NHK Trophy 2015

K&C


Display at Nagano station





@momoco68

Here are some links for the NHK trophy from sportsbox. Thanks to samkrut@mail.ru for the links.

SP
Ladies http://news.sportbox.ru/Vidy_sporta/...kaja_programma
Men http://news.sportbox.ru/Vidy_sporta/...kaja_programma
Pairs http://news.sportbox.ru/Vidy_sporta/...kaja_programma
Dance http://news.sportbox.ru/Vidy_sporta/...kaja_programma

LP
Ladies http://news.sportbox.ru/Vidy_sporta/...naja_programma
Men http://news.sportbox.ru/Vidy_sporta/...naja_programma
Pairs http://news.sportbox.ru/Vidy_sporta/...naja_programma
Dance http://news.sportbox.ru/Vidy_sporta/...naja_programma

Gala http://news.sportbox.ru/Vidy_sporta/...e_vystuplenija

The competition is also being shown on: Icenetwork Streaming. Thanks to dorispulaski for the information.

Here is the site:

http://web.icenetwork.com/schedule/2...015_nhk_trophy

Here are the scheduled times for the women's event.

SCHEDULED (ALL TIMES EASTERN Time Zone in the United States)

11/27/2015 5:05am Ladies Short Program
11/28/2015 5:30am Ladies Free Skate

Here is a video clip of Mao practicing for her SP. Mao's part starts at about 52 seconds. I think Mao's  jumps and movements are the most beautiful, symmetrical, and musical I have ever seen and so is her skating, so fluid, quick and light. I believe the obsession with minute observation of rotation that preoccupies scoring is undermining the value of aestheticism in the sport. The entire movement involved in executing a triple flip and loop is 10 meters or more, including the symmetry of air position, posture and flow in and out, but most of what matters now is the inch or two of rotation on the ice that can't  be seen in real  time and is often given a ruling based on biased eyes anyway. Nitpicking and deflating Mao's transcendent performances with a safety pin and trying to undermine a visionary sight with a microscopic blight. The same bias is being used with the way Mao and Rika have been singled out for edge calls, while obvious wrong edges from Gracie and Evgenia at least have been ignored and given high GOE.    

One of my friends who has a PHD in math said that you could come up with a math formula for calculating symmetry of movement if data was provided from several different camera angles and that it would prove Mao's superior symmetry. After I showed him videos of Mao compared to Adelina, Elena, Gracie, Liza and Yuna Kim, none of whom they had seen before,  they said that Mao was definitely the best because of her superior symmetry in jumps and movement and in the greater beauty of her skating.  They also thought that Mao had the most natural expression, best musicality and most beautiful positions. They said that they thought Mao's LP at Worlds was definitely better than Yuna Kim's LP in the Olympics in these categories as well.    

I agree with them wholeheartedly.That makes two Americans who like Mao the best.       


I thought of this when somebody at another site wrote that Mao's jumps in this clip were borderline.  

Again, Mao's practice begins at about 52 seconds

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3flzuw_2015-11-26-4s-%EF%BD%B2%EF%BD%B0%EF%BD%B8%EF%BE%9E%EF%BE%99-4t-3t_sport

Mao 3Lz from NHK practice:

All the best to marvelous Mao in her SP and LP performances at NHK. I hope she skates great and that her performances bring her satisfaction and joy.

Thanks to rosewood for this post on Mao's preparation for the NHK Trophy.

http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/index.php?threads/the-mao-cheer-thread-2-her-beauty-is-her-biggest-weapon.95911/page-16 post number number 453

WowMao wrote:

All the best to marvelous Mao in her SP and LP performances at NHK. I hope she skates great and that her performances bring her satisfaction and joy.

Gooo Mao!

From the news about the last practice before SP: it looks like Mao is doing fine
http://www.daily.co.jp/newsflash/general/2015/11/27/0008600626.shtml

Good luck! Have fun!!

Here is a link that worked for me. I had trouble with the ones above: http://www.eurovisionsports.tv/isu/index.html

I wish Mao a great comeback in the LP. She is a fighter. I know she can do it.

WowMao wrote:

I wish Mao a great comeback in the LP. She is a fighter. I know she can do it.

Me too, I know she will bounce back tommorow, it's nerves because she had a flawless practices and one clean run-through after another!

ballerinamao wrote:

WowMao wrote:

I wish Mao a great comeback in the LP. She is a fighter. I know she can do it.

