GPF and JGPF 2014 Barcelona, Spain

Is Yuko kavaguti sick as well? She had two falls in the SP.

Junior ladies have just finished. Medvedeva won, Sakhanovich in 2nd and Higuchi in 3rd.
I'm such a huge fan of Higuchi's, this girl is going places as long as she survives puberty. She seems to be having problems with the edge on her flip though. She received ! today and e yesterday. Hopefully she'll sort it out. Another japanese lady that I'm in love with is Yuka Nagai. She is such a gorgeous skater. Today wasn't her day, but she has a great future, IMO. This is great for japanese figure skating. The old guard has either retired or is in their way out, but the future looks great, as long as japanese media backs off and doesn't expect to see the next Mao in this ladies.

ISU stream is problematic today. It either didn't work, was freezing through out the programs or just decided to die right in the middle of Sakhanovich's skate. I thought it's my computer, but other streams were working even though they were crappy. Hopefully ISU is going to fix whatever the problem is for the seniors. I really want to see the Ice Dance and men's today, since Eurosport isn't bothering with coverage.

Random question, but when is Yuna Aoki JGP eligible? She and Higuchi are my favorites from Japan.... as the Russians are awesome! (also, random thing, I felt like talking about figure skating in class and my friend says that it scares him... also, he wants me to use Hola on either Estonia or Kosovo?)

Is anyone watching the men?

Okay... I missed all of Hanyu's jumps, but he looked great!

Vonorov skates to Danse Macabre... and I would much rather be watching Yuna skate to this.

Mura was good if you ignored his jumps?

The bit I saw of Machida were good.... unfortunately, I didn't see that much of him.

I'm going to hide now. Go Javi!

....and he bombed.

If Kovtun wins this....

Men SP scoring wast just Ok, Yuzu is fabulous and I know that, but that difference with Machida? In technique ? And come one, Yuzu got for a shaky 3-3 combo with a fall  -1.90 GOE and Tatsuki for  a step out at 4-3 -2.14 GOE. Okay, if it was only a mistake on 3 toe it could be, but Yuzu's lutz was terrible too.It's too much for me, now we have new Patrick

And clean Voronov get 6 points less in technique then Yuzu, okay Sergei had StSq level 2,what else? Yuzu has nothing to do with it, but rules and judges just making me crazy

polosatik wrote:

Men SP scoring wast just Ok, Yuzu is fabulous and I know that, but that difference with Machida? In technique ? And come one, Yuzu got for a shaky 3-3 combo with a fall  -1.90 GOE and Tatsuki for  a step out at 4-3 -2.14 GOE. It's too much for me, now we have new Patrick

I can't really say since ISU stream was a crap today and I've missed half of the men due to this , however from what I've seen from Yuzu, he was just sublime.  Yes, his 3-3 was bad but everything else...holy cow has he improved.  Maybe Machida got more -GOE because his combo was worse? Maybe a slight UR?  I'm guessing since I've lost the stream when he started skating, so I didn't see him.

Yuzu got punished in PCS department so I wouldn't call him a Patrick. Patrick would still get 45+ in PCS even if he skated on his butt the entire time. IMO, while I would give Yuzu a -2.1 GOE on his combo, he was still scored fairly. This really was the only element in the entire program that wasn't good, everything else, as I've said, was just sublime. And his 4T should've gotten more GOE. It was PERFECT. Only IMO, of course.

Oh, Javi.  I guess the pressure really got to him. he still has a chance at a medal though, however he will have to be absolutely perfect, unless Machida or Kovtun make mistakes.

God I hope the stream will be working tomorrow.      

polosatik wrote:

And clean Voronov get 6 points less in technique then Yuzu, okay Sergei had StSq level 2,what else? Yuzu has nothing to do with it, but rules and judges just making me crazy

Voronov should have scored much higher, no doubt about it, however his TES is rightly lower because his execution of elements is not as good as Yuzu's. His PCS however, what a joke. His score should've been between 88-89.

l-spiralmao wrote:

Random question, but when is Yuna Aoki JGP eligible? She and Higuchi are my favorites from Japan.... as the Russians are awesome! (also, random thing, I felt like talking about figure skating in class and my friend says that it scares him... also, he wants me to use Hola on either Estonia or Kosovo?)

You can use Hola on whichever country you want as long as the chosen country isn't geoblocked.

I-spiralma wrote:

If Kovtun wins this....

Don't even joke about this! There's still a LP to be skated. Honestly, if Kovtun somehow wins this, I'm going to break something. I can't stand him. I felt bad about him last season due to Sochi fiasco, however since following him a bit closer, he does come across as very rude and full of himself.

I hope Yuzu will go for the easier version of his LP tomorrow, since he's not healthy yet, and win this!
And hopefully now, Javi will skate wihtout any pressure.

