1st Senior B in USA to be held in Salt Lake City, Utah in mid-September

[A.H.Black]

Men's free and Free Dance are scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 15th. Please note that this is the same day as the biggest College Football Game for local interest of the season. It will be even more nuts this year as it is the last year of this particular rivalry for several years.

The Ice Rink is very close to the stadium. It will be VERY crowded in that area that day. The Football game is scheduled for 8:00 PM. The tailgate parties will start Much earlier. Some people will camp out overnight.

Hopefully skating will be scheduled earlier in the day so everyone can be out and gone by the time the craziness hits its peak.

[vexlak]

It seems that the US Nationals does not play a role the way USFSA selects skaters. Rightfully so in my view. If good skater screws up the sectionals or nationals, he/she should not be subject to a year long ban for International competition selection. If they improve and pull couple of good performances at the US club competitions in the summer, why not send them further? Gold and Cesario are perfect examples. While Gold failed to go trough the section in 2010 season, she showed great improvement after that. Maybe it was a good wake up call. Samantha on the other had has almost a tradition to scratch from the US nationals, yet pulling great programs on the US club and JGP circuit competitions. Hicks, Kaiser are not far away...

[gkelly]

It seems that the US Nationals does not play a role the way USFSA selects skaters.

Oh, it definitely plays a role. Just not the only role.

Certainly the most important role in selecting world and Olympic teams, which is written into the rules. A lesser role for fall competition assignments.

[Sylvia]

My impression is that most recent Nationals placement is weighted heavily in most Senior B singles assignments as well.

[crawall]

I was really hoping to see a Canadian lady not on the senior grand prix get a chance here (Desanctis, Charbonneau, or Najarro).

Me, too! Besides Kate and Katelyn, what other Canadian ladies have met the 130 criteria this summer?Anybody?

[Sylvia]

Adriana DeSanctis and Alexandra Najarro are scheduled to compete at Thornhill this week.

[crzesk8dad]

.

[demetriosj]

[QUOTE=chipso1;3660202]We get it. You have an irrational dislike of all things Gracie Gold. Time to move on.
QUOTE]

Geesh, don't need to be so touchy....
Is this fair to other US skaters, Caroline Zhang, to name one, who also need the ranking points? Also, is this a wise strategy to put all of the eggs in one basket?

[Sylvia]

There are other Senior B assignments to come.

[Ziggy]

another excellent point has already been made by another poster. probably, to qualify for junior worlds our eligible skater would have to have skated pretty well--likely earning that minimum TES in the process.

Only it has to be done at an international, ISU-sanctioned competition.

lastly, i have this premonition that the season won't be so full of thrilling surprises, and two out of the three ladies USFS will send to junior worlds this coming season will again be lam and gao...

I reckon Gao is done.

It seems that the US Nationals does not play a role the way USFSA selects skaters.

It's very obvious that Nationals results are the main means of selecting skaters.

Samantha on the other had has almost a tradition to scratch from the US nationals, yet pulling great programs on the US club and JGP circuit competitions.

She had to miss US Nationals for the last two years because of injuries.

[vexlak]

She had to miss US Nationals for the last two years because of injuries.

Exactly my point...she missed the Nationals twice...
If the Nationals would be the only determining factor, she would have not get the JGP's last and this year. Not only she got themn, she did well and it looks as she will do well this year too.
My point is that unless it is the Olympic year, the US nationals are not the determining factor. You do not have to be there if you skater really well.

[Lara]

You could argue though that had Cesario been at Nats with good results, she'd be getting senior GP spots (notably the third TBA spot at 2011 SA filled by Joelle Forte) instead.

[TanithandBenFan]

Men's free and Free Dance are scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 15th. Please note that this is the same day as the biggest College Football Game for local interest of the season. It will be even more nuts this year as it is the last year of this particular rivalry for several years.

The Ice Rink is very close to the stadium. It will be VERY crowded in that area that day. The Football game is scheduled for 8:00 PM. The tailgate parties will start Much earlier. Some people will camp out overnight.

Hopefully skating will be scheduled earlier in the day so everyone can be out and gone by the time the craziness hits its peak.

Thanks for letting us know! My hotel is right by campus, too, so sounds like it will be nuts around there.

[peibeck]

Is this fair to other US skaters, Caroline Zhang, to name one, who also need the ranking points? Also, is this a wise strategy to put all of the eggs in one basket?

Zhang has a lot more points and higher ranking than Gold. And Zhang may have gotten an invite and declined? We just don't know.

I'm more surprised about Zawadski getting an invite than Gold.

I thought for sure Christina Gao would get tapped, but maybe the USFS knew she was getting a second GP, or maybe she declined?

[Sylvia]

If any of the U.S. skaters in the ISP wanted to be considered for the Salt Lake Senior B, I believe they needed to have competed both their programs in the same summer competition by the first weekend of August (Gao hasn't fulfilled this requirement AFAIK).

[peibeck]

Thanks Sylvia!

[Coco]

I don't see how the world standings points Gracie might earn here will have a significant impact for her. She's got no prayer of getting into the final group for either of her GP short program start lists. I suppose it might matter at the end of the year, but I'm not sure.

I think they are sending Gracie to give her another chance to get comfortable with her programs before Skate Canada.

Agnes has a chance to pass Imai, who is only 2 points ahead of her. Depending on who replaces Alissa (if anyone does) at NHK, that could be a factor.

Taking a closer look at the GP entries, I'm very confused as to how Gao has 2 and Nagasu 1, also how Silete has 2 and Meite only 1. Must have missed Gao getting TEB during the Olympics!

[Sylvia]

I think they are sending Gracie to give her another chance to get comfortable with her programs before Skate Canada.

Makes sense to me.

ETA: Here's how the Skate Canada SP start order would look like based on the current ISU World Standings:
?? TBA CAN
82 Kaetlyn Osmond CAN - 338 points
55 Gracie Gold USA - 700
26 Caroline Zhang USA - 1315
21 Amélie Lacoste CAN - 1536 (has a chance to move into 2nd group IF she places top 4 in Salt Lake and Liza T. doesn't compete in a Sr B before SC)
---
14 Elizaveta Tuktamysheva RUS - 1694
11 Ksenia Makarova RUS
10 Elene Gedevanishvili GEO
6 Kanako Murakami JPN
2 Akiko Suzuki JPN

Taking a closer look at the GP entries, I'm very confused as to how Gao has 2 and Nagasu 1, also how Silete has 2 and Meite only 1. Must have missed Gao getting TEB during the Olympics!

Gao's 2nd assignment was made official on August 10 - see the discussion in the Grand Prix Assignments thread, starting here: http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/show...99#post3655699

[kwanfan1818]

Silete was guaranteed two by coming in top 12 in Nice.

[kppt]

I was really hoping to see a Canadian lady not on the senior grand prix get a chance here (Desanctis, Charbonneau, or Najarro).

I'm a little surprised that Desanctis isn't going, despite the mediocre skate at Thornhill in the FP. I'm betting Najarro's knee isn't 100% yet after her surgery in the spring