Four Continents 2/7-11 2013

COHK wrote:

From Akiko's Twitter photo:

pic.twitter.com/rmHnga0P

Great pic.

Go Mao!!!

quick update~Mao tried 3A 3 times and all landed.
http://sportsnavi.yahoo.co.jp/sports/figureskate/headlines/article/20130207-00000115-jij
and she added 3A in SP then 3A and 3-3 in FS
not sure it's 3F3T o r 3F3Lo

shikure wrote:

quick update~Mao tried 3A 3 times and all landed.
http://sportsnavi.yahoo.co.jp/sports/figureskate/headlines/article/20130207-00000115-jij
and she added 3A in SP then 3A and 3-3 in FS
not sure it's 3F3T o r 3F3Lo

Yepp!!! Go Mao!!!

polosatik wrote:

shikure wrote:

quick update~Mao tried 3A 3 times and all landed.
http://sportsnavi.yahoo.co.jp/sports/figureskate/headlines/article/20130207-00000115-jij
and she added 3A in SP then 3A and 3-3 in FS
not sure it's 3F3T o r 3F3Lo

Yepp!!! Go Mao!!!

OMG! I need videos! *excited much*

shikure wrote:

quick update~Mao tried 3A 3 times and all landed.
http://sportsnavi.yahoo.co.jp/sports/figureskate/headlines/article/20130207-00000115-jij
and she added 3A in SP then 3A and 3-3 in FS
not sure it's 3F3T o r 3F3Lo

Wow! Two 3A's in the entire program?!

triple axel vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeUTbZqXlpM

some news about 3-3 and 3A
http://sportsnavi.yahoo.co.jp/sports/figureskate/headlines/article/20130207-00000055-dal
http://sportsnavi.yahoo.co.jp/sports/figureskate/headlines/article/20130207-00000009-spnavi
can't watch vid in office...maybe you all can tell me if she full rotated / UR less than 1/4 turn.
in news article said she tried both 3A and 3-3 three times and landed all of them.
Also saw she landed good 2A3T and with great height for 3T.

ETA: Roma, i think the component ppl shared was guessing...she didn't do full run through yet. based on the run through report, she didn't do too many jumps in it and more like checking rink size with steps.
3-3 is 3lo3lo /3f3lo

Maybe a SP with 3A, 3Lo+3Lo and 3F? I think that the first 3A was clean, the second and the third were UR, but surely not DG; her height improved a lot! I think that the result fo working with Sato is here: it's not maybe as consistent as it was with TAT, but the quality it's A LOT better!

roma wrote:

triple axel vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeUTbZqXlpM

OMG that was absolutely stunning

hmmm, Mao's 3-3 is at 60% success rate?

http://sportsnavi.yahoo.co.jp/sports/figureskate/all/1213/columndtl/201302070007-spnavi

News clip with English trans (R.CH).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeXlHUM5Bac

roma wrote:

hmmm, Mao's 3-3 is at 60% success rate?

http://sportsnavi.yahoo.co.jp/sports/figureskate/all/1213/columndtl/201302070007-spnavi

News clip with English trans (R.CH).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeXlHUM5Bac

I don't have enough time to translate everything so please allow me to translate the part roma mentioned in the above.

*********

Reporter: Ms. Asada, you said after nationals last year that it would take long for you to bring 3-3 back to programs. But you decided to throw in the combination at this competition. Is that because you made improvement faster than you had imagined?

Mao: It's not 100% ready yet, but I wanted to try it at 4CC because it's one of elements that I want to include in my programs as my ultimate goal.

Reporter: How much are 3A and 3-3 ready in terms of %?

Mao: I think they were OK today. It's usually about 60% in daily practices and about 40 to 50% in run-throughs. It's about 60% in jump practices. I feel good with those jumps after today's practice. I hope I will be able to keep my nerve to nail them in competitions.

********

So she didn't say which was is 60% ... both of them?



ETA: Let me add a couple of last questions:

**********

Reporter: Ms. Asada, you've gone through difficult times struggling with jumps. Could you tell us how you feel that your jumps are getting better now which is a year before Sochi?

Mao: When the season begun, I anticipated I wouldn't be able to bring 3-3 back to a competitive program. Now I believe the progress I've made so far gives momentum towards future competitions. Yet, after all, I will have to nail them in competitions.

Reporter: How do you place this 4CC (in the context of competitions)?

Mao: This is a first competition for 2013 and I hope I will be able to raise the level from what I did in 2012. It's reaching almost the end of 2012/2013 season. I hope I will be able to execute what I've been able to improve during this season.

***********

I think it's good idea to try them out here at 4CC. Yes, I'm worried but she needs to do them at a competition at the end of the day. She has to overcome and not let nerves the better of her when she attempts them. Maybe the sooner the better.

Go Mao!!

ETA 2: Sorry found a word missing in the first line of translation: "it would take long for you". Just inserted it Thanks Ken Himura and shar.

linglang, you are very very kind

I'm so excited abouts Mao's news! I hope she does great at 4CC and gets more confidence for Worlds. I can't wait to see Mao again

Thank you for the translation linglang. I'm so happy for Mao, shes definitely going in the right direction.

Thanks for the translations, linglang!

New clip showing Mao's 3As and 3-3s during official practice. Should be 3F-3Lo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-uaZrhXFkM

She's really getting back -3Lo too. The height!!!!! (tears for happiness)

Mao-chan please take it easy. You can make it! No problem!!

Dai's new SP costume:
https://twitter.com/irenissi/status/299542112523919360

sorry for information I posted one page earlier, from Japan skate, they said Mao practiced 3F3L or 3Lo3Lo
but they corrected it earlier that it should be 3F3Lo and 3F3T and she tried two different combination

shikure wrote:

sorry for information I posted one page earlier, from Japan skate, they said Mao practiced 3F3L or 3Lo3Lo
but they corrected it earlier that it should be 3F3Lo and 3F3T and she tried two different combination

Thanks for the info, shikure! It's good to know she's trying both. Hope we'll also see clips of the 3F-3T.

It's all about nerve ! I hope she tells herself 'if I can't do it, it's OK, it's not the end of the world!' . Just have fun Mao!!!!

I saw a short clip of Dai's new SP on TV tonight. Loos great with nice choreo ! and the costume looks great when he's in motion.

So she changed her layout in the LP, not only including the 3A but with a 3F-3Lo it means she must replace one of her solo 3F or solo 3Loop with another jumping pass. She probably changes the first 3Loop with a 3Axel. In this way she can do 3F-3Lo and the 3Loop-2l-2l without braking any rule. I am preparing myself for a not so good result here but it's true she must try the jumps in the competition and this is the place to do it. Also, I read on goldenskate that the Technical specialist is the one from Vancouver which was pretty lenient with UR calls. The first 3Axel was a beauty. I'm crossing my fingers for Mao

I don't know but I feel that scoring in the Oly was quite generous not because of the judges but more because it was the Oly.
I may be wrong but I also felt that the scoring in the GPseries are usually more strict than at worlds.

ddmm wrote:

I don't know but I feel that scoring in the Oly was quite generous not because of the judges but more because it was the Oly.
I may be wrong but I also felt that the scoring in the GPseries are usually more strict than at worlds.

And, to be fair to the skaters, a lot of them did their best to peak at Olys and they succeded. PCS/GoEs were quite generous, but most of the skaters were genuinely at their peak in Vancouver.

Lady_in_black wrote:

So she changed her layout in the LP, not only including the 3A but with a 3F-3Lo it means she must replace one of her solo 3F or solo 3Loop with another jumping pass. She probably changes the first 3Loop with a 3Axel. In this way she can do 3F-3Lo and the 3Loop-2l-2l without braking any rule.

It will be interesting to see what Mao's jumping layout will be like. As shikure added above, Mao practiced both 3F-3L nd 3F-3T (not 3L-3L as it was mistakenly reported before).
3F-3L is, I think, more comfortable for Mao, at meast in a mental sense, because she attempted it in her programs more and stopped doing it in competitions more recently.
On the other hand, 3F-3T would be least likely to be downgraded and would require less changes in the choreo (just swapping 2A-3T with 3A and 3F with 3F-3T).
We'll know soon enough, I guess!

Inskate, I doubt Mao will ditch her 2A-3T now that it became more reliable, that's why I though about the 3F-3L. Still, if she tries the 3F-3L in the LP plus the 3A she'll be going for 8 triples. Sadly, even if she does it at some point, many will argue her 3Flutz won't count. But how amazing would be, to make another record: fist lady skater to land 8 triples. I'm probably thinking too far away though.
I still think she should go for the 3F-3T in the SP and keep her 2A.

Lady_in_black wrote:

Inskate, I doubt Mao will ditch her 2A-3T now that it became more reliable, that's why I though about the 3F-3L. Still, if she tries the 3F-3L in the LP plus the 3A she'll be going for 8 triples. Sadly, even if she does it at some point, many will argue her 3Flutz won't count. But how amazing would be, to make another record: fist lady skater to land 8 triples. I'm probably thinking too far away though.
I still think she should go for the 3F-3T in the SP and keep her 2A.

I agree with you. I think Mao should keep her 2a in her SP. Going for a 3A is too risky and will put pressure on her if she pops it. Her SP has to be clean and keep good reputation.

ddmm wrote:

Lady_in_black wrote:

Inskate, I doubt Mao will ditch her 2A-3T now that it became more reliable, that's why I though about the 3F-3L. Still, if she tries the 3F-3L in the LP plus the 3A she'll be going for 8 triples. Sadly, even if she does it at some point, many will argue her 3Flutz won't count. But how amazing would be, to make another record: fist lady skater to land 8 triples. I'm probably thinking too far away though.
I still think she should go for the 3F-3T in the SP and keep her 2A.

I agree with you. I think Mao should keep her 2a in her SP. Going for a 3A is too risky and will put pressure on her if she pops it. Her SP has to be clean and keep good reputation.

I think based on the practice clips, she should go for it, it looked incredible in practice. even if the triple Axel is slightly underotated in competition it's still worth it. and honestly speaking after seeing those amazing 3A in practice, it would be such a shame, not to include them in competition. the risk is high, but there will always be a high risk when including a jump like the 3A. and I agree having a clean sp is important and may be the key to win the competition but, like I said if the 3A is going well in practice, I think now would be the perfect time to put them back!

Lady_in_black wrote:

Inskate, I doubt Mao will ditch her 2A-3T now that it became more reliable, that's why I though about the 3F-3L. Still, if she tries the 3F-3L in the LP plus the 3A she'll be going for 8 triples. Sadly, even if she does it at some point, many will argue her 3Flutz won't count. But how amazing would be, to make another record: fist lady skater to land 8 triples. I'm probably thinking too far away though.
I still think she should go for the 3F-3T in the SP and keep her 2A.

As for the 3F-3T combo- I would love for Mao to go for it eventually, but as we have no clips of it yet, I wonder how ready it is. She's been practicing it for a fairly short time. 3A OTOH looks very strong - I think right now the biggest probem is to actually land it in the program, but the only way to test if it'sdoable or to see what needs working on is to actually attempt it in a competition. I don't expect it to be perfect right away, but if Mao got a hang of 2A-3T despite not being used to combos ending in 3T, there's hope. Hopefully this time her training won't be interrupted by national and personal tragedies.
In terms of choreo, this season SP is actuallywell suited to add 3A... There's enough space to get some speed, and the music is "smooth", so there's no issue of trying to land it right on the music (or ignoring the music and making the program look sloppy).

Regarding the LP - I actually have no idea which layout Mao might choose. I didn't expect Mao to add more content to her LP, actually - the choreo is quite busy and the only "breathing space" is the approach to 2A-3T - which made me thing she'd like to place her 3A there. Well, I guess it' possible she'd changed 3L to 3A - if some transitions at the beginning were removed and Mao used really powerful crossovers to quickly gain speed. However, this might be a bit risky... I compared Mao's 4CC 2011 LP to Nationals 2012 LP - 3A@4CC is landed roughly 24-25 seconds into the program, 3L@Nats - 16 seconds into the program. That's a bit short time to calm down and get enough speed for a 3A.