Cup of China 2014

Event 3 on the 2014 GP circut, and the page is here: http://www.isuresults.com/results/gpchn2014/index.htm

I'm so excited! Thank you eurosport 2 for broadcasting everything!

I've just seen Elena/Ruslan and I have to say that though they're a new team, I love what I'm seeing. They stil have a lot of work ahead of them, but IMO, they have a great potential to become an amazing team. I just hope their coaches can bring them there. Nikita Katsalapov is in Zueva camp. She's very powerful politicaly.

Go Lena/ Ruslan.

Bye the way, does anyone know why Anna/Luca left Igor for Marina?

zarinaballerina wrote:

I'm so excited! Thank you eurosport 2 for broadcasting everything!

I've just seen Elena/Ruslan and I have to say that though they're a new team, I love what I'm seeing.  They stil have a lot of work ahead of them, but IMO, they have a great potential to become an amazing team. I just hope their coaches can bring them there. Nikita Katsalapov is in Zueva camp. She's very powerful politicaly.

Go Lena/ Ruslan.

Bye the way, does anyone know why Anna/Luca left Igor for Marina?

Probably no one knows why C/L left Igor except for themselves. They probably think that they'd have a better chance by working with Marina since she's so powerful politically. Igor is like a Lexus and Marina may be a Rolls Royce in judges' eyes (for lack of better analogy). But their decision was seen as unwise by ice dancing fans, since their weakness is technique and Igor is the better choice in helping them working on that area. He has done wonders for C/B.

OMG, never have I felt so worn out after watching just 1 competition

pearlyriver wrote:

OMG, never have I felt so worn out after watching just 1 competition

Are you talking about the drama in men's competition? If yes, I completely understand. I was literally shouting at both Han Yan and Yuzu to get the heck off the ice and to a hospital, now.
I don't care if GPF was on the line (for Yuzu) this wasn't right. And I swear if I hear how brave these two idiots were for not withdrawing, one more time, I'm going to explode. No my dear british eurosport commentators, they weren't brave they were stupid. So instead of gushing about someone's bravery and resilience for skating while having their head wrapped, you could explain to the audience how increadibly stupid and potentially dangerous such decision is. I don't care if Yuzu wanted to compete, if you injured your head you need to go to hospital ASAP and have it checked out, not go and skate for 4.5 minutes.
Honestly, I can't believe ISU has allowed this to happen.

On a lighter note; thank you eurosport for announcing pairs free program only to show a replay of men's final at French bloody Open.
Of course they're showing Bundesliga footbal right on schedule. What else is new.

Wait, they were injured?!

Yes, han yan and yuzu had a nasty collision in the warm up. According to Orser, yuzu was unconcious for a moment, it also took him quite a long time to get up with the help of the medics. I don't know what happened to han yan but when he was about to skate he was holding his chest. Yuzu had his head wrapped. After the LP both of them were sent to hospital.

zarinaballerina wrote:

pearlyriver wrote:

OMG, never have I felt so worn out after watching just 1 competition

Are you talking about the drama in men's competition? If yes, I completely understand. I was literally shouting at both Han Yan and Yuzu to get the heck off the ice and to a hospital, now.
I don't care if GPF was on the line (for Yuzu) this wasn't right. And I swear if I hear how brave these two idiots were for not withdrawing, one more time, I'm going to explode. No my dear british eurosport commentators, they weren't brave they were stupid. So instead of gushing about someone's bravery and resilience for skating while having their head wrapped, you could explain to the audience how increadibly stupid and potentially dangerous such decision is. I don't care if Yuzu wanted to compete, if you injured your head you need to go to hospital ASAP and have it checked out, not go and skate for 4.5 minutes.
Honestly, I can't believe ISU has allowed this to happen.