Me too, I know she will bounce back tommorow, it's nerves because she had a flawless practices and one clean run-through after another!

Same here. Go Mao, kick butt tomorrow!
I know I'm in the minority here regarding her 3 lutz, but I do wish she'd switch it to anything else, even 3t. There has to be some mental blockade due to that stupid e. So she probably goes into it thinking too much, and ends up messing the jump.

I can't at Ashley getting higher SS. Choreography, performance and interpretation, that I can live with, it's subjective. Even Ash getting higher TR I can kind of let it pass, though hip shaking ain't TR, but SS?! WTH are they smoking?

OMG, Ana broke my heart. I hope she's ok. Those were some seriously nasty falls.

zarinaballerina wrote:

I can't at Ashley getting higher SS. Choreography, performance and interpretation, that I can live with, it's subjective. Even Ash getting higher TR I can kind of let it pass, though hip shaking ain't TR, but SS?! WTH are they smoking?

I'm on the same boat for those judges giving those outrageous PCS scores
On the other hand, the 3F-3L FINALLY got ratified!!

Hoping for better tomorrow!

zarinaballerina wrote:

ballerinamao wrote:

WowMao wrote:

I wish Mao a great comeback in the LP. She is a fighter. I know she can do it.

Me too, I know she will bounce back tommorow, it's nerves because she had a flawless practices and one clean run-through after another!

Same here. Go Mao, kick butt tomorrow!
I know I'm in the minority here regarding her 3 lutz, but I do wish she'd switch it to anything else, even 3t. There has to be some mental blockade due to that stupid e.   So she probably goes into it thinking too much, and ends up messing the jump.

I can't at Ashley getting higher SS. Choreography, performance and interpretation, that I can live with, it's subjective. Even Ash getting higher TR I can kind of let it pass, though hip shaking ain't TR, but SS?! WTH are they smoking?

OMG, Ana broke my heart. I hope she's ok. Those were some seriously nasty falls.

First and foremost, I want Mao to relax and give a great performance tomorrow.

I understand your view on the triple lutz, but I don't want to be a naysayer. I want to support Mao in her decisions. However, I have given up on the COP system. I am convinced it is corrupt. I jam just following the figure skating now mainly for Mao. There is a saying that it is madness to do something over and over again the same way and expect a different result. To me, it is the same with the illusion of fair scoring in the ISU because it will never come. A precedent is set such as scoring at the 2010 and 2014 Olympics and then the results are repeated over and over again based on this precedent which shows preference for certain skaters. It is obvious to me that Ashley is being inflated in PCS over Mao AND Satoko, even though she has the lowest tech score of the three in Japan. The fact that it happened in Japan is used as "cover" so that the scores will look legitimate once Worlds come. Similarly last week, Evgenia with a fall was given her highest PCS score, also 1 point higher than Mao, and Adelina with a tech score about the same as Mao was also given a higher PCS score. The new precedent is being "set up." with national preference for the top Americans and Russians. That is the way I see it as an American who can speak Russian.  The same thing happened in Japan at Worlds in 2014 when harsh tech calls on all the Japanese women in the LP served as "cover" for their deflated scores at Sochi, especially Mao's.  In the same way, Ashley was inflated over Mao in PCS at 4CC's in 2012 and Mao was given a bogus tech call on her triple axel. The system for score manipulation is elaborate and against the Asian women, so it is illegitimate and bogus to me, not in just one competition but repeatedly.         

I want to be happy, enjoy skating for herself and I hope she can meet all her personal goals.

Well, I hope she moves up in the FS...

COHK wrote:

zarinaballerina wrote:

I can't at Ashley getting higher SS. Choreography, performance and interpretation, that I can live with, it's subjective. Even Ash getting higher TR I can kind of let it pass, though hip shaking ain't TR, but SS?! WTH are they smoking?

I'm on the same boat for those judges giving those outrageous PCS scores
On the other hand, the 3F-3L FINALLY got ratified!!

Hoping for better tomorrow!

This is great news. I haven't seen the protocols yet, but I was wondering how they'll score her 3-3. That was a monster.  So huge, my jaw dropped.

