Courtney Hicks

[pinky166]

Does anyone know if Adelina Sotnikova or Elizaveta Tuktamysheva plan to move up?

Yes someone posted in the Russia thread a month or so ago that both girls will compete on the SGP next season.

[Jenna]

Yes someone posted in the Russia thread a month or so ago that both girls will compete on the SGP next season.

Awesome! I can't wait to see what happens here.

[Sylvia]

Does anyone know if Adelina Sotnikova or Elizaveta Tuktamysheva plan to move up?

Yes, according to the Russian news thread (scroll down to the short Tuktamysheva interview, post #830): http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/show...=77174&page=42

[Jenna]

Yes, according to the Russian news thread (scroll down to the short Tuktamysheva interview, post #830): http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/show...=77174&page=42

Thanks. I hope Liza does keep that SP. It was fun and quite different.

Back to how this affects Courtney, well, it's great for her. The Russians were definitely the biggest competition on the JGP..so now she could really have some success there. Of course, Shoji JPN and Li CHN will probably both be back, in addition to Baga and Siraj!

[oleada]

Well, there are more Russians like Julia Lipnitskaya who will be eligible for the JGP next year, who I expect to do well. Japan's Satoko Miyahara could do quite well, too.

[Jenna]

Of course, and Agafonova. Is Ovcharova back and training as well?

Also Miyabi Oba and Polina Shelepen. There are so many, it's unbelievable.

[pinky166]

Of course, and Agafonova. Is Ovcharova back and training as well?

Also Miyabi Oba and Polina Shelepen. There are so many, it's unbelievable.

Shelepen is doing senior GP, she was going to do it last season, but then decided against it when there was talk that the age limits might be changed and there was risk she would not make the age cutoff.

Ovcharova is training again and TAT said at nationals that she will likely compete on the JGP next season. Also Rosa Sheveleva will likely do another season on the JGP where she has yet to go to the final or compete at junior worlds. There are a lot of talented other Russian girls as well: Polina Korobeinikova, Alexandra Deeva, Juulia Lepitniskaya, etc. The field should still be pretty deep, especially when you factor in the talented American skaters likely to go in addition to Courtney such as Siraj, Lam, Dinh, Kulgeyko, etc.

[Sylvia]

Friendly suggestion - we can now discuss JGP prospects in this new 2011-12 JGP thread : http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/showthread.php?t=78782

[Jenna]

Sure.

Back to Hicks, it is clear that she will have a lot of competition this year from skaters from all over the world! But that 3-3 will hold her in good stead. The ladies who can do a 3Lz definitely have the edge though. Courtney is one of them, but she needs to fix that edge.

It's shaping up to be another exciting and unpredictable JGP.

[Allen]

Courtney was a beast in Greensboro. I found her skating exciting, but I think that was dependent on the 3/3s and some really cool spins. I find she lacks presence on the ice, but I'm sure that will come as she has the necessary ingredients to be great. I would really like to see her do some programs that are less generic, but I don't know the last time I saw something super interesting come out of the Nicks camp.

[Autumn_girl]

I think Courtney is an American version of Polina Shelepen (but worse to be honest). She has big jumps but not much more. Her 3-3 were << in both programs at JW, her skating skills, posture, lines, spins need a lot of work and she doesn't seem to know how to use her arms. It's still questionable if Polina will be able to do well at SGP, but at least she can rotate her 3-3s and improved her presentation, for Courtney it's not even a question, it's better for her to do JGP. She will have a tough competition there even without Liza and Adelina, there are still more than enough strong Russian and Japanese skaters

[pinky166]

I think Courtney is an American version of Polina Shelepen (but worse to be honest). She has big jumps but not much more. Her 3-3 were << in both programs at JW, her skating skills, posture, lines, spins need a lot of work and she doesn't seem to know how to use her arms. It's still questionable if Polina will be able to do well at SGP, but at least she can rotate her 3-3s and improved her presentation, for Courtney it's not even a question, it's better for her to do JGP. She will have a tough competition there even without Liza and Adelina, there are still more than enough strong Russian and Japanese skaters

I agree with this. Courtney was impressive at nationals, but at Junior Worlds, I thought a handful of other ladies were more impressive, at least from a presentation standpoint, like Risa Shoji, Zijun Li, Miyabi Oba, and then obviously Adelina, Liza, Agnes, Christina. I'd say she and Shelepen are comparable, but Shelepen seems to be making improvements and is a little more pleasant to watch IMO because of her balanchine looks. Courtney is still VERY tiny and probably has yet to deal with puberty monster so.