#3 Toeloop

[axiomsend]

Pereira/Michaud

Nice triple twist

Clean 3 Toeloops!!

This team seems a lot more timid than the other two but they make up for it in power.

She absolutely could have had a fourth rotation on that throw triple

Love the expression they are giving.

And a nice death spiral to end!!!

Absolutely awesome performance from this first group.

[mayday505]

BSD Figure skating AU !!!

I've had this idea bouncing round my head for so long because I skate and i need the drama of the sport as the main plotline in the fic for ONCE instead of romance so HERE WE GO:

Also some context before i go; this is written BEFORE the ISU raised the age limit for seniors from 15 to 17, so this will reflect that. In this AU, it is based loosely off both current skaters and former skaters, ill make another post about who each character is modelled after, BUT the time periods these skaters are from fluctuate from now all the way back to 2014, so in this AU the only quads that have been landed by men are 4 toeloop and Salchow, and none in the womans. COOL NOW ON WITH THE RAMBLE!!!!

Dazai Osamu, prodigy figure skater under infamous coach Mori Ougai. He, alongside his teammate, friend and rival Nakahara Chuuya, sweep Juniors for their first two seasons, with Dazai winning every competition he enters.

Commentators and experts describe him as the future of figure skating and claim he has a talent that can't be trained. This includes very limited amounts of pre-rotation despite Mori's way of coaching (which teaches his skaters to rotate from the back instead of the hips), incredible artistry, and beautiful spins

Both him and Chuuya are tagged to be the two most likely contenders for the gold medal in the next olympic cycle, which as of their first junior season, is 3 years away, over current senior world champion and current 2 time Olympic Gold medallist Dostoyevsky and the Japanese National Champion at the time, Edogawa Ranpo.

Two years later, in their first senior season, Dazai becomes the youngest Japanese man to complete the grand slam, winning every competition he entered, beating out Fyodor by a heavy margin

This all points towards Dazai being the next olympic champion and subsequently he qualifies for the national team.

The next season starts out strong when he once again takes the GPF gold, and then wins again at the japanese nationals

At the olympics, Dazai is chosen twice for the Team event, making history by breaking multiple records and acquiring the gold for the team. Everything points to him sweeping the individual event the next week.

However, in the days before the individual event, a japanese news outlet reports that Dazai had failed a drug test during Nationals earlier that year.

At first Mori stays quiet, until he gives some half hearted excuse shifting the blame off of himself whilst the media continue to hound Dazai, and other skaters become animous towards him, blaming him for doping/ruining the competition.

Dazai is allowed to compete, and as a result, the prediction of three years that he would take gold is flushed down the drain as he fumbles through both programs, placing in 4th.

The hearing for his doping case is adjourned soon after, finding him innocent. He is reinstated for competition just before worlds, where fans expect him to take Gold and reclaim his title after the mess at the olympics.

He doesn't and proceedes to bomb out at worlds, later withdrawing from the world team trophy and not being heard from all summer.

The next season, Dazai comes back for test skates, visibly injured and distressed, abandoning Mori's coaching team the week after in favour of Fukuzawa and former world champion and japanese skating legend Oda Sakunosuke.

OKAY THATS AS FAR AS I GOT!!!! thats like the expostition of it all or like the kind of intro to what i have planned for this fic!! i love rambling im gonna write this istg. SEND ME ASKS PLS ABT ANY CHARACTER THIS AU IS MY BABY.

[yuzu-all-the-way]

Today I got my Aoi Honoo 3 copy from a friend 😭

Obviously I don't understand anything without google translate and of course I jumped right to the 2019-2020 season. This will take me quite some time to read.

We all know about the ACI 2019 phantom calls on UR toes. Yuzu briefly talks about this. Here's me praphrasing:

Yuzu had seen that on the protocols his toes were deemed UR, but a good skater knows when they underrotated and when they did not. Yuzu trusts his feeling* when landing and he knew those jumps were not under.

Note: *By 'feeling' he refers to actually feeling the blade touch the ice and the angle at which he lands.

Quote from book, but mind you, 🤖translated:

(Yuzu) was surprised to see the toeloops in the second half judged under-rotated.

"I thought I was landing normally, and I have no doubts about my feelings, so I'm not worried about that (UR) at all (alternative translation: I don't care about that at all). I don't think so."

He's spilling and calling out the stupid judging, but Yuzu does it ever so politely.

[seafood-33]

2012-10-01

Yuzuru said "Javier said in some interview that Yuzuru is working hard, so I have to work hard."

"Javier is jumping in an ideal way, so I stole and made it into an image in my mind."

Interview by Hitomi Hasegawa.

Excerpt.

Q.その世界選手権後、練習環境をカナダに移しましたね。

Q. After that World Championships, you moved your training environment to Canada.

「世界選手権である程度自分の力を出し切れたというのがあって、新たな地でもっといろんなことを吸収したいっていう気持ちがありました。もちろん仙台にもいいスケーターはいますが、同じレベルで競い合いなが��、というのはなかなか難しい。毎日刺激を受けられるところに行きたい、という思いがありました。どこに行くか、選択は難しかったですけど」

I had a feeling that I could show my ability to some extent at the World Championships, and I wanted to absorb more things in a new place. Of course, there are good skaters in Sendai, but it is difficult to compete with them at the same level. I wanted to go somewhere where I could be stimulated every day. It was difficult to choose where to go.

Q.カナダのブライアン・オーサーコーチのもとに行ったことは少し意外でした。もし移るなら、ロシア系のコーチかなと思っていたので。

Q. It was a bit of a surprise to go to coach Brian Orser in Canada. If moved, I thought would be a Russian coach.

「でもスケーティングのことや練習環境を考えた時に、オーサーコーチがいいなと。やっぱり、ハヴィエル（・フェルナンデス）の4回転の確率の高さは、自分の中で大きなきっかけになりました。あれくらいばんばん跳べないとこれからは通用しないと思いますし、この時代で4回転を跳ばないっていう選択肢はない。あれだけ滑りの上手いパトリックが4回転を跳んでチャンピオンになっているわけだから、まだまだスケーティングとかが足りない僕が跳ばないで勝てるわけがない」

But when I thought about my skating and training environment, I thought Coach Orser would be good for me. Javier's (Fernandez) high quadruple jump rate was a big trigger for me. If you can't jump like that, you won't be able to compete in the future, and in this era, there is no choice but not to jump 4T. Patrick, who is such a good skater, jumped 4T and became a champion, so there is no way I, who still lacks skating and other skills, can win without jumping.

Q. サルコウですが、4回転だったら行ける？

Q. It's Salchow, but can you go if it's 4 turns?

ナム『お前のサルコウ、トウループみたい』みたいことを言われたんですよ（笑）。

そういう刺激がいっぱいあるし、同じチームにはハヴィエルもエレーネ（・ゲデヴァニシヴィリ）もいるし、お互いに教え合っているわけじゃないですけど、いいイメージをもらえるのですごくやりやすいですね。

Nam said something like 'Your Salchow looks like Toeloop' (laughs).

There is a lot of stimulation, and Javier is on the same team, and we don't teach each other, but it's very easy to do because we get a good image.

