2012-13 ISU Grand Prix Assignments

[chika3]

Cup of China

Kiira KORPI IN
http://isu.sportcentric.net/db//files/serve.php?id=3654

[VarBar]

Seems like Carolina Kostner is out of the GP series. Why, what happened?

[Jeschke]

Seems like Carolina Kostner is out of the GP series. Why, what happened?

management told in an italian interview, she would bestead her boyfriend alex schwarzer in his bad time (positive doping test).

despite that she resumed training not berfore july, so she will not be in form for the early competition. kostners first appearance should be the italian championships in december, afther that euros and worlds.

[C_T_T_]

Zijun Li has just replaced Kostner at TEB. I assume she will also get the TBA at CoC.

[Stephanie]

Zijun

Zijun won't be at CoC, though since she's already assigned to NHK along with TEB.

[C_T_T_]

Oh yeah!

[change of edge]

A little surprised that Zijun got the spot, since she wasn't in the top 5 of last year's SB. Was hoping that Mirai would get it, with this year's programs she might have a legit shot at the GPF

[kirkbiggestfan]

What's the strategy from the French Fed? Be nice to the Chinese so that they return the favors? Getting a softer field? They could care less about paying ticket holders who would rather see a stronger skater!!!!!

[Jarrett]

How in the heck did Li get that assignment?

[Sylvia]

It still isn't clear from the contradictory wording* of the GP announcement whether they are supposed to be assigned in the order of their SB if they were Top 24 SB, or whether the host can choose any of the top five, including the Top 24 SB.

*The wording says, "The alternate list needs to be worked through in ranking order for the top 24 ranked skaters/couples according to their Season's Best. All skaters/couples of the alternates list will be grouped in top ranked groups of five (5) skaters, out of which the respective Organizing Member may pick one skater/couple for invitation." For the Top 24 SB, they can't be both chosen in ranking order and in any order within their group of five based on OM's preference.

If the former, and there is no strategy involved, then, assuming the Czisny passes because of injury recovery, that Nagasu, who is assigned to CoC, should get Kostner's spot at TEB. Korpi should be next in line, but she's already at RC, which would mean back-to-back competitions for her, traveling from China to Russia. (Even if she were considered for TEB, she would be going from Russia to Paris, although that isn't that much longer to travel or time-zone adjustment-wise than the SA/SC tandem that skaters do, when they are on different coasts.)

Were Korpi skipped because CoC and RC are back-to-back, then Biryukova, who has NHK, would be next in line.

See the sentence I bolded above - Zijun Li is #24 on the Season Best list: http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/show...&postcount=335

[sandra_persch]

How in the heck did Li get that assignment?

Host country politics. Am starting to wonder if China will really give a third lady the CoC spot of if they take one of the French instead

[kwanfan1818]

Voronov was first in the order. What shows that FRA was able to choose from the Top 5, was that Guan was chosen over Dmmitriev, both of whom were assigned to CoC. (Hendrickx was already assigned to TEB and Rogozine has NHK the week after.)

See the sentence I bolded above - Zijun Li is #24 on the Season Best list: http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/show...&postcount=335

This is why it didn't apply to the Men: they were 25 or below in SB. However, the exact order among the Ladies was:

8 Czisny -- assumed passed due to injury, then

11 Nagasu -- couldn't do CoC, but could have done TEB two weeks later
14 Korpi -- assigned to CoC, with initial assignment at CoR the following week
16 Biryukova -- initial assignment NHK the following week
17 Korobeyikova -- already assigned to TEB
19 Shelepen -- initial assignment NHK the following week

The language of the GP Announcement said that they created groups of five: the only way that Li should have been considered is if 1. As soon as Korpi was chosen, Li moved into the group of five as the next one (24) on the list, and they aren't going by strict groups of five, perhaps in general or perhaps only among the Top 24, or 2. The Russian Fed and USFS passed on behalf of their skaters, and then they went to Group 2 of five, where the Top 24 skaters had to be picked first.

Li, like Biryukova and Shelpen, was already assigned to NHK, so it's not as if the ISU automatically passed on skaters who would have back-to-back assignments and had to travel from Europe to Asia or vice versa, and they allowed China to choose Korpi to do China->Russia, when Russia->France ->Finland would have been a more reasonable competition schedule.

[SamuraiK]

Can we just accept they are chosing their susbtitutes as they please ignoring all their convoluted regulations?? It's better that way

Plus the feds have shown more than once they don't really care about the skater invited having another event the previous or following week.

[aliona22]

What's the strategy from the French Fed? Be nice to the Chinese so that they return the favors? Getting a softer field? They could care less about paying ticket holders who would rather see a stronger skater!!!!!

that's not fair... TEB annually produces the strongest ladies field on the GP.

[SamuraiK]

Now will CHINA give their TBA spot to a chinese lady (Quiuying Zhu probably) or chose a foreign skater instead (hopefully Biryukova/Korobeynikova/Shelepen).

[kirkbiggestfan]

that's not fair... TEB annually produces the strongest ladies field on the GP.

It used to be the case when the French ladies had no chance whatsoever. Now, that Meite and Silete can actually land jumps and hope for a decent placement, the field is getting softer.

[mgobluegirl]

They could care less about paying ticket holders who would rather see a stronger skater!!!!!

Not a ticket-holder here, but I think Li is an exciting young skater, and I'd much rather see her than, say, Shelepen. Or Biryukova.

[ali_dorate]

I can't understand why Chinese federation didn't give the TBA spot at CoC to Zijun.
Traveling from China to Paris and again flying back to Japan in two weeks is really tight and demanding schedule.

I hope Zijun get over this and make a successful debut at GPS.

[shine]

Is it really that much further to travel to Japan than to Shanghai from Beijing where she trains?

[Marco]

Yay for Li Zijun having 2 assignments! Zhang Kexin also has two, right?