP) - Japan's world figure skating champion
Mao Asada on Monday pledged to do her best to defend her title at
the Four Continents championships in Canada this week.
"I want to see many things around the venue and check its
atmosphere as well," the 18-year-old said before leaving her
hometown of Nagoya for Vancouver, where the event will be held at
the 2010 Winter Olympic rink.
"But I don't feel so tense. Bearing in mind that the Vancouver
Olympics will be held there next year, I want to have a little taste
of it," she told the Fuji TV network.
Asada, known for her mastery of the 3.5-revolution triple axel,
will clash with her archrival Kim Yu-Na of South Korea, also 18, at
the gathering of non-European skaters at the Pacific Coliseum from
Wednesday.
"I will do my best, aiming for it (gold)," Asada said. "As the
world championships are near at hand, I will go all out and give all
I have."
The world championships will be held in Los Angeles in late
March.
Asada and Kim are expected to turn the Los Angeles event into a
preview of their expected Olympic gold-medal showdown next year.
Both missed the 2006 Winter Games in Turin because they were a few
months too young to be eligible.
In December, Asada narrowly beat Kim at the Grand Prix Final in
South Korea, becoming the first woman to nail two triple axels in
the longer free skate programme.

Here's another article with very similar content:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hiB0GIn8CngYmY7nGdplPTplmPKA

Triple Axel Posts : 994 Join date : 2007-09-22 Age : 39

Practice photos!

Four Continents Championships 2009 2009020300000002maipspors1.th

Four Continents Championships 2009 2009020300000020jijpspomw6.th

Mao reportedly didn't jump in practice, but looked relaxed. Smile

I think it's became her habit to just test the ice on the first day of practices... Smile

Nobu skated so fast he collided with boards after landing a 3A (this is the third time in the last month...). Please be careful! pale

Patrick apparently still struggles with 3A... He had problems with it in the practice.

YuNa landed 3F-2T, 2A, 3F-3T, 3Lz pop, struggling with it, then landing it in another spot.
ETA: Practice clip & interview (in Korean):
http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=001&oid=001&aid=0002482363&

I haven't seen TAT on the photos yet... Only Morozov, starting at Fumie with very intense look in his eyes. Laugh

I'm going to the Uni right now, but I'll try to find and post some more photos/reports once I'm back. Like a Star @ heaven

Double Axel Posts : 121 Join date : 2008-02-14

Does anyone know whether we'll be able to get 4CC coverage on keyhole tv?
Does it even still work?

Triple Axel Posts : 989 Join date : 2009-01-01

TAT is not in Vancouver. It's actually Janna (am I spelling correctly?) who's with Mao.

Subject: Re: Four Continents Championships 2009 Tue Feb 03, 2009 6:49 am

cera wrote:: Does anyone know whether we'll be able to get 4CC coverage on keyhole tv?
Does it even still work?

Not sure, although Keyhole hasn't been working for me for quite some time. I'm just going to rely on IN again, since their live streams are getting better as the year progresses.

If it's available in your country, Zattoo is an option (although that depends on whether Eurosports is covering 4CC...are they?). I'm pretty sure Russian WebTV isn't airing it this year. Maybe CCTV has it (accessed through TVU and others). SBS is definitely airing it so good luck to the Daum users. Thumbs up!

Fuji TV is once again predictable in their attempt to push anything skating related to as far back as SATURDAY (usual method to get more viewers) so it's probably best to not bother with relying on Japanese stations this time around. Sweatdrop

It looks like anyone with access to CBC is probably going to get the best TV coverage for this event.

Subject: Re: Four Continents Championships 2009 Tue Feb 03, 2009 7:32 am

Why TAT didn't go with Mao? Evil or Very Mad

Triple Axel Posts : 994 Join date : 2007-09-22 Age : 39

Probably her health/family situation didn't allow her. Actually I sort of suspected that since the latest interview with TAT, where she said that she tries to go to as many competitions with Mao as possible... And I was like "huh, wasn't she present at all the competitions so far?" And then I thought that it's possible that she will skip some competition soon, and 4CC was the most obvious choice.

I think Mao will do just fine! Cool

Remember, a year ago she competed at 4CC and Worlds without any coach and I'd say she handled herself pretty well! Very Happy

I loved Mao's layback variation in the practice! flower

Great speed, and very impressive back flexibility - it looked almost like a one-handed pearl. Love

Subject: Re: Four Continents Championships 2009 Tue Feb 03, 2009 8:06 am

Okami wrote:: Probably her health/family situation didn't allow her. Actually I sort of suspected that since the latest interview with TAT, where she said that she tries to go to as many competitions with Mao as possible... And I was like "huh, wasn't she present at all the competitions so far?" And then I thought that it's possible that she will skip some competition soon, and 4CC was the most obvious choice.

I think Mao will do just fine! Remember, a year ago she competed at 4CC and Worlds without any coach and I'd say she handled herself pretty well!

I loved Mao's layback variation in the practice! Great speed, and very impressive back flexibility - it looked almost like a one-handed pearl.

Woah

Gorgeous speed! Oh, my godness! Okami, do you have some other clips from today practice?

Triple Axel Posts : 994 Join date : 2007-09-22 Age : 39

More news, photos and practice clips... Smile

Mao at official practice, YuNa
http://okami.follownet.pl/fs/upload/4cc/4CC_FujiNews_02.flv
(Please use "Save Target As...")

