Grand Prix Final 2015- Ladies

Evgenia Medvedeva was far and away the best technical skater here. She is still lacking some of the refinement in the skating skills, but she has strong programs with good technical content, and her skating skills are fine, not as good as she was given (high 8s and 9s overall), but good. Her PCSs are definitely inflated, which is my problem with the current judging system. The IJS works in theory, but judges have a tendency to award PCSs for technical skating. When skaters have clean programs, there can be a tendency to award them high PCSs regardless of whether or not the skater has achieved them. I personally would have her pegged generally in the low to mid 7s, and with those, she still would have won, because this is an issue not only with her judging, but the way everyone is judged, especially here.

Satoko Miyahara is one of the most consistent skaters I've seen in a long time. You can count on Satoko to not fall apart in a program. She isn't one of those skaters who falls apart as soon as one thing goes wrong in the program, and that is a rarity in women's skating. It is so nice to see one of the ladies who is so far from being a headcase. You know she has firm technique and skating skills, and she knows she can rely on her training. Yes her jumps are still tiny, but she, unlike other ladies is actually getting her jumps around. She can have a tendency to lip on occasion, but it isn't a consistent problem for her.

Elena Radionova is still skating well, but all I can think about when I see her is how horrendous that freeskate is. The Titanic program is not only terrible for her, because she isn't emoting the right way for that music, but I don't think anyone could make that program good. Can the trend of Sexy Leo Voice go die in a hole somewhere? I don't know who thought that was a good idea, but clearly there were a bunch of coaches and choreographers not taking the hint from the ice dancers that that is not how you use vocals in a program.

Ashley Wagner had a good freeskate, but her short was a disaster. If she could only manage two clean programs and actually do her choreography there would be no stopping her, but she seems mentally incapable of doing two clean programs when the pressure's on. She also has a tendency to cut out her choreography as soon as anything goes slightly wrong in the technical department. She needs to learn to rely on her PCSs when the jumps aren't perfect. She is capable of selling a program even when the jumps aren't working if she just wouldn't give up on the program the second something goes wrong.

Mao Asada is having a rough season. Like Patrick Chan, she didn't come back with a bang. She's not really back to where she was before her year off, and unfortunately, things aren't looking too good for her. She seems far too focused on the triple axel so that when it works she loses focus, and when it doesn't she loses confidence. It seems to have far too much impact on her skating, and if that's the case, I think it needs to go. If she's not going to be able to skate a clean program regardless of what happens with the axel she needs to put it away until she can get her head back on her shoulders and skate like we all know she can.

Gracie Gold like Ashley and Mao needs to get her head on her shoulders. Honestly, the US ladies need a sports psychologist with them to help them understand why they're psyching themselves out. Almost all the US ladies are very talented and capable of being great but crack under pressure. These programs seem better for Gracie than last year, but I really do think to get her out of her head and into the performance, Frank needs to let her skate to whatever pop song is her favourite. If she's skating to music she absolutely loves, rather than music she likes (or doesn't like so much) she may be able to learn to perform and get out of her head a little more. If she's enjoying herself while she's skating I think that'll go a long way to making her a better performer.

Trophee Bompard- Ladies

With the tragedy in Paris this weekend, only the short programs were competed here. The ISU should be meeting early this week to determine how to deal with the half-competed event in terms of world rankings and the Grand Prix Final.

That said, the short programs happened, and it is possible the final result will be that of the short program.

Gracie Gold won the short program, and maybe the event. Gracie had a clean short in Bordeaux, which was a little surprising but it was nice to see her skate well. Her short is not my favourite, but it's working a whole lot better than last year's for her. Every element in her short got a positive GOE and her PCSs were strong.

Conversely, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva did not skate well here. She was 5th in the short, and doesn't have the chance to make up the lost points, if the information we have so far is true. The triple axel was underrotated and the triple lutz was downgraded. Her combo also received a negative GOE. Her program almost entirely fell apart after the mistake on the triple axel. Without the amazing, consistent jumps, there is nothing left to her short program. Her costume is also horrendous. What possessed her to wear nothing but flesh coloured fabric on half her dress I will never understand. She has gone from the matronly mumu to this sexy in the worst way dress.