Q.練習は主にその3人で？

Q. Do you practice mainly with those three?

うーんと、夏はあんまり来ないですね、ハヴィエルは（笑）。ハヴィエルは、ある日練習が終わってへばっていたのに、白い短パンに着替えて 『今からテニスのレッスンに行ってくる』って（笑）。日本人は真面目だって、ブライアンに言われました。でもハヴィエルも何かのインタビューで、ユヅルががんばっているから僕もがんばらなきゃって思うと言ってくれていました

Hmmm...Javier doesn't come here much in the summer (laughs). Javier was exhausted after practice one day, but he changed into white shorts and said, "I'm going to take a tennis lesson now." Brian told me that Japanese people are serious. But Javier also said in some interview that Yuzuru is working hard, so I have to work hard, too.

Q. 楽しそうですね。

Q. That sounds fun.

そうですね。やっぱり4回転を降りられる人が近くにいるっていうのは大きいですね。自分が跳べなくなってイメージがなくなった時、そばにイメージを作れる人がいるっていうのは大きい。

Yes, that's right. It is great to have someone who can do quadruple jumps nearby. When I can no longer jump and lose my image, it is great to have someone nearby who can create an image.

跳べなくなった時って、変に焦ってだんだん煮詰まってきちゃうんですけど、でもハヴィエルがいると、今までの煮詰まりとは違って 『負けたくない』って思うんです。煮詰まる時って 『何で跳べないんだろ何で跳べないんだろ』ってばっかり考えて気持がガーッと下がっちゃうけど、その負けたくないって思いから、かろうじて上がれるんですよ

When I can't jump anymore, I get strangely impatient and gradually come to stuck. But when Javier is around, unlike the stuck I've done in the past, I think "I don't want to lose." When I get stuck, all I can think about is, "Why can't I jump, why can't I jump," I think about it all the time and my spirits drop. Because I don't want to lose, I can barely climb.

Q.ザ・アイス日光公演の囲み取材で、ハヴィエルのジャンプの跳び方がブライアンの（教える）ジャンプの跳び方だと思うので、照らし合わせたいと言っていましたが、具体的にはどんなことですか？

Q.In the box coverage of The Ice Nikko performance, you said that you think Javier's jumping style is Brian's (teaching) style of jumping, so you wanted to compare it, so what exactly do you mean?

脚の運び方とか、うーん、跳ぶ瞬間の、例えばサルコウだったらシュッてやる時の右足の運び方とか、トウループの締める速さだったりとか、いろいろあるんですけど、そういうことに関してブライアンから、今までとは違った視点で言われているんですよ。今まで自分が習ってきたこと、（阿部）奈々美先生と試行錯誤して作り上げてきた自分のそのフォームを、ブライアンは違う視点から見ているから、言われたことを自分の中でイメージしきれないところがあるんです。それを、ハヴィエルに跳んでもらって、あ、こうやればいいんだーっていう感じで照らし合わせています。

There are many things, such as the way you carry your legs, well, the way you carry your right leg when you jump, for example, the way you carry your right foot when you swipe in the case of a Salchow, the speed at which you tighten the toe loop, and so on. It is said from a different point of view. Brian looks at what I have learned and the form that I have created through trial and error with Nanami (Abe), from a different perspective, so I am not able to fully visualize what he says. So, I have a hard time visualizing what he says to me. I have Javier jump with me, and I compare it with what I know I should do.

Q.確固たるものになってきているわけですね。

Q. So it is becoming a firm thing?

そうです。それを見つけ出すために、やっぱり時間は必要ですけど、ハヴィエルが理想的な形で跳んでいるから、その中で 『あ、こんな感じかな』っていうのを盗んでいって、自分の中のイメージに付け加えています。それがこの2ヶ月くらいの作業でしたね。あんまりハヴィエル跳んでくれないんだけど（笑）。自分が望んでいたフォームのようなものがやっと見えてきました。今まで試行錯誤して作り上げてきたものは、自分の中ではその時の完成形だったんですけど、そこからまた次の段階へ。例えていうと、今までアナログテレビだったのがデジタルテレビになったかなっていう感じです。ただ、完成形はハイビジョンなんですよ。さらに3Dまでいくかどうかはわからないですけど（笑）、まだ過程なんです。

That's right. It takes time to figure it out, but Javier is jumping in an ideal way, so I stole what I thought, "Ah, this is how it feels", and made it into an image in my mind. I am adding. That was about two months of work. Javier doesn't jump much (laughs). I finally saw something like the form I wanted. What I've built up until now through trial and error was the completed form in my mind at that time, but from there I moved on to the next stage. For example, it feels like digital TV has changed from analog TV until now. However, the finished form is high definition. I don't know if it will go further to 3D (laughs), but it's still in the process.

Q.自分の中で、今はこのあたりで、ハイビジョンや3Dはこのあたりだなっていうのは、わかっているのですか？

Q.In yourself, do you know that you are around here now, and that high-definition and 3D are around here?

わかっています。あと、ジャンプを跳ぶ瞬間に、全部考えてから跳ぶんです。例えば、トウループだったら助走していって前向くところがあるじゃないですか。その助走の瞬間に（頭の中で）跳ぶんですよ、イメージの中でわーーーーって跳ぶ。その時にしっかりいけ��絶対跳べるんです。

I already know. Also, when jumping, I think about everything before jumping. For example, if it's a toe loop, there's a point where you run up and look forward. At the moment of that run-up, I jump (in my head), jumping in the image. If you stick to it then you will definitely be able to jump.

Source

フィギュアスケートDays vol.15

Full list from 2011 to present

[kazuha-pista-badam]

a thread about sambo 70's dirty work

tw// abuse of young kids in figure skating

this thread was originally made by someone else on twt. i'm just posting it here so y'all can spread it. you can also translate it in different languages.

for those who don't know: sambo 70 is a major sports club in russia and the figure skaters under this club are abused by their coaches eteri tutberidze & daniil gleikhengauz

some keywords: owg- winter olympics gp- grand prix jgp- junior grand prix gpf- grand prix final fs- free skate/long routine 4cc- 4 continents cup

Thread: Eteri Tutberidze and the team at Sambo 70 have a long and horrifying history of disregarding skater health, diminishing serious injuries, and forcing injured teenage athletes into premature retirement. All of this has been enabled by the ISU, judges, and commentators.

1. Yulia Lipnitskaya OWG: 🥇 (2014) WC: 🥈 (2014) Retired at: 19 (injury & anorexia) "Eteri Tutberidze was proud to inform the press that Yulia Lipnitskaya ... sometimes existed almost entirely on a diet of 'powdered nutrients.'"

2. Polina Tsurskaya Youth Olympics: 🥇 (2016) Junior GPF: 🥇 (2015) Retired at 17 after struggling with consistency due to body changes. Polina at her prime

3. Daria Panenkova Junior GP: 🥇🥈 (2017) Retired at 17. After she left Sambo, her old coaches accused her of shirking training: "[She] once again refused to go on the ice ... she said that did not want to go to training."

4. Anastasia Tarakanova Junior GPF: 🥉 (2017) Retired at 17, citing "health reasons." She also struggled with receiving funding and federation support at the end of her career.