NameX - Nobu
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVgUU0Scb2k
And interview and practice clips (from before 4CC). Gorgeous 3Lz-3T-3l. Swoon

The interview was also grat, with Nobu getting teary-eyed over Morozov praise. Laugh

Men practice:

Four Continents Championships 2009 4ccpractice02dg8.th

Four Continents Championships 2009 4ccpractice03nr7.th

Four Continents Championships 2009 4ccpractice04fk7.th

Four Continents Championships 2009 4ccpractice06ja1.th

Four Continents Championships 2009 4ccpractice07wj4.th

Nobu sort of stole the show with his spectacular crash and it's difficult to find any "normal" photos. Eeek, that looked scary! pale

polosatik wrote:: Okami, do you have some other clips from today practice?

I'm uploading/linking everything I can find! Too sweet!

Posts : 88 Join date : 2008-10-30

Triple Axel Posts : 994 Join date : 2007-09-22 Age : 39

Mao's practice (the same link as the one in the previous post, but better quality):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fjcstlgtCI

YuNa interview, a short clip from the ladies practice session:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BJlTnL2ES4
(Mao @ 0:50)

Subject: Re: Four Continents Championships 2009 Tue Feb 03, 2009 9:07 am

Guys, you're adorable!!!!!!!!! Real heroes! Love

Thank you so much for clips and pics!

Triple Axel Posts : 994 Join date : 2007-09-22 Age : 39

Mao @ afternoon practice: cheers

http://okami.follownet.pl/fs/upload/4cc/4CC_Sports_Mao_AftPract02.flv
("Save Link As...")
3A, 3A-2T and another very fast spin... Also, a short talk about the upcoming Olympics. Very Happy

Dedicated Mao Fan Posts : 1298 Join date : 2007-10-29

Thank you all for the news, photos and clips!!! Daisies for you

Mao's spins look great and 3A was fab as well. I can't wait to see more practice clips! Wub

Dear media, please show some other ladies! I'm interested in how Akiko, Fumie, Caroline, Joannie and others are doing as well! Yep!

Aww, poor Nobu. I hope he didn't hurt himself! pale

Great speed is good, but he's taking it to entire another level. Good thing that the boards at Olympics will be (reportedly) cushioned... Sweatdrop

Triple Axel Posts : 994 Join date : 2007-09-22 Age : 39

Apparently. Mao and Fumie feel a bit uncomfortable with the narrower rink as well:
http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20090203-00000072-mai-spo
The Japanese skaters are used to skating on Olympic sized rink, but the rink in Vancouver is NHL-sized (that is, narrower by 4 meters). Because the shape of the rink is different, the skaters must adjust the "pattern" of their programs and their skating habits.
Good luck!

Subject: Re: Four Continents Championships 2009 Tue Feb 03, 2009 1:38 pm

Thank you all for the links and news! Many Hearts

I wish we could se some more of the practices. Sometimes I enjoy them almost more than competitions, because I don't need to be nervous. Embarassed

I hope this will be a great competition! Good luck!

Subject: Re: Four Continents Championships 2009 Tue Feb 03, 2009 8:33 pm

Thanks so much for the pics Nanae! And thanks to Okami for the vids! Thank you!

Wow. I was freaking out at work today reading all the 4CC news, and I almost broke my self-imposed rule of not posting at work (because 1) if I start posting, I'll never get any work done and 2) I work at a company that saves every single email and message that you send, and my managers don't need to know how I waste my time. Sweatdrop

)

Anyway - so I'm kind of worried here. pale

The rink is small, Mao says "there were several times when I thought I would hit [the boards]," and poor Nobu has already crashed into them. affraid

TAT will not be there, for undisclosed reasons. Apparently Mao didn't go to Russia - she was in Japan the whole time. So she didn't go to 4CC early like TAT had wanted (to see how well Mao adjusted to the time zone). Mao stuck to her usual plan of arriving right before the competition - literally, she landed at the airport and then went straight to the official practice. (Honestly, I think she shouldn't do that - otherwise she runs the risk of missing the practice or half of it, like at 2008 GPF.)

This article says that Mao has prepared a program with only one 3A, so she might not do two (so she can focus on landing her 3-3s)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/winter/news/20090203-OYT1T00899.htm

This article says Mao's jumps in yesterday's afternoon practice were "lackluster," although the video clip and other articles say it was fine.
http://www.47news.jp/CN/200902/CN2009020301000598.html

All in all, I'm concerned! This feels kind of like TEB all over again - hype/pressure on Mao, poor practices...

Of course, I definitely believe Mao can pull off two great performances even with all these "obstacles." Cheering

But I've decided that what I *really* want is for Mao to come out of this competition healthy and to avoid crashing into the boards! WOW!

ETA One more thing - what do you guys think of the starting orders??
http://www.isuresults.com/results/fc2009/SEG003.HTM

The final ladies' group has Suguri, Gizmazetdinova, Mao, Yu-Na, Na-Young Kim and Joannie Rochette, in that order! Mao and Yu-Na skate back to back! What do you think of that?? WOW!

Subject: Re: Four Continents Championships 2009 Tue Feb 03, 2009 9:05 pm

Ok, rather than edit my previous post *again* - here's one more link I forgot:

Junko Yaginuma, one of the commentators, has been posting pics and comments from 4CC on her blog:
http://ameblo.jp/junko-yaginuma/

Apparently she was on the same flight as Mao. Other than that, her comments weren't that interesting, but if she does write something juicy, I'll be sure to share. Very Happy

Triple Axel Posts : 989 Join date : 2009-01-01

I am worried about Mao and her 3Lutz...

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