@Zarina, no Tatsuki's combo was not UR , Yuzu's lutz looked UR to me though. I don't know,maybe it's the hype ,judges or scores and I feel really bad about it-but I can't love Yuzu like I used to anymore. The further it gets the less I like him and his skating.

polosatik wrote:

@Zarina, no Tatsuki's combo was not UR , Yuzu's lutz looked UR to me though. I don't know,maybe it's the hype ,judges or scores and I feel really bad about it-but I can't love Yuzu like I used to anymore. The further it gest the less I like him and his skating.

Than I really don't get it. While Machida's programs are over the top, his technique is good.

For me it's the oposite, I'm liking Yuzu more and more. Yes his scoring is sometimes very generous and I don't agree with this, but as a skater he's improved so much. I can't wait to see what the next years bring.

zarinaballerina wrote:

polosatik wrote:

@Zarina, no Tatsuki's combo was not UR , Yuzu's lutz looked UR to me though. I don't know,maybe it's the hype ,judges or scores and I feel really bad about it-but I can't love Yuzu like I used to anymore. The further it gest the less I like him and his skating.

Than I really don't get it. While Machida's programs are over the top, his technique is good.

For me it's the oposite, I'm liking Yuzu more and more. Yes his scoring is sometimes very generous and I don't agree with this, but as a skater he's improved so much. I can't wait to see what the next years bring.

It rules again. 4-3 in the beginning of the program is more risky then a single quad. But the easiest will give you more points because you can place a 3-3 in the second half, and here you go, good bonus and great GOE. Mistake at quad combo is more costly then at triple combo. What can I say, Orser is really a king of COP era. And don't get me wrong, Yuzu really improved a lot, you're right. But that's "something" is gone, maybe only for me, and I don't know what.

polosatik wrote:

It rules again. 4-3 in the beginning of the program is more risky then a single quad. But the easiest will give you more points because you can place a 3-3 in the second half, and here you go, good bonus and great GOE. Mistake at quad combo is more costly then at triple combo. What can I say, Orser is really a king of COP era. And don't get me wrong, Yuzu really improved a lot, you're right. But that's "something" is gone, maybe only for me, and I don't know what.

Oh, I absolutely agree with you. This judging system sucks, and is driving the fans away, because no one understands it. There were so many times when a skater A fell and a skater B skated clean, yeat skater A still won. And don't even get me strated on P. Chan. If you look at today's results in mens, how is anyone going to understand why a guy who was the only one that skated clean, finds himself off the podium, and 10 points behind the leader who fell. You don't, you get pissed at the judges thinking it's rigged (and in many times this is true) and you leave the sport. So thank you ISU for making figure skating less and less popular!

It also makes me angry how so many skaters go for easier stuff so they can get more GOE on them than they would on the harder stuff. It's really annoying watching ladies doing only 3T-3T and those getting a higher GOE than 3f-3T or 3L-3T. And thanx to stupid rules, almost no one is doing 3L-3Lo.

Like you said, to score big you need a team who graduated in COP. Who cares if your program is blah, you're still going to win over someone with higher difficulty and interesting program because your choreographer and coach understand COP. I'm not talking about Yuzu here, I stand by what I said. He keeps improving and his jumps are to die for.

The reason why you think that "something" is gone, and I actually agree with you on this, is probably because of all the pressure everyone puts on him, and most of all the pressure he puts on himself. If he could just relax out there and not worry, I think the magic would be back, and than some.

zarinaballerina wrote:

polosatik wrote:

It rules again. 4-3 in the beginning of the program is more risky then a single quad. But the easiest will give you more points because you can place a 3-3 in the second half, and here you go, good bonus and great GOE. Mistake at quad combo is more costly then at triple combo. What can I say, Orser is really a king of COP era. And don't get me wrong, Yuzu really improved a lot, you're right. But that's "something" is gone, maybe only for me, and I don't know what.

Oh, I absolutely agree with you. This judging system sucks, and is driving the fans away, because no one understands it. There were so many times when a skater A fell and a skater B skated clean, yeat skater A still won. And don't even get me strated on P. Chan. If you look at today's results in mens, how is anyone going to understand why a guy who was the only one that skated clean, finds himself off the podium, and 10 points behind the leader who fell. You don't, you get pissed at the judges thinking it's rigged (and in many times this is true) and you leave the sport. So thank you ISU for making figure skating less and less popular!

It also makes me angry how so many skaters go for easier stuff so they can get more GOE on them than they would on the harder stuff. It's really annoying watching ladies doing only 3T-3T and those getting a higher GOE than 3f-3T or 3L-3T. And thanx to stupid rules, almost no one is doing 3L-3Lo.

Like you said, to score big you need a team who graduated in COP. Who cares if your program is blah, you're still going to win over someone with higher difficulty and interesting program because your choreographer and coach understand COP. I'm not talking about Yuzu here, I stand by what I said. He keeps improving and his jumps are to die for.

The reason why you think that "something" is gone, and I actually agree with you on this, is probably because of all the pressure everyone puts on him, and most of all the pressure he puts on himself. If he could just relax out there and not worry, I think the magic would be back, and than some.