5. Alena Kanysheva Junior GPF: 🥉(2017) - under coach Svetlana Panova. Switched to ice dance from singles at 15 following a chronic back injury aggravated by training the 4T (Quadruple Toeloop, a jump) at Sambo. Retired from the sport entirely at 16. Alena's beautiful JGPF FS

6. Elizabet Tursynbaeva (KAZ) Youth Olympics: 🥉 (2016) 4CC: 🥈 (2019) Worlds: 🥈 (2019) Retired at: 21, but had not competed since age 19. Despite a chronic back injury, she trained and competed a 4S. She cited her health as the reason for her retirement.

7. Evgenia Medvedeva Olympics: 🥈🥈 (2018) - had a stress fracture. Worlds: 🥇🥇🥉 (2016-17, 2019) Has not competed since age 20. She can only safely execute two types of jumps due to a chronic back injury that leaves her unable to turn to the left.

8. Alina Zagitova Olympics: 🥇🥈 (2018) Worlds: 🥇 (2019) Has not competed since age 17. Alina commented that she and Evgenia were not permitted to drink water to keep their weight down at the Olympics: "We just rinsed our mouths and spit it all out."

9. Daria Usacheva Jr Worlds: 🥈 (2020) Jr GPF: 🥉 (2019) Daria fractured her hip (reported by Russian media as an upper leg injury) in warmup at the 2021 NHK Trophy, at age 15. She left in a wheelchair and has not competed since. Tw: Injury, bodily harm

10. Alena Kostornaia GPF: 🥇 (2019) Euros: 🥇 (2020) Eteri claimed Alena had refused to share the ice with other girls. When Alena returned to Sambo after a season with another coach, she was placed on a "probationary period" that required her to re-master the 3A (triple axel, one of the hardest jumps) in two months. Alena later fractured her wrist during a 3A attempt and could not compete for an Olympic spot. Eteri said, "I believe that with such an injury it was possible to skate." She is 18

11. Anna Shcherbakova (2022 Olympian) Worlds: 🥇 (2021) Euros: 🥈🥈 (2020, 2022) Sambo's choreographer, Daniil Gleikhengauz, bragged that Anna could eat two shrimp for dinner and be full, and said he was "glad that she was not obsessed with food." Anna contracted pneumonia in the fall of 2020 and visibly struggled to breathe at 2020 Russian Nationals. Her coaches gave her something to inhale at the boards, possibly smelling salts. Despite this, her "tenacity" was praised by commentators. She is 17.

12. Alexandra Trusova (2022 Olympian) Worlds: 🥉 (2021) Euros: 🥉🥉 (2020, 2022) Sat out most of the fall of 2021 due to a fractured foot, but still competed quadruple jumps in the events that she entered. She is 17.

13. Kamila Valieva (2022 Olympian) Euros: 🥇 (2022) Kamila is undefeated this season and the favorite for the Olympic title. On Feb. 8, after the team event, it was revealed that she had tested positive for TMZ, a banned substance used to increase heart metabolism. She is 15.

14. Adian Pitkeev Jr Worlds: 🥈 (2014) Jr GPF: 🥈 (2013) Left singles skating at 18. Most elite men are able to compete well into their late 20s. Spent much of his career competing on a chronic injury. Despite this, Sambo coaches persisted in having him train quadruple jumps.

Skating fans are well-aware of the horrors that arise from Sambo 70's training methods. I hope that this thread will help bring this into a mainstream light. As fans, there's little we can do, but sports authorities can and should act.

Please protect these kids.

[myjunkisyuzuruhanyu]

Question from someone who can't recognize jumps: does Shoma actually have bad jumping technique or is that something fstwi made up to justify their dislike of his scores?

Tbf Shoma's jumps aren't his strongest point as a skater. Some criticism is valid, but not all jumps have serious issues. Shoma is more of an edge jumper (Axel, Salchow and Loop) than a toe jumper (Toeploop, Lutz and Flip). He has issues on his toejumps, but not on his edge jumps.

His edge jumps especially Axel and Salchow are pretty good.

Here is his 4S!

Here is his 3A!

His Loop is also one of his strong jumps, some ppl will tell you that there is too much prerotation and it's true that there is some prerotation, but contrary to toe jumps there is hardly any way to not have prerotation. There is a discussion about how much prerotation is acceptable and the ISU doesn't define it in their rules at how much degree prerotation is unacceptable. (Btw Shoma's 4Lo from Worlds 2022 is the highest scoring 4Lo ever, so at least judges don't seem to have issues.)

Here is Shoma's 4Lo!

His jumping technique on Toe Jumps (Toeloop, Lutz and Flip) is not "perfect". Especially his Flip does have a "questionable" takeoff, but tbf he got much better over the years. He will never have the pure tap of skaters like Yuzu but it's not as awful or invalid as some fans make it out to be. You will often hear that Shoma has prerotation in his toejumps, which is due to his tap of the foot not using purely the pick but more of the blade causing him to take off later from the ice than those skaters who use pure tap. In toejumps prerotation can and should be prevented, but in other jumps some degree of prerotation is normal. (also pure tapping is quite rare especially among ladies and tbf lots of skater have the same problem as Shoma but are hardly talked about)

Here is his 4F!

I think it's common knowledge that Shoma doesn't really have a Lutz. As to why atm he is working on it with the title "Road to 4Lz" . Here apart from the problems mentioned above he has an edge problem. He doesn't have an outside edge. But actually there are only a few skaters who have a good Lutz and Flip and are comfortable with either one for example Nathan Chen. (Even Yuzu used to have wrong edge on his Flip and "fixed" it over years)

I think despite the not ideal takeoffs on Shoma's jump his Toeloop and Flip have both improved leaps and bounds over the years. I would even say his Toeloop is one of the best jumps he has and also quite reliable and he can do his 4Ts from difficult entries like 3-turns. And I honestly like his Toeloop.

Here is a 4T!

I think the biggest problems fans actually have is the evaluation of Shoma's jumps which some fans deem as too high. To a certain degree - especially on his 4F -I can agree that his GOEs sometimes seem too high, but on his imo on his Axel, Salchow and Loop he deserves every point when landed perfectly. Only few skaters can jumps quad Flips and Loops though, so I guess because of the difficulty alone there is some reward in it already. It should not be like this but the truth is that a skater's reputation always does play a part. Shoma was the first to land a 4F and the ISU ratified it as the first 4F. So if the ISU approves of Shoma's 4F since 2016, it won't happen that he will suddenly not be valued for his 4F. You may have come across the thing that ppl argue that because of the prerotation his 4F is only a 3F or that it's a Floop, but ISU says it's a Flip and in the end I think that is what matters. (I think the criticism of the evaluation should be brought up to the ISU not Shoma and that if you want to "devalue" Shoma's Flip because of his technique they will have to start with adressing the issues already in juniors, because Shoma is far from the only skater with the problem, especially in ladies almost everyone has this kind of prerotation problem tbh)

I think though some of the criticism is valid Shoma is hold to a higher standard by the fans than the rules say. Prerotation is hardly ever taken into account for any skater and we also have to look at the whole field and all skaters not only those who seem to "profit" most from it (if judges would take it into account not many skaters would get positive GOEs for jumps at all) I do agree that skaters with perfect technique do get too little reward for the perfection of their technique, but this is a judging problem in general and not Shoma related. As long as Shoma's jumps are judged according to the rules that are applied on EVERYONE I don't see a problem in the way he is rewarded. Yes sometimes his GOEs are generous, sometimes they are not. And that's the same on EVERY skater. A lot more does play a part in judging that have nothing to do with skating - namely the country a skater is from, the politics of the federations, the reputation of the skater, GOEs that have been received in the past by the skater - none of it should matter, but as a matter of fact it does.