That's where the difference between Asian (Japanese in particular) and Western mentality begins. If you have to die, better die under your boots' blades than under your rival. Yuzu and Yan are both extraordinary skaters, but they're just teenage boys and I don't know any boys at that age who care about their own safety. They both thought that they were doing a heroic thing by refusing to withdraw. But I can't believe that the British commentators can glorify that reckless behavior. I don't know if Yuzu will learn that there's nothing disgraceful about withdrawing when you're not physically ready. A concussion is not to be taken lightly. It's mindblowing to see him even doing spins in full force after that collision.
I miss the warm and cosy environment in this forum . People at goldenskate are so toxic and I can't believe that they're twice Yuzu's age.

Perlyriver, I completely understand why Yuzu would want to compete, especially the different mentality between the West and East, what I don't understand is why the adults as in Orser (apparently he tried but yuzu wouldn't listen), japanese federation and ultimately ISU officials didn't put a stop to this. Like you said, any head injury/problem can be potentially very dangerous.
I'm not blaming Yuzu, however I am blaming the "adults".
I also agree with you about the other forum. I stopped going there during last season cause I couldn't stomach all the hate that Mao received there.

Somehow the conduct of the ISU officials here make their gymnastics counterparts infinitely better.
Btw, I was also referring to the ladies and dance's events. What will stay with me after this comp is Misshin holding the broccoli plushie like the World Cup and Luca's wicked smile as he conveniently slided his hand down Anna's front body.
No skater is immune to hatred and insults on those forums, AFAIK. Yuna's fans there suddenly became very passionate about fighting PCS gifts. They got a wakeup call too late. I can't believe there''ll be a day when Yuna's fans and Mao's fans actually unite in opinions in PCS.

OMG Mishin holding that broccoli was the best ever.  And needless to say, I'm over the moon for Liza winning.  Julia's score however... that was way too generous. I wonder if this was just a bad day, or is this the future for her, considering that she will grow and her awful technique is going to suffer big time.

I still can't believe what happened to C/L. This may sound biased because I love Igor and hate Marina, but they are not the same as last year. I'm not talking about technique but about their overall look. Something is missing, at least to me.

I was also very happy about Lena/Ruslan. To be honest, I was expecting a better LP , but it will probably grow on me with time, when they'll skate it with confidence and abandon. I also hope that after they'll get funded by Fed they'll consider going to Igor part time, to get help on their technique. I don't know whether their coaches are great, but I  prefer Bobrova/Soloviev as they are now, with Zhulin as opose as they were with Kustarova and Co.
But for their first competition ever, they were very good. And I like it that they have chemistry and get along well.
Needless to say, I also hope these two will kick Sinitsina/Katsalapov's butt at COR.

LOL at Yuna's fans complaining about PCS gifts. That's rich.

I'm quite pissed about Yulia's behaviour. Ok, she had a bad day but she didn't even try to fight. And afterward she didn't come to medal ceremony and press conference. She's not injured like Yuzuru and Han, who had to be checked in hospital asap. But God, I'm so happy for Liza!!!! Not a perfect skate but finally a 3t-3t in second half of a program. She is in GPF,finally!

I finally understand what makes Julia phenomenal last year. She learned the choreography mechanically and meticulously timed her movements to the music's highlight. I notice that every time she made a mishap, she went into auto-pilot mode. Her choreography for the past 2 seasons have been clever, but it depends on her nailing the elements to actually work. There are skaters whose performances can shine even when they fall and there're skaters who let a single mistake disrupt the flow of the programs and turn in a snoozefest. Julia belongs to the second category IMHO. Julia has great flexibility and intricate movements but somehow I never find her graceful. Watching her reminds me of watching a floor exercise in gymnastics.

This seem a ridiculous melodrama, Yuzu and Han trying be ¨brave¨ or ¨hero¨, what a foolishness!!!  and now Yulia not going to the medal ceremony
Thanks to God Liza exist
And no, Yuzu is not a kid, he is 19, in Dec he going to be 20 years old.

polosatik wrote:

I'm quite pissed about Yulia's behaviour. Ok, she had a bad day but she didn't even try to fight. And afterward she didn't come to medal ceremony and press conference. She's not injured like Yuzuru and Han, who had to be checked in hospital asap. But God, I'm so happy for Liza!!!! Not a perfect skate but finally a 3t-3t in second half of a program. She is in GPF,finally!