Maybe ISU should rewatch penalty for a fall. I mean not for a first fall, but maybe it you have a second fall then you will get -2 points,not just -1. Because that's how winning with many falls can happen. Rotate your jumps, do difficult entrance to the jump, rotate it fully and fall. You still will be fine. That's not fair to  skaters who skate clean, I know I'm talking nonsense, but maybe be a bonus for 4-3 , or bonus for a clean skate may work. That's getting worse and worse. I know Sergei lucks a lot in quality and PCS, but that's really hard to understand for people who see FG for the first time. Old system had something in it, with a fall you can't be higher then 4th place. But that was not all fair too. I really hope someday ISU will find that balance, but to me, they don't even try.

^ I absolutely agree with you about the bonus for a "mistake free" program. I'd also add a bonus for doing harder stuff and not just going for the easy tech with good execution. And the idea about the falls is good to, I'd add a touch down for an automatic -1 (in a total score) as well. To me, a touch down is the same as falling, the only difference is that your hand touched the ice instead of your butt.

Like you said, ISU doesn't give a crap. If they had, they would've cancelled anonymous judging, instead Cinquanta fought like crazy for the judges' anonimity. Idiot. The sooner he goes, the better.

Edit: As for Sergei, the russian Nr.1 was competing here as well, and this really hurt him. He may be lacking in a lot of stuff, but he does not deserve 2 points lower in PCS than Kovtun. Kovtun's program was awful, yet he scored higher than Sergei in both, TES and PCS. That SP did not deserve 40+ in PCS.

Hey! It's great to see that this forum is still alive, even though Mao is taking this season off. Finally a figure skating competition is being held in my city ...and I'm enjoying it so much, despite the mistakes.

I'll try to write something more elaborated once the competition ends because right now I have so many ideas inside my head that I wouldn't know where to start from .

About the men, I can only say...Yuzu's program was absolutely gorgeous. Believe me, I saw him at TEB last year and his skating skills are much better than they used to be. Voronov didn't look that good live, even Kovtun was better (faster and lighter). After Hanyu, Sergei's skating looked much inferior. Sorry if this sounds offensive...obviously he's a great skater too, but the quality in Yuzu's skating is incredible.

I'm not trying to convince you that Hanyu's scores were fair, I just wanted to share my live impressions. Let's see what happens tomorrow!

l-spiralmao wrote:

Random question, but when is Yuna Aoki JGP eligible? She and Higuchi are my favorites from Japan.... as the Russians are awesome! (also, random thing, I felt like talking about figure skating in class and my friend says that it scares him... also, he wants me to use Hola on either Estonia or Kosovo?)

Answering to the earlier question: I think Yuna will turn Junior next season, as I read from a new report during the Jpn Junior National. I used to think Yuna, Marin, and Wakaba was born in the same year, but actually they are about half a year apart from each other, with Yuna about 1 year younger than Wakaba and Marin in between.

So I guess both Yuna and Marin will be JGP eligible next season. But I'm not sure if Yuna will get assigned with JGP or not, since: Yuna is not yet on the Japan team (but Marin is), and the other thing I notice is that, although Yuna does 3L as the 2nd jump in her jump combinations, she does not have 3T in the jump combination yet. And she says this will be her next goal to work on.

Back to JGPF: So happy for Wakaba making the podium. Evgenia was lovely and congrats to her winning. Shoma's FP was wonderful!

polosatik wrote:

The further it gets the less I like him and his skating.

I started questioning his personality too. He is 20 years old who can't act anymore like a silly kid who doesn't understand what is going on. Of course he understands everything and the worst part of it he doesn't mind this farce at all.

I agree that Yuzu's skating skill is superb.  His skating skill improved dramatically even since last year.  

When I watched him live @ GPF2013, I wasn't impressed by his skating because his poor postures between jumps disturbed me and his skating skills didn't look so good.  So I couldn't agree with a sudden PCS inflation he was given at the competition.  At first I thought the judges decided to inflate scores across the board towards the Olympics, but it happened only for him.  Even Mao's superb and sublime Nocturne SP was underscored in PCS let alone stupid UR call on her 3A.  Then I came to realize he's become a special boy for the FS business. I know it's silly and ridiculous and invalid to compare Men and Women though.  I'm really upset every time I see that his scores are kept unfairly high even when he fell multiple times and even when his speed got slower in the second half.  It is as if the judges use a different set of criteria for him.

Looking at the protocols, he got TES 51+ by garnering positive GOEs on every elements other than the combo. The GOEs saved him and made up the loss from the fall.  I know I should be convinced by this, but I cannot.  This judging system is so wrong.  It needs to be overhauled and revised.

The junior GPF was

I loved the performances by Evgenia, Serafima, Yuka, Wakaba and Shoma!!  I really love Seramfima's skating so I sincerely hope she will work on her jumps before it gets too late. I seriously hope she will be able to get a good jump coach.  Shoma is only 16 and already has got great expression on the ice!! While I miss Dai so much it's great to have Shoma this season.  I'm really looking forward to the Japanese nationals.