@wowmao, I don't know whether to laugh or break something regarding the PCS. I mean, she got 2 points higher at CoC. A grand prix which is notorious for it's strict judging.  Yes she kind of "imploded" today, but 2 points lower? What happened with "PCS is judged separately from the technical" explanation they used to justify P.Chan's ridiculous scores over the years. Well, at least the haters won't be able to scream "home inflation".
I try not to get over worked about this judging system, and just focus on Mao and how happy she looks on the ice , but it's depressing seing her get screwed over and over again.

On the other hand Yuzu just pulled a new WR!  106 points.
TBH, sometimes I feel that the judges (or the fed) are pushing him at Mao's expence. Like we'll held up one japanese skater (Yuzu) and no one else from there. Don't get me wrong, Yuzu is an insanely talented skater, the TR he has going into those jumps...insane. And he does everything with such ease, however when he has a bad day, he is still held up, while with Mao, she needs to be almost perfect to be even judged fairly. I don't know, maybe I'm imagining things, but I've felt this way for several seasons now.
But then again, the judges or ISU never seemed to like her. Though I've never understood that. She is very humble, hardworking skater. What's their problem?!

Mao will be on the ice tonight as Madam Butterfly!!! My heart is flying just like a butterfly.
I'm sure Mao will do it wonderfully.

In the long term, getting the 3F-3Lo ratified more than makes up for a little bad luck at one tiny event.
An indisputably ratified 3F-3Lo is the biggest achievement of any lady this year.
She is moving forward, even though it may look like she is struggling in the process.

I agree the PCS was criminal. Her footwork/transitions was a point lower than Wagner, who doesn't even really do transitions.

There is a distinction between bad judges and bad rules, though.
Unfair PCS is a judging problem.
Mandatory double-punishment for popped solo triples is a rules problem.
It has affected a lot of skaters, even ones the judges favor.

whiteboots2013 wrote:

Mao will be on the ice tonight as Madam Butterfly!!!  My heart is flying just like a butterfly.
I'm sure Mao will do it wonderfully.

Thank you for your positive message.      

Mao's 3F / 3L was marvelous and her step sequence was fluid, rhythmic and intricate. Both eurosport commentators and Tatianna Tarasova praised these elements highly. It seemed that Mao also picked up speed after the triple axel, which is what Tatianna Tarasova said. Tatianna also said Mao was beautiful like a movie star, but I thought she was even more beautiful. In mind's eye, I can seen Mao opening up a case of inspiration in her freeskate and flying through the sky like a butterfly in her jumps with her success in the 3F / 3L to help guide her through.

I totally agree with you!

I have heard from several places that Mao may have been sick or ill yesterday and during warmup today.

from rosewood: This person posted a short gif of Mao putting her palm on her forehead and sniffling. Mao may have a cold.

https://twitter.com/maoyuupiano/status/670251569552592896

Maybe this explains some of the issues Mao had with her jumps. I hope Mao is feeling better and that she gives a great performance in her LP.

Holy mother of God...    Yuzu, that was out of this world phenomenal.        I was screaming into my computer, my neigbours think I've completely lost it. He was PERFECT.
216+ for LP and 322+ for combined total.    I'm speechless. He's a wonder boy. And I absolutely adore his LP.

WowMao wrote:

I have heard from several places that Mao may have been sick or ill yesterday and during warmup today.

from rosewood: This person posted a short gif of Mao putting her palm on her forehead and sniffling. Mao may have a cold.

https://twitter.com/maoyuupiano/status/670251569552592896

Maybe this explains some of the issues Mao had with her jumps. I hope Mao is feeling better and that she gives a great performance in her LP.

 Oh no. I hope she'll be able to pull through in the LP. She's such a fighter.
Go Mao!  Please pull a Yuzu and be "perfect".

And judges, do your job for once, and give Mao the scores she deserves.

Does anyone know what's going on with Ana Pogorilaya? Has she been injured, or having growth spurt problems, bad training condition...? She's such a gorgeous skater, it breaks my heart seeing her so distressed.  She was great at Mordovian open, but it's as if something happened afterwards and she's been strugling ever since.
But I'm so happy she pulled through today. After yesterday, it had to be difficult. She's probably hurt, those were really horrible falls in the SP.

Oh Mao...  Well, it's still 4 months untill worlds where she needs to peak. So better have problems now than later.  Her dissapointed face though...  at least it will light the fire in her.
Having said that, they gave her 66 in PCS.  WTH is wrong with them?! 66?!!! Are they blind? Honestly...

I've seen this LP so many times, and still get goosebumps when she does her step seq.