What do you mean she didn't come to medal ceremony? The official one with the national anthem or some special one that organizer might have set up? Because if it's the oficial one she's missed, she needs a medical reason for it otherwise she'll get penalized. this at least goes for missing official press conference. I don't even know what happens if you refuse to show up to a medal ceremony. I assume you can get disqualified and probably banned for the next competition/s? So I assume she must of had a good reason. She's not stupid, nor would her fed allowed her to behave like that. I hope.
And I agree,i also hate it when an athlete gives up in the middle. So you fell and majorly mess up it happens, but fight until the bitter end. This also annoys the heck out of me with Zijun Li. The moment she makes a mistake she gives up. What kind of mentality is this?!

Polosatik, if I'm not mistaken Liza also scored SB in her LP. I'm so happy for her though, I worry a bit that she might get burned out by nationals from competing so much. This is her 6th competition and so far she hasn't beenc lean on GP. I'm sure Mishin knows what they're doing, I just don't want to see a scenario where she's doing great in the GP's only to mess up at Nats. I want her to be on that team and win Euros.
I'm so happy she hadn't given up after the hardship she went through.

zarinaballerina wrote:

polosatik wrote:

I'm quite pissed about Yulia's behaviour. Ok, she had a bad day but she didn't even try to fight. And afterward she didn't come to medal ceremony and press conference. She's not injured like Yuzuru and Han, who had to be checked in hospital asap. But God, I'm so happy for Liza!!!! Not a perfect skate but finally a 3t-3t in second half of a program. She is in GPF,finally!

What do you mean she didn't come to medal ceremony?  The official one with the national anthem or some special one that organizer might have set up? Because if it's the oficial one she's missed, she needs a medical reason for it otherwise she'll get penalized. this at least goes for missing official press conference. I don't even know what happens if you refuse to show up to a medal ceremony. I assume you can get disqualified and probably banned for the next competition/s? So I assume she must of had a good reason. She's not stupid, nor would her fed allowed her to behave like that. I hope.
And I agree,i also hate it when an athlete gives up in the middle. So you fell and majorly mess up it happens, but fight until the bitter end. This also annoys the heck out of me with Zijun Li. The moment she makes a mistake she gives up. What kind of mentality is this?!

Polosatik, if I'm not mistaken Liza also scored SB in her LP.  I'm so happy for her though, I worry a bit that she might get burned out by nationals from competing so much. This is her 6th competition and so far she hasn't beenc lean on GP. I'm sure Mishin knows what they're doing, I just don't want to see a scenario where she's doing great in the GP's only to mess up at Nats. I want her to be on that team and win Euros.
I'm so happy she hadn't given up after the hardship she went through.

Yep, she missed the official ceremony and it was weird to see Liza and Kanako receiving their medals and trying to smile like nothing happened. Yulia's reason was she didn't know about medal ceremony(how?) and got back to the hotel so she missed it. Crazy,right?


I hope Liza will get a full rest before GPF and shine through her next competitions!

Liza and Kanako look so pretty!!!!

@polosatik, are you kidding me?! How can someone who's been to dozens of competition not know that there's a press conference and a medal ceremony?! Heck I knew about it and I've never skated in my life. What a load of bs. Is she turning into a diva? I wonder what ISU will do about it, and the organizers. I can't imagine they were pleased.
What a way to ruin a medal ceremony for the other two winners. I suggest that next time, she takes a look at an official schedule. I wonder if in case she wins at TEB she'll also "forget" that there's a medal ceremony and press conference...I doubt it. I never liked her, but I'm liking her even less this year. Her attitude at the airport and now this.
Does anyone know what she's like "behind the scenes"? Nice, mean?

And I'm joining chapis. Liza and Kana look gorgeous.