Yulia Lipnitskia got lucky here that she only had to power through a short program. She can fake her way through her bad technique for three jumps, but I really don't think she can manage that often in the freeskate. She's doing better this season, but that doesn't mean she has better technique. She is landing these jumps through pure force of will.

Roberta Rodeghiero had a surprisingly good skate here. She finished in third after the short. She's not one we see often, especially not with this much success. If she can pull off two skates like her one here, she may be able to make at least an alternate position for the grand prix final, assuming these results stand for the final, which, who knows what's going to happen with that.

Skate America 2015- Ladies

The 2015 ladies event was dismal. I spent the bulk of the freeskate hoping it would be over.

There were only 2 clean free programs, from Nicole Rajicova and Gracie Gold. That is not to say though, that they were exceptional.

Gracie skated clean, but skated over her music. She was very clearly off her music at more than one point in the free. She was so focused on landing the jumps that she neglected the rest of the program. Her programs this year are better than last year, but they're still not my favourite, I'm still not sure this style is the best choice for her. Gracie won the free, but finished second overall, with a total score of 202.80.

The overall winner of the event was Evgenia Medvedeva. She finished behind Gracie in the free, which seems a little crazy to me. Even though Medvedeva had a fall in the free, her PCS should have been significantly higher than Gracie's. Gracie seemed to have inflated PCSs with the home ice advantage, I really don't think she earned the PCSs she got this weekend. It's not that she's incapable of getting those scores, but she was so obviously focused on everything but the PCS that it seemed a little crazy for her PCSs to be as high as they were.

Medvedeva is a new senior, and she was especially exceptional in the short program. She had all the jumps in the second half, they were all clean, every element in her short received a positive GOE. I'm not always crazy about the arm over the head on the jumps, I think Medvedeva can tend to overuse that bonus on her jumps. That said, there is no denying the quality of her jumps. I would like to see the arm  little neater if she is going to use it so often. It ends up looking a little too bent over her head, it would be nice to have a better line on that arm.

Elizabet Tursynbaeva had a less than stellar short program. She was in 7th after the short. She made a good comeback in the free. She had some small mistakes, but nothing like the rest of the ladies in this event. The only mistake of note in the free was the fall on the triple flip. Because so many of the skaters had such terrible freeskates, she was able to move up from 7th to 4th after the free.

Satoko Miyahara also had a pretty good set of programs, she finished in third in each program and third overall. I like her programs, but I don't love them. She has a lot of potential, but I would love to see some more height on her jumps. If I were her coach, I would be focusing on improving the height above almost anything else. That would help to improve her GOEs and if any lady is going to be doing quads, it would be Miyahara if she could only get a little more height.

We also need to talk about Alaine Chartrand of Canada. As per usual, she had a very strong short, and then fell apart completely in the free. She attempted a triple axel, but it was not good. Her jumps are not nearly consistent enough for her to be trying to introduce a triple axel. She got a downgrade on her double axel, a downgrade on her triple lutz triple toe, an edge call on the triple flip, and an underrotation call on the first triple lutz. She really fell apart in the free, but she did very well in the short. If she and Brian can just maintain the jumps in the free, she'll be a lady to watch out for, but she's trying to jump ahead of herself.

The ladies freeskate was beyond pathetic, and we can only hope it's going to get a whole lot better as time goes on.

4 Continents Championships- Ladies

The surprise of Four Continents was Polina Edmunds' victory. Based on her skating all season, no one expected her to skate nearly as well as she did here.

The short program has been her biggest issue all season, and now that she finally has the combo in the program under control she has a far greater chance at success. This short program is definitely the better of her two programs. Even when she skates the freeskate cleanly it is not of the same maturity level of other women in the world.

Polina had pretty good skates here, but her chances of landing on the podium at Worlds are slim with the kind of programs she has and the way that she skates. However, this was a huge achievement for her.

For Satoko Miyahara, this event was hers to lose. After the short program she had a decent lead, but fell apart in the freeskate and was unable to hold onto her lead.

Her skating is less emotive and tends to be more technical, so when she can't hold the technical elements together, like here she doesn't have the quality in the second mark to make up for a mistake. However a freeskate like this one could not be saved, regardless of the quality of skating between elements and the performance quality.

Her jumps aren't that big, so there is less room for error, so when her jumps are off, the mistakes can be disastrous. There is a chance for her to take the third spot on the podium, but she is going to have to forget this skate happened and skate at her best for any chance at all.

Rika Hongo skated well, but I find her bad posture to be extremely distracting. She lets her shoulders ride up and loses her neck when she goes into her jumps and sometimes during footwork. These little details make it more difficult to focus on the good aspects of her skating, especially when she isn't the greatest performer either. She's a good enough skater, but I don't see her finishing on the podium at Worlds.

Gracie Gold was a bit of a disappointment. I think everyone expected her to skate better than she did, but she wasn't able to hold it together through the freeskate. Her programs are boring, and it's obvious that she thinks so too.

These programs really aren't anything special, and it's obvious she is just going through the motions, unlike with her exhibition number. Now that she has the chance to skate to any music she wants, it's time to start skating to something she actually enjoys so that she can really commit to the performance. At this point it's too late to do anything for Worlds, so I don't think these programs are enough to get her on the podium, unless others, like Ashley Wagner and Satoko Miyahara make significant mistakes.

US Nationals 2015- Senior Ladies

Ashley Wagner reclaimed her national title in Greensboro North Carolina, taking a victory over Gracie Gold by a wide margin. Though I am personally not a fan of her freeskate this season, with much of the same choreography this season as the program she used in the last two seasons with the past freeskate, it is clear that she has the best programs in terms of PCSs, and her technical flaws have lessened significantly over the course of the season. However, the judges still seemed generous in her technical judging.

Gracie Gold finished in a solid second place well behind Ashley Wagner and with a solid 6 point lead over Karen Chen. It seems that Gold's performance, especially in the short program was judged more harshly than Wagner's. Though Gold's programs this season were less enticing and with the freeskate she fell into the trap of skating to The Phantom of the Opera, like far too many skaters this season. The programs tend to fall a little flat, they don't have anything to entice the judges into being more forgiving, like they are with Wagner's programs, despite the fact that the choreography in Wagner's freeskate in recycled from the past 2 years.

Karen Chen was a bit of a surprise to those of us who did not watch the US sectionals before nationals. She is still competing at the Junior level, and will stand a great chance at taking the Junior World title this year, and in the future, should she continue to skate like she did at nationals, she may be one of the US ladies looking for a world title in the next few seasons.

Polina Edmunds has not been as good this season as she has in the past, a growth spurt has been a major setback this season, and the greatest testament to her future in the sport will be how she recovers next season. She is beginning to recover now, and has managed to peak at just the right time, but her consistency this season has not been good, and her programs feel very young and do not fit the profile of a senior ladies competitor. The freeskate in particular feels very much like a program that would be given to young girls as they start competing, which is a style most girls grow out of quickly. Edmunds is younger than most of the other ladies competing internationally for the US, and rather than creating mature programs that suit the style of senior ladies and pushing Polina to mature as a performer, her freeskate this year is far too young and stands out in a negative way in many international competitions. As she gets older, the programs will need to mature, and the sooner that happens, the better.

Mirai Nagasu had a tragic free skate, after a collision with the boards continuing to skate, but losing the performance and the jumps. Though she appeared to be in significant pain, even pausing to grab her leg mid-performance, she did not stop her program and take the three point deduction, which likely would have made a huge difference in her overall score. She has not been the most consistent skater, and her jumps are not as good as they could be, so the loss of performance quality as well as the loss of technical points from all of the mistakes she made left her with a dismal score and a
10th place finish overall, placing 12th in the freeskate. Her finish is well below her potential and she could have been far closer to the top had she made the decision to take the three point deduction to recover from her fall.