Shoma doesn't have perfect jumping technique for sure and all fans I know do admit that Shoma has flaws. But his flaws doesn't make his jumps invalid or his medals undeserved. Also it's not like Shoma does have straight +5 GOEs on all his jumps, so a lot is exaggerated. And frankly if fans tell you Shoma has "only bad jumps", they can't tell the jumps apart. And as always criticsm is fine as long as it's respectful, but in my experience a lot of "crictical fans" don't know much about technique either but are keen on devaluing Shoma for his technique. So I think a lot of the criticism is due to not liking Shoma rather than being concerned about fairness.

And lastly figure skating is not only jumps. So even if Shoma doesn't have perfect jumps, there are other areas he is often lower rewarded like for his spins - one of the best in the field - , his extraordinary skating skills, his musicality and artistry in PCS. So if we want to talk about fairness and how deserving Shoma is of his medals, we should take all into account that figure skating is about and not only the jumps.

[adito-lang]

So in honor of World Team Trophy (国別対抗戦) which should really have been cancelled this year, here’s Part 2 of Japanese figure skating vocabulary, focusing on ✨ jumps✨ (who needs them?)

Most of these are words/expressions I’ve heard over the course of countless hours watching and reading about figure skating in Japanese. This focuses on singles, but if anyone’s interested I can try making one for pairs. 

Part 1 - ✨ competitions and the figure skating season✨ 

Jumps ジャンプ

Counter for jumps ~本

to jump two lutzes ルッツを2本跳ぶ

Types of jumps in ascending order of base value 基礎点が低い順から並べるジャンプの種類

toeloop トーループ

salchow サルコー

loop ループ

flip フリップ

lutz ルッツ

axel アクセル

How to identify a jump ジャンプの見分け方

edge before takeoff 踏み切る前のエッジ

flat edge フラットエッジ

to take off on an inside/outside edge 内側・外側のエッジで踏み切る

to take off with toe assistance トウをついて踏み切る

Rotation 回転

single 1回転 (but it’s more common to say シングル）

double 2回転 (but more common to say ダブル）

triple 3回転 (but more common to say トリプル）

quadruple 4回転

underrotation 回転不足

to under-rotate (a triple loop) （３回転ループで）回転不足を取られる

(to be) downgraded ダウングレード（される）

Perfect jump 完璧なジャンプ 

Good jump technique 質の高いジャンプ技術 

Jump height and distance ジャンプの高さと距離

To jump ジャンプを跳ぶ・ジャンプを決める（you’ll hear commentators say 決めました！when a skater successfully lands a jump）

tano jump タノジャンプ

combination jump コンビネーションジャンプ・連続ジャンプ

To land 着氷する

to have flow on a landing 着氷で流れがある

to hold on to a landing 着氷で堪える

to have a wobbly landing (on a loop) （ループで）着氷が乱れる

(to) step-out ステップアウト（する）

To fall 転倒する

to fall (on a loop) （ループで）転倒する

to lose one’s balance バランスを崩す

To make a mistake (on a quad) （4回転で）ミスをする 

To succeed/fail (a jump) （ジャンプを）成功・失敗する 

And here’s a screenshot from a short article about Shoma Uno’s jumping performance today, which includes some of the terms I’ve listed. 

今度のテーマ：✨ 採点のルール、演技 ✨  Next time: ✨ scoring rules, performance ✨

♥️ Adito

[kamilavalieva-1]

Clean 4 toeloop and 3 toeloop

[quadaxxels]

ISU Worlds Men’s Short Program Group 4 - Live blog

Ok we’re pArt way through Shoma Uno’s program and my fuji tv stream has finally decided to behave - I’ve missed the first half of the program 😩😩

Ooft nasty fall on the 3A but good recovery - before the fall it looks like everything was clean,, shoma gets level 4 for the spin straight after

Lmao @ Stephane at the boards love him

Not the cleanest but he looks happy so that’s all that matters 🥺

On another note I’m still obsessed w his song choice LMAOOO it’s chaotic,, just like him 😌

Shoma uno currently in at 3rd place behind Yuma and kolyada I think??

Jin boyang is now up skating to Trio in D,, falls on the opening quad loop,, doubles the planned triple of his following quad triple combo

Beautiful 3A tho

So far out of 5 elements 3 are to be reviewed

Also a shaelynn bourne choreo apparently

Every spin combo but the last was a lvl 3, the last one was a lvl 4

Boyang scores 77.95 coming in at 11th rn oofttt

Kevin Aymoz nails the quad toeloop to open and the following triple triple combo, toe loop and loop I think it was?

Ooft he juuuust managed to save a 3A after a v nice step sequence

I never realised but Kev aymoz actually has really good skating skills, he’s got a lot of floor work in this program also

Music choice is just as chaotic as shoma’s and Yuma’s lol - what’s going on here

His 3A has been giving a red light but has come in at 5th place

LMAOOO TRUST FUJI TV THEYVE CUT TO A PREPARED PROMO THING OF THE UPCOMING YUZU VS NATHAN SHOWDOWN GBYEEE

Keegan Messing is up next skating to Mr Ed sheeran’s Perfect,, nails the opening quad toe loop triple toe loop combo, also nails the following 3A,,, lvl 4 for the spin - his spins are really stable w great speed

Effortless 3lutz follows EFFORTLESS

Keegan is really on his game today, could get a podium place - everything is clean!!!

Idk why I forget but he really does have beautiful skating skills and excellent tech skills!!

Mr Messing overtakes shoma for third

Lmao they’ve cut to yuzu entering rink side all sassy

OMFG DENISS VASILJEVS HAS GROWN HIS HAIR OUT??? IT’S IN A LITTLE PONY TAIL A LA SEASON 4 EREN JÄGER???? IM-????

In any case he nails opening triple triple,, hangs on to the 3A,, lvl 4 sit spin

Wowww his got see through panels and everything in his costume damn son ok we see you,, looks like we’re channeling ~sex appeal~ for this short lol

Just a friendly reminder for all the baby fs fans that deniss is shoma’s rinkmate and trains w Stephane lambiel too!!

Step sequence is nice as always and fits the music well but tbh I would’ve liked a bit more energy??

Deniss comes in at 81.22 making him 10th atm

Next up, the final group!!

[seimeistsq4]

Rostelecom Cup day 1

The advantage of watching it offline is you don't have time to see protocols ;D

And i realized the reason of making so many bad dresses now - they all look betteron ice than on tv. It must be the distance and constant moving. But still it doesn't make them better.

Aaand i think my seat was just perfect for judging figure skating the way it is today.

The jumps were recognisable, but without a chance to notice poor technique (i was pretty surprised that Morisi's toeloop was THAT bad on the recordings.)

Also! One corner of the rink (that one, where almost all failed jumps happened) was hidden with that timer thing. Put your flutzes there please.

