2012-13 ISU Grand Prix Assignments

[Eislauffan]

As long as nobody picks Flatt...

I'm sure COC would pick Biryukova so that's a done deal, but something tells me either Mirai doesn't want a second GP or USFS doesn't want her to have it, so that leaves Flatt on the table...

At Finlandia Trophy Mirai said that she hopes to get a second Grand Prix. So it is for sure not her not wanting it.

[victoriaheidi]

I love Mirai's skating, but I am tired of waiting for her to get everything together on a consistent basis. She's thrown so many chances down the toilet and it bums me out every time. She is, easily, one of the best skaters in the world and positively magical when she's on. I want to see her get it together and be brilliant. But Finlandia wasn't necessarily enoufh to convince me that she's going to make it happen. If she gets a second assignment, great, but I hope she takes full advantage of the opportunity and proves that she deserves it.

At this point, I'm hoping for Osmond for TEB. Mirai's already at CoC, so Biryukova is the most logical choice.

BTW, didn't Leonova only have one GP in the post-Olympic year, but three the following season? One GP definitely doesn't signal the end of a career--in fact, if it motivates Mirai to nail CoC and Nats and whichever competitions she gets this year, it could be the best thing that ever happened to her skating career.

[burntBREAD]

Leonova had two- she got 3rd at CoC and 9th at CoR.

[love_skate2011]

why on earth or anyone for that matter give another spot to Flatt
1 is sooooo more than enough for her

[Frau Muller]

Glebova all the way - whee!!!

[kwanfan1818]

why on earth or anyone for that matter give another spot to Flatt
1 is sooooo more than enough for her

However, if she's in the same shape as last season, she won't be much competition for host nation skaters. Even at her strongest (senior) competitions, her PCS weren't over the top, and her jumps have been called for edges and UR's.

If anyone aside from Czisny (for health reasons only) would want one, I would think it would be Flatt, since an overseas trip, as opposed to a two-hour plane ride, could put a wrench in her semester.

I'm hoping Glebova gets the shot: she's starting to become more consistent.

[DimaToe]

Glebova all the way - whee!!!

This!

[RFOS]

However, if she's in the same shape as last season, she won't be much competition for host nation skaters. Even at her strongest (senior) competitions, her PCS weren't over the top, and her jumps have been called for edges and UR's.

When was she called for edges last season?

[victoriaheidi]

When was she called for edges last season?

Just went through SC, CoR and Nationals and can't find a single edge call. Just URs, bad jumps and falls.

[kwanfan1818]

When was she called for edges last season?

I didn't realize Flatt's international career began last season.

I would call none of 2011 SC, 2011 CoR, or 2012 US Nationals among her strongest senior performances.

She did not receive an edge call on her Lutzes at Skate Canada. She dropped the jump for CoR, where, in the FS, all but three skaters had edge calls, one of the three (Korpi) tried neither Lutz nor Flip, and there were only two clean 3 Lutzes (Zawadzki and Biryukova).

[Frau Muller]

I....I would call none of 2011 SC, 2011 CoR, or 2012 US Nationals among her strongest senior performances......).

Rachael was terrific in the FS of 2012 Nationals but she was too far behind after the SPs. I remember the huge standing-o after Rachael's FS.

[kwanfan1818]

Rachael was terrific in the FS of 2012 Nationals but she was too far behind after the SPs. I remember the huge standing-o after Rachael's FS.

Maybe being there helped. I didn't get the fuss watching the video, but I understand how what I most dislike about her senior skating is accentuated by the camera, and how momentum and attack can be palpable in the arena but not come across on camera.

[morqet]

Lysacek has withdrawn from Skate America, Mahbanoozadeh gets his spot: http://www.usfsa.org/Story.asp?id=48513&type=media

[attyfan]

Hope that Evan recovers quickly, but I am glad that Armin gets the spot!

[caseyedwards]

I think everyone agrees armin Mahbanoozadeh has been horribly snubbed since nationals and this is well deserved

[RFOS]

I didn't realize Flatt's international career began last season.

It didn't. I interpreted the 2nd sentence of your post to be a continuation of the first thought (which referred only to last season), though looking back I should have seen that it wasn't intended that way based on the fact that you specified "(senior)" since she didn't have any non-senior performances last season. Sorry for the misunderstanding, but I spent quite a bit of time analyzing jump takeoffs from a few competitions a while back and Rachael was one of the only skaters I looked at who consistently had CLEARLY correct takeoffs in those competitions, and she probably worked very hard to correct that problem so whatever her flaws I like to see credit given where it is due. I was honestly curious if she had had any edge calls in the past season (or even since 2009).

I just looked at Worlds 2009-2011, SA 2009, the 2010 Olympics, 2011 4CC, and the last 4 Nationals (2009-2012), included among which are some of her best Senior performances and I see a ! for a 3F in the free skate at 2009 Nationals and a ! for her 3Lz in the SP at 2010 Worlds, but no outright "wrong edge" calls on any of her flips or lutzes in any of those competitions. Some underrotations (<) here and there but some of those (particularly the two 3Fs in the free skate at the Olympics) were quite controversial. I don't recall seeing any downgrades (<<) from among those competitions I checked since the distinction was put in place, though it's possible there may have been some in some of her more recent, poorer skates.

[Iceman]

So disappointed that Evan has withdrawn. Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing Rachael get a second assignment, but I don't think she would accept it if offered. She probably has her schedule tightly set with skating and school.

[peibeck]

Armin!

[victoriaheidi]

I googled the Stanford Academic Calendar. It's tight. Theoretically, TEB is better for her because she has the rest of that school week off, but it's still not that great because she'd have to miss most of the week before for travel. CoC is just at a sucky time in the quarter. Truth is, the school's calendar is just a backbone; her individual classes will have papers, problem sets, and exams, too.

If Rachael were to have gotten a second GP, she probably would have needed to know a few weeks ago.

[kwanfan1818]

Both "e" and "!" are considered edge calls, just as "<" and "<<" are underrotation calls; penalties are based on degree. I was specific about "senior" competition, because I think she was a very different skater as a junior, with a lightness and musicality I haven't seen much of in her senior career. The changes were most evident after an injury, which was reported as a back injury. This is one of the reasons it infuriates me that there are sexist double-standards for women which require flexibility: a skater recovering from a back injury -- and they rarely fully recover before competing again -- can't protect their vulnerable spot by substituting alternate skills that, in my opinion, are equally valid.