@zarinaballerina
I saw Yulia twice live, but since I'm not her fan I didn't ask her for a photo or anything like that. To me she seems just cold. Some people say she was nice to them and some say she was rude. To my eyes she just act like she wants to. She has no control of her behaviour, well some fans say because she's little,but come on. How about Mao,Yuna,Caro, and Liza in their 16's? They were down to earth and nice kids.

is the ladies LP over already, I thought it would start tommorow

polosatik wrote:

@zarinaballerina
I saw Yulia twice live, but since I'm not her fan I didn't ask her for a photo or anything like that. To me she seems just cold. Some people say she was nice to them and some say she was rude. To my eyes she just act like she wants to. She has no control of her behaviour, well some fans say because she's little,but come on. How about Mao,Yuna,Caro, and Liza in their 16's? They were down to earth and nice kids.

I agree completely. Her fans are trying to excuse her, however this behivour has nothing to do with age, but IMO, it has planty to do with the way she was (is being) raised. I'm sorry if to some this will look like an atack on Julia, it's not, and I'm also not dissing the parenting skills of Julia's mom, but IMO she does come across spoiled. Nothing wrong with that, I just personally don't like it.

Ballerinamao, long program was yesterday morning. However eurosport 2 is scheduled to broadcast gala today at 7.30 am central european time.

oh well I will just have to wait for the videos to be uploaded. can't believe yulia didn't attend the medal ceremony, never heard of an athlete do that before, i wonder how her team could allow her to do that. doesn't she fear the consequences of such behaviour, just unbelievable.

zarinaballerina wrote:

And I agree,i also hate it when an athlete gives up in the middle. So you fell and majorly mess up it happens, but fight until the bitter end. This also annoys the heck out of me with Zijun Li. The moment she makes a mistake she gives up. What kind of mentality is this?!

Every time a skater gives up in the middle, I can't help screaming: "You don't know how lucky you are". They're lucky to live in countries where they can pursue FS, have access to the best coaches, specialist and training facilities. Many people aren't that lucky. Zijun is the only child of a seemingly well-off family. She undoubtedly lives the life of a princess. Furthermore, she has no competitor in China for many years. It must be hard to grow a strong mentality living in an environment like that.

Julia also missed the ceremony 2 years ago in Cup of China 2012 when she lost to Mao. I can't believe that her fans are downplaying this behavior and say that she doesn't owe any one an explanation, except for the officials and organizers. If your favorite pull that off, then accept that others will always see that as bad sportsmanship as they just think what they're seeing. I'm afraid if it were any of the Mao-Yuna-Carol or Ashley, none of them would be given the benefit of the doubt.

Oh wow, I didn'tknow Julia has pulled this off before.  Technically, her fans are right about Julia not owing us the FS fans any explanation, however if this is their point of view, then they also don't have the right to throw hissy fits when (and it will happen) Julia is going to get attacked for her appaling behaviour at CoC. You can't have it both ways, insisting it's none of our business and at the same time screaming how dare others attack her when we don't know the reason. Well, if she won't publicly give one, to which she's entitled to not do, then she must face the consequences with everyone believing that she has a bad sportsmanship and can't accept a defeat with dignity. Just IMO.
As I said, I've never liked her, but since the Oly's her behaviour has really become a complete turn off and at times diva-ish.
And pearlyriver you're absolutely right. If Mao, Yuna or anyone would pull this off, they'd get crusified.

Btw, how do you guys rank Liza's skating skills? I see many people complaining that Sam's PCS was too low and her PCS this year and last year were basically the same. I agree that she owns Carmen, but I happened to watch Liza before Sam in Finlandia Trophy and Sam instantly gave me the impression that her edgework, ice coverage, speed and step sequence were inferior to Liza, and Liza is considered as having the best SS among Russian ladies. Indeed, I don't see any improvement in her SS from the Junior Worlds 2 years ago and she gives me the impression that Latin style is the only thing she can do.

Btw, I'm puzzled by Christina's outing. She comes across as a confident, smart and positive thinking lady, but her performances showed none of those qualities. Maybe you can't have both: studying full-time at Harvard and training as an elite skater. It's just physically impossible.