2/3 seats were empty but not due to social distancing. Maybe, today it will be better. And really lot of Yuzuru banners. We miss you here Yuzu please get better soon 🧡🧡🧡

Also Sochi Olympic park is pretty confusing 😂 possibly it's easier to find entries and exits if you are moving from suburban station or nearby hotels, but i was walking from Adler and it took me about 20 minutes running around fences to find an entry to the Olympic park :D sooo many fences. In my whole life haven't i ever lost my way that many times as i did the past few days :D

And a few photos please

And another few

[notpam]

Me watching Shoma fall on the 3 axel + 4 toeloop combo

He's such a great skater tho 🥺🤧💙

[tales-and-thoughts]

Tag Game: Word Find #003

I got tagged by @zmlorenz , thank you, dear <3

The words to find in my works are night, sting, near, and shoulder.

Night

With a bag of frozen peas pressed against his head, Steve shuffled into his bedroom and flopped down on the bed. For a few seconds he lay motionless, enjoying the relief the cooling on his head brought. Then, without looking up, he reached beside the bed and grabbed his smartphone from the bedside table. He rolled onto his side so the peas stayed in place by themselves and opened Google on his phone. For a moment he hesitated, thumbs hovering over the touchscreen. Then he typed in "figure skating jumping" and pressed search. In seconds, hundreds of articles explaining the several jumps were suggested to him. Steve blinked in bewilderment. He hadn't known there were several. He pressed the first headline "Toeloop, Salchow, Axel - A guide to Figure Skater’s Jumps at the Olympics" and started reading the article.

The various names of the jumps and their edges were still buzzing around Steve's head when he went to sleep that night. And when his alarm clock jolted him out of sleep the next morning, he had a vague image of Tony in a diamond studded jacket in his mind. Smiling casually, Tony jumped off one leg, flew seven metres into the air, spun there a dozen times in all directions, did a backflip and landed light-footedly on one leg again. Steve rubbed his eyes to get rid of the image. He really needed to stop thinking so much about figure skating when he was already dreaming about it.

(from Dancing On The Edge)

Sting

The cat jumped up on the table and settled down on the keyboard of the laptop without hesitation. Bucky began to pet her.

"You annoying little piece of shit," he said as lovingly as he could. "I guess I'll have to take you with me tomorrow." The cat started purring, though he was sure it was because of the warmth of the laptop and not because of him.

He tried to reach the switch past her fur to turn it off, but she pushed his hand away with her paw.

"Fine, whatever," he said after trying it five times and stood up. "You're sleeping here?" he asked, pointing at the laptop. She returned a meow. "Yeah, I figured."

He took the mug he had just been drinking tea from back to the kitchen and put his files away as best he could while the cat's eyes followed him. Then he walked towards the stairs and switched off the lights. The laptop shone through the dark room, casting the cat's ears as bluish shadows on the wall. Bucky had just reached the top of the stairs when he heard meowing coming from below. He turned and saw the white fur standing at the bottom step, shone on by the light upstairs.

"Seriously?"

(from When It Rains, It Purrs)

Near

"Do you know the computer also has a voice control?" Tony asked and glanced at Steve. Steve didn't turn to the sofa where Tony was lying but continued to type on his laptop with concentration. He was still a very slow typist. Tony folded his arms behind his head and focused back on the spot on the ceiling he had been looking at for the last 283 minutes.  "Sure, AVT's artificial intelligence is nowhere near as sophisticated as Friday, but you could just dictate it what you want to write down. It would be so much faster and you wouldn't have to bother with all that annoying typing." Steve kept typing. Exasperated, Tony closed his eyes. The rattling of the keys filled the room and made him all jittery. He preferred touchscreen, if you really wanted to type, at least that was quiet.

A sudden glow permeated Tony's closed eyelids and the clacking of keys was replaced by a soft hissing sound. Surprised, he raised his head from the armrest of the sofa and looked around. A familiar swirl of golden sparks had appeared in the middle of the room, grew larger and finally revealed the view into an old dark library. Before Tony could see any details, his view through the portal was blocked by a weird magician with a seriously loyal piece of outerwear. Dr Strange exited the portal and the ring closed behind him. Steve looked as if he was dangerously close to a heart attack.

(from One More Miracle - Don't Be Dead)

Shoulder

With Steve's towel wrapped around his shoulders, Tony walked away and Steve watched him go, descending the three stone steps of the terrace and making his way through the white sand to the waterline. He prudently let the towel slip from his shoulders and fall into the dry sand before wading out into the sea without hesitation. Only when he was up to his waist in the water and the terrible pattern on his trunks was no longer visible, did Steve turn his eyes away. He hadn't noticed how a smile had crept onto his face, but he didn't even try to hide it. Why should he? The sight he was offered here was simply too beautiful for that.

Steve reached for his glass on the small lounge table next to him and took a sip of the lemonade. Underneath the sweet and sour taste of the lemon, the slight hint of fresh and tart basil surfaced and Steve took a second sip before putting the glass back down. Briefly, he looked up again, glanced across the small stone wall that separated the terrace from the sandy beach and towards the sea. A small dark dot was swaying there in harmony with the gentle waves under the sky, which was gradually beginning to turn pink. Again Steve had to smile as he thought of it being his small dark dot swimming in the water over there.

He watched the little Tony-dot for a while and then turned to his sketchbook. He opened it, flipped to a free page and let his gaze wander in search of something that could serve as a model.

(from Sunset Melodies)

I'm giving out the words dance, long, reality and blanket to @47crayons , @pens-swords-stuff , @anika-writes and everyone else who wants to give it a try :D

[hydrosblade]

handy guide to figure skating

hi!! so i’m here trying to explain figure skating to you in the simplest and easiest way i can, so you can learn the basics and don’t get so lost when i rant about it! this guide will be in english because everything i’ve ever read and learned about figure skating came from tumblr or live commenting in competitions, so i know all the technical terms and names in eng ;p anyways!!!! enough chit-chat, let’s get this icy bread!

understanding the blades:

i think knowing edges is a good start and they are not as complicated as they seem. believe me, they were a nightmare when i started learning about fs, because in my head ice blades were like this \/ not like this /_\ , but once we get the basics on how the skating boot works, things will start to make sense. the pic im sending along with this text is very helpful to understand what is a figure skating boot. if you look at it, you will see the edge is not flattened, but it has a hollow space and actually two edges

> inside edges are always facing each other (inside part of the foot)

> outside edges are never facing each other (outside part of the foot)

it’s important to remember this because it’s a vital point in understanding jumps (but also spins and steps. edges are very very important!)

telling jumps apart:

ok so this is the fun part! but also the very confusing one… i had a breakdown over jumps once because i couldn’t, for the life of me, tell those shits apart. BUT DON’T WORRY, it gets easier with time and with watching tons of figure skating programmes and paying close attention to the jumps. they are the most important part in the technical side of the sport and basically everything revolves around them.

we have 6 different kinds of jumps in figure skating, divided into two groups:

> toe jumps, in which the skater will strike the toe pick into the ice to launch themselves in the air (toeloop, flip, lutz)

> edge jumps, the skater won’t have the assistance of the pick, therefore applying only their strength onto the edge of the blade to jump (axel, salchow, loop)

jumps can have one, two, three or four rotations. we call them single (1 rotation), double (2 rotations), triple (3 rotations) or quad (4 rotations). the more rotations, the harder the jump gets, since if you, for example, jump a triple jump, you'll be landing basically thrice your weight when you hit the ice on one little blade.

the only way in which we can differentiate a jump is by how they take off, since every jump lands the same way (on the right backward outside edge [also known as RBO] (or LBO if they spin in a counterclockwise direction)).

rbo, lbi, lfo and etc are abbreviations we use to tell a jump’s take off or landing, each letter corresponds to:

R = right leg

L = left leg

B = backward position

F = forward position

O = outside edge

I = inside egde

CCW = counterclockwise

CW = clockwise

so let’s break down the entry of every jump, starting from the easiest to the most difficult!!

TOE LOOP (T)

uses the toe pick to vault the body in the air

usually strikes the ice with the left toe pick (again, if it’s in a CCW direction, the skater uses the right toe pick)

it’s the only toe jump in which the skater rotates towards the foot that strikes the ice, meaning they are open to the rotation, and that makes it the easiest to execute

it’s a RBO jump, the skater’s right foot has to be on the outside edge when the toe pick strikes the ice

most of the time a turn will precede the jump

here is yuzuru hanyu (JPN) jumping a 4T + 3T combo at the 2018 olympics:

SALCHOW (S)

an edge jump, no toe pick assistance

left leg will sweep behind the body on a LBI (left backward inside edge (or right edge for CCW skaters)) and use the knee bend to apply force onto the blade to vault the body in the air

legs will form a / \ shape

most of the time the skater will do a three-turn (which is deadass what the name suggests, they turn three times) and then jump, that’s to create momentum and speed

here's rika kihira (JPN) jumping a 4S at the japanese nationals 2020:

LOOP (Lo)

also an edge jump, doesn’t use the toe pick

legs will cross and look like an X

just like the toeloop, the loop will take off on a RBO (right backward outside edge (or left edge for CCW skaters)) and will vault their body in the air with the strength of the knee bend

fun fact: yuzuru was the first skater to ever land a quadruple loop!

here's yuzuru jumping the 4Lo in the four continents championship (4CC):

ok so now let’s talk about the flip and the lutz, two of the most difficult jumps and the ones most people lose their minds over because they can be v v v similiar, but the key to differentiate them is their take off edge:

FLIP (F)

back to toe jumps, it has the use of the toe pick

the skater will always do a turn and then immediately jump (for beauty and grace’s sake, some skaters might do a three-turn before jumping)

IMPORTANT TO ALWAYS REMEMBER AND NOTICE THAT THE FLIP IS AN INSIDE EDGE JUMP, so the take off will always be on the LBI (left backward inside edge (right edge for CCW skaters))

the skater strikes the ice with the toe pick, but rotates in the opposite direction of the toe pick, which makes the body closed to the rotation.

fun fact: the flip is my favourite jump ever lol

here's yuzuru jumping a 3F at an ice show (notice the three-turn leading to it!!):

LUTZ (Lz)

the final toe jump, has the assistance of the toe pick

different from the flip, when going into a lutz, the skater will always do a long lean forward before jumping

LUTZ IS AN OUTSIDE EDGE JUMP, so the left foot will always be on a DEEP LBO (left backward outside jump (or right edge for CCW)). the deepest the outside edge, the more beautiful and correct the jump is

same as the flip, the toe pick strikes the ice while the skater’s body rotates in the opposite direction, so it is closed to the rotation.

here's yuna kim (KOR) jumping a 3Lz + 2T in the 2014 olympics:

AXEL (A)

the last edge jump, so no toe pick

the only jump with a forward entry, therefore the easiest to recognize

because it has a forward take off, every axel has an additional 0.5 rotation (like if you jump a 3A, its actually a 3.5A, with three and a half rotations instead of just three)

most skaters do a long backward line looking over the shoulder and then they turn, lean forward, sweep the right leg in front of the body and jump. (but yuzuru hanyu (a.k.a. the God of fs) almost always jumps the axel from a backcounter, which is insanely difficult and rare)

the axel take off is LFO (left foward outside edge)

fun fact: the axel is the only jump without a quad variation, since it would have 4.5 rotations, and that’s A Lot. but yuzuru said he’s been training like crazy and will be the first skater to ever land a quadruple axel.

here's yuzuru jumping his trademark 3A during practice:

that's it for now!!! if u have any questions feel free to hmu and after the jumps we can move on to spins, steps and scores!! hehe hope u enjoyed it 🥰

[geckomoon]

Yuri!!! on ice as irl skaters (part 1???)

Its 2020 and I miss yoi so here are my personal headcanons about which irl skater the you cast skate &/or act like because why the hell not.

(photos at the bottom of the post because I couldn't get the format to work the way I wanted it to)

Yuri Katsuki ➡️ Boyang Jin (China)/Evgenia Medvedeva (Russia)

Yes, 2 people because PARALLELS.

So my reason for saying Yuri is like Boyang is because, his step sequences are always gorgeous and his jumping power, oofttttt, and that one scene where Yuri tries a jump and lands in the wall, you know the one. Boyang Jin is known for jumping super close to the boards and scaring the hell out of us all, seriously, just watch one of his skates, it's amazing and terrifying. Also Boyang is a bit of a nerd and Yuri is canonicaly pretty into video games, nuff said.

Boyang is a two-time World bronze medalist (2016–2017), the 2018 Four Continents champion, a two-time Four Continents silver medalist (2016, 2019), the 2017 Asian Winter Games silver medalist, and a five-time (2014–2017, 2019) Chinese national champion.

Evgenia however, this is more of a parallel in how her 2018/19 season went and how Yuri kinda flopped. Zhenya had a crappy start to the 18/19 season, she'd just switched coaches and mover halfway across the world, for the 1st time in her senior career she didn't make the gpf. However by the end of the season she had bounced back and won bronze at worlds and my god what a skate that fp was. Remind you of anyone huh???

Evgenia has a lot of medals (and actually made a cameo in the end credits of episode 10) She is a two-time Olympic silver medalist (2018 ladies' singles, 2018 team event), a two-time world champion (2016, 2017), a two-time European champion (2016, 2017), a two-time Grand Prix Final champion (2015, 2016), a two-time Russian national champion (2016, 2017), silver medalist at the 2018 European Figure Skating Championships and bronze medalist at the 2019 World Championships. Also, she is a huge Anime fan and has a sailor moon exhibition program and its adorable.

Victor Nikiforov ➡️ Yuzuru Hanyu (Japan)

I know a lot of people compare Yuri to Yuzu but I think Victor is a better fit.

Yuzuru has a legion of super duper dedicated fans, they are pretty scary at times. If you watch the 2018 Olympics, the ice literally was covered in Pooh bears after his skate. People love this man, and rightly so. Clearly Yuri isn't the only one who loves Victor, he's very popular in the yoi skating world and almost everyone loves and looks up to him.

His skates are almost immaculate every time. Not only is his technique amazing but his artistry is what really sets him apart from other skaters who may have higher bv on jumps etc. Not that he dosent have high bv, seriously he tries combos that are super wierd just for the bv (see the wierd 4t-3a combo thing he does idk). Plus he's dead set on doing a quad axel. See Victor's super high bv with all the quads and also the fact everyone goes nuts over how his skating is 'like no other'.

Also his medal collection is absolutely mad, he is a two-time Olympic champion (2014, 2018), two-time World champion (2014, 2017), four-time Grand Prix Final champion (2013–2016), Four Continents champion (2020) and three times silver medalist (2011, 2013, 2017). Just like how Victor is canonicaly an Olympic champion and 5x world champion and probably many time euros champ.

Also, he's a sweetheart, he literally crawled behind Shoma Uno because he didn't want the attention taken away from Shoma. I love him.

Victor Nikiforov gives big Yuzuru Hanyu energy.

Yuri Plisetsky ➡️ Yulia Lipnitskaya (Russia)/Alexandra Trusova (Russia)

Again, 2 people.

It's canon that Yuri P was modeled after Yulia for the flexibility and artistic portion of his skates so I feel like I don't need to elaborate much in it however his determination and his wanting to back load with quads reminds me a lot of Sasha Trusova.

Sasha only started juniors the year after yoi came out (she had a Makkachin tissue box which was given to her by Evgenia M which is adorable) so she was not really that popular when the show was being made but she really made a statement when she became the 1st woman to land 2 quads in 1 program (4 salchow and 4 toeloop) at the age of 13 at 2018 junior worlds.

She has just started senior and this season she had 5 quads in one program and I think I cried. She now has a quad sal, toe, flip and lutz and is apparently working on a loop. On top of that she can land a 3 axel but has yet to do so in competition. Did I mention SHE'S 15 AND I'M TERRIFIED.

She currently holds the world record for the free skate (166.62 points). She is the 2020 European Bronze Medalist, the 2019 Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, the 2019 Skate Canada champion, the 2019 Rostelecom Cup champion, the 2019 CS Ondrej Nepela champion, the 2019 Russian national silver medalist, and the 2020 Russian national bronze medalist.

Her determination to win and high TES reminds me of Yurio a lot.

Phichit Chulanont ➡️ Nam Nguyen (Canada)

This one is fun.

I love Nam with all my heart, he's actually my favourite male skater and not just because of his skating. However his skating is great. He is the 2014 World Junior champion, 2019 Skate Canada silver medalist, and two-time Canadian national champion (2015, 2019). He has placed as high as fifth at the World Championships, in 2015. He's not the best skater ever, kinda like Phichit but his personality shines through so much when he skates and I love it.

My main comparison to Phichit is the fact that Nam Nguyen is a huge meme. His Instagram is one of the most hilarious things I've ever seen (@ namnamnoodle). I can't explain it with words seriously just go look at it, he makes memes using professionnally taken skating photos of himself and honestly it's just a giggle. He's almost always posting on his story and half the videos he takes end up on fan twitter and everyone freaks out.

Also he's good friends with Evgenia, thought I'd mention that seeing as who I compared her to :)).

Yeah, Phichit and Nam are memes and I adore them both.

Jean-Jacques Leroy ➡️ Nathan Chen (USA)

Jj is definitely more of a technical focused skater. He tends to put all his eggs in the '800000 quads' bucket and isn't as artistic, in my humble opinion.

Just like Nathan surprisingly, though Nate isn't as egotistical (not a dig, just an observation).

Nathan is compared to Yuzu a lot, and had actually scored higher than him a few times in competition. He is an amazing jumper and is the first skater to have landed five types of quadruple jumps in competitions: toe loop, Salchow, loop, flip and Lutz. Currently he is two-time World champion (2018, 2019), a 2018 Winter Olympic bronze medalist in the team event, the 2017 Four Continents champion, three-time Grand Prix Final champion (2017, 2018, 2019), and four-time U.S. national champion (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020).

So yeah, he's good.

However at the 2018 Olympics (he was only 18 at the time) he bombed under pressure in the team event and in the sp, only to come back with a WR free skate, but didn't medal because of his sp score,kinda like how Jj bombed at the GPF. (Ngl, I cried in school when I saw Nate bomb at the Olympics, I was so upset).

Also, Nathan is super smart and is training to be a doctor. Not related to Jj but I thought I would point it out.

Christophe Giacometti➡️ Adam Rippon (USA)/Javier Fernández (Spain)

Chris is a hard one to pin to an irl skater because he's just so... Chris.

The closest comparison I can get is Adam Rippon but dialed up to 11 because Adam is quite a bit more tame than Chris is. However he did have a point in his sp where he literally beckons the judges to him in a way that can only be described as vaguely sexual. Seeing that at the Olympics was an event I'll tell you that.

Adam was the first openly gay man to make a U.S. Winter Olympic team, and the first to win a medal at the Winter Games. (team bronze).

Plus, I'm pretty sure he owned a Chris plushie at one point or another.

However other than the obvious Chrissness, his technique and medal winning achievements most closely match up with Javier Fernández (who may I add is pretty much Yuzuru Hanyu's best friend). He is the 2018 Olympic bronze medalist, a two-time World champion (2015, 2016), a two-time World bronze medalist (2013, 2014), a seven-time European champion (2013–2019), a two-time Grand Prix Final silver medalist (2014, 2015), a three-time Rostelecom Cup champion (2014–2016), a two-time Grand Prix in France champion (2016–2017) and an eight-time Spanish national champion (2010, 2012–2018). Javi is an amazing skater but usually ended up playing 2nd fiddle to Yuzuru on the world stage, but with euros, he literally won 7 times consecutively. Anndddd, he was the flag bearer for Spain at the 2014 Olympics and I still cry about it.

Otabek Altin➡️ Denis Ten (Kazakhstan)/ Matteo Rizzo

So it's canon that Otabek was based on Denis (rip Denis) so like Yuri and Yulia I do not feel like I need to elaborate much as you can read it on the wikia page. But Otabek also reminds me of a less talkative version of Matteo Rizzo. Matteo is the 2019 European bronze medalist, 2018 NHK Trophy bronze medalist, 2019 Winter Universiade champion, and 2018 Italian national champion.

The reason he reminds me of Otabek is that they just joth exude the same level of cool and I can't explain it any further than that. That's it. Just watch him skate and you'll see.

So that's all I have for now because this post got pretty long so if this gets enough attention I'll do a part 2 :)).

[stormskates]

thoughts on the rule changes

Update: They’re bringing back the old scales and rules for now, thank fuck. Still leaving this rant here though, because their rationale for suspending the changes was COVID (*rolls eyes*) and I worry they’ll bring back these ridiculous suggestions post-pandemic. I really wouldn’t put it past them.

My unsolicited opinions with the new rule changes, because I need to vent and characters in tweets aren’t enough. Fair warning: I’m not using polite language here. Also, I’m not looking to discuss, just to vent, so don’t argue with me because I have no time to be mentally exhausted over this any further.

1. On the new ‘q’ mark

The new q mark is wholly unnecessary. There is no fair reason to penalise rotations that land just right on the quarter mark, when (besides this not being possible to apply evenly and fairly, if the past seasons are any indication) it is enough to simply clarify that jumps that are short of 1/4 rotation will be called UR.

This new notation is ridiculous. Do you see other sports, like volleyball and badminton, halving points when the ball lands on the boundary line? Oh, the ball landed on the line, let’s give it half a point? 

And just look at the difference it makes in the scale of values:

If you see a number in those columns that’s different from the ones without a q mark, let me know, because to me it’s just another six rows copied and pasted and underlined to highlight that it’s new but not different. What does this contribute, really? 

2. On the new reductions for errors

There is no reason to give judges a range of GOE point deductions for errors in elements, when you can simplify this by just putting a solid cap on the GOE. Say skater A and B have the same flat edge on a flip, but A gets a -1 deduction and B gets a -3 deduction for the same error. How is that clear? How is that fair? This does no favours to anybody and deliberately justifies dodgy scores as it is.

In addition to that, there is no reason to add “unclear edge, no sign” as well. Forgive my language but what the fuck is that? Should I add “wrong edge, no sign” as well, even though this already occurs and judges still have no problems giving +5 GOEs regardless?

Again, to illustrate how ludicrous this is: Skater A and B both have an unclear edge, but only A gets the sign and a -2 deduction. B only gets a -1 deduction, and because there is no sign noted they can assume the deduction is attributed to other facets of the jump. Again, I ask: how is that fair?

The only win in these changes is the acknowledgement of full-blade assistance and excessive pre-rotation (the latter has always been there, though, fyi) but considering how scarcely and selectively they’re applied, it’s not a significant victory.

3. On the new base values for triples

If they wanted to make the 3F more competitive, then they could have just increased its BV to make it more competitive with the 3Lz. Levelling their base values by decreasing the 3Lz BV instead — unevenly, I might add, as the Lz in singles and doubles is still worth more than the F — is saying it’s easy, when at the end of the day, you could still count more flat lutzes than correct ones. This change is diminishing the value of its difficulty, not levelling the game, because if the ISU sought to make things fairer, then they would have increased the value of the flip without touching the base value of the lutz. Doing that would have sent a different message: if the flip is your stronger jump then this change will simply help you maximise it a little more. 

It’s also not like most skaters don’t already know their strong and weak elements in the first place. Remember they can only repeat two types of triples in the free program, and those without a 3A or quads typically maximise GOE by repeating their best jump, be it flip or lutz, and the triple toeloop in combination. 

If the ISU's reasoning for the entire change is due to body type, then they ought to remember that there are plenty of top skaters still naturally rock to a flat edge on both jumps. Though I suppose when the Head of the ISU Technical Committee himself can’t differentiate an inside edge from an outside edge, all this doesn’t matter. 

4. On the new base values for quads

Bianchetti claims they did research during the past season, and that this is the basis they’ve made for the changes. I’d very much like to see this report, because the changes on the BVs for quads seems very arbitrary apart from being extremely disappointing.

What the new values say is that 4Lo is as difficult to execute as the 4F and the 4Lz. See, if this were true, then skaters who do a 4F or 4Lz should be able to do a 4Lo as well, but the only one who has attempted a 4Lz and a 4Lo in the past season in Yuzuru Hanyu. 

If the hierarchy of quads is based on the frequency of attempts, then 4T and 4Lz should have the lowest base values, while 4Lo and 4A have the highest values. 

If the hierarchy of quad jumps isn’t based on the frequency of attempts, and the same hierarchy of jumps applies, then why is the difference (1.5) between 4Lz and 4A not the same as the difference (2.7) between 3Lz and 3A? I agree that the hierarchy of jumps in quads ought to be different from triples, doubles, and singles, but if you aren’t going to change this, then at least make the differences standard. 

If your argument against giving the 4A a higher base value is so that skaters wouldn’t risk injury to attempt it, then wow, what are you even doing in the sport? Athletes risk injury all the time, regardless of proper technique; it’s part of their career. They have the right to pursue new elements if they want to. They know the risks.

The long and short of it all is that the changes aren’t designed to be fair or transparent, which is what you would want to see in a sport. There are several loopholes for judges to score ambiguously and as much as I wish this didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, it does. It’s bad enough the rules in this sport are applied selectively; it only becomes worse when they’re designed to be unfair. 

We’ve seen athletes spend half their careers reworking their tech because of consistent penalties, while others with the same errors have the privilege of being overlooked. A system that perpetuates that is complete and utter bullshit. 

[degracieuse]

Naairiem Knoop- en haakwerk. Afbeelding No. 52ab en 53. Grijs koordgaren of beurzentouw, groene zephirwol, zwarte naaizijde, groen zijden veterband. De naairiem wordt in plaats van een plomb gebruikt. Het model bestaat uit een in knoop- en haakwerk vervaardigden band ongeveer 60 d. lang, 5½ d. breed, aan het eene einde waarvan eene lus gevormd wordt, waardoor men, bij het gebruik van den naairiem, den toon steekt, terwijl het andere einde in eene punt uitgaat; laatstgenoemde dient om het werk vast te steken. Ter vervaardiging van den naairiem zet men eerst met grijs garen over een knoophoutje van 1½ d. in omvang 400 steken op en werkt daarop teruggaande den 1. toer. Over een knoophoutje van 3 d. in omvang (in dezen, alsook in de overige toeren gedurig 1 steek in 1 steek van den vorigen toer). 2. en 3. toer als de 1. toer, doch men moet hier, alsook in den volgenden toer, de 100 laatste steken van den 1. toer onbewerkt laten. 4. toer over een knoophoutje van 1½ d. in omvang. Van den smallen band aan het eene einde van het werk wordt de lus van den naairiem gemaakt. Nu haakt men volgens afbeelding No. 53 om elken opzetsteek aan de eene lange zijde van den geknoopten band 1 vasten steek met grijs garen; aan het einde van den smallen band gekomen zijnde, verbindt men dezen met de andere lange zijde van den breeden band, daar men 1 v. st. in den naastbijzijnden steek van laatstgenoemden band haakt; men gaat zoo voort tot dat men aan het einde van den breeden band is. Daarna haakt men met grijs garen om dezelfde geknoopte steken, evenwel langs de rij knoopen, 1 toer halve vaste steken; de werkdraad moet hierbij gedurig onde den geknoopten grond liggen (zie afb. No. 53). Op dezelfde wijze werkt men 2 toeren h. v. st. om de geknoopte steken van den tweeden toer, insgelijks langs de knoopen. Nu volgen er nog 2 toeren h. v. st. met groene wol om elk van de knoopsteken van den 1. en 3. toer (zie de afb.). Om de nog onbewerkte steken van den rand voor het gedeelte voor de lus bestemd haakt men 1 toer v. st. met grijs garen. Dan stopt men de steken van den 2. toer (middelste streep) volgens de afbeelding met groene wol met den point-de-reprise door, haalt door de steken van den 1. en 3. toer een groen wollen draad, zoodat telkens 2 naast elkander liggende steken zich kruisen (zie afb. No. 53) en rijgt door de opzetsteken en de steken van den laatst geknoopten toer een groen zijden veterband naar aanwijzing van de afbeelding. Eindelijk werkt men op de middelste doorgestopte streep eene eenvoudige versiering van zwarte zijde met den gekruisten naad (zie afb. No. 52ab). Daarna haakt men op den rechten dwarsrand van den band heen en weder 14 toeren v. st. met grijs garen, waarbij men gedurig om de beide bovenste lussen van elken steek moet steken. In den eersten van deze toeren moet men tevens de overstekende draden en einden van het veterband bevestigen, in de volgende toeren moet men telkens aan het begin en einde minderen, opdat dit gedeelte volgens de afbeeld. spits toeloope. Hiermede is de naairiem waarvan afb. No. 52ab het bovenste, 52b het onderste gedeelte verkleind voorstelt